FINISHED AT LAST!BRAND NEW PLANS AVAILABLE NOW! 

The Dolphin 25 Fisher has finally been finished after a couple of up and down years in its

 production! Basically it was constructed in between frenetic bouts of work, overseas

trips, cruising the Whitsundays, illness and several location moves! But finally it’s ready!

 However, one could possible conceive it as delayed pleasure, I suppose! The D25 as

 it’s known was originally designed to be one of the largest, if not the largest stitch

 and glue project boat in Australia. ( whether or not that is actually true I know not

 until someone else claims differently!) The idea came about when I had completed

 a Dolphin 19 Yawl and got to thinking, “ There’s not an earthly reason why you

 couldn’t continue to create frameless stitch and glue boats as big as you want to?

Why doesn’t anyone else do it?”As far as I am concerned that question still hasn’t

 been answered and next year’s project will be an extension of the D25 into a

proper grown up 35 foot stitch and glue frameless boat that could either be made

as either a yacht or a power boat until late into the construction. It will have

 optional swing keel or bilge keels or if power only a long straight keel. Some of the

 readers of this magazine are aware that I built the ‘Nicky J Miller” as a frameless

 yacht but she was actually built out of strip planking. (visit

www.dolphinboatplans.com and follow the links to “The Nicky J.” She has seen

 ( and survived! ) some fearful seas and has performed faultlessly over the last six

 years. So any sceptics should rest assured that it isn’t just a ‘flash in the pan!”

  The ongoing wonders of epoxy! 

However, I digress, back to the D25. Several design  changes were made

during the initial construction. The boat was turning out to be much

 larger than I had perceived it in my mind’s eye and I realised that we

 could get the boat strong enough for a really big outboard if people

 wanted one, if we made a few changes to the pod and the transom.

In fact the D25 is fitted with a 90 h.p. Yamaha outboard and It can take any thing

 up to a 120 hp motor. The pod has a large amount of positive buoyancy and keeps

 the stern up nicely giving a few benefits along the way. These include, heaps of

 room inside, clear space out on deck for fishing diving gear and passengers. The

 outboard is quieter of course, being so far aft and the pod’s buoyancy helps the

 boat stay level when a big handful of power is applied and, more importantly she

 rides the big stern wave nicely when power is reduced suddenly. Another exciting

 innovation with the D25 is that she is absolutely stuffed with around two and a

 half  ‘flotation’ tonnes of the amazing new Thermotec buoyancy foam. Considering

 that the boat itself only weighs around a tonne, dare I think it, let alone say it,

 that the D25 that I have built  is unsinkable…well, I’ll let you draw your own

 conclusions!The Thermotec foam is the latest in hi-tech buoyancy foam and it is a

 boatbuilder’s and surveyor’s dream come true! It is so easy to install, it’s not true.

 My foam came in two metre by one metre by 15 centimetre black  sheets but it

 comes in evry conceivable shape, square and round.I simply cut it up with a sharp

knife and squeezed it into place and glued it with builder’s glue! You cannot believe

 how simple that is. The technology is the brainchild of Theremotec the people that

bought us the pool noodles except this foam is high density especially for positive

 flotation.. The buoyancy factor for the foam is 910kg buoyancy per cubic metre.

 Therefore one sheet 50mm x 1000mm x 2000mm would have a buoyancy factor of

91kg No more brainwhirling calculations, two part mixing or building special

compartments or sticky mixing, measuring and pouring  and running away from

 the fumes! Just slice and glue!This great foam has the honour of being accepted as

 suitable for the first commercial registration and a Lewis ski-boat has the honour

 of being the first Australian boat to be registered commercially using this foam

. The ski-boat underwent very rigorous  swamp tests, being totally flooded and

stayed level and floating with six large adult men standing upright in it !The added

 bonus is that this foam is closed cell, fuel proof, chemical proof and fire

 retardant…doesn’t get much better than that! When I saw the photos of their test I

 decided on the spot to do the extra work to accommodate the foam and although

 the boat was delayed it has been very much worth it for peace of mind. The D25

 has been designed for the very maximum utilisation for divers and fishermen

 especially. The huge rear deck allows up to six fishermen to have room to fish

 a’plenty. The lowered transom allows the fish to be landed and dealt with on the

 rear platform that covers the pod.  The cabin allows a large double bed or twin

singles to be chosen and can be changed on the spot. There is a special station

 outside for cooking and contains a portable camping gas stove alleviating the need

 for the dreaded gas certificate and a sink. Under this is storage a’plenty and the

 same goes for inside where there is a large cupboard space, room for a porta –potty

or permanent sea toilet inside a shower compartment. This boat is easily live

 aboard for a couple for weeks on end.. One customer who has purchased the plans

 intends to live on his permanently, his own dream come true, fishing and cruising

 for life! Incidentally there is six foot two inches standing headroom in the

 cabin. CONSTRUCTION The basic construction is from epoxy composite ply,

 epoxy resin and cotech 450 gram woven cloth. When the ply sheets are presoaked

 before glassing the longevity is remarkable. A D25 built from this construction can

 expect to be around in twenty years id maintained as should be, as should any

 boat built this way, for that matter. The boat has been like all Dolphins that have

 preceded it, to be built from the simplest of plans that have completely dispensed

with lofting !

 Lofting is the bane of all boatbuilders  and after one has fought with

 billowing paper plans that flap,  rip, tear and soak plus driving you

 batty, the simply ‘Easy-build’ process is a joy to use. An X/Y graph is

 drawn onto one side of the floor and hull sides treated plywood, using a

 felt tip marker, dots made where the given dimensions on the plans

 intersect and  then using a bendy batten the dots are joined up and the

 shapes of the floor and sides are done!

All that remains is to cut ‘em out using a jig saw.When that side is done you simply

 lay those shapes over the second side, draw the shape and then cut out again! So

 quick! One great thing is that you can pre-soak, glass and fair the sides and floors

 before construction saving a huge and difficult uphill job of fairing when God and

 gravity isn’t on your side!..the time savings are significant and the whole hull and

 floors should only only take about a week before fitting them together. 

As to the cost overall it is really quite inexpensive compared to a ‘shop

 bought’. If labour is NOT taken into account ( if you are doing it

 yourself, that is!) and NO rented premises are used and the price of the

 motor is NOT included it should be possible to build the basic boat for

 around six thousand dollars. For a 25 foot by nine foot six beam boat

 that is not dear at all ( actually with the pod it is 27feet six inches

 L.O.A.)….Compare the price of ANY 25 footer new or secondhand, you

 wont get near it . In fact there is a tidy profit to be made building a D25

 if you so wish.

However, if it is to be a commercial venture I am willing to grant a licence for any

 interested parties should that be the case…contact details below! The plans are

 available on CD rom ( you get the plans printed out at your local copy shop and

 the are two sheets of AO size paper ( about a metre square each) and that’s all you

 need . The full set of instructions book consisting seventy pages can be printed

 out as desired but isn’t necessary. AS a bonus over 200 colour photographs of the

 D25 build are included on the CD showing every stage of construction from start

 to finish and the price?? Well originally, I had envisaged a tag of around three

 hundred dollars for the plans ( I even quoted a few enquirers, remember?? ) but

 after all is said and done I have always been proud of bringing my boat plans to

 the readers of AABB very cheaply ( a great mag, eh?) so I am selling them initially

 for FIFTY FIVE DOLLARS ONLY !! as an introductory offer. You get a CD with full

 instructions ( seventy five pages) and a complete range of build photos, over 200 in

 all…..A bargain? You bet! I’m not really sure how long I will keep them at this price

 so go to www.dolphinboatplans.com and there will be a free download study plan

 and more info there, just follow the links.Any other enquiries please email

arcus1@bigpond.com or telephone mobile  061414347874 ( Australia ) I can answer

 you queries.Happy boating as always!Terry Buddell, Dolphin Boat Plans.  

FIVE GOOD REASONS WHY TO BUILD YOUR OWN BOAT!

 Just like to thank all those people who contacted me after visiting my site where the  full details of the newly built Dolphin 25 Fisher has been placed. As  few of you know The D25 is the latest in the line of the Dolphin range of frameless boats that were originally designed around ten years ago in Australia.

As  boatbuilder I had always thought that the bothersome task of lofting out a boat from complicated plans and frames was a real chore..by the time the framework was finished you really had enough of the whole damned thing. I wanted another way and promised myself that I would find a different way to easily and quickly construct a boat that would meet all the criteria needed for modern accepted marine practise.

I sat and thought about it and realised that frames were not needed and to prove a point built a forty two foot yacht out of epoxy composite construction that was totally frameless and I  have in fact lived on  lived on for over seven years. Unbelievably she cost a little over fifty thousand Aussie dollars to build and that included a new engine! She’s no show pony either and we have crashed through some serious four and five meter seas together over the last few years so the idea really does work!

( you can actually see photos of the yacht at the site if you wish)

The first in line was the twelve foot Dolphin dinghy made from four sheets of ply and woven glass mat and epoxy composite, which rapidly evolved into the Sixteen foot Dolphin sailing boat. Then came the sweet twin masted Dolphin 19ft Yawl and now finally the Dolphin 25 Fisher.  Over three hundred of these boats alone have been built around the World.

So what is the Fisher 25? Living in Australia where just about everyman and his dog are nuts about fishing it seems crazy to me that an average fifteen foot tinny or aluminium open dinghy now retails for between six and twenty thousand dollars! I reasoned that a larger boat could be built for much less and even a handsome profit could be made! There is also the great satisfaction of knowing you did it yourself.

I set about designing the Dolphin 25 that a man could build alone in his shed or porch awning that would be strong, safe, unsinkable take six people fishing in comfort and inexpensive to build using the latest in Hi tech materials.

 I settled for Bi-axial glass mat and epoxy composite timber construction using the latest in epoxy bonded plywood coated on glass. Using the pre-soaking method of preparing the ply before building is part of the Easy-build method which has now been in practice for over ten years!

Another of the criteria is a boat that you can sleep on in comfort, cook and washup, with ashower and toilet area too….In fact extended stays are possible with this boat

The result is the Dolphin D25 which has recently been finished and now awaits the first launch! They say a picture tells a story and so it should! You can see for yourself

At the dolphin website and follow the links to the Dolphin 25 photo pages.

Dolphin, boatplans, epoxy composite construction, Sailing boatplans, Fishing boat plans

Terry B here,

Just wanted to introduce myself onto my new blog page that will be about Weissenborn slide guitars and how to build them, play them and even but the plans and a new book I just wrote called ‘How to build a Weissenborn slide guitar”

Well, what is a slide guitar exactly? Basically it’s an amazing type of guitar that you play across your lap ( exactly like Ben Harper or Jeff Lang) It is different in shape to a normal guitar because it has a hollow neck that goes all the way up into the headstock of the guitar. This gives it the amazing cool rich tones that seem to swirl aroung inside the guitar giving it a sound that literally puts the hairs up in the back of you neck! You play it not with steel or glass tube held in your left hand and this gives the guitar a cool, whiny, ethereal sound that is rich ,full and totally captivating.

It is almost hypnotic to listen to and anyone who has ever heard one of these guitars always wants to hear more! When I first heard a Weissenborn played by my guitar hero, jeff Lang, one of the world’s best weissy players, my life changed on the spot… I had to have one! The only trouble was, as I later found out that a Weissy will set you back between $1800 dollars to three or even four grand! Ouch!

After a few weeks deliberation I took the plunge and decided that if I could not afford one I would build one instead! Now this I thought must be a major undertaking ( but was happily proved wrong later!) I did some research and eventually decided that I could do it…Well, its only timber after all..If I stuffed it up I could buy more and maybe not make the same mistakes!!! I ordered the timber ( Australian Maple, a close cousin of Koa wood traditionally used for Weissenborns)and a week or so later the boc of timber, machine heads, all the gear I needed arrived!

Eight weeks later, I strung up my brand newly built guitar, tuned it tentatively to open D chord DADF#BD and played ny first chord! WoW!!!! It had happened…the rest of the day I spent just playing ,playing and even more playing! I had done it after twenty years of thinking about it!

In fact I was so pleased I decided there and then that I would write a book about how to build a slide guitar for people who had little resources, no shed and fancy wood working tools ( I built mine in the cabin of my boat!) draw up the plan of my new design ( much deeper than most) and build a website where I could tell people about Weissenborn guiatrs and find loads of tips about how to learn about these amazing guitars! I have evengot lots of articles about the secrets of how and why they sound like they do and nuch more, soundclips and so on!

If you are interested in looking at a simple, easy to do way of building your first Weissenborn guitar, why not visit www.buildaweissenborn.com right now?

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