Octogenarian builds Hartley -- One Man's Boat

You can buy a boat or you can build one yourself. Bob Foster, 82, adheres to the latter school of thought. He will tell you he’s no shipwright or professional boat builder, but wants it known that, even with severe arthritis and a missing thumb after a 4WD winching accident, you can build your own glorious boat.

In fact, the former Flotilla Commander of the Birkenhead Point branch of the Coast Guard (now Marine Rescue) has just built his third timber boat. It is within the freshly varnished cockpit of Kareelah III, just the day after it was launched last month (February 2013) that he is extolling the virtues of home-built boats.

In 1953, his dad acquired an unfinished 27-foot hull with a six-cylinder Chrysler engine. Foster, his brother and father all lent a hand to this new, exciting project. The resulting boat was a source of untold adventure and overnight sleeps from the backblocks of Middle Harbour in Sydney to Store Beach, before the appearance of those no-anchoring buoys, he laments.

With an engrained love of boating, Foster turned his hand to making his first boat in 1962. It was a 14-footer, a Len Hedges design. He bought the plans, built the boat and added a 40hp Johnson outboard. It went pretty well.

By 1970, he was going bigger and built a 17-foot Hartley Superstyle, but with his own cabin design. "I have a thing about cabins," proffers Foster. The boat had a Hamilton two-stage jet and it skidded quite excitedly in the turns. Suffice to say, his wife and daughter didn’t much like it. So he repowered with a Volvo engine with sterndrive. The family gave it the nod, as did the many admirers of its varnished ash decks.

This time, Foster bought the plans (costing about $90) for the Flareline 20, a medium-vee cabin boat that can be powered with anything from 50-300hp in inboard or outboard configuration. The boat is also trailerable.

"Then I went to buy a three-cylinder engine. They asked what boat I was putting it into. I showed them the plans and ended up with a 35hp four-cylinder Beta," Foster says, lifting the engine box proudly, adding that Beta Marine at Taren Point were just great.

"That was the greatest surprise, the waterline was perfect," says the self-taught boat builder.

Under the water, the running surface gained a deadwood keel for stability and ease of slipping. But being hard chine, the Hartley is a very stable boat at rest, a fact that influenced Foster’s purchase of the plans. His wanted a stable boat for the family foremost.

He didn’t add a galley but does have a sink in that area inside the cabin, while a head and holding tank were added to the WC compartment. With a vee berth that becomes a double with infill, the half-cabin Hartley will make an excellent weekender on Sydney Harbour.

Arthritis and a missing thumb were added challenges to Foster’s backyard boatbuilding ambitions. But once you start you can’t stop, he says, adding that the boat probably owes him about $35,000 because he “blew the budget.” But what would it be worth, he asks? You’d have to pay $70,000.

The marine-ply hull is Dynel sheathed and features plantation mahogany frames, hoop pine stringers and spotted gum hardwood for the gunwales. The cabin supports are maple.

"People say I couldn’t do that. I ask them: have you tried to build a boat? Their reply is: no. Then how do you know? I tell them. My advice is don’t put it off," Foster says, looking out across Sydney Harbour.

Specifications

Cost: Plans $90 plus postage, total cost materials for above boat about $35,000

Model: Flareline 20
Length: 19'5" (5.92m) flared-bow cabin boat, with options to extend hull to 20' 6in as above
Beam 7'10". 
Draught: hull 13" (inboard version 2'3")
Capacity: Seats 8 adults/ sleeps 4 adults
Inboard engine version: From 50hp to 300hp; 10hp direct drive gives 10mph or 13mph with 2:1 reduction; 100hp direct drive gives 24mph or 27mph at 1.5:1 reduction; 200hp direct drive gives 40mph
Outboard engine version: Engines up to 150hp; 10hp gives 10mph; 40hp gives 21mph; twin 40hp gives 32mph; 50hp gives 25mph. (Note: Inboard-outdrive units (sterndrives) give slightly better performance.)
Construction: Marine plywood or as a mould for grp/frp
Plans: See www.hartley-boats.com