DaveH6
Bluejacket boats
This is the Bluejacket 24 designed by Tom Lathrop. The pictured craft is Tom's boat " Liz" which is berthed in Oriental, NC.
Besides meeting my ideal of what a proper powerboat should look like, Tom has blended together a remarkable combination of performance and economy in boat design. The hull design allows the boat to plane at around 9 knots. When going on or coming off plane, the boat stays relatively flat thus avoids a pronounced bow raising and a stern wallowing in the seaway. With a 50 hp four stroke outboard, the BJ 24 can obtain about 24 knots max speed in calm water. Running at 14 knots she gets about 8 mpg depending on sea state.
Around 2003, I purchased plans for the BJ 24. In 2006 I designed a three car garage for my home outside of Austin, TX and included a bay that is 14' wide by 12' high and 30' deep to build and house the Bluejacket 24. I had this bay's concrete slab poured level. After completing the garage, I discovered Tom's BJ 25.5 and ordered a plan upgrade. Tom also offers BJ 27, 271 and 28' designs.
The BJ 25.5 has the additional 1.5 feet in the pilot house area thus has a dinette table which converts to an additional berth. I plan on using at least a 60 hp outboard engine.
My BJ 25.5 will be kept in the garage and launched at our waterfront community's excellent boat ramp on Lake Travis. But will the garage be long enough to house the longer boat? This could prove to be a very big "duh" moment. I have aspirations of trailering my Bluejacket thoughout our nation with Lake Powell and the Tennessee River being preferred locations.
My thanks to Ed Fredholm who is building a BJ 27 fifty minutes from my build site in the Austin, TX area. He has been my mentor and a master at researching materials and product sources. Ed's photo postings have been invaluable to me. Hopefully my photos and narratives will be beneficial to aspiring and on-going Bluejacket builders.
And finally, a great deal of gratitude goes to Tom Lathrop for his brilliant design. When I started the build, I assumed that I would make improvements to Tom's design to meet my unique needs or make marginal improvements in function based on my 40 years of boating experience . To date, I have only added a twig here and there. I accept the reality that Tom is the master and I'm the student. I will cherish all that I will have learned upon completion of my Bluejacket.
bluejacketboats.com/. Is the designer's site.
Bluejacket boats
This is the Bluejacket 24 designed by Tom Lathrop. The pictured craft is Tom's boat " Liz" which is berthed in Oriental, NC.
Besides meeting my ideal of what a proper powerboat should look like, Tom has blended together a remarkable combination of performance and economy in boat design. The hull design allows the boat to plane at around 9 knots. When going on or coming off plane, the boat stays relatively flat thus avoids a pronounced bow raising and a stern wallowing in the seaway. With a 50 hp four stroke outboard, the BJ 24 can obtain about 24 knots max speed in calm water. Running at 14 knots she gets about 8 mpg depending on sea state.
Around 2003, I purchased plans for the BJ 24. In 2006 I designed a three car garage for my home outside of Austin, TX and included a bay that is 14' wide by 12' high and 30' deep to build and house the Bluejacket 24. I had this bay's concrete slab poured level. After completing the garage, I discovered Tom's BJ 25.5 and ordered a plan upgrade. Tom also offers BJ 27, 271 and 28' designs.
The BJ 25.5 has the additional 1.5 feet in the pilot house area thus has a dinette table which converts to an additional berth. I plan on using at least a 60 hp outboard engine.
My BJ 25.5 will be kept in the garage and launched at our waterfront community's excellent boat ramp on Lake Travis. But will the garage be long enough to house the longer boat? This could prove to be a very big "duh" moment. I have aspirations of trailering my Bluejacket thoughout our nation with Lake Powell and the Tennessee River being preferred locations.
My thanks to Ed Fredholm who is building a BJ 27 fifty minutes from my build site in the Austin, TX area. He has been my mentor and a master at researching materials and product sources. Ed's photo postings have been invaluable to me. Hopefully my photos and narratives will be beneficial to aspiring and on-going Bluejacket builders.
And finally, a great deal of gratitude goes to Tom Lathrop for his brilliant design. When I started the build, I assumed that I would make improvements to Tom's design to meet my unique needs or make marginal improvements in function based on my 40 years of boating experience . To date, I have only added a twig here and there. I accept the reality that Tom is the master and I'm the student. I will cherish all that I will have learned upon completion of my Bluejacket.
bluejacketboats.com/. Is the designer's site.