How Much Does it Cost to Build? - Wharram Builders and Friends2024-03-29T09:50:52Zhttp://wharrambuilders.ning.com/forum/topics/how-much-does-it-cost-to-build?commentId=2195841%3AComment%3A130819&feed=yes&xn_auth=noBuilding a boat costs TIME an…tag:wharrambuilders.ning.com,2015-06-25:2195841:Comment:1318952015-06-25T03:32:13.565ZAnn and Neville Clementhttp://wharrambuilders.ning.com/profile/AnnandNevilleClement922
<p>Building a boat costs TIME and that is too often forgotten when tallying up the costs. It took Nev and I three and a half years of our lives over a five year period to build Peace IV and those years were spent working very hard, worrying about the financial costs which were open ended because we were paying rent for the building shed and later for the land where we assembled and finished the boat. During the boat building years, Nev was in pain due to his severe allergic reaction to the…</p>
<p>Building a boat costs TIME and that is too often forgotten when tallying up the costs. It took Nev and I three and a half years of our lives over a five year period to build Peace IV and those years were spent working very hard, worrying about the financial costs which were open ended because we were paying rent for the building shed and later for the land where we assembled and finished the boat. During the boat building years, Nev was in pain due to his severe allergic reaction to the epoxy. While we were building, we had no time for socializing, no money to go out with friends, and too often there was no energy to even make love at the end of the day. We were exhausted most of the time and working as fast as we could so we could get back to living on the ocean again.</p>
<p>Nev just needed to build a big catamaran and sail across the ocean. His life would not have been complete unless he did that so I agreed to the plan even though Wharrams had not yet finished the plans for the Tiki 46. We worked with them to develop parts of the boat as we went along and that was interesting and we surely respected their ability, but for five years, we did not sail at all. We worked instead.</p>
<p>Nev became allergic to the epoxy and the medication they gave him made him disagreeable and his pain made him short tempered too. My back ached and after sanding and lifting and holding sheets of ply and mixing glue and making miles and miles of fillets all day, I came back to the canal barge where we were living and made supper while Nev figured out what more supplies we needed to continue working without any interruption. I figured late at night ways to afford the timber bills and the shed rent and later the yard rent where we assembled the boat. </p>
<p>But finally we finished the building and our friends helped us launch the boat and I watched her come alive when she first floated free in the waters of Bristol Floating Harbour over in Britain. In a few weeks we were sailing south and it was autumn and we would not have to face another dark northern winter. The sun set all golden to starboard and the moon rose up silver to port and a pair of dolphin were in silhouette to complete the romantic picture. Back on the sea our love for one another was renewed along with our love of the boat which cut through the water with the most delightful sounds! Gurgling at slower speeds and hissing as she speeded up and finally shhhhh above 12 knots. Our multihull sailing skills developed and those higher speeds gradually increased and became common. We learned she was safe in stormy weather and proved it by sitting pretty in a Force 10 offshore. After that, we had no worries at all.</p>
<p>The time lost to us during the building process was paid back when Peace brought us new friends, and she gave us new adventures which we could share with others because she was so big. Then she brought us nights lying out on deck with stars to dazzle us. There was lots of room to stretch out on deck with friends and talk all day and well into the night, listen to soft music, and just be together with the sea breathing softly while at anchor. I used to think of Peace as a big baby cradled in the arms of Mother Ocean rocking us gently through the night. </p>
<p>I envy whoever buys our boat because they will buy a finished boat, ready for the ocean, without going through the fear of maybe not being able to finish the boat building process. The new owner will just move on board and sail away. Just like that! I hope they will appreciate that we used the finest plywood available - marine grade Okume (Gaboon) ply and mast quality clear or better Douglass Fir. We did exactly our best work because we knew we had the ocean to cross. We set things up for blue water sailing and we were experienced sailors before we built our boat. We spent those years of our TIME building the boat as well as we could. TIME. As we grow older and older, time is finally seen as the precious thing it truly is. Time keeps ticking along and then it is gone. </p>
<p>Now we live on the land and walk down to the water each night to say good night to the river. My eyes go to the horizon and where I know the ocean is beyond the Outer Banks which I cannot even see from here. We sleep in our brick house which I do love, but it does not rock us to sleep. </p>
<p>Enjoy your years sailing free on the sea, my friends. The time is too short and you will too soon be left behind on the beach unable to go where the dolphins dance with the waves and the wind blows sweeping curves in the sails all brilliantly white in the morning sunlight. Enjoy the years of freedom and good health, and let the wind blow you to your lives of adventure and friendship among your brothers and sisters out on the wide waters.</p>
<p>Peace IV is for sale. Details on this website on our page. Or contact us svpeacefour@yahoo.com</p>
<p>Ann and Nev</p>