Why build when you can buy?

I want to build my own boat, even though there are several arguments for not building, like on this website.  What counts are the reasons for building your boat. Do you just want to save money, or are you interested in the building process. 

I have a great job. Although I’m away from home for several days in a row, I’m also at home when others are at work and my children off to school. There is one disadvantage to my job however: When I drive home there’s nothing to show, only memories.

When I started flying model airplanes back in 1999, I discovered that I liked building them even more than the flying. It’s great to see the result of your work in a flyable gadget. Soon I started to design and build my own airplanes and after some time the desire arose to build my own boat, as I also like sailing very much. I own a Nacra 500

What kind of boat?

The wish to build led to a search on the internet. There’s a lot of information out there. To sort it out, it is important to define the requirements for your boat. For me that means a fast day sailer that I can sail solo and which I later can use for cruises of a few weeks. Also I want to be able to dry out. 

It can be tempting to look at boats that are bigger than you actually need. A bigger boat is more seakindly, has more space and is often faster. However, a boat that is 3 ft longer also is 1 ft wider, is heavier, needs bigger sails, bigger engine, winches etc, etc.. And is a lot more work. Maybe not so much in building, but fairing and finishing will take a lot more work. Also a bigger boat is more expensive. Therefore it is important to look for the smallest boat that can fulfill your wishes. 

At first I mainly looked at monohulls and arrived at the website of Dudley Dix. He developed a great building method for plywood-epoxy boats. 

Further search led me to schionning designs which had just released a new design: The  Radical Bay 1060 . The studyplan left a few questions about the interior, which I wanted to change anyway, so I decided to build a 1/6 scale model, based on the studyplans, of the starboard hull to check things out and develop a ‘feel’ for the size of the interior. 

After this I was almost ready to order the drawings. A visit to a Farrier builder and a testsail on an RB8000. (thanks Ian!) made me doubt. I liked the design of the RB1060 and I think it will be a great sailer. The open bridge deck and the sideward facing cabin entries lack protection against the unstable Dutch weather however. 

I researched the internet again, visited an F-32 and an F-82 and crewed on an F-31 in a race. At the same time a new design was brought out, the F-85SR. It's a bit smaller and an exact fit to the most important points on my wishlist!