Construction methods for the Haven 12 1/2

[Kaptin-Jer]

Surprising no matches came up when I did a search regarding construction methods for the Haven 12 1/2. Plans and tradition call for carvel plank construction, but the Haven was redesigned from the H12 to be trailerable. If the boat will be stored on the trailer, out of the water, the planks will not be able to "soak" and swell; therefore why use carvel plank? Wouldn't cold molded, or strip planking be a more realistic method? To have the "Traditional" look I have been thinking about carvel planking, then cold molding over the planks. This will eliminate the concern about the non-swelling of the planks and the interior will still show traditional planking. My one concern is the added weight. Comments and your opinions are welcome.

[skaraborgcraft]

cold mould,stip plank,or clinker ply like the somes 12.5.

Not the easiest of boats to build in carvel,and i wouldnt do it on a dry sailed boat. Cheers

[Bill Wiegmann]

Many Havens are built cold molded or strip planked. You could do a search on the Haven forum at havenbuilder.com or the old forum site at kerchevalave.com/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/search.cgi?action=intro&default=7. I haven't heard of any being built with cold molding over carvel, but I'm relatively new to boatbuilding.

[dstreck]

My impression was that the Haven wasn't re-drawn to be trailerable, but to be shoal-draft. That being said, I wouldn't try to fake the carvel look by cold-molding over solid planking. Me, I wouldn't build it anything but plank-on-frame, but hey, thats just me. For a dry-sailed boat, strip or CM is a great way to go. Just build it straight up. No point in trying to fake the traditional look if it aint built the traditional way. Frames in a cold molded boat just add unnecessary weight and make painting the interior more of a PITA. Plus, old-school boatbuilders will roll their eyes ;).

BTW, I think Eric Dow only builds his Havens cold-molded nowadays. Thats the way I'd go if I was in your shoes.

[keyhavenpotterer]

Strip planked Haven 12.5 built at Lyme Regis Boat Building Academy build sequence:

http://www.boatbuildingacademy.com/students/studentprofilesmarch09/herreshoffhaven.htm

And photos we took at the launching - scroll through there's lots of the Haven 12.5 there:-

http://picasaweb.google.com/milfordvet/LymeRegisBoatBuildingAcademyLaunchDec5th2009#

From an observer standing on the dock, it seemed handy and fast on the water. Extremely elegant and attractive both out and in the water. Another plus is once built, should you resell, there's a good market and you should make a bit more than the material build cost which is a bonus to fund the next project or buy equipment. The Haven builders association is a good source for back up and technical info. You have to subscribe to get all the access to help pay for the site maintainance but well worth a look. Lots of photos to inspire. The Haven 12.5 has been built every which way successfully. It's possible to purchase the lead keel cast to the design spec in the US and UK and all the custom Herreshoff shape bronze fittings are available from Reineck's.

http://www.bronzeblocks.com/

Joel White spaced the molds very close together for amateur construction, to get the shape perfect. This is what you need for cold molded construction working with veneers to hold them to the correct shape as you build the hull.

http://www.havenbuilder.com/havenbuilders/

[Kaptin-Jer]

Well, looking at all the methods and seeing the results, it is clear to me that plain old planking is the way that this boat wants to be built. Cold molded or strip makes the end boat look too plastic, too contempoary.
Thanks for putting up with my thinking out loud, and $50.00 seems very expensive to join a web site!

Kap

[Bob Smalser]

... it is clear to me that plain old planking is the way that this boat wants to be built....

Drysailed, new-built carvel will remain dry providing you don't soak it long enough to initiate the compression set that causes weeps and seeps. How long is that? Depends on planking species, grain, coatings and temperature. Anywhere from two to six weeks.

So if you float it primarily on 2-day weekends and the occasional week-long vacation, there is no reason the boat will ever be one that has to "take up" before the leaks stop.

[Kaptin-Jer]

Very good advise. Thanks. I was worried over nothing.