Welcome to our website of our boat projects and unique boating designs.

So where did the "QuietCraft" part of this come from?

When I first moved down here from Maryland, eighteen years ago, I thought that I might get out of the Photovoltaic Solar business (www.Photontek.com) and build replica 1890's river launches using old hulls from 20' fiberglass centerboard sailboats.

I had built a couple back up in Maryland and had a great time slowly cruising around the creeks, "quietly" using an electric trolling motor to power the boat.

However, a couple monkey-wrenches came my way and my plans.

First, it is very, very hot and humid in mid-Gulf sunny Florida in the summer. Not a good place to build boats, outside.

Second, we have "Love-Bugs" and not those cute old Volkswagon Beatles. Love-Bugs here fly all over the place in the late summer and "love" new epoxy and varnish. I probably have a million of them permenently imbedded in the single boat that I built here.

Third, we have wind, waves, currents and tides here that a small electric trolling motor just can't keep up with. I had to install a 9 HP outboard gas motor to make the boat practical. Not "quiet" anymore.

And, Fourth, (there are probably a hundred or so more but I'll end this part of the discussion right here), the pretty varnished woodwork is and was appreciated by everyone who took a look at this first (and only), QuietCraft boat. BUT, highly varinshed woodwork in the high UV content sunlight here either requires constant upkeep, or a cover that encloses the entire boat just to keep the sunlight off of the nice classic finish.

So, I made just the one boat (but take a look at our "Petunia II" below since I could not resist building just one more!), sold it to a good home and went back to my nice inside air conditioned "job" of PV Solar Consulting.

That's the story of "QuietCraft" and why this website has that name. It's a great place to chat about my boats of the past and the present.

Hope you enjoy the pictures and descriptions...






Here are the boats featured on this site:



"BABE" is now for sale (as of 10-1-22).


$239,000.00

Located in Bradenton, FL. Many, many Updates to our boat.
See the Specifications, History and the July, 2022 Haul-Out links for the extensive list of upgrades and background on my C-28 boat.

Details & Specs:
2019 “Fluid Motion” Cutwater C-28
Luxury Edition
ID#: B201903277265
Hull #: US-FML C 2824A919

LOA: (W/Pulpit/Swim Platform): 32’ 4”
Draft: 28””
Beam: 8’ 6””
Fuel Capacity: 100 Gallons Diesel”
Water Capacity: 40 Gallons”
Holding Tank Capacity: 30 Gallons”
Dry Weight: 8000 Pounds”
Engine Fuel Burn: ”
Engine cruising at 7-8 knots, 1- 1/1/2 Gallons/Hour”
Engine cruising at 20 knots, 10-12 Gallons/Hour”
Generator Fuel Burn: Sips!”

Date: 9-21–22
118 Hours-Volvo D4 260 HP Turbo Diesel Engine”
60 Hours-NextGen 3.5 kW Diesel Generator”
Hull Color: LE Midnight Blue”
For Sale: $239,000.00

This is my 2019 Cutwater C-28, Inboard Volvo Diesel. She had only 27 hours on the Engine and 10 hours on the Generator when I bought her a bit over a year ago.

The original plan was to “go cruising”, and visit the many local marinas, anchorages and towns along the west coast of Florida.

All the comforts that a big boat would have, but much easier to pilot/cruise anytime that you feel like it rather than unhooking miles of dock lines and electrical cables just to go out for a pleasant evening cruise.

She would be perfect for doing the “Loop” and heading down to the Keys.

The Volvo D-4 260 Turbo-Charged engine, (now only 118 hours on the engine), sips fuel. At 6-8 knots, trawler speed, she burns 1-1/2 gallons per hours. If you need to get somewhere a bit faster, at 22 knots she burns about 10-12 gallons per hour. Sipping.

NOTE: The original owner purchased the optional 5-Year Extended Warranty so there may still time left on that.

I had the required “First Service” completed on the Engine by Southcoast Diesel/Sarasota. The Next-Gen Generator was serviced at the same time. 8/18/21 ($1551.04)

My plans have changed so BABE is now for sale. She is an incredible boat with everything one might need for a short or extended cruise. For a cruising couple, there are lots of spaces where you can have your privacy, it’s not a normal 28’ boat design.



Hit the Links below for lots more information
and an amazing listing of upgrades and further details...

Hit this Link below for the History of my C-28...

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Hit this Link below for Specifications, Details and Modifications of my C-28...

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Hit this Link for my C-28, hauled in July, '22...

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Email:
Robert Mulligan-Owner
Photontek@aol.com


"Petunia" is now for sale (as of 3-20-21). $38,000.00 (SOLD)
Located in Bradenton, FL. Many, many Updates to our boat.
See the "Specifications" page for the extensive list.

This is our former 25' Atlas Acadia. The Atlas is made in Cape Coral, Florida by Atlas Boat Works, Inc.:

www.Acadia25.com

The Atlas Acadia 25 is a New England "Lobster Boat" design, very stable, and plows through waves just fine.

Our boat is equipped with an inboard Yanmar turbo-charged 170 HP engine which will allow the boat to very comfortably cruise at 6-8 knots (trawler speed), plane at 14 knots with and approximate top speed of about 18.

When we were considering our downsize from our 40' Marine Trader trawler (see below), we looked at quite a few "character" type boats in this size range. We still wanted lots of the comforts that our big boat had but not the complexity (and work!) that the big boat needed just to take her out for a few hours of cruising.

Two important items that we liked about the Atlas Acadia compared to other similar design boats were:

-Instead of a fully enclosed cabin, the pilot house was short and open at the back which allowed much more air flow on hot, humid Florida days. These small boats are rarely equipped with on-board generators (the "norm" is to have a small Honda/Yamaha i2000 gas generator to run the air conditioning while at anchor) which are not operating during a cruise run.

We needed the air flow to keep us cool.

-Other, similar boats had just a curtain instead of a real closing Head door. We don't "camp-out". As noted, we wanted as much of the comforts (and privacy) as we had on the big boat. The Atlas has a fully enclosed Head with a sink and on our boat, a shower.


There is a small galley down below but for any serious cooking, especially in Florida weather, we would cook out on a gas grill on the back deck.

There are two nice long berths up front in the normal "V" format with tons of storage, cabinetry and drawers down below.

The Atlas is a truly great boat, perfect for "Tiny Ship" cruising.

Hit the Link below for lots more information and an amazing listing of upgrades and further details...

For details on our Atlas Acadia 25, click here:

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"Buttercup" is now for sale (as of 3-20-21). $18,000.00 (SOLD)

Located in Bradenton, FL. Many, many Updates to our boat.

It's a Ranger "Martini" open launch built in 2001 by Ranger Boats which is now Ranger Tug located out in Kent, Washington.


"Buttercup"is 21' long and is powered by a small Yanmar two cylinder diesel engine. 20 horsepower.

She will reluctantly get a bit over 6 knots but due to the hull shape, deep keel with a mostly displacement hull, she "thinks" that she can plane but all she does as you add more power is act like a Caterpiller tractor, and simply pushes a wall of water in front of the bow.

Usually at about 4-5 knots where the engine is almost as quiet as the electric version.

As I cruise by, people ask me if it is electric it is so quiet. The spurts of cooling water coming out of the side of the hull might be a give away.

I bought it off of eBay in mid-2019. And as per many such boats where you buy something without an inspection, just about everything had to be replaced or repaired. The engine was running on one of the two cylinders and the entire electrical system was shot. For some unknown reason, many of the wires had been cut including the main thick ground cable.

New exhaust tubing, added a huge Racor fuel filter, all new belts, etc.

But I like doing all that kind of stuff so it was fun. A bit challenging at times, but still a great and rewarding project.

She now runs great and sips fuel. See the Link below for a listing of the many upgrades:

"Buttercup" Details:

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Barbara Merry, "The Marlinespike Artist" located in Wakefield, Rhode Island made a wonderful "Bow Pudding" for Buttercup's bow.


I used her for our local Christmas Parade of Lights and she was the hit of the events.











Our 1976 Marine Trader-40 trawler that we have totally rebuilt. (SOLD...)

"Gulf Trader" is a fiberglass classic design 1976 Marine Trader sedan cabin trawler, equipped with two Ford-Lehman 120 diesel engines.

Over the past nine years, this boat has gone through major rebuilding and reconstruction which included new decks, new electrical wiring including circuit breaker panels/gauges, plumbing and fuel systems. All of the old systems were removed and replaced.

Hit the Link below for lots more information and an amazing listing of upgrades...

For details on our Marine Trader trawler, click here:

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This is an exceptionally cute boat that I built during the Winter/Spring of 2014. (SOLD...)

The hull design is an old 15' fiberglass Canadian lapstrake lifeboat that was full of frogs, tadpoles and green water when we found her. With its plumb bow and nice rake to is freeboard, it was perfect for an eventual small boat for our local canals.

Actually, the hull was in very bad shape so we made a one-time mold of the boat's hull and made a brand new boat. (Sorry, but the mold was destroyed during the de-molding process).

There is a ton of very good woodwork and most every metal piece on the boat is vintage or antique, purchased on Ebay, Etsy and at yardsales. I tried to make the boat as authentic as possible.

Hit the Link below to take a look at this wonderful boat...

For details on our "Petunia II", click here:

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Here's a boat that I built when I first moved to Florida in 2004. (SOLD...)

I had built a couple of them back up near Annapolis, MD as a hobby but thought that I might actually go into the business of converting old centerboard sailboats into pretty 1890's River Launches.

I found out fairly quickly that building boats outside in hot, steamy Florida weather was not the same as building a boat in Maryland summertime. Also, we have billions of creatures called "Lovebugs" that just love to implant themselves in uncured epoxy and fresh varnish.

I built one boat and then moved on to other endevours. The website that I made for my "Quiet Craft" boat is very complete in regard of how to build one of these boats with tons of photos and commentary from the bare hull when we brought the original boat home, to the finished boat.

No I do not not build these boats anymore.

Have fun looking at the QuietCraft photos.

For details on our QuietCraft 1890's River Launch, please click here:
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Here's one more fun boat that I built several years ago. (SOLD...)

I'm in the Photovoltaic (electricity from sunlight) business ( www.photontek.com ) and thought that I might be a good idea to adapt an old Sol-Cat 18' catamaran over to electric trolling motor power, recharged with solar panels.

It was a great idea but we found that the currents, tides and wind in this part of Florida were a bit too strong for this concept to work well on days that were not very smooth and calm.

Nice idea and the design worked well as long as the cruise conditions are good.

For details on our Solar Powered/Recharged Electric Lake Catamaran, please click here:
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And, to take a look at a bunch of other boats that I have owned, built and restored over the years, hit the link below:

Lots of other "Bob's Boats" Link:

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