Who has built a glued-lap plywood boat from a kit?

[Wayne Jeffers]

I note in Steven’s Deer Isle Koster thread that his daughter is building from a kit. That kit seems to be going together with no complications or obvious errors in the CNC-cut panels.

I’ve never considered a kit, mainly because of uncertainty of what I would get in terms of quality and accuracy, but also to a lesser extent the fact that I think spiling the planks, etc., would be a rewarding experience. But I’m pretty impressed with what I’ve seen in Steven’s thread. And a kit would save time, and maybe save errors I might make in cutting expensive plywood.

The time is drawing near when I should be able to start that bigger, nicer sailboat I’ve been wanting to build. I am re-thinking kits. I note that kits are available for the Caledonia Yawl and the Arctic Tern, two designs which are very high on my short list.

I would very much like to hear other people’s experiences with kits for glued-lap plywood boats. How accurate did you find the panels? Were you happy with the quality? If you were to build again, would you once again choose a kit? Any other thoughts on kits?

Thanks!

Wayne

[David G]

Kits come in a variety of forms. I've supplied custom kits to clients, and closely monitered the build process. With a custom lapstrake kit, it makes sense to leave the spiling of planks to the client. For a kit to be supplied with pre-cut planks, it requires that a first boat be built, all adjustments made, then the final dimensions digitized for cnc cutting. If the supplier has done that carefully and diligently... and you (the client) don't muck something up along the way... you can end up with a product that assembles as quickly and easily as Lincoln Logs, with a minimum of fussing and fitting. In the industry - some suppliers are known for their accuracy. Some are not. You'd be best served by doing your due diligence.

[beernd]

This thing about lofting and building from scratch has me intrigued.
I would like to see some examples of kit built versus built from the drawing, IMHO there are three possibilties:
1) build from drawing
2) build from kit
3) buy a boat

For instance if I would buy a kit I would not have to worry about the quality of the materials.
Currently I am building from DN Goodchild plans, and I am getting a thrill out of that.

I think it would be interesting to make comparisons like that, but I realize that for example I get so much fun out of building, and if I can sell the boat I am building for the cost of the material(even with a minor loss) I would happily start the next build.

[kfranklin]

I built my nutshell pram from the kit made currently by clc. The kit went together beautifully, but in hindsight being a CS major and a math guy I wished I had spline and spilled the planks myself. The quality was great and the cuts were spot on angle wise and shape wise. Probably better than anything I could hope to do. Also their scrafs were very, very clean and just needed to be glued.

[Gary Davis]

I purchased a Vivier Beg-Meil kit from Clint Chase. The kit arrived with minor damage to the packing but the plywood was fine. I found the CNC kit pieces close to perfection. The pre-cut scarfs were a breeze as well. Clint has been responsive and as helpful as possible - considering the client.

I thought a kit would be "quick" but I substituted a lot of the plywood with solid wood veneer and fabricated the CB trunk and transom and all that took quite a while. Those pieces came in the kit but I wanted to see some wood. Its been two years and I hope to sail this summer.

Its got to be quicker with a kit - I'm just not a good example to judge.

Gary Davis

[biglad]

I built my CY from drawings and didnt have any problems. To my mnd, and others may disagree, there are harder tasks in building a boat than spiling planks. I found it quite rewarding to do the whole shooting match from scratch and saved some money compared to buying a kit. Theres loads of good info on here about how to do it. If (when?!?!) I build another boat I probably wont use a kit.
Ben

[Robert Meyer]

I had never built a boat from a kit before my current CLC s&g 15ft skiff project. The puzzle joints make quick work of panel assembly and seem to be plenty strong. The plywood that comes with the kit is Joubert and is of a good quality. The computer wastes far less material than any of my self laid out projects - and all the trim is already pre-scarfed. The kit comes with a generous amount of epoxy and glass cloth. The kit really saves many hours of fiddling with joints that are out of line (usually but not always due to builder error) and the stitch holes are pre-drilled perfectly in mating panels. It is the first stitch and glue boat I have built that didn't have any twist what so ever that needed work to untwist before glue up. It builds fast - but perhaps not as much "fun" as building one from scratch. I was thinking that I don't want to sand so much epoxy anymore, but looking at The Deer Island Koster kit has got me dreaming.

[stromborg]

I'm building the other Deer Isle Koster, the hull has been turned over and I am cleaning up the interior before moving on to the next phase. All things considered it has been a very rewarding experience. There have been a few glitches, mostly due to this being the first run of kits, that have been resolved to my satisfaction.

While missing out on lofting and spiling (that will come on the next boat) I have learned a lot about making the rolling bevels, cutting gains and trusting that the wacky looking plank on the floor will indeed fit on the boat. The latter is probably the most important point, I could proceed with a fair amount of certainty that the planks where right despite running off the edge of my experience level. There were definitely a few times when sitting down in my Thinking Chair and just looking at the pieces revealed the path where if I had done the shaping I might have assumed I had made an error and started over. Even with the planks cut there is still a large amount of work to be done fitting out the rest of the boat, birds mouth mast, spars, sewing the sail, foils to be shaped, all the non-plywood bits to be fashioned etc, and we haven't even addressed finish work.

How long do you want to spend building the boat before you can sail it? In my case this is part one of a trilogy I have planned over the next decade or so, it is my apprenticeship, next up is journeyman with (hopefully) craftsman level work at the end.

Steve

[Wayne Jeffers]

What got me to thinking about kits is the Storm 17 from Swallow Boats:



It is available as a complete boat, in fiberglass or plywood, in a complete kit, or a panel kit. Plans are not available. The cost of the complete kit (everything except paint and oars) is £3590 (about $5550) plus shipping. Even adding shipping from the UK, I expected to spend a lot more than that for whatever I decide to build. (I haven’t entirely ruled out the Storm 17, although her sail plan would take longer to rig and unrig at the launch ramp than would be my preference.)

Looking at the prices of kits for the Oughtred designs, I’m not so sure that I would save much by cutting the plywood panels and planks myself. I would expect that they could make much less wasteful use of the plywood sheets in laying out the planks, etc.

What would concern me more than anything is the accuracy of the cuts, how much fiddling I would have to do to get the pre-cut pieces to fit together properly, and how well the planks would have been lined off (i.e., whether I would end up with unfair spots and no material available to make adjustments.)

I’ve found three sources for kits of Oughtred boats. I have pretty much ruled out the source in Australia, as I figure shipping from the other side of the planet would be cost-prohibitive. That leaves Hewes & Company (Maine and Oregon) and Jordan Boats (UK) as sources for kits. Anyone have any experience with either of these companies’ kits? Anyone know of other sources which I have not yet found?

Wayne

[mcdenny]

I've built five CLC kayak kits and can vouch for that companies quality products.

Oughtred plans come with full size paper patterns which I found very accurate, thus eliminating lofting, probably the most difficult building process for a beginner. Picking a design that other builders have photo documented would be helpful.

Certainly a kit can save a little time and give you the confidence that the parts are correct so if they don't seem to fit it's probably you.

I doubt a kit would save an experienced builder much time. I would bet that once you have stuck all the kit bits together you are less than 50% done with the project.

Denny Wolfe

PS: I've got a set of Arctic Tern molds you can have for free if you pick them up (50 miles NE of Detroit)

[Wayne Jeffers]

Thanks, Denny. If I decide on AT (or ST) rather than CY, I may take you up on that offer. I'm in SE Ohio and the Detroit area is not a bad drive.

I'm still kicking around your idea of electric power, too.

Wayne

[biglad]

Alec Jordan has been heavily involved on the Scottish Coastal Rowing project. The idea here is that communities get together, build a boat, and race against each other. The boat used here is the St.Ayles skiff designed by Iain Oughtred. I havent built a boat from one of Alecs kits but the boat club I am a member of have completed one and are on a second. The boat looks good!! The guy at our club who does much of the building has done a cracking job. Best check withAlec but I think he uses Robbins Elite plywood but I'm sure he would use Super Elite if needed.

Ben

[Jonathan Burke]

Im building a pair of caledonia yawls' at the moment from a Kit cut by Alec (mentioned in the comment above). My Client bought a kit and decided he dint want/didnt quite have the skills to build the boat. So were putting it together for him to sell. I had the foresight to pattern the planks and as it happens he wants one now that he has seen the boat nearly complete!

The Kit went together pretty well. Took me 2 weeks to complete the planking (full time that is). Alec does indeed use Robbins Elite marine, we replaced the sheer strakes with Super Elite marine ply (which is laminated from Sapele) looking forward to seeing them varnished! If im being really fussy, I would say that ideally I would have spiled the top edge of the sheer strake myself, I think i could have slightly improved the sheer line, and you could obviously just cut this slightly different shape from the existing kit stock (with a wee bit of thought).

Im being very picky here though, Alec cuts an excellent kit, the planks required no adjustment what so ever and all the lines are very sweet. You have to cut your own scarf joints, but there are innumerate ways to reduce stress there. We have also been involved with the build of two of his St Ayles skiffs, and likewise, no issues with them either.

Have a look at our facebook if you want to see the boat and keep up with the build (s) www.facebook.com/Benduffinboatbuilding.

(Im new to this forum stuff and couldn't work out how to get a photo up, sorry about that!)

[Wayne Jeffers]

Thanks for the link to the Facebook page, Jonathan. I'll be anxious to keep up with your progress in coming weeks.

Wayne