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Topics - Brian.Dixon

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61
Help me put together a list of who's building what and where... Please respond to this post with a brief description of what you are building (which model, what mods) and where you are located!

NOTE: It's OK if you are just in the planning and getting ready stage ...let's hear about it!

Thanks!
Brian

62
Blood on the Deck! (And Other Grand Adventures!) / Butch V. slays tuna!
« on: August 21, 2012, 11:46:01 AM »
Just got these from Butch V. in Oregon ...40 miles out, 40 miles back ...loaded with 25-pounders!  As far as I know, Butch is the first to bloody the deck of a Great Alaskan!







Brian



63
First launch of a wood/glass/epoxy Great Alaskan:

Congratulations to Adrian P. of Gresham, OR for being the first to launch a wood/glass/epoxy GA built (closely enough) to plan ...he wins the $500 in gas money for being the first to do so!  See video and pix here:

41+ kts Great Alaskan!  <--CLICK THIS LINK



His boat is a 26-footer with 2-foot sponsons, which effectively give it almost the same waterline as a 28-footer.  Watch the vids of the boat catching up to and passing his friend's, and watch vid #5 to see the smooooth wake that this boat throws.  Adrian has a wicked-fast 250 hp outboard on his!

Brian


65
Announcements / KITS now available for the Great Alaskan!
« on: July 04, 2012, 01:16:00 PM »
We just placed the following announcement on our web site:

"Announcement!  Kits for building the Great Alaskan are now available on the EAST coast through the Saltwater Workshop!  The Saltwater Workshop (Saltwater Workshop) is located in Buxton, Maine and now manufactures precision CNC-cut kits for the Great Alaskan.  The Saltwater Workshop can ship kits anywhere in the world.  Contact Jim Shula for kit and shipping quotes (or email to saltwaterworkshop@gmail.com)"

We've been working together (and will continue to) with drawings and what not to enable Jim to cut out CNC kits for the Great Alaskan.  The first kit is underway now and already sold.  For more information, you'll want to contact Jim as spelled out above...

NOTE: The Saltwater Workshop will ship anywhere...

Thanks,
Brian


66
Recently launched (a 26' GA built in aluminum), built by Butch V. down in Oregon:






To launch soon, a 26' GA (with 2' sponsons), built by Adrian P. also down in Oregon:








Probably to launch later this year, a 28' GA with raised sides and bulwark, built by Doug C. in Palmer, AK:




Enjoy!
Brian


67
Experimental Postings / Test
« on: March 01, 2012, 11:20:25 AM »
Testing auto-notification

68
A variety of size-related questions come up, with most people wondering about things like waterline, freeboard, interior freeboard, height and width required for a garage door ...on and off a trailer, etcetera.  In light of those questions, here are some answers that should help (noting that the design waterline is at standard displacement ...1/2 fuel, typical crew, gear, equipment, etc):

  • Waterline at the stern, typical displacement (3800-4000 lbs total, 4000-4200 lbs for Kodiak): 4 inches (add about an inch for each additional 650 lbs or so)
  • Total hull draft, including bottom strake but not including motor skeg (same load): about 12 inches
  • Exterior freeboard (waterline to sheer deck): about 31-1/2 inches measured at the lowest point near the stern (add 5" inches for Kodiak Model)
  • Interior freeboard (main deck to sheer deck, at stern): about 28-3/4 inches (add 5" for Kodiak Model)
  • Total boat width: 8 feet, 5 inches, at widest point, measured at the sheer (Kodiak Model is 9 feet 4 inches wide)
  • Total boat height (off a trailer): 7 feet 9 inches (Rockport, Newport), 8 feet 7 inches (Prince Rupert w/visor) (Kodiak Model is same height)
  • Hull height from bottom of keel strake to top of cuddy roof:  About 6 feet 7 inches (Kodiak Model is same height)
  • Total height when on a trailer: 9 feet 5 inches (Rockport, Newport), 10 feet 3 inches (Prince Rupert w/visor) (Kodiak Model is same height)
  • Total width on trailer: MOST trailers will not be wider than the boat (see boat width above)
  • Length overall of primary hull (LOA): The advertised boat length, e.g. a 26-foot GA will be 26 feet from tip of bow to aft-most top edge of the transom
  • Length including anchor pulpit: Allow about 30" for the anchor pulpit and anchor
  • Length including outboard motor: Allow at least 40" for outboard motor, leg, and propeller behind the boat
  • Length of trailer tongue: Depends on your trailer selection, typically allow at 6 feet forward of the bow point (anchor pulpit do not matter here)
  • Total Length: Off trailer for building purposes, add LOA (above) and anchor pulpit lengths PLUS at least 4 feet for space to work in front of bow and behind the transom
  • Total Length: On trailer, fully outfitted,  Add LOA, trailer tongue length, and mounted outboard length (including propeller) PLUS 2 feet to leave room to pass by either end of the boat when the shop door(s) are closed
  • Headroom inside pilot house is 76" (6'4", 1.9m) - assumes per-spec build with pilot house decks on top of stringers (unraised) and measured to inside of actual pilot house roof (between handrails, center)
  • Decks can (typ.) be raised up to 4" above stringers for more fuel tank space, extra height of scuppers above waterline, sloping and/or crowning cockpit deck downward towards the stern to enhance self-bailing etc

Total height of the boat depends on whether or not you add rocket-launcher rod holders, rafts, radar, antennae, and other items to the top of the boat, and how tall you choose to make your visor on roofs such as on the Prince Rupert (or even the Newport if you add a tugboat-type visor to it).  Total height on a trailer depends partially on the trailer that you select, and the above assumes that the boat's keel will be off the ground by about 19" or so for a typical trailer that has 14" trailer wheels.  Total width of the boat itself is accurate given you apply rubrails 3/4" thick as specified, but total width on a trailer depends on your trailer selection, fenders, etcetera.  The measurements above are intended to be approximate in order for you to do appropriate planning.  For example, I would not personally choose a new garage door of less than 11' high by 8' wide or so in order to allow a boat of typical configuration to slide through it on a trailer, and even that would require radar on a pedestal that can be removed or hinged forward.  You CAN get away with a typical 10 foot high garage door if you commit to not having a visor on your pilot house roof (or only a low one) and don't back the boat into the shop/garage with anything on the roof (antennae, raft, rods, radar etc).

Hope this helps,

Brian


69
Many have asked about using shorter main stringers (9-1/2" x 1-3/4" x L) to make longer stringers, e.g. if shipping long LVL beams, costs can be prohibitive unless shorter pieces can be shipped.  You CAN make full-length stringers from shorter pieces by using a vertical scarf as shown in the picture below, but make sure that you glue them up with good straight edges along top or bottom, sides laying on a very flat surface.  It's easy to make crooked stringers if you are not careful and if you do ...well, then I guess your savings in shipping costs went down the tubes, right?  And if you do build longer stringers from shorter pieces as shown, make sure you glue them up and glass them as prescribed below.



Gluing and glassing:

  • Cutting the scarf:  CUT the scarf with a circular saw and then DO NOT sand the joint.  You can vacuum sawdust out of the wood if you want, but don't sand it.  Sanding smashes the wood cells closed and epoxy will not soak as deeply into the wood.  If the fit is not perfect without sanding, don't sweat it (or sand it!).  Trust in the gap-filling qualities of the epoxy and move on.  Just make sure the beams are glued straight as described.
  • Inside the joint:  PRE-WET with unthickened epoxy every 10 minutes or so until no more epoxy will soak in, and both glue surfaces stay wet-looking.  Always use wax paper under the joint when gluing, a flat floor, and straight edges (cedar 2x4s?) along top and bottom to guarantee straightness.  For a good gap-filling mix inside the joint, use epoxy thickened with a strong thickener mixture made from 60% wood flour, 20% milled glass fiber, and 20% colloidal silica (Cab-o-Sil or similar).  The glue mixture should be peanut-butter thick.  Small thickness adjustments can be made by adding 80% wood flour, 20% silica.  Slightly soft is better than slightly dry.  You can always fill holes and gaps afterwards.
  • Once glued and cured for 24+ hours, scrape then sand to smooth all squeeze-out epoxy to the wood.  After rounding the top two edges (see Construction Manual, Part 1), glass the joint with 12-ounce biaxial fiberglass cloth.  The cloth should extend beyond the joint by 6" to 8" or so, not less.  The glass should wrap from one side, over the top, and down the other.  Trim any excess that extends beyond the bottom, e.g. with 60-grit sandpaper on a random orbital sander (aka "fast and easy glass trimmer").  Either add 10-oz woven glass over this joint at the same time, wet-on-wet, or fill the weave with epoxy later on ...before glassing the entire stringer with 10-oz woven glass later.  And no, if you add the 10-oz glass now in order to save having to fill the biaxial weave with epoxy later, you do NOT have to add more 10-oz woven glass over this area later on.  Just overlap the already-completed glassing by a couple of inches on either end and call it good.

As far as the economics involved in buying an extra 4 or 5 feet of beam in order to save money on shipping full-length (22 ft +/-) beams goes, I will leave those calculations up to you.  But if you want to make longer LVL beams from shorter, this is the way to do it.

Brian


70
NOTE: In most forums, if all boards are left open then general discussion ends up being split between the 'FAQ' type board and the general discussion board.  In OUR forum however, I have disabled the ability to post in the FAQ board in order for people to stick with the general discussion board instead.  As typical questions in that (or other) boards show up, I will individually move them here to be a part of the FAQ board.  Thanks!

Brian


71
Introductions - Are you new here? Say hello! / [For DEPTHCHARGE] Quatro
« on: January 13, 2010, 12:00:25 AM »
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Hi guys. I live near the Texas coast. I'm a nurse by trade but I used to be a mechanic and have military experience. I"m looking for a trailerable boat that can take some minor seas, has some range and a place to take a break. I was looking at the glen-l calypso but the Great Alaskan has higher freeboard, shallower draft (a factor here on the Texas coast), and a much better building method so I found my new favorite! I'll be moving to the Corpus Christi area this summer and I want to get situated there before starting so it will be awhile for me. I look forward to getting to know everyone here.


72
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Hey Y'all:

I'm glad to be on board with you. I first discovered the Great Alaskan online about two and a half years ago while doing a search for things related to the Tolman design. It was love at first sight. I really like the Tolman Jumbo but it left me wanting just a little more boat with the same general build sequence and such; then along comes Brian and the GA. Brian, I doubt you remember but I talked to you on the phone about getting my hands on a set of drawings. At the time you told me I needed some fancy progam to read the files. About that same time life happened and my wife and I decided to move back to Texas from Kenai, Alaska. Since then I've built a house, landscaped a yard, started a shop, and lots of other things beside build my dream boat. Well I'm just about ready to start on the boat stuff again.

My wife and I still have a recreational cabin in Kenai and have spent the last three summers there rather than melt in the Texas heat. I can't hardly wait to add the "big" boat to my stable of Alaska toys. Heck, I guess I could put an A/C unit on it and use it on the Gulf Coast too?

Look for many, many question in the near future.

Art

73
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Hello, I am Marshall Lowry from florida. Just got the plans Brian this week. I was very pleased to see the work done on the design. I typically build designs from B. Roberts and J. Benford however I wanted a Trailerableish work boat that can double for some light cruising. - and Here it is.  Honestly I have studied marine design for several years and this is a very well thought out craft with ease of consturction that is very impressive. -  I am a diver, captain, and shipbuilder part time second to working for the state department.  I have about 60k miles seagoing in boats under 85' and like to travel the eastern seaboard by intercoastal for vacations. Addtionally being in florida I do alot of fishing recreationally and find that a tough boat with plenty of space on deck is a real run way to spend the warm saturdays.

I hope many builders from all over sign up for this forum as it helps to have encouragement from other builders to finish the progects and do the design justice. - I know I used to build airplanes from plans. !

- Cheers. - M.

74
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 Brian, I have a couple of questions:
     1. What's the difference between the Prince Rupert and Newports cabins? Since the interiors are interchangeable I'm assuming it's to have a choice of styles. I'm partial to the Newport. It looks good with the upswept bow.

     2. Is it possible to add a flybridge on the roof? Weather usually isn't much of an issue and the added height helps to find "fishy" spots.

75
Introductions - Are you new here? Say hello! / Who I am...
« on: January 12, 2010, 11:50:33 PM »
Hi,  I'm Brian Dixon, designer of the Great Alaskan.  I got my boat design training from the Westlawn School of Yacht Design - Professional Program.  The Great Alaskan was first designed as an assignment for Westlawn, then later on I fleshed out the design and put together the builder's manuals, construction drawings, and what not and had a design check accomplished by a professional naval architect (who gave it his blessings) and a structural check by a mechanical engineer with large scale marine design experience.  Then after that, I offered the plans for sale in both printed and digital format.  All in all, it took me about 3 years to accomplish all this, but mostly because I  do have a regular day job (as a senior software architect / electrical engineer), a family, and a too-long list of hobbies...

Thanks for stopping by!

Brian Dixon

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