What Boats Can be Built

You can build any boat you like, as long you have the right rools, skills and most importantly experience. The best thing to do when you are completely new to boat making, is to start with a small project first as you learn the boat building craft.

Building your very own boat is a very time consuming task, and is going to take a great deal of patience. Should you start with a big project, and lack the experience and patience. Youre only setting yourself up for failure, and you know what that means - your half finished project is just laying there in your workshop collecting dust.

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What happens if you make a mistake

Are you scared to start a boatbuilding or other project in case you mess up, in case you make a mistake? What will people say, will your friends joke about it and embarrass you?

Nearly everyone makes mistakes. Those who say that they dont make mistakes are either lying or are not pushing the boundaries of their own ability. As long as we are trying new things, taking on new life experiences, we will make mistakes. It is an essential part of the whole learning experience. Sure, it is nice to learn from the mistakes that are made by others but we learn more lessons, we learn them faster and the message sticks better when we make those mistakes ourselves. The more painful the mistake, the stronger the lesson that we will learn.

When I designed the Paper Jet, I had a particular building procedure in mind for the boat. As it turned out, the Paper Jet could not be built the way that I had envisaged. So, I had to go back a few steps and think of a different way to assemble it. I did that and went ahead and built my boat by a different method. I had a few other smaller backtracks and eventually had my boat complete.

Did I make some mistakes? Yes I did but so what? I made those mistakes because I was doing something that I had never done before. I was doing something that nobody had done before. I needed to learn the lessons that had to come out of building this prototype so that I could write the building instructions in the best way that I could, to enable other builders to get it right without making those same mistakes.

If I was scared of making mistakes I would not be trying new things. I designed and built the first radius chine plywood boat, my own "Black Cat", and made some mistakes along the way. Every time I was able to recover the situation very quickly and move on to the next stage of building. Overall, the project was a great success. Along the way I shrugged off the comments and criticisms of others because they were of no consequence unless I allowed them to be. They were generally from people who have never built anything major themselves. It is normal that the people who will laugh when someone makes a mistake are those who dont achieve much themselves. Disregard those people.

While building "Black Cat", one evening I was working with a spindle router shaping some small plywood parts. I was annoyed about an interruption unrelated to what I was doing and which had broken my concentration. In my distracted state of mind, I put my right thumb through the router bit, which was spinning at 20,000rpm. It made 11 cuts to the bone in the space of 1/2" and I was spraying blood. Within a minute or two I was passing out from pain and shock and was hauled off the the doctor. She said she had never seen such neatly done damage to human flesh and described it as sliced like deli meat. She was able to fix it with one stitch threaded through all of the slices. The worst impact from my mistake was a couple of weeks knocked out of the middle of my already tight building schedule.

OK, so we all make mistakes. Hopefully most of them will be to your boat rather than to yourself. How do you recover from your mistake? First you need to know what your mistake was, i.e. what it was that you did and what you should have done differently. That should help you to figure whether or not you can take apart the incorrect work. If you can take it apart then do so and rebuild it correctly. If you cant take it apart then you must figure the best way to modify the structure to correct it.

When you buy a set of quality boat plans you get access to a support system as part of the package. That includes being able to ask the designer for advice when needed and to steer you along the best path whenever you have a problem. You may think of a way to correct it but the designer, from past experience, may be able to offer some other alternatives and to say what will be best. It is likely that the designer or someone else has made the same mistake before.

The important things to understand are:-

1. You will occasionally make mistakes.
2. Some of those mistakes will be silly ones and may embarrass you. Laugh them off. Take control of the situation and correct it, dont allow the mistake to take control of you.
3. The designer of your boat should be available to help. Contact him, explain your mistake and ask for advice.
4. You can recover from most mistakes. It may take a bit of application on your part but you can do it.
5. When your boat is finished you will know where your mistakes are but most other people will never see them.

When prospective builders tell me that they could not build to the standard that they see in my Paper Jet, I sometimes point out some imperfect workmanship so that they can see that my work, like theirs, is not perfect. We all make mistakes. Fix them, then get on with life.

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Just what do we mean by Fundamentals

When you write a book and begin the title with the word "Fundamentals", there is a certain implication. Let me put it simply: Our book teaches you what you need to know to choose a subject boat and make a model of it. It teaches the things you need to become a model maker. It also contains a wealth of useful information for veteran model makers. Here is where you can find out more http://intothings.com/fundamentals.html

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What is our book really about

"Fundamentals.." is an intriguing romance between plank and frame, the steamy cherry bending to her masters wishes. Meet the curvaceous "Annie Buck" and learn the story of how she got to be the way she is. Watch out for the "slicers" and the "whittler", see what the protaganist learns in the bedroom, We cant tell you the finish, but sometimes it involves a good shellacking...

See what the critics are saying:
Fine Woodworking calls it: "intense". Good Old Boat says:"My learning curve would have been much less steep if Fundamentals of Model Boat Building had been available." James J. B. says: "provides great insight". Chris P. says: "A great resource for anyone". Lisa F. says: "Remarkable detail." Gail G. H. says: "I highly recommend this book."

Come meet us at The Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons, Maryland on October 8th and 9th, 2011 and get your own personally autographed copy.

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Just What Are Antique Classic Boats

I am never sure, that when we put out the word about our Antique & Classic Boat Festival each year, that everyone knows what we mean and what makes these boats so special...

What is an antique or classic boat? Let me start by saying that when you see an "Antique & Classic" boat show, its probably being put on by one of the fifty some odd chapters of The Antique & Classic Boat Society (ACBS), which is an international group dedicated to the preservation and restoration of classic and antique boats.

ACBS rules define an antique boat as one built between 1919 and 1942; a classic boat is one built between 1943 and 1975. Those built before 1918 fall into the class of historic.Most ACBS boat shows and festivals are judged. The goal is for the boats to be maintained in, or restored to, original form. 

Among these boats are Chris~Crafts, Garwoods, Centurys, Higgins, Owens, Matthews, Lyman, Thompson, Whirlwind, Huckins, Trumpy, Ditchburn, Shepherd and many, many other names. Many of them have varnished mahogany planked decks with white seams and chrome parts.

Its difficult to describe how exciting these gatherings can be. Each boat comes from an individual or individuals who come together in a single place. There is no museum or other place that one can visit and see such a great collection of historic items. None could afford it. The only opportunity to see them is at these shows. Their owners put a lot of care into their boats and it shows.

As model makers its our job to notice the differences between boats. Looking at antique and classic boats collectively we get an opportunity to see how design has evolved both in terms of style and function. Luckily, weve even gotten to know a few of the significant boat designers along the way. Their explanations of the hows and whys of design choices has taught us a great deal. Modern boats are the product of these design choices.

When you are at an antique & classic boat show notice the year that a boat was built on its information card. Many of the boats that youll see were "state of the art" at the time that they were built. Picture what the world must have looked like when that boat was "state of the art". There is a good chance that you will see a boat from the same era as the Wright Flyer. Think of what a state of the art airplane is like now. What about cars? Its easy to tell that there are differences between a boat from the 1920s and the 1960s. What about the 1920s to the 1930s? It helps to look at the boats appearance, how the hull is shaped, the layout of human spaces, the engine, the comfort features, the finishes, available materials, etc.

A useful piece of information to know about is the difference between a "utility" and a "runabout". If you look at the "Retrospect", a 1958 Century Coronado and clearly an elegant boat, youll see it described as a utility. When you look at the Garwood "Granny", also an elegant boat, it will be listed as a runabout. A runabout has dedicated cockpits (seating areas)separated by decking, meaning that to go from one to another requires crossing a deck. A utility has a single cockpit area allowing movement throughout the boat without leaving the cockpit.

Many elements changed, pretty much by decade, in the design of boats. Sometimes these elements paralleled those seen in cars, airplanes, toasters and vacuum cleaners.

Using Chris~Crafts long line of boats as examples of changes that many brands of boats went through;, you will see that a Chris~Craft runabout from the late 1920s has what is known as a "raised deck" over the motor box area. In the 1930s a similar Chris~Craft have a "flush deck". The flush deck here happens to be a Hacker.

In the 1940s, with WWII, materials were scarcer and painted sides sometimes replaced mahogany sides and the 1947 Chris~Craft 22 Sportsman utility was one of the most recognized boats of that time.

In the 50s things got really crazy with the advent of vinyls and fiberglass. If you are familiar with the 57 Chevy, youll see that many late 50s boats had wings. Other 1950s Chris~Craft features were the bull nose and blonde stain as seen in Capris and Rivieras. The use of fiberglass was originally not for functional purposes, but for visual appearance. Note the Cobras gold fin.

*Speaking of the use of fiberglass in the late 50s, The Silver Anniversary of The Antique & Classic Boat Festival in St. Michaels, Maryland, being held June 15th - 17th, is expected to have the largest gathering of the highly unusual Chris~Craft "Silver Arrows" ever. This was a boat that used fiberglass in a way never seen prior to 1958(or again).Click on the photo for more information...

One of Chris~Crafts means of staying current was to "borrow" good ideas from other companies. Although, theirs is probably the the most quickly recognized name in classic boats, many of their ideas came from watching others. Their Sea Skiff line were similar to Lyman Boats, which featured lapstrake construction with "canoe strip" reinforcement.

In the late 50s, there began an intense competition between Chris~Craft and Century boats, whose Coronados, Resorters and Arabians had lots of Chrome, Vinyl, Convertible Roof options and lots of power. Century boats were striking to look at and Chris~Craft answered with the Super Sport and other similar models in the early 60s.

Of course, Chris~Craft was only one boat builder among hundreds that made what are now antique and classic boats, each of whom had an interesting story and role to play in their development. I do not want to leave the impression that all antique and classic boats are Chris~Crafts. I use them here as examples of one of the companies that made such boats. Perhaps you are familiar with Berglund?

I am just scratching the surface of what youll see at these shows. I havent said a thing about Cruisers or Motoryachts... The Happie is what as known as a "raised-deck cruiser". It has 7 of headroom down below, a commuter cockpit and a soapstone fireplace.

When you see 4 or 5 Trumpy Motor Yachts, which might be 80 or longer in one location, even from a distance they very impressive. Speak with the Captain and you might get invited aboard! Motoryacht builders had similar design evolutions, many of the early ones being built on sailboat hulls.

Raceboats such as Gold-Cup Racers, Jersey Skiffs, Unlimited Hydros, and others are often present at these shows and when you are talking state of the art... Well. The first boat to achieve 100mph on water, the Miss America IX was at the St. Michaels Show last year. Perhaps again, this year??

Of course, there are "The Outboard Guys". Outboards have been one of the most important developments ever seen in the world of boats. What we use now came from machines that looked like old kitchen mixers. The machinery and styling and sometimes the greatest of innovative thinking can be seen in old outboards. Those that love and take care of them and bring the dead ones back to life are very special people. Their ability to find precious information and their ability to bring something out of their closet that you could never imagine existed at one time is astounding.

I recommend that if you havent been to a real Antique & Classic Boat Show, that you take a look. They are truly amazing and you need to pay attention to really get the most out of them, but when you do, you will find out a lot of things about the history of style and design and, ultimately, because everything else in our lives followed similar design paths, why we have what we have today and, in some ways, who we are.

The next great nationally recognized show is The 25th Anniversary of The Antique & Classic Boat Festival/ The Arts at Navy Point held in St. Michaels, Maryland on June 15th - 17th, 2012 at The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Maryland. St. Michaels is a beautiful and historic town on the Miles River, which is a tributary of The Chesapeake Bay. It has fine restaurants, shops and lodging and the weather is usually in the mid-70s during the show. The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum helps to keep the traditions and history of the Chesapeake Bay alive and recently added a very special tugboat exhibit.

For more information about this show go to http://chesapeakebayacbs.org

For information about other great antique & classic boat shows or to learn more about antique and classic boats go to http://acbs.org

For information about Century boats and The Century Boat Club go to http://www.centuryboatclub.com/

To see some of our antique & classic boat models go to http://intothings.com/antqclsc.html

To know whats going on in the world of classic boating try http://woodyboater.com/

Stay tuned for more about "The Arts at Navy Point" for 2012.

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