Pelagic Boats 610 Island Cab - Build Thread

[HH565L]

A few weeks ago I dropped in to visit Daniel and crew at Pha Marine and Pelagic Boats.

Although I had taken factory tours with numerous fiberglass and pressed alloy boat manufacturers previously, this would be my first visit to a manufacturer of plate boats and custom aluminium trailers. I was therefore keen to catch up with Daniel, gain an insight in to how he operates and have a look at some of his quality work.

A couple of external shots





Whilst chatting, discussions moved to a new/custom boat Daniel had been contacted to build for a Victorian client. This would be called a 610 Island Cab and was a completely new design for Pelagic Boats. General specs of the 610 Island Cab are as follows:

Configuration: Island Cab / Walk around
Hull Length: 6.1m
Length Overall: 6.5m
Water Line Length: 5.0m
Beam: 2.5m
Power: 175hp Mercury Verado

As I haven't posted any build threads for plate alloy boats on these forums, I asked Daniel if he would allow me to do so, and permission was granted.

Computer assisted design & 3 dimensional modelling

Before any construction work could commence on the boat, it was important that both Daniel and the client were on the same page with regards to design. A naval architect was engaged knock up a 3 dimensional model of the boat. This provided an accurate profile of the boat and gave the client the opportunity to view and review the design.

Once the 3 dimensional model is uploaded to a dedicated software package, the weight of the boat, its performance whilst underway and at rest and a several other factors can be viewed and analysed. This enables the whole design to be taken in to consideration (and tweaked if necessary) before any cutting and welding take place.









With all now satisfied, the project moves to construction phase.

Hull shape, internal frames & stringers

The following pics show the hull shape form and all the frames/bulkheads in place. Also shown are the 6mm keel and the 6mm stringers being put in to position. The hull sheets are 5mm.

[HH565L]

Chines, hull sides & inner transom wall

Once all the stringers are in place, the chines are tacked into position.



The 2 hull side sheets and 6mm transom plate are then fitted.







Here you can see the keel running up the full height on the transom. This keel runs the full length of the boat. It is constructed from a single piece of aluminium and is fully welded on both sides. As this is a structural point, there are a total of 5 full length welds just in the keel section alone.



Underfloor conduits and transom

A pair of underfloor conduits are installed and construction of the transom begins.

[HH565L]

Floor stringers

Daniel and crew then move their attention to the floor stringers.









At this stage only half of the sub floor welding is completed.

Transom

In the meantime however, focus shifts back to the transom. Here it is being boxed out and nearing completion.





An access way has been added to the inner transom wall.





Fuel tank

The following is a pic of the fuel tank that will be going into this particular boat. It is constructed from 4mm 5083 plate and will hold 210 litres of fuel.

Daniel and crew weld the inside of the tank before the lid goes on then tig weld the out side. Once the tank is completed, it is pressure tested to 150psi.



A couple of pics which that show the boat taking shape, before it is turned over for all the underside welding and finishing.



Bow sprit

Bow sprit tacked in to position.



More pics will be posted in due course ie as the boat progresses towards completion.

[gofishin]

Some interesting pics in that lot, thanks for posting! Like the twin PVC cable/loom tubes too!

....Once the tank is completed, it is pressure tested to 150psi....

Maybe a typo here though, at that pressure a fuel tank would go bang! more like 3 - 5 psi is normal. 15psi would be exceptionally high.
Cheers
Brendon

[PB]

Some interesting pics in that lot, thanks for posting! Like the twin PVC cable/loom tubes too!

Maybe a typo here though, at that pressure a fuel tank would go bang! more like 3 - 5 psi is normal. 15psi would be exceptionally high.
Cheers
Brendon

Hi Mate, It should read 150Kpa

[HH565L]

My apology for the typo guys. As stated above it should have read 150kpa, which translates to approx 21.7psi.

[HH565L]

External welding

As previously mentioned, the boat was turned up side down to enable Daniel and crew to commence work on some of the external welding.







Forward floor, ring deck and island cab

Once satisfied with the progress made there, it was turned upright again. Attention turns to the underfloor internal welds, raised forward floor, installation of the ring deck and fabrication of the island cab.

It’s fair to say the Pelagic 610 Island Cab is progressing at good speed and shaping up very nicely. Daniel and crew certainly don’t muck about.

The following series of pics pretty much speak for themselves, so there’s no need for any further running commentary from me at this stage.




























Back with more soon.

[Jarrah Jack]

Howdy Spiro.. Just been spending a bit of time in my mates new platey which he built himself so I can appreciate the work that has gone into the project. They make a strong boat by the look of it and doesn't suffer in comparison to some boats show in recent threads.

Will it fit an X winch by any chance?

[Fed]

I want to know how they get from an IKEA flatpack of two hull sheets and a bunch of frames to the welded hull in the first build picture?

I mean, where the hell would you start???
I've got a vision of 20 blokes all holding on to a bit while a manic welder jumps all over it.

Frames->sheets->stringers up the bum, so different from frames->stringers->sheets.

A couple of questions HH, why don't they weld the side sheets to the frames and I notice these plate boats don't seem to have a bow stem?

I'm not saying it's wrong, I guess they know what they're doing just curious.

I like the boxed up transom, how does it drain and is there any structure inside it to strengthen it & also stop it crushing.

I guess you've seen the Noble thread, it used to be plate boats = bullet proof but now a little black cloud has gone over them.

Great thread HH, keep taking plenty of pictures.

[Rodpal]

[QUOTE=Fed;1386006]I want to know how they get from an IKEA flatpack of two hull sheets and a bunch of frames to the welded hull in the first build picture?

I mean, where the hell would you start???
I've got a vision of 20 blokes all holding on to a bit while a manic welder jumps all over it.

Looks like they slide in from the transom before fully welding out then following the contour of the bow like contour lines on a map

Love the shear lines, great lookin boat man, nice build thread

cheers
Rod

[PB]

I want to know how they get from an IKEA flatpack of two hull sheets and a bunch of frames to the welded hull in the first build picture?

I mean, where the hell would you start???
I've got a vision of 20 blokes all holding on to a bit while a manic welder jumps all over it.

Frames->sheets->stringers up the bum, so different from frames->stringers->sheets.

A couple of questions HH, why don't they weld the side sheets to the frames and I notice these plate boats don't seem to have a bow stem?

I'm not saying it's wrong, I guess they know what they're doing just curious.

I like the boxed up transom, how does it drain and is there any structure inside it to strengthen it & also stop it crushing.

I guess you've seen the Noble thread, it used to be plate boats = bullet proof but now a little black cloud has gone over them.

Great thread HH, keep taking plenty of pictures.

Hi Fed,

Firstly these boats are no IKEA Flatpack we spend a great deal of time designing our boats to make them the one of the best built boats in Australia.
As this is a one off build it’s not worth building a jig for one boat and building it the conventional way. As they only take up room in the workshop & yard when not in use. So we build the boat upright. We have a few little in house secrets to get the hull exactly spot on level and straight. It’s a little more time consuming building it this way as you are always having to check and double check everything at each frame. But it works very well for us building one off boats this way. We start at the stern and work our way forward forming the hull shape as we move forward. and as mention above the stringers and inserted from the stern before the transom goes in. there is a SHS section inside the boxed transom that runs the full height to stop bolt crushing and everything is drained through mouse holes at the transom.

Regards PB

Regards PB

[Fed]

No malice in the ikea jibe PB just having a bit of fun.
Actually my father bought an ikea flatpack from Hartley nearly 50 years ago and it was an excellent way to get a head start on building a ply boat.
The kit came with all the frames & bow stem and was very well made, sure saved a lot of time.

I can imagine getting it all square & straight would be quite an exercise.

Is there any theory behind not welding the side sheets to the frames or is it just not needed?

[PB]

No offense taken mate. Its mainly cosmetic and its also not really needed if the boat was going into survey we would do it. as we don't use any bog what so every on our boats, not welding the frames to the side sheets allows us to keep the sides dead straight, When you weld the the frames to the sides they tend to suck in quite a bit and needs to filled with bog. we get the strength required when the sole (floor) is fully welded in place.

As for getting everything square we have got it down pat and we do use a couple of little jigs to help get it exactly right. the first couple of build pics only take us a couple of hours and everyone that sees us do it are blown away when they see it done, but where pretty selective on who we let see it.

Cheers PB

[HH565L]

Thanks for responding to all the questions PB. Saves me a bit of work

Hi Terry, hope all is well mate.

Yep, it's pretty clear Daniel and crew build a very solid boat.

No plans to fit an X-Winch in this one, at least at this stage. Having said that, the anchor well in Pelagic Boats are designed to accommodate an X-Winch of appropriate size.

Might post some pics of a Pelagic X-Winch install in another thread down the track.

Regards,
Spiro

[fisho8]

Awsome stuff I love these threads going to be a very nice looking rig when it is done. I am definatly going to look into to doing this thanks for putting this up HH looking forward to seeing the finished product.

PB do you have set pricing for this type of boat. I do know the price will vary with engine choice trailer and electronic's but roughly what does something like this start at turn key if you do not mind me asking.