Neel's Palm Beach 22 build

[neel thompson]

I must be nuts!! I have been thinking about building another boat for some time now and I finally pulled the trigger. The boat is a 22' Palm Beach, designed by Nelson Zimmer around 1936. Zimmer and Hacker had many similar designs. It is 22' long, 6' beam, and seats four or five aft of the engine. So it is similar to the Genrtry in design, but longer and narrower. I got the plans last week and started to make frame/transom patterns. I will be posting my progress here and try to point out the good points and bad, comparing it to Glen-L plans. The plans come in pdf format and you have to take the files to a printer to have full size drawings printed. That is definitely an added expense. So they are much more expensive than Glen-L plans. The other negative is that there are absolutely no instructions or materials list with the plans. This would not be a good boat to be a "first build" project. All of the dimensions are there on the plans, but it takes a lot of searching to find things. Glen-L plans are so much easier to work with. The one plus about the PB 22 plans is that the pdf files can be converted easily to CAD for CNC cutting. My initial thought about the design is that it is unnecessarily beefier than Glen-L designs. For instance it has nine full frames and 9 intermittent frames that go chine to chine. Most of the frames use 7/8" or 1" solid lumber. The deck framing is similar, using mucho wood. So I will post a picture of my progress so far and a couple of what it may look like sometime...... Am I nuts ??

[Bill Edmundson]

Neel

You're nUTS But, we already knew that.

What are you thinking about for power?

Bill

[Roberta]

It's the glue!!!

Roberta

[Jimbob]

Wow! That is one fine looking boat! Reminds me of some of the pics I took at Lake Tahoe Boat Show.
Pics below
Jim

[BayouBengal]

Wait one damned minute You mean you sat around and exchanged pleasantries with a poker face for 4 days at the Gathering and didn't let on to any of this?

Great looking boat and no, you're not nuts. Anyone who builds boats as nice as your Gentry should be required by law to build at least one boat a year. Look forward to following your progress.

[neel thompson]

I think Roberta is on to something..... Not thinking too much about power yet Bill, but something around 350 HP should allow me to keep up with the Bartender, and maybe Butch !!

Thanks for the compliments Jeff and Jim.. I will shoot for 'Tahoe quality.. We'll see.

I did get the patterns made for frame 9. These plans have the frames numbered from the stem going aft. So number 9 is the last full frame before the transom. They also call the stringers "girders". Looking at the plans makes me think the transom is going to be a real joy to build....Looks very complicated. Gotta dust off the old thinking chair.

[kens]

Is that it in the pics?
already got it flipped??

[Ibrew2be]

Neel:
Best of luck with your build. I'll be following your story with great interest. As others have said, if anyone can pull this off with excellence, you certainly can.

Barry

[vupilot]

Wow Neel. This will be fun to watch! Great looking design.

[Bill Edmundson]

Neel

350 HP will have no problem keeping up with the Bartender, unless it gets really rough. You may chicken out before you catch Butch! I'm looking forward to this build

Bill

[slug]

Thanks for posting Neel. Will definitely be a classic show winner. I'm assuming epoxies will be the new casien (sp?) glue?

BTW; I added a 3/16 x 5" epoxy shim to the rear edge of the Gentry and got rid of the porpoising but also cut down on the top end a little. Maybe a little too much shim?

Doug

[PeterG]

This is going to be fun to follow. Will you be cold molding or using traditional batten-seam planking construction? The scantlings (thickness, depth of frame members, etc.) are based on the building methods of the day when this design was produced. Modern cold molding planking will be stiffer, more rugged using the as-designed structure. I highly recommend getting Don Danenberg's Runabout Restoration book if you are going with the traditional methods. He has improvements in the construction methods and materials that make the boats last much longer than a few years. And he has great descriptions on how to apply finishes and complete the interiors.

[Hercdrvr]

I love how Neal has colocated his building area with his comfort area.
Matt B

[neel thompson]

That's my "Man Cave" Matt.... Very handy space right next to my work shop...

Peter.. I will be cold molding with three layers on the hull sides as well as the bottom. First layer will be 1/4" Okoume , second will be 1/8" Okoume, and the third will be 1/4" African Mahogany planking. I am still not sure if I will use 1/8" or 1/4" for the second layer. The plans for this boat have been modernized over the years and the plans I have use materials slightly thicker than the Glen-L plans call for. I think I will be using 3/4" Mahogany for the main frames and 3/4" or 1" Okoume plywood for the intermittent frames as well as the deck frames. The deck has quite a large crown to it, so the waste, using Mahogany for deck frames, would be very costly. All frame parts, top, bottom, and sides will be coated with three coats of epoxy resin.

I will be posting some pictures later today of my progress with the patterns I will use to make the frame parts on the router table. I will also explain the steps I use to make these patterns and frames. It will seem elementary to many, but I think understanding the process may help those getting started in the boat building process.

Many thanks to everyone for your votes of confidence and encouragement. It feels good to be back at it !!

Neel

[Bill Edmundson]

Neel

Looking forward to this. To help others was Barry and my intent doing the Photo Essay of the Tahoe build. Many have noted that was helpful. I didn't know what the hell I was doing. Yours should be much better.

Bill