bob oram catamaran kits

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What is it Going to COST to BUILD a Kit CATAMARAN? – A Comprehensive Guide (MJ Sailing)

The big question on everyone’s mind is … what is it going to COST us to build this new catamaran?

Matt has spent the past few weeks talking to the designers at Schionning and Oram, as well as professional and ameture builders to gather as much information as possible on the costs that go into building a kit catamaran. Things can obviously vary from builder to builder, but taking a simple and basic approach, we’ve narrowed down the numbers on what we estimate it will cost to build an Oram 45R.

To take a look at the full design specs, take a look here: https://www.boboramdesign.com/45r

For a quick look at the numbers, check our website: https://www.mjsailing.com/cos/oram-45r…

For a download of the spreadsheet, click here: https://www.mjsailing.com/wp-content/u…

After discussing previous builds with the many others who’ve come before us, we found out there is one small thing that can skyrocket a budget – and that is making customizations after you’ve started the build. But, if you start with good plans and commit yourself to them, it is very feesable to stick to your original budget.

Sending the above spreadsheet to both designers and builders, and asking if they were realistic figures, they all came back stating that we’ve covered all aspects and should be able to complete the project within the budget we have listed. And that, is music to our ears!!

Since this is a very long video because we have tried to keep it as detailed as possible, here is an outline of subjects covered if you’d like to bounce through to the areas that interest you:

0:00:00 – Intro by Jessica 0:03:50 – Intro by Matt 0:15:32 – Intro To Budget 0:16:30 – Costs relating to Kit 0:21:45 – Total cost of Kit shipped to the US 0:24:23 – Costs relating to Building Supplies 0:32:10 – Total costs of Building Supplies 0:32:53 – Total cost of First Year of Build (getting to paint stage) 0:35:41 – Costs relating to Paint 0:39:05 – Costs relating to Sailing (rig, sails and deck hardware) 0:45:17 – Total costs of Sailing 45:38 – Costs relating to Engines 0:50:42 – Costs relating to Steering 0:52:32 – Costs relating to Electrical System 1:00:50 – Total costs of Electrical System 1:01:07 – Costs relating to Achor (anchor, chain/rope, windlass, docking gear) 1:04:05 – Costs relating to Lights 1:07:17 – Costs relating to Galley 1:12:07 – Costs relating to Exterior 1:16:53 – Costs relating to Interior 1:17:45 – Costs relating to Heads 1:19:12 – Costs relating to Electronics 1:22:20 – TOTAL COST OF BUILD 1:26:40 – Closing by Jessica

Much love from England! Jessica, Matt & Georgie

9 Responses

Hey again M&J

Just watched you cost vid, pretty much covered it all. Awesome. I had another thought for you on the kit, ask Bob (Oram) or Jeff (Schionning) if shipping is mandatory with their kits. What I mean is, both use west system epoxy mostly although our kit also included atl kinetics resin for under waterline wetout, nevertheless you may be able to source that (and the various powder additives) locally rather than pay international shipping on it, same goes with double bias and uni glass, which leaves the composite panels. I have heard that designers may sell you the rights (single use) to the CNC files but it very much depends on if they know and trust the composite panel makers. If they do there may be a company similar to ATL in the US to make you the panels. Just a thought based solely on the absurdity of West being made in the US, shipped to Australia only to be shipped back.

Great to hear from you! *anyone reading this- Paul built a beautiful Schionning cat and did the best documentation I’ve seen of the process at Yikes.com.au

Funny, the first suggestion I received from Oram was to get my epoxy in the US. Not only is it cheaper, but apparently Epoxy is a hazardous material and just the mess of importing it is best to be avoided. But we’ll probably source the fiberglass straight from ATL.  In the US it’s more difficult than it should be to get the designer’s suggested cloth weave and weight. Our common weights are just different enough to cause some problems that I don’t want to have to reengineer for.

I did a cursory budget for building the panels myself, but unless my supplier’s bulk pricing was way too high, the ATL price vs infusing my own panels were surprisingly close – and it was even closer getting them from Schionning’s South African manufacturer. Buying 200 sheets of Divinycell still didn’t get me into the price point to make it worthwhile 🙂 But adding the savings along with not needing shipping and import does get to the point that we’d essentially be paying ourselves a fair wage to infuse them, but I keep thinking that all it takes is one bad hull length infusion and we’d be at a large loss. It would give us continuous panels without need joints, but the South African panels are 40′ long and only need one seam now… so hardly a big benefit there either. That debate still rages on 🙂

Get out there and use that awesome boat! I can’t believe it’s been sitting on the mooring for so long without you guys at least using it as a power boat.

Hey Matt, As I suspected there’s not much you don’t already know or scoped out. I hear you regarding infusion. I did a bit of research into the kss Kelsall process but in the end decided I perhaps don’t have quite enough skill or attention to detail to be confident in my ability to infuse a 40ft panel, the last thing you want is delamination. But the “out of a mold” with paint already on sure is attractive, if I was ever to build again, anything that reduces fairing is worth it’s weight in beer in my opinion. And yes, all going well we intend using Yikes later this year, if only around our home port but I have to get the ammenities and comfort up to spec to get Jo on board. Loved the Thai charter adventure vids. Cheers Paul

Great video. Thanks for compiling all this together. It’s compelling enough that I’m seriously considering actually going for it.

Couple of questions: 1. I’m trying to scout the building locations. I live in an apt so no access to a big backyard. I know you mentioned leasing a parking lot potentially .. do you have any pointers. Logistically that seems like a huge problem that I’m struggling to overcome given that leasing an industrial warehouse (if I can find one with the doors large enough) would be at least 20K per yer for the ~2000 sq feet I’d need. 2. Have you considered Spirited Designs (as in Sail Surf Roam). What is it that ultimately made you go the Oram route? Designs seem very similar between Schionning and Oram and even the layout seems similar. 3. Oram build hours estimate and the overall cost seems much lower than Schionning. Did you figure out why that is or am I misreading something.

Thanks in advance! Good luck with your new adventure!

Build location is something we’re still struggling with too. I’ve been limited to online searches and emailing agents (Craigslist is a good source) since we are still in the UK and unable to travel back to the US to personally scout out locations. But since we can build anywhere we want, we can pick the best climate for our build (epoxies have some environmental requirements) Where are you located?

It’s almost impossible to find a warehouse with large enough doors to get a cat out in one piece unless it’s an airplane hanger. The typical way most ‘home” builders do it is to remove the wall of the warehouse to pull the boat out… it’s not that hard or expensive to do on a steel building. You just have to find a landlord that is okay with you pulling off the siding/wall and taking a frame or two down for a few days.

The Spirited Designs is a great boat, but for us, it has a few minor traits that we are looking to avoid. Plus, the 38′ is smaller and the 48’ is bigger than we want… no happy medium is offered.

The ‘Cost’ video was just our breakdown for the Oram 45R… like the build video showed the Schionning. We haven’t decided on a design yet- the Oram, Schionning and Grainger are all still 100% in the running.

The Oram is a simpler boat to build. It has a single seam at the sheerline- Schionning is multiple panels that need to be taped and faired- and it doesn’t have the extra seam on deck (another set of panels less on the Oram), and even the cabin top has one less seam (and another panel set less). For better or worse, the stock interior plan is more basic on the Oram too. One simple thing that save a lot of time is the lack of secondary floor (sole) in the hulls. Down below you stand on the hull itself without an additional raised floor like on the other boats.

I haven’t seen Oram list a lower amount of time for the build than Schionning (Grainger does show higher hours). Bob’s site say 5500-7500 hours for the 45R, while Schionning’s site says 5,000 for the Arrow 1360 (design comparison PDF). Schionning shows cost as $260,000 AUD for the 1360 and Bob say’s from $205,500 AUD to $265,500+

And a final FYI- Grainger is doing some redesigns of the Raku- along with new pricing- and will have that information out in the next few days. From talking to Tony, it sounds like they are making a big push this year. Shoot him an email (graingerdesigns.net) and he’ll keep you in the loop with the new detail.

Matt Johnson MJSailing.com

Thanks for that response. I’m down in Miami. I like the year-round warmth for epoxy curing but not sure about the rain/humidity/hurricanes. I’m debating whether I should entrust someone like Ojigawan to build it in VA and just make the trips there as often as possible but that takes the fun/experience of building out of the equation, limits the learning, and last/not least raises the cost 🙂

I did get a quote for the Schionning Arrow 1360 out of Pantawee in Thailand — PM me if you’d like to know what that looks like. In my calculation it comes down to the hourly rate of about $29 which seems very high given that the generous wages in Thailand are about $5 per day.

Good to know about Grainger — will keep my eye out for those new designs.

Did you ask Julian at Current Marine in South Africa for a quote on the Schionning? They maybe a bit more competitive than the Thailand builder since they have so much experience with Schionning (they build the foam kits that Ojigawan uses). I think they also offer pretty good pricing on mast, hardware and all the other needed supplies in SA. Take a look at Current Marine’s CM45 too- it’s an awesome Schionning design.

Good tip. Will reach out to Julian.

By the way — made some progress with locations with some help from my realtor friend. You can find ~ 3k foot parking lots in the Miami area for about 1-1.5k per month. Not cheap but certainly an option. Typically they’re in the industrial areas which have some local laborers that can help with fairing, etc.

Another interesting data point is that some of the builders are estimating about 6500-7000 hours for the arrow 1360 build and trust that 5k hours gets you a very basic/rough boat.

BTW — did you see those new Graingers? pretty sweet! Apparently they have a promotion if you’re willing to purchase plans in the month of June — not sure the details.

The discount is 10% off for the month of June. If you talk to Grainger, tell him we sent you… we get a referral for each customer that acts as a discount for our kit 😉

We’ve found lots for around $500, but those are nowhere near populated areas like Miami. Besides the rain, humidity, heat and cold, one of my big fears with building in a lot is security. We can lock up to tools and supplies in the shipping container, but I’m really looking for a good fenced in area, but this has been a bit harder to find in our price range.

I think 7000 hours is a pretty accurate timeline for a novice builder. I’ve spoken to a guy that built a beautiful Arrow 1280s in 4,000 hours, but that seems to be exceptional and not at all average.

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Allura 60 Powercat

Many years of practical, boat-owning experience show in the construction of the allura 60 and in its finishing touches.

Unlike oft-compromised production catamarans, the Allura 60 is a custom build. Bob Oram designed the boat as a spacious fishing vessel for Allura Marine’s James McCullogh, but the same hulls and bridgedeck design could support cruising or reef-touring superstructure.

Oram specialises in designs that can be built using DuFLEX panels. These panels are cored with rigid end-grain balsa and laminated with epoxy resin, reinforced with multi-axial E-fibreglass. The boat design is translated by CAD/CAM programming into pre-cut panels that are then taped together.

Construction is done upright, inside female frames, so gravity aids panel alignment and bulkhead fitment. The glued and stitched structure is then laminated inside and outside.

Epoxy resin is expensive, as we all know, but that’s the material used in the hull and deck interior and exterior laminations. The aim is a brilliant finish, minimal maintenance and no threat of osmosis.

The finished boat has a sharper look to it than moulded craft and without the rippled effect on flat sections that’s common with sheet metal construction.

I was impressed with many of the Allura 60’s inclusions, starting with handrails that look similar to others, but the uprights mount over solid FRP spigots that protrude through the decks. There’s no chance of some awkward ‘fatty’ forcing the posts out of the deck.

The hulls are connected by bridge decking that has several inbuilt conduits, so the standard wiring is housed properly and subsequent wiring has somewhere to go.

The Maxwell HWC3500 windlass is way oversize and the anchor roller is located in a position that makes dropping and weighing safe, without any chance of scarring hull or deck surfaces. Goiot hatches and popup deck cleats are standard.

The flybridge access is by way of an interior circular staircase, not an external ladder and the staircase centre post serves double duty, being a cable conduit as well.

Both enginerooms have multi-panel covers. The panels are quick and easy to remove for accessing the most common jobs, and without disturbing bedding.   The steering station is centrally positioned in the flybridge, where the helmsman can see all four boat corners. Also, the skipper can swivel the chair and check how the anglers in the cockpit are going without leaving the steering station.

Naturally, there is a second cockpit steering station on the port side with duplicate engine and bowthruster controls. Hydraulic steering is standard.

The vast foredeck on the test boat was bare, other than for huge storage bins and a pair of bow seats, but the boys at Allura Marine can fit whatever is required. A spa? No problem.

BELOW DECKS The evaluation boat was arranged as an owner’s version, with a private head in the starboard hull, but the plan view of the standard configuration shows two double cabins and a for’ard single bunk in each hull, with walkthrough heads connecting them. Ten people can sleep in comfort and there’s ample room in the huge saloon for auxiliary sleeping space.

The saloon features a large, U-shaped galley with fiddled top, full-sized two-door fridge, oven and three-burner gas cooktop. The U-shaped dinette is set on a plinth, so that there’s a good view from the table. Seating eight isn’t a problem. The bedroom intrusions into the saloon space have been exploited as generous serving or storage surfaces.

The quality of the headlinings, window frames and interior furniture on the test boat was very high, but the laminated surface in the galley was dimpled and the upholstered panels that hid the batteries of LED cabin mood lights had the look of afterthought about them. There was still some wiring work to be done in the cabins, so these minor blemishes could no doubt be easily rectified.

ON THE WATER The Allura Marine 60’s twin 375hp John Deere engines burst into life with a low rumble, but very little vibration was evident at idle, even when cold. There was a touch of white smoke, but we put that down to the fact that the engines were new and still lubed with running-in oil.

The big cat powered away from the jetty with a touch of starboard-hull bowthruster to pull the boat clear. Thereafter, manoeuvring her was easily done by playing the engine/transmission levers. The ZF transmission features hydraulic multi-plate clutches that operate in ‘slip’ mode through initial travel, so low-speed regulation was done in the boxes rather than by the engine injectors.

It was interesting to see the boat’s speed increase as the levers were pushed forward gradually while the engines’ speed didn’t change. After the boxes moved from slip to no-slip mode, lever movement started to increase engine revs.

Taking a 7.1m-beam cat through the Coomera River channels is no mean feat, but the Allura 60 could be steered easily trough the twists, turns and tight bends of the River. The easiest method was to use the autopilot ‘helm’ knob, rather than the larger, stainless steel wheel, so the possibility of over-steering was eliminated. In sections where early morning mist obscured some of the channel markers and cardinal marks, the Furuno radar system, linked to the chartplotter screen, allowed the helmsman to keep the boat on the optimum course.

Once clear of the six-knot zone the Allura 60 was given its head. The engines responded with a pleasant growl, tinged with a faint turbo whine and the big cat accelerated to 20kts in very short order. At WOT, boat speed was a GPS SOG of 27kts and engine speed 2400rpm. Wake was minimal for a loaded vessel that tipped the scales at 16 tonnes, but the biggest surprise was a total lack of bow spray on the decks.

At three-quarter throttle, boat speed was 21kts at 2000rpm and the fuel flow meters showed consumption at 40lt/h per engine. At half-throttle, boat speed was 15kts and consumption dropped to only 22lt/h per engine.

We punched through the Southport Seaway swells and were surprised again: the big cat rose to the incoming short swells and we braced for the expected slam on descent, but there wasn’t any. The boat crested each swell and landed softly on the other side without any sudden deceleration. The slim, fine-entry hulls obviously hid a surprising amount of forward buoyancy.

We steered inshore to check out the big boat in some short chop and put it through head-on, across-wave and broadside wave action. Those on the chase boat expected some dramatic feedback from the Allura 60 crew, but at a later discussion the crew said there was no indication of what looked dramatic from the outside.

Through all this action the decks stayed dry and there was almost no spray on the large windscreens. With 20kts showing on the GPS, I headed up to the bow seats and had a close look at the bow waves. They sprayed upwards, as you’d expect, but then curled over and downwards. How was this possible, I asked James McCulloch.

“Bob Oram employed a definite shelf chine to cut down spray, but when we built the boat, I took the concept a stage further and it works perfectly,” said McCulloch, who put the boat through some tight manoeuvres that I didn’t expect a broad, 60-foot cat to handle, but the big boat proved eminently ‘chuckable’.

One of the main vocations for the Allura 60 is charter fishing and McCulloch demonstrated how easily it could be backed up, without shipping half the Tasman on the stern hull extensions. Incidentally, these are designed for fish handling and cleaning, so are deliberately stepped down, close to the waterline, and have large storage compartments.

The Allura 60 is a lot of boat for the money, with deck and interior space that compares with a much longer, more expensive monohull. It’s also much cheaper to operate than a big battewagon, so it should have appeal for charterboat operators. The Allura 60 would be happy passagemaking, cruising shallow waters and, of course, fishing.

WHAT WE LIKED - Effortless performance - Economical passagemaking - Flexible interior and superstructure layouts - Generous cabin space - Value for money - Safe flybridge access - Excellent skipper vision

NOT SO MUCH - Some fit and finish quirks

Specifications : Allura 60

PRICE AS TESTED Approx $2 million

OPTIONS FITTED Furuno Navnet VX2 Seamap NT Max navigation system with radar overlay; 3D MaxSea Program suite NAVpilot; LCD MU120c screen, open array 72nm radar; Furono DFrequency searchlight sonar, range 1200m; 3kW transducer sounder with integrated NEC Versa S32 laptop; Remote control fire system; bowthruster; Seabreeze marine air-conditioner; electric battery bridging system with remote switching; Jabsco spotlight; flybridge bar fridge; cockpit freezer; two Reelax gamefishing chairs; 250lt galley fridge/freezer; watermaker; 3kW inverter; and, LCD TV and stereo system.

GENERAL Material: DuFLEX panel construction w/ epoxy laminate Type: Catamaran Length overall: 16.7m Beam: 7.1m Draft: 1.6m

CAPACITIES Berths: 4 double cabins, 2 large singles Fuel: 2400lt Water: 800lt (plus 100lt/h watermaker) Holding tank: 320lt

ENGINE Make/model: 2 x John Deere 6081AFM75 Type: Diesel Displacement: 8.1lt Rated HP: 375 (each) Gearbox (Make/ratio): ZF 280-1A wet-multi-clutch; 1:1.769 trolling ratio Props: Four-blade Nibral CompuQuad

SUPPLIED BY Allura Marine, 17 Rival Lane, Coomera, Qld, 4209 Phone: 0407 371 133 Website: http://www.alluramarine.com.au/

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Bob Oram 60

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Bob Oram website - something looks awfully wrong here??

Discussion in ' Multihulls ' started by flagg , Oct 9, 2021 .

flagg Junior Member

I'm a big fan of Bob Oram and his designs. I dont have his number otherwise id call and check but this website just doesn't pass the pub test for me. Happy to be advised i'm wrong but looking at the list of designs (> 10 years out of date) the intent, text and the imagery - its just all wrong. boboramdesign.com.au 44c and other owners who post here regularly - can you confirm if this site is legit and if not perhaps let Bob know?  

Mr Efficiency Senior Member

He posted this here recently on the "offshore power proa" thread Sorry All, nothing to do with this thread, but I'm just letting people know that there is some scammer that has started a website that has the address Boboramdesign.com.au. This is a scam and absolutely nothing to do with me, it has zero legitimacy. Most will know I have retired. Please advise others. With regards to all. Bob Oram  

Back from the dead Bob Oram designed "Schools out" under repair

New Bob oram powercat launched

Bob Harris trimaran

Oram powercat nears launch.

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