Hideaway is a 22′ trailerable, shanty boat, powered by a 6kW ION 6 electric outboard. Eight 100W solar panels on the cabin top help charge four 48v, 96Ah Dakota Lithium drive batteries.
Unlike shanty boats and houseboats that emphasize the “shanty” or “house” portion of the term in their design, Hideaway puts a strong emphasis on the “boat” part of the term. For example, she has real bow and stern cockpits that help the crew work the boat safely. In general, she is user friendly for nautical geezers and geezerettes who want to keep boating, as long as they can do so safely, easily, and with some degree of comfort.
She is “stitch-and-glue” constructed of 9mm (3/8”) Bruynzeel, BS 1088, Okoume plywood. Parts were cut with a CNC-cutter for accuracy, and to simplify construction. All exterior and interior plywood surfaces are covered with fiberglass.
Another aspect of emphasizing the “boat” part of shanty boat was to shape the bottom panel and the two bilge panels so the underwater shape of Hideaway has a “pointy” end, and a “flat” end. When she was upside down, the portion of the hull painted with black bottom paint clearly showed that the underwater portion of the hull has a “pointy” front.
More information on Hideaway will be presented Friday, September 6th, from 2:00 PM tp 2:45 PM, on the Innovation Stage. Topics will include design evolution in the dream/planning stage, designer choice, advantages of CAD design, using CNC cutting, building the boat, rolling the boat, and why an ION 6 electric outboard was chosen.