Glen-L 21' Canyon Cruiser - Aluminum

[sschefer]

The FrankenMerc Engine build is done, I sold the 14' Tinny long ago, my North River Commander is an underpowered pig but I love my fully restored 18' MonArk (aka StarCraft F/S) probably because I restored it the way I wanted it. The fact that it hauls butt and still fishes great is a bonus

I need another project or I'll end up back in the Bars chasing women and spending my money with nothing but hangovers and diseases to show for it. I really don't want to go back there again.

Now that you know why I do these projects one after the other I think I've found the next one.

Years ago my Dad built a Glen-L designed boat named the El Capitan. The boat was so popular that they are still selling the plans today. I've decided to build a Glen-L designed boat and have just purchased the study plans for the 21' Canyon Cruiser. Its very similar to my North River and although I could refit the NR with a big block and upgrade the pump I really don't want to mess with it.

I'm sure I'm not the first iBoats member to build their own Aluminum boat from plans but I thought it would be fun to document this project here and share it.

If you're wondering if I'll be selling my North River or my Monark, the answer is that I don't plan to unless the economy takes a dramatic up turn and I think I can get a decent price for them. I will be checking with my insurance company about fleet rates though

If you want, follow along as I head into yet another insane project.

Steve

 

[chargerboy]

Re: Glen-L 21' Canyon Cruiser - Aluminum

Insanity is fun Thanks for sharing, I can't wait to see what happens! Good luck with the build!

 

[sschefer]

Change of Plans...

Change of Plans...

I got the review plans last week and poured over them in great detail. The boat is not quite what I want. This is why I ordered the 15.00 preview plans and not the full plan set.

I'll be ordering the preview plans for this boat next..

https://www.boatdesigns.com/17-or-18-Slither-vee-bottom-whitewater-sled/products/873/

The boat has more flexibility in build options. There is an allowable 10% modification that will let me build the boat to suit my want's and my shop size better.

There's a lot of welding to be done on this boat and I'm going to take a Welding course for A/C TIG welding at the local college. I can TIG Aluminum pretty well but a refresher course can help to identify any bad habits I may have.

I'll also be running some new wire out to my shop from the Main house panel so I can have a good 50amp source for the welder and I'll be upgrading my Welder with a newer one that can weld up to 1/4" plate. I'm looking at either Miller, Lincoln or Esab.

One thing I know from other restos is that frustration sets in quickly if you're not prepared to do the job. Hopefully, with good planning, I'll be able to avoid the major problems that can cause long delays or even shut down a project altogther.. Imagine building a 21 foot boat and then having to leave the garage door open all winter...Yikes, that would be a show stopper for me even in the somewhat mild winters of my area.

 

[sschefer]

Re: Glen-L 21' Canyon Cruiser - Aluminum

The first step in the project was to get the study plans. I did that and it proved to be very valuable. The boat will be challenging to build in a garage because of it's size but I think if I plan it right I can set up a canopy just outside my shop and when it gets unmanageable in the gararge I'll move it outside.

Welders - My brother offered me the use of his Miller 212 MIG outfit which is great and I could cut corners and buy a spool gun for it but it wouldn't produce the best welds even if I was a class A welder. I also had to consider what would happen if I was all set up to weld and he suddenly needed it back. There were too many potential obstacles.

In reviewing the study plans, I found that there were good/better/best material solutions. Since this is a long term project, I'll be spreading the cost over a couple of years and using only the best materials.

This is where the Welding methods change. The only way to weld all of these materials with one machine and produce the strongest possible welds is to use GTAW (aka TIG or Heli-Arc (with helium)).

One of the other big advantages with TIG is the smaller torch sizes that will allow me to get into tight places. The disadvantage is that it's slow and difficult.

Again, this is a long term project. I have a boat and I'm not selling it to fund this project so I can take my time and practice, practice, practice.

With that said, the first major tool purchase has been made. On Craigslist, I found a Lincoln 225 Precision TIG with both air and water cooled torch setups. This is the complete setup but did not come with at a gas bottle. The price was $2000.00 and the unit is in "like new" condition. The original owner had only one complaint and that was that it didn't HF start (Auto Start) without touching the tungsten to the material. When I got it home I found this was just a simple adjustment and I was able to correct it.

I also bought a 150cu ft gas cylinder and had it filled with 100% Argon. That was another $332.00.

I ran a couple of 10ga legs over to an new 50 amp receptacle in the the shop. I used 10/3 wire so I would also have a neutral for lighting. 10/3 is rated at 30 amps continuous load so this will give me a max safe current of 60 amps total. This is a temporary setup and I intend on running 6 ga with an isolation relay in the next week or so.

Another thing I did was to evaluate my shop setup. I decided it needed re-oranization so I took everything out of it and stacked it in the garage. The central piece is the welder and welding table and everthing else has to work with them.

Grinders, vices, drill press, air compressor, etc all needed to be moved so that the work can flow through the shop and materials can be handled without bumping up against walls, etc.

I ended up opening the doorway up to 76" and reframing it. For some reason there was a full 4x6 header already in the wall so I just had to reframe it. I also started painting the walls flat white primer. The shop reorg is in progress now and I should have it completed by the weekend so I can go fishing.

I think, at this point, you can start to see what I am learning. Building your own boat from scratch takes a lot of fore thought. I'm positive there will be things that I've missed but I think I've resloved the "Show Stoppers".

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Glen-L 21' Canyon Cruiser - Aluminum

Have a good look at what Kevin did here http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=363271

 

[sschefer]

Re: Glen-L 21' Canyon Cruiser - Aluminum

Have a good look at what Kevin did here http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=363271

Thanks for the link. Kevin's left some good posts on the Glen-L forum as well.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Glen-L 21' Canyon Cruiser - Aluminum

I would consider his skills extremely high and polished

 

[sschefer]

Re: Glen-L 21' Canyon Cruiser - Aluminum

Ordered the plans today. I went back and forth a few times over two different plan sets. The other was the Glen-L snake shooter which is a boat that can be built from 18' to 21' but I finally settled on the Canyon Cruiser and it's added luxuries.

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ITEM# DESCRIPTION QTY TOTAL
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61-010A Canyon Cruiser Aluminum Plans & Pattern1 $209.00

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SUB TOTAL: $209.00
TAX: $17.24
SHIPPING: $8.23 UPS GROUND - NO P.O. BOXES
ORDER TOTAL: $234.47

I had a small suprise with the new welder. When running in A/C mode, my doorbells in the main house buzz and the automatic sprinklers in the yard come on. The sprinklers I can turn off but the doorbell is another thing. I'll do a little grounding work this weekend and see if I can clear that up.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: Glen-L 21' Canyon Cruiser - Aluminum

Nice project SS, it's good that you can take your time with it.

Do the plans call for any rivets or is it all welded?

What are the plans for the powertrain?

 

[sschefer]

Re: Glen-L 21' Canyon Cruiser - Aluminum

Nice project SS, it's good that you can take your time with it.

Do the plans call for any rivets or is it all welded?

What are the plans for the powertrain?

The plans are for all welded construction.

The power train is undecided at the moment. I had initially thought BB Ford and Jet but I now realize that the smog laws that are in effect the day I register it will be what really determines the available power plant options. It can handle up to 1100 lbs of power plant.

Gas Turbine would be interesting

 

[coolguy147]

Re: Glen-L 21' Canyon Cruiser - Aluminum

a rotary engine haha

 

[jonesg]

Re: Glen-L 21' Canyon Cruiser - Aluminum

You might as well build 2 as long as you're at it.
I'm willing to pay for the electricity.

Where do you get the materials for that, I imagine it would have to be delivered by truck. Or does it come on a roll.
Hope you document the project.

 

[sschefer]

Re: Glen-L 21' Canyon Cruiser - Aluminum

a rotary engine haha

Nah,that's been done. The Wankels just don't hold up.

 

[sschefer]

Re: Glen-L 21' Canyon Cruiser - Aluminum

You might as well build 2 as long as you're at it.
I'm willing to pay for the electricity.

Where do you get the materials for that, I imagine it would have to be delivered by truck. Or does it come on a roll.
Hope you document the project.

If I had the room I would build you one.. Got $70,000.00. That's what a new North River goes for all decked out. If my math is close I can get this one done for about 35,000.00.

As far a materials, I found a local metal distributor that can get me everything I need and deliver it. It was a major concern about transporting it and all the freight involved. He can include it on one of his regular orders so that's how we get around that. He delivers free on orders over 500.00 and it's pretty easy to get that number.

As soon as I get the plans and take off the materials I'll give him my list. We're going to play the market and try to buy when the prices are best.

Plan, Plan, Plan, that's the name of this game.

 

[jonesg]

Re: Glen-L 21' Canyon Cruiser - Aluminum

I have my own inversion tig set up.
That should knock $29K off the cost right?

 

[sschefer]

Re: Glen-L 21' Canyon Cruiser - Aluminum

I have my own inversion tig set up.
That should knock $29K off the cost right?

My cost estimate does include a welder . I almost bought a Miller Dynasty 200DX Inverter but the Lincoln 225 came along and was too good a deal to pass up. I would have gone Inverter had this one not popped up. I'll probably spend as much in the end the way this 225 sucks the juice.

 

[sprintst]

Re: Glen-L 21' Canyon Cruiser - Aluminum

This is going to be a real cool one to follow.

You'll be an alum welding guru when you're done.

 

[sschefer]

Re: Glen-L 21' Canyon Cruiser - Aluminum

This is going to be a real cool one to follow.

You'll be an alum welding guru when you're done.

You betcha, I just pulled off a good one.. I was gonna throw out this old lawn furniture I had but I found this rod that would let you weld Aluminum to steel. I welded EMT to Aluminum tubing.. I screwed one up really bad but then got the hang of it. Sort of like welding tin foil... LOL... Too funny. I don't know how well it will hold up, my brother hasn't been over yet.

 

[sschefer]

Re: Glen-L 21' Canyon Cruiser - Aluminum

Harbor Freight was having a moving sale so I decided to stop in and found a great little 3" bench grinder and a 6" cutt-off saw.

Both these items are for the welder. The 2% Lanthinated tungstens need to be cut with a cut-off saw and you need to have a dedicated grinder for sharpening tungsten. I tried them out and they work great. I think the total bill was about 50-60 bucks.

These were out of budget right now but in this case the savings justified the expense. That's my story and I'm stickin to it..

 

[sschefer]

Re: Glen-L 21' Canyon Cruiser - Aluminum

Plans arrived today. I've read the instructions and reviewed the plans and I'm ready to start buying the lumber for the form. I'll first take of the materials then go to the lumber yard and get the wood. I'll sticker the wood in the garage and let it dry until the moisture level is acceptable. This prevents warpage after assembly and is critical for keeping the form true during the construction. This isn't in the instructions but I do have a background in cabinet making so it's something I bringing over from that.

The plans make it pretty clear that construction doesn't begin until you know exactly where the engine and jet pump will sit and how they will mount. The first two aft frame positions are adjusted accordingly and the first frame may need to be slightly altered in shape.

The keel gets laid into the frames and welded so it's pretty clear that I've got to get the pump and motor in house to be absolutely sure where they will sit in relation to the bottom of the boat, transom and frames.

I could use a plasma cutter later but it would make a mess in the boat and I really don't want to do that.

The engine I have choosen is a US Engines 7.4L, 400 hp Chevy. The 8.1L has more torque but is also 3,000.00 more. I can get the 7.4 for about 2700.00 plus a 200.00 core charge and shipping. This is a long block so I will be visiting CP Performance a lot. They,re conviently just down the road from me.. Dang it...

The pump will be the Hamilton HJ212 or 213 I am trying to find a source for them now and will be calling their office tomorrow. I've looked at the Jacuzzi's and the Berkely's and have decided that the Hamilton is a better pump for my application.

You're probably wondering why I can't just get the specs on the pump and engine and install from those?

The reason is that I have to plan ahead and if for some reason Hamilton decides to drop that pump and produces another pump that doesn't fit my boat I'd be looking at a lot of mods and difficult welding situations. If I get the pump and engine now, I eliminate that risk. I did the research and found that this has happened before.

So there you are... we're about to start on this beast.