Modern Boatbuilding Techniques and Methods
Taste testing current wood construction methods.
- John Brooks — July 25–31
Have you ever wanted to try out several building methods before committing to one for your project or to know about various techniques without having to build a whole boat for each one? This new course with designer/boatbuilder John Brooks will give you a taste of four modern wooden boatbuilding methods—plywood, glued lapstrake, strip-planking, and cold-molding—for making strong, light boats that are good looking and easy to maintain.
John will start out this interesting week showing students the proper ways to measure, mix, thicken, and apply epoxy, and he’ll explain how to use it as a glue, a coating, and as a fairing compound. You’ll learn how to work efficiently and effectively with epoxy to reduce sanding, and the easiest, safest techniques for sanding and preparation for painting and varnishing. After this primer on epoxy, you will start making boat parts: laminated stems, curved transom, knees, chines, sheer clamps, frames, floors, and deckbeams. You’ll learn how to set up building jigs and construct forms for bending wood.
Much of the week will be spent on various planking methods. The class will start with plywood construction and how to work with this material when a hull shape is conical and suitable for panel construction, and when it’s not. Then students will move on to glued lapstraking: how to spile a plank, bevel the laps, shape the planks, and hold them in place while the glue sets.
In addition, students will build a section of a modern deck, from laminating the deckbeams to putting on two layers of plywood with blocking and a foam core in the middle. You’ll finish it off with Dynel cloth and apply teak decking.
Two days will be spent on strip-planking and cold-molding. Everyone will have the chance to try each technique, work with veneers, and then learn the art of vacuum-bagging. The last day of the course will focus on fairing the strip-planked and cold-molded hulls with fiberglass cloth and epoxy, as well as other sheathing materials, and about the wonders of peel ply.
A busy week? No question. But every participant will come away with a boatload of practical experience and plenty of hands-on practice with a wide range of construction techniques to make those future boatbuilding decisions that much easier.
Tuition: $750
Note: This is a six-day course ending on Saturday afternoon.