BUILD TIME ACCURACY OF WHARRAM PLANS

[Kristen Ringman]

Hi everyone!  My husband and I are looking into building a Narai Mrk IV and I've been trying to come up with an accurate estimate of build time based on some people's recommendations that the 2500-3000 hours MIGHT become as much as 6000 hours by the end.  This is for people who have built ANY of the Wharrams --- can you let me know your end build times in comparison to the estimates given by the Wharram plans?  How accurate have these estimated hours been for YOU?

Thanks in advance!

[paul anderson]

Kristen,there are so many variables to consider;

a good work space to build the boat.

weather,rain,humidity and cold can cause delays.

discipline,to put the long hours in required,day after day.

how pretty you want the boat to be.

decent tools and a system of work.

adequate funds to allow you to build continuously.

local availability of timber/plywood/epoxy

any modifications/customizing will add heaps of hours,believe me.

how much help you can get from others at times.

But like the estimates of the cost of the build,amount of epoxy needed for the job, i feel wharrams estimates are optimistic imho.

but others have built boats in record time,although they seemed to have a lot of offsiders.

cheers paul.

[Rogerio Martin]

Tiki 30 900/1000 h in estimate

TikiRio +- 1500 h and we still have one more month 

Two people, without experience 4 hours a day, monday to saturday. 

[Kristen Ringman]

Thank you Paul and Rogerio!  I have totally been thinking of all the variables but I guess what I am doing is more of a statistics test on whether the build hours estimated are accurate and how accurate they are.  Rogerio - are you counting your hours based on one person working at a time - so that if there are 2 people working a total of 24 hours a week - do you count 24 hours towards the total or 48 hours?  I was thinking of counting for each person, so I might consider that 48 hours each week but would love to know how others figure that stuff.  

[wakataitea]

we ( my wife and me) build our tiki 46 in 2 years and 6 month and we made a lot of changes. last 8 month of the building time is full-time. before we worked every weekend full and  during the week 2-3 hours after work.

- having the money to build the boat makes it much more easy .

- read and study the plans carefully before starting building.

- don't chance the plans

- use only quality tools

- set up a proper work space

... and don't spend to much time in the internet.... invest the time in your boat building project.

then you will get there in time...

 building is fun

 cheers hans

[Rogerio Martin]

I count 28 hours a week(4h day 8h sat), two people together, just now in final of build I can count more hours per person, Have one knowledge curve, is fast for ones, for another...

Kristen Ringman said:

Thank you Paul and Rogerio!  I have totally been thinking of all the variables but I guess what I am doing is more of a statistics test on whether the build hours estimated are accurate and how accurate they are.  Rogerio - are you counting your hours based on one person working at a time - so that if there are 2 people working a total of 24 hours a week - do you count 24 hours towards the total or 48 hours?  I was thinking of counting for each person, so I might consider that 48 hours each week but would love to know how others figure that stuff.  

[Galway Bay]

I have built a pahi 31 and several other smaller craft. I would feel confident of building a narai in a year with one helper approx 3000h - but it would not be my first build.  BUT it would be 2x outboards water in cans etc...

If you want diesel inboard  pressurised water etc I think you will have to add all this time to the estimate.

As has been said on this forum recently it seems to be the smallest things that take soooooo long.

Building is quick - It's the finishing that takes forever.

        The real comment I wanted to make was on sailing / cruising plans. All the people I see who successfully completed a build were highly motivated to GO SAILING. "I want to build a boat" is enough motivation to start a build but only sailing plans provide the motivation to stick with it in the second half of the build. Without "I want to be in the Bahamas for NEXT winter" the build has no built-in deadline and the project is in danger of becoming  another example of what I was taught in engineering [and see everyday] - work expands to fill the time available for it's completion..

Just one man's opinion as we say but if you look at the profiles of the members on this site who are out there doing it or genuinely close to finishing their build I think you will see some justification for my remarks.

So make Sailing as well as Building plans..

NARAI is a fine classic perhaps THE classic Wharram it would be super to see another one built. I wish you all the best.

[Ann and Neville Clement]

Galway Bay speaks my mind.  Especially important is the focus on actually sailing, the avoidance of a fussy finish, and a time limited build.  In practice, the simpler the systems are, the easier they are to live with "out there" in the places you want to cruise.  Ann and Nev

[wakataitea]

Galway Bay... thanks for this... you are so right... i totally forgot about this... the fact that you keep in mind to go sailing when you are building a boat.... it is so "of course" that i did not think of mention it...

we  did not much social when we where build our boat. we spend all the time and all the money we had. we lifted in a crappy shet on a dirty boatyard. surrounded everyday from rusty boats, unfinished projects, dreamers and desaters...

from the first day we wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.  WE HAD ALL THE TIME THE PICTURE IN OUR HEAT THAT WE WILL GO DOWN SOON THIS SLIPWAY INTO THE OCEAN... GOOD BYE BOATYARD...

from the first day, people will watch you. some support you  many others talk behind you back; "look  another boat project for ever and a marriage breaking down..."  all this kind of crap.

 you are very right. if you look closer to al profiles on this page you see how different they are. i call them THE DREAMER and the DO'ER...

some people really enjoy building (we did it too) but after all the years building, they forgot why they started it.

i resonantly publish a lot pictures which show US living and sailing. i guess some members here ask them self why does he post all this "holiday" non building pictures. i did this to rmind my builder friends why they do it. what is coming after it.... THE BIG PART OF HAVE A WHARRAM AND HOPEFULLY THIS ONE TAKES MUCH MORE OF OUR TIME... A LIFETIME SAILING...

Kristen, keep focus. "more bigger the boat, bigger the dream has to be... a narai is a beautyfull boat which needs a big dream in our mind" .

check this guys....http://www.rishomaru.com/

and  the wharram.com page with all the nice stories from WHARRAM SAILORS.

all the best

 hans

[andy solywoda]

Ahoy Kristen,

     Probably the building time is accurate for two people working together to build the basic boat.  There was a study once that concluded that two people working together produce as much as 3 individuals working alone.  The items that greatly prolong the build are electric and electronics, plumbing, and fancy interior cabinetry.  Any modifications that are new and innovative will cause Mr. Murphy and the trial and error process to take over.

     This week I've spent one day putting in a 2 ft piece of conduit and today managed to install a terminal block.

[Ann and Neville Clement]

Absolutely right, Andy!

[Kristen Ringman]

Thanks, Galway Bay, Andy, and everyone else!  I am realizing that the Wharram build time estimate if considered for 2 people working side by side sounds more accurate and it really makes me rethink our build in some ways.  Ideally, I would want to be side by side working with my husband Rob, but we have a 1 year old baby right now, so a lot of our hours will end up being one at a time and I am concerned about the time this will add to the project and the time it will take away from our baby.  We do wish to circumnavigate when he is seven or eight, which gives us time to build and sail up and down the east coast for a while first, but a part of me is definitely still thinking of buying a used boat to get us SAILING and on the water faster.  I want my child growing up on the water, not on land continuously separated from one parent at all times...=/  

[Lee Dilkes]

You could do the sensible thing and buy one!!!!!?

Most Wharrams, Sadly, sell for around the cost of the materials to build one. Self built ones that is.

Ours is nearly ready for the beams to stand the mast on so the sail maker can measure for sails.

YIIPPEEEEEE!!!

Oh and in regards build time at least double it is what I'm finding.