Boat Kits and Information About Kits

Tis the season for kitting out boats here in the shop. It is keeping the business very busy as we finalize the Goat Island Skiff kits and in January well be "kitting" Clints design, the Drake Rowboat.

FAQs

What is unique about our kits?
Clints kits are the equivalent of a professionally built boat, dry fit to perfection, and then taken apart and packaged so that you can replicate the results at home. That means the hull lines will be "eye-sweet" and beautiful when you assemble the boat. The numerous and subtle tweaks that a professional builder does to make the lines of a boat sing has been done for you. This is the unique part of our kits: the kit is not cut directly from a computer file, but rather comes from directly from a hull built by an accomplished boat builder.

What is included in a boat kit?
Our kits have a number of options to suit your timeline and budget. One option will always include plans and the plywood components, planks and bulkheads or molds. The plywood is BS1088 Okoume and comes from Maine Coast Lumber, a trusted source for us. Timber kits are available. Pre-laminated components are available, frames, stems, and backbone components. A further option is a complete timber kit that gets you set up with seats, gunwales, floorboards and all the wood you need to build the boat. You can see kit information at our website kit information page.

Why buy a kit?
When I suggest to people that they buy a kit they sometimes are offended because they feel we dont think they have the skills to make their own kit. The truth of the matter is that we build our own boats from kits as well. In fact, a successful Pro Boatbuilder will build from boat kits himself. The reasons are the same as for you and me: it saves a lot of time, it saves money due to less waste in materials and less wasted time, and the results are a better boat. The boat fits together with less fuss and the lines are reproducibly beautiful every time.

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Back to business boat kits and complete boats

First off, I am now in 100% complete control of my Gmail account again. Someone in Egypt hacked in because I was not careful enough about protecting my password. Upgrade passwords and never have it on email anywhere! Learn from my mistakes. My email, boatkits@gmail.com, is completely safe, now.

Pictured is a recent boat kit heading out of the shop...CNC (computer numerically control) precut plywood kit and a timber kit. The pieces of mailing tubes over the ends of the long parts protect the precut scarf joints while the kit is shipped (this one a kit to Durango, CO).

Back to business and to pick up from the last few posts, I want to share a PDF and link to my webpage about how my kits are produced, why it makes more sense to built boats out of my catalog from kits or full size patterns, and the general idea regarding the economics of boat kits (i.e., why the extra cost of a boat kit is smaller than many think) will come next time.

http://www.clintchaseboatbuilder.com/CNC.html

My pitch for building from boat kits PDF (Google Docs)

In a nutshell, boats designed in the computer are actually drawn full size already to a higher degree of precision (thousandths of an inch) than on the lofting full size by hand (1/16ths of an inch). The difference is that a planks can be precut in advance, glued together with a precut scarf, and bent around bulkheads, hitting every mark on the spot. Interior components and the building jig itself are drawn into the computer model to exactly fit the boat. Therefore, to take a computer aided drafted (CAD) boat and loft it by hand introduces natural errors that were carefully avoided in the CAD process.

Because the parts can all be predetermined off the computer model, they can be nested onto fewer sheets of plywood than a manually (scratch-built) boat can be done. Also, it avoids cutting mistakes which often requires buying extra wood. This offsets the extra cost of a kit and wastes less wood.

The time it takes to manually cut parts to a boat, if you look at it in a hourly rate kind of way, would also offset any remaining difference in cost between building from scratch versus building from precut parts in a kit.

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Goat Island Skiff Boat Kits Available

Our first kit offering at Clint Chase Boatbuilder is a plywood and timber kit for the Michael Storer designed Goat Island Skiff (GIS). Why buy a kit? Folks are sometimes offended when I suggest this, feeling that it is thought they dont have the skills to make the parts themselves, but that is not it at all. We build all of our boats in the shop from kits!!! Even professionals do it and the reason is that it makes the build process quicker and smoother and the result is more professional. In the case of the GIS, we have made parts and built the hull of the boat, making all the small tweaks that professionals with a good eye make to the lines of the boat to make them look eye-sweet. Any design, no matter how well drawn, will need some eyes on it in 3D to make final tweaks. We also have checked bevels and made some adjustments for a rabbeted gunwale, which covers the end grain exposed at the top of the gunwale. Our kit captures all these professional practices so you can get a better boat. Currently, kits are cut per order, but we may move to CNC when volume increases.

We were attracted to this design initially because of the sail plan, a beautifully proportioned Balanced Lug. Upon further reflection we noticed something was missing for RAID sailors and for others who might use the boat as a sail & oar craft. It needed a mizzen. A small mizzen gives great control of a small boat, allowing one to lie head-to-wind for reefing at sea or for heaving-to. It allows you to back off a beach or a dock, with practice. It is useful for trimming the sail plan, adjusting weather helm to create "feel" in the tiller. A mizzen makes single handing much easier, especially for switching between oars and sail, because the boat will tend itself and stay head-to-wind while you stow oars and fidget with things at the mast. For a useful diagram showing How to Sail a Lug-Yawl, by James McMullen.

We can supply a kit for the GIS as well as the mast and spars. Masts are round, hollow using the Birdsmouth technique. Yard and boom for the GIS are solid, laminated Northern White Spruce. Laminated spars stay straighter over time with changes in moisture content in the wood. We can make custom 9 oars specifically designed for the GIS. Rowing in the Goat Island Skiff is quite enjoyable, whether it is from the dock to a local area with wind, or coming back when the wind has petered out. Products for the Goat Island Skiff can be seen in the GIS Flyer on our website Goat Island Skiff Page.

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CNC Boat Kits and Prep for the Maine Boatbuilders Show

It has been very busy as evidenced by fewer postings. We have launched a new website for the CNC Boat Kit business www.CNCboatkits.com

ClintChaseBoatbuilder.com will feature the boatbuilding, mast and spars, and oars work.

One of the most important details in a good CNC kit is working out the NC scarf. Here is a CNC router cutting some test scarfs.

 

The router above is using a 1/4" bit to follow lines of code generated by computer software. The code is specific to a .dxf file for the part, in this case a scarf joint.

 

The dogbone shape you see is the key, literally, in that it locks the scarf together and aligns the entire plank. When a builder receives a kit, all the planks are precut to the precise spile and sweep of the plank but it short segments. To preserves the proper shape, this NC scarf needs to be right on the money.

 

The beauty of this scarf is that it is blind, covered up by the outside plys so that it is not seen from the outside. This would be especially important for varnished planks.

We are very busy getting ready for the 2010 Maine Boatbuilders Show in less than a week! We will be in building #2 on the left as you enter from the main entrance direction.

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New kits Old kits More kits!

New and Updated Kits

Calendar Islands Yawl under construction
Updated Deer Isle Koster (KDI) kits being cut out West

The CIY hull#1 is being expertly built in Duluth and everything is looks really good. The boat has been set up and planking has started.

The building jig set up was all CNC cut and self-jigging. In a post on the Wooden Boat Forum about the CIY project, the builder says "I have the distinct sense of the boat building itself" as he assembled the building jig and is not planking within 10 days time working on the side.

Here is the boat so far, all photos courtesy of Jim Levang, builder and owner of hull #1.

The building jig set up. All parts are CNC cut.

The stem, bulkheads, centerboard trunk, and transom all set up. They were all CNC cut.

Bottom and garboards attached!

But thats not all! You can also get the updated KDI. This model is not my own design, but drawn originally by Bruce Elfstrom, friend, fellow designer, and small boat guru from Connecticut who plays with boats, particularly Scandinavian type boats on the side. I have done a lot of new design work with the help of three builders of hull #3, 4, and 5. Photos below courtesy of Frank Stauss in New Jersey. He looks to be doing a fabulous job. 

New Jersey KDI.

NJ KDI.

The Deblois Street Dory is getting a few tweaks to the building jig set up to facilitate building and then two kits will be cut. Finally, the last project will be to finish the Drake 19, a new model. A bit of a line up is forming there for this kit. Everything is on track to be done by the end of May. Then I am going rowing and sailing, dang it!

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Echo Bay Dory Skiff Kits and Caravelle Commission

The Echo Bay Dory Skiff (EBDS) by Eric Risch is now in the process of being organized into DXF files for CNC cutting. The first 5-7 kits will be released at the WOoden Boat SHow this June in Mystic, CT., where families will build the boats with Clint Chase in 2.5 days, launching on the third day at the show. Caravelle, the EBDSs big sister, will be on display before it goes to customers in Marthas Vineyard will use her for exploratory rowing with their doggy in the stern sheets and for use as a tender to their sailboat on their mooring. They will car-top the boat regularly.

Eric Risch, boat designer, expounds upon the development and merits of his two fine skiffs..........

"One’s first impression of the 11½ foot Echo Bay Dory Skiff and her longer sister, the 14½ foot Caravelle, is that they look quite different from most skiffs their size. If their steeply raked ends with faired sides seem to have the “spring” of a traditional dory yet have the comfortable feel of a skiff, such impressions would be correct. Both designs are a studied effort to marry the best of the flared sided dory and flat bottomed skiff. This involved some very delicate tweaking of proportions from 25 years of experience with my original dory-skiff. The intent was to start with the clean, simple lines of a flat bottomed boat and make it both easily driven and be able to handle a bay chop with more confidence than typical of small boats.

So in the dory-skiff tradition, the Echo Bay and Caravelle’s flared bow and raked transom provide lots of potential buoyancy allowing a drier ride when water gets “bumpy.” Although overhangs do come at the expense of waterline, my original 12½ footer handled a steep bay chop with aplomb and just loved to slide over the waves with minimal fuss.

The flared hull sides offer a wide range of stability while retaining a wide enough bottom for a comfortable feel of initial stability. The idea was to use some of the traditional advantages of a dory’s secondary stability but minimize initial tenderness—assuming one chooses not to carry a full load of fish! In addition, the moderately wide bottom enables both boats to be very easily driven under oar while the ample beam at the sheer provides a good placement for the oar locks.

Some flat bottom skiffs are famous for the tendency to “slap-slap-slap” in the bow region from the water hitting the bottom panel—this can be quite annoying. Consider too that pounding into a chop robs energy from forward motion. The Echo Bay and Caravelle’s bow stems terminate well below the waterline, making a nice quiet row. When coupled to their strong skeg aft for balance, the boats track very securely in a crosswind, providing a more solid feel than is typical of their length.

Both boats can also serve as capable tenders for moderate to larger yachts. I towed my original 12½ footer on cruises and was pleased how well she behaved. In addition, sailing versions will be available. Their compact sprit rigs keep the center of effort low for ease of handling a moderate range of wind. But narrow boats designed for oar tend to be quite spirited—this is a quality that is best appreciated by more experienced and agile sailors.

The Echo Bay Dory skiff is set up for a single rower and for one additional passenger. The Caravelle is essentially a stretch version for tandem rowing. Both boats have an open clean look and are quite light weight for their length to be car-toppable in a practical sense. Neither relies on complicated framing for stiffness and uses instead one ring frame in the single and two ring frames in the double. The hull is 6mm Occume marine plywood that has a reputation for looking beautiful for decades. Both have “screw-and-glue” chines making it boat that will remain tight whether on the water or in your garage."

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Cool features of my kits

Id like to discuss, in the next few months, a few examples of groovy ways to engineer a boat kit and build a boat. The first photo shows the side girders of the CNC cut strongback. This has been one of the gbuildest aspects of creating kits. In a few hours time, the strongback can be built and the chipboard molds attached via precut slots cut in mold and girder. If you make "Spock hands" with your left and right hands and insert left into right, youll get a good idea how accurately and easily a CNC cut strongback is to set up. Even  these two dogs were able to do it, no sweat!

The second photo shows the chipboard bulkhead supports that slot into the girders and then are locked into alignment with a long batten which slots into the supports and automatically squares up the set up. These chipboard components are made out of 1/2" and 5/8" Advantech chipboard which stays quite flat. These chipboard components DO NOT become part of the boat.

The third photo shows the bulkheads and other marine plywood components of the boat mounted on the setup. Notice how the strongback catches the top of the stem so it locks into place. Anyone who has mounted a stem in 3d space over a strongback can immediately see how nice this is! You can also get a better sense in this shot how the supports slot into girders.

Next time Ill try to get some additional close ups of the alignment features of the building jig unique to my kits. These photos are courtesy of Jim Levang building hull #1 of the Calendar Islands Yawl. His build is at https://plus.google.com/115449767543136477921/posts/26mVWdN9FPd

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CNC Boat Kit Cutting at Harbor Sales First Three Francois Vivier Kits Sell

 
 
 

Last week, Clint took a trip to Maryland where Harbor Sales is located and cuts our CNC boat kits. The goal was to oversee the cutting of three Vivier kits that sold, Youkoulili, Ebihen 16, and Beg-meil. Harbor imports the plywood and cuts the panels on any of their four CNC machines (one of which has a 10x23 capacity and the one pictured is a 5x12). They package and ship by UPS Freight the kits direct to the customer. Clint sends the building instructions and getting started materials from Maine. Francois send the plans from France. We get epoxy starter kits to customers from Duckworks in TX or System Three Epoxy in WA.

One of the special features of Clints kits is visible in the close-up shot of the machine cutting the planks. You may be able to make out the NC scarf being machined onto the end of the plank. These scarfs are snapped together and glued by the builder and fits such that the pre-cut spile and sweep of the planks are maintained and perfectly aligned. Hours were spent making this critical feature work perfectly.

Cutting starts in a room full of computers. The files are opened, modified and sent to the machine outside of the room. The cutter exits to a console next to the machine, calls up the file and commands the machine to do its thing. The machine moves fast and there is an automatic shut-off sensor in case you step too close.

Also in kit building news, the Drake Rowboat, winner of the Wooden Boat Show Concourse De Elegance in 2009, is on the bench as a 1/4 scale CNC model. This step always comes before cutting an actual full size CNC model which is test built and checked again and again to adjust the files until they cut perfect molds, planks, laminating jigs and whatever the kit components are for that design.

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Boat Kits Boat Kits Boat Kits

There is a lot of work happening in the world of kitting boats in the shop. The Goat Island Skiff kits have been done for a week now and are going to make some beautiful boats. The Deblois Street Dory, Hull #1 is being planked by a customer here in Portland, and plans are being finished up by Eric Risch for a new, 149" rowing skiff called Caravela, which will be built for customers in Marthas Vineyard and will be available as a CNC cut kit by the end of June. As if that was not enough, we are excited to soon announce a new collaboration with a fabulous designer in Europe who is known for his beautiful sail-and-oar boats. A press release will be forthcoming. Enjoy some images of the boats we are kitting.



Goat Island Skiff (designed by Michael Storer) built by Richard Harvey in the UK with a beautiful sail by John MacNamera.



Deblois Street Dory (designed by Clint Chase) being built by Shane Hall in Portland, Maine.



Echo Bay Dory Skiff (designed by Eric Risch) being kitted for CNC by Clint Chase, available in late March

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Goat Island Skiff Build for Making Kits

My own build of the GIS continues until this Friday when kits for the boat go out, the patterns for which are based on this build. The assembly of the sides is quite typical of a self-jigging skiff, with side panels wrapped around bulkheads, glued, and carefully leveled to prevent twist in the hull. These builds are notorious for twist getting built into the hull. It is easy to see when the boat is in the water without any people or gear, and the transom sits out of level with the water. With this sighting trick in mind, you will see it more often now!

Pre-finishing is always employed to make finishing and painting a more efficient process. I use "scrape-filling" to fill the grain of the wood and seal the plywood in epoxy.



I approached this hull differently because of the twist in the side panel as it wraps around the first bulkhead, developing compound curvature as it fairs into the stem. Putting the whole thing together in one glue-up session, solo, is a workout. But boy was it fun. Ive built a few dozen boats like this; this skiff was the most fun to assemble.

I started by glueing and screwing the panels to the first then second bulkheads, the place where the compound curvature in the panel is centered.



The stem was fastened then the hull was zipped up from the midship frame aft. It is now glued with no twist in the hull fore-to-aft.



I am also posting on the Michael Storer Boats Forum.

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