Boat building – the Flying Saucer #1

I’m an excited man.

I received the plans from Glen-L Marine yesterday for my next boat – a 12′ 3″ runabout called a Flying Saucer. The plans, let alone the boat, are a thing of beauty. It’s all printed on blueprint paper, so there’s a warning attached to not expose the plans to extended sunlight or they will fade, and not to get the plans wet, or they will run.

The boat was designed by Glen L Witt in, I’m guessing, the 1960’s. It will, when finished, seat up to four people – perfect for my family of two adults and two kids.

It consists of two cockpits – the rear seats the driver and one passenger, and the forward one two more. Powered by up to a 25 hp motor I’m expecting good things.

I have no idea when I will start. But as the project is likely to take a year at least to build I’m learning to be patient. I suspect that I’ll buy materials in a piecemeal fashion and work slowly and methodically through the plans.

This will be my second boat – the first was the Minimax which was essentially two pieces of plywood separated by 7″ of pine. The Flying Saucer on the other hand is a ‘proper’ boat. It has ribs and a much deeper hull and I’ll have the option of cladding the deck with either ply or mahogany planks. I suspect this will be entirely dependent on my budget at that point.

It’s also going to require a trailer, unlike the Minimax which is small enough to strap to the roof of the car.

So wish me luck. Keep checking back to see progress.

In the meantime here are a few pictures of other Flying Saucers so you can get a sense of where I’m going to end up.

The Flying Saucer from Glen-L Marine
The Flying Saucer from Glen-L Marine
Line drawing of the Flying Saucer
Line drawing of the Flying Saucer

4 thoughts on “Boat building – the Flying Saucer #1”

  1. hello skinny.

    I just bought the same plans, still waiting for them When I will start I do not know yet. let me know when you start.

    Grtz

    Roger

  2. Hi Roger
    Good to know there’s someone else out there doing the same boat. I probably won’t start til well into the new year. Might be moving house so I need a garage where I can bolt the building frame to the floor.
    Where are you? In the US? We could compare progress!
    Thanks for visiting.
    Cheers
    Skinny

Comments are closed.