My Kiribati 36 MK2 – Build & Cost Tracking of a DIY ‘Bluewater’ Aluminium Monohull Yacht (Part 1) | Build Plans

Foreword

Welcome to my Kiribati 36 DIY build journey. A 36′ Aluminium ‘Bluewater’ sailboat with twin rudders and a retractable keel. After completing a global circumnavigation on two wheels (See: Blog | YouTube) I now set my sights on doing the same by water. My hope is that the build, cost tracking and lessons learned will aid aspiring boat builders in their own quest. Please know the following:

• I have no affiliation with the company selling the boat plans, in other words, my words are my own. I am however affiliated with Google AdWords in the hope that any revenue made will assist towards completion of this project.
• In the event of me deviating from the original build plans, adding my own parts, or amending parts then this is highlighted in the articles with ‘** Note‘.
• An up-to-date parts/article Index (including total expenditure) can be found: HERE
• Feel free to ask question via this blog, YouTube comments, or email: kiribati36 @ modularhippo.com – My aim is to respond to all questions within 24 hours.

Cost To Date: £0->£1,847.91 | $0->$2,127.44

Index

Why Build?

I grew up around water and for as long as I can remember I have dreamt of sailing of in to the sunset. For years I was trying to figure out if to buy a boat, or to build. Buying and renovating a second hand boat made perfect sense from a financial point of view, as well as getting on the water fast. Saying that, it was the building side of things that made me exited so against all advise I decided to build. I guess you build a boat because you want to build a boat and that is about it. For anyone that gets more excited about the actual sailing I would probably, after my research, advise on buying second hand and renovating.

Why Aluminium?

I actually started of buying the plans for a composite 41′ Catamaran, a beautiful ‘Bluewater’ boat that I am sure would have been able to take me to most of the corners of the globe. During build I had the chance to step onboard to an aluminium hulled boat when on holiday in Asia and quickly realized that aluminium was the material for me. With such a big project your heart need to be in it to a 100%, and as my heart was no longer in composite materials the plans were stored away for years to come. April 2022 I decided that it was now or never and started to browse the web for suitable designs.

Why Kiribati 36?

After countless days of crawling the web for a suitable design I came across a photo that caught my attention. Not only was the boat in the picture made out of aluminium, my chosen material, but also set in an environment that represent the kind of freedom and adventure that I am so desperately looking for. The designer Luis at B&G Yacht Design has kindly given me permission to use this exact photos:

For me the design ticked the following boxes, all equally important to me:

• Low draft due to retractable keel allowing anchoring in places where larger boats would not dream of going.
• Be able to beach the boat for maintenance if needs be, the retractable keel, supporting twin rudders and rugged design checked that box.
• Aluminium, allowing me to sail in higher latitudes without easily risking breaching the Hull as well as having a hull strong enough to not breach when hitting a storage container (as a few of them floating around).
• Less maintenance (above waterline painting) then a glass fibre clad hull due to marine grade Aluminium creating it’s own protective surface.
• A size large enough for ‘Bluewater’ sailing, but without breaking the bank.

My Build Plan

As I have no Welding/Machining experience at the point of starting to build (nor machinery or a space large enough to actually build the hull in) I decided to start with all none-hull parts (extrusions/Keel/Rudder etc.) so when I come to build the hull they can all be fitted rapidly, minimizing the cost of renting building space. Outsource the welding of ‘visible’ parts where aesthetics and strength is of importance, and machining where industrial equipment would be more suitable for the job (rudder stocks as an example). These are my planed steps of the build:

• Tiller Mechanical Steering Structure (all machined & welded parts).
• Rudder Stocks, bearings (sleeves) and actual rudder blades.
• Keel Skeleton/Blade.
• Keel Ballast (moulds and casting).
• Purchase a lathe and learn how to operate lathe.
• All remaining parts/extrusions that need lathing – Retractable Keel Mechanical Parts, Cleats etc.
• Purchase a tube bending tool and learn how to operate it.
• Create Pushpit, Pulpit, Mast Pulpits, Stanchions and Aft Step that covers the rudder mechanics.
• Purchase welding equipment and learn how to weld.
• Assemble & weld Bulk Heads.
• Stock all final material.
• Acquire build site for final welding and assembly of hull and extrusions.
• Assembly/Weld of complete hull and all Extrusions.

Cost Tracking

Total Cost Chronological Order:

Article Breakdown Categories (when applicable):

• Parts/Material – Any raw material that I needed, or any ready made parts.
• External Labour – External help with machining, milling or welding.
• Tools & Misc. – Cost related to project, but not part of physical boat itself.
• Category Breakdown – Cost Tracking per Category in GBP|USD|AUD|%.

Lesson Learned

It is a bit early in the project to find lessons learned, but one thing that springs to mind is the value of personal contact with the designer, or someone close to the design that can give you advise when needed. So far B&G Yacht Design has gone above and beyond in answering any questions I have so would happily recommend them to anyone interested in a similar project.

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