It's Finished

[oldgrowth]

For all practical purposes the first Marinaut since the prototype has been finished. Go Here to see the process and click on the top right photo then click the right arrows to scroll backwards through the build process or click the left arrows to start with the beginning and work forward. Either way there will be lots of photos of an awesome boat being built by a very talented group.





Dave
www.marinautboats.com

[c-ness]

Outstanding!!!

[JamesTXSD]

That is a beautiful boat! The pride of workmanship shows - kudos to the team, and congrats to the new owner.

Best wishes,
Jim B.

[DoryLvr]

I like it!

[hardee]

Oh boy, More "cute boat" and other assorted endearing comments coming up. 'cus it deserves it. Beautiful. Great work guys.

Harvey
SleepyC

[Les Lampman]

Whew! Back to the land of the living...I think.

Thanks for all the kinds words, they're much appreciated.

[chimoii]

I realise that my comments may be close to heresy if I don't write "Wow, wish I had one". Maybe because I am too new to C-Brats and C-Dory, don't have a relationship or any history with the builder of this boat I can be critical. Hopefully I can express a personal opinion.

Just looking at the pictures in the post I really like the look of the blue coloured hull. The finish looks good [though almost all boats look good when presented by the builder]. I do like the cleats. I don't like the overall lines.

I think the CD 22 or the Venture 23 flow better aesthetically. It seems to me that form has perhaps followed function a little too excessively. Maybe the quest for good headroom in the cabin gives me the impression that the roof line is a bit too high for the hull. Interesting to compare the height/length ratio on the boat. Maybe these photos give the wrong impression.

I really don't like the round window. The slope on the fore deck is undoubtedly to shed water fast, a la original dory design but in this case it comes across as a bit excessive. If I were looking for a boat and saw this at the boat show I may put it on the list of "possibles" but then for $61,000 plus [with a BF 115] I would want to do some comparisons and certainly go for a test ride and 'kick the tires' on a number of boats. In the end, I would go for the boat that forces me to make the least number of compromises [because there are always compromises]. Just based on looks, C-Dory would have the edge at the beginning.

The owner of this boat presumably 'did all the tire kicking' and this is the boat for him. That's perfect, and what really counts.

[thataway]

The boat does look very nice! I can see a lot of work--only 4 weeks from molded hull to finished boats? Most people take a year or two!

My question: Is the freeboard less than the C Dory? Or is this an illusion because of the high gold boot stripe?

There is certainly considerable rocker to the shear, and that also gives some illusions. As for the rounding of the cabin top and dog house--I can see that gives more head room without making it look boxy.

[Les Lampman]

Hey, being able to express one's opinion (in a sociable way) amongst others with similar interests is what C-Brats is all about.

I personally take no offense from your post whatsoever. There is no perfect boat and there never will be, and mostly because folks come to the table with their own notions of what's "good" and what's "bad".

Beauty is a very subjective thing. Of course the lines of the boat are the one thing we can't change without building new molds so it is what it is. Interior layout, colors, accessories, and just about everything else (including the round windows) can be changed, but not the basic fiberglass hull/cabin shape.

I think one gets a very different "feel" from the Marinaut in person rather than in photos. I don't know why that is but even I notice it from viewing the boat while photographing it to seeing the photo.

Part of it is a bit of an optical illusion that you see in photos but don't tend to see in person. There's a lot of the cabin/deck part above the rub rail. More typical is for the rub rail to be "just" under the side deck of the boat as it usually defines the sheer line. In the Marinaut there is still a lot of "side" showing above the rub rail, that in turn tends to make the hull look "squatty" or less tall than it is in reality (especially with a dark hull). In person the eye seems to focus more on the whole and not see it so distinctly. [Edit: I was typing this as Thataway was posting.]

The next M215 is going to have a light colored hull. We'll see how that looks comparatively. It would be interesting to see an all-white boat with just colored trim stripes...I'm a little afraid of that much white ( ) but it just might work.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I appreciated them.

Les

On Edit: There's also a "feature line" that's just just above the rub rail (it varies from about 2" wide at the bow to 3" wide at the stern). I think if that area (the 'stripe' formed between the top of the rub rail and the feature line) where colored (like say blue) and the hull done in all white (with maybe a blue trim stripe such as we're already using) that might really accentuate the real sheer line and make the boat look a bit more balanced. Guess I'm going to have to learn Photoshop!

[rogerbum]

Les, one thing I noticed is that in the photos with the canvas on, the ratio of the length of the cabin to the length of the cockpit looks bigger than with the canvas off or than it does in person. E.g. with the canvas on in the photos, the cockpit looks small relative to the cabin while in "real life" both have the same rough proportions of the CD22.

Personally, I think it's a nice looking boat though this particular color combination is not what I'd chose. I love the round windows and the raked front window - the latter being not only good aesthetics (IMHO) but functionally useful in the amount of space it provides for the electronics shelf w/o taking up much headroom.

[Les Lampman]

Hi Roger,

Actually it works that way on the CD22 as well. Whenever we did full camper canvas it made the cockpit (from the outside) look smaller.

The aft-most vertical line of the camper canvas tends to stop the eye whereas the hull really continues on for some distance. Without the camper canvas your eye naturally travels to the (mostly) vertical line of the transom.

Ah, colors! That's why we hand buyers a gel coat color chart, a striping color chart, and an upholstery sample card and tell them "it's all up to you". This is definitely an area of personal choice. In person (and in the water as I found out this morning) the colors of this M215 work better than they do in the photos.

Les

[dave]

One of the things I really don't like on my boat is the long distance from the grab rails on the top of the cabin to the bow rail. I don't have the arm span to reach one from the other. Not pleasant in rough weather to let go on the way forward. Lengthening the bow rail would add safety to going forward.

[starcrafttom]

I love the boat, but I love it as a whole and for what it can be and can do. As you know I sell homes to people. Some people look at a home from the out side and never want to go into it. Others look only at the inside. I have folks that look at a house and can not see past the furniture and wall colors. They can not see what the house would look like with different colors and their own furniture. I and others see the four walls and what we can do with them, move wall, change ceiling, add , subtract.

Its the same way with boats. Susan did not want the 27 because it was smelly and dirty from sitting. There was rot in a wall and water on the gas tanks. The hull was chipped and faded. the galley was useless. I saw all of these things merely as items to be fixed or replaced. Now she loves the boat.

I see this boat for what it can be and what I can use it for. I for one don't care for the round windows but Susan loves them. I care more about how the boat handles. How it cuts the chop and how it will fish. I drove dave's boat at Friday harbor and I drove it hard and fast. This hull handles better then a cd22 in a lot of ways. corners better, planes faster, cuts the chop better( the small stuff). Tracks very well as does a cd22.

I am not a fan of the smaller table and I feel less storage in the cabin but I love the bigger back deck and the hi sides. The enclosed splash well is really nice and just what I wanted to do to my cd22. The side tanks are a great idea and a vast improvement for allowing more storage room. But at the end of the day I would be hard press to choose between Dave's boat and a cape cruiser. I would not be looking at a cd22 over either boat, but that's just me. each of us has different taste and needs.

oh. I think the boat would look better if the color line was higher up on the shear line.

best thing about a ugly boat is that you can see it when you are using it

[Grumpy]

It looked pretty damn good out on the water this morning. Sorry we did not have time to come back to the yard and check it out properly but I'm sure you don't need anyone coming and chatting while you are in the last rush to the finish line.

Thanks once again to the #1 crew at EQ for managing to fit in our engine service and other work while tearing your hair out with the new baby. BTW I stole a couple of dozen of your tame yard spiders I'll bring them back when they are fatter.

Merv & Kathy

[20dauntless]