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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Maine BoatBuilders Show

Here is a boat moving in for the Show....it is that time of year again. The Maine Boatbuilders Show started Fri and tomorrow is day 3 already. This year has been a good show so far and tomorrow should bring even more interest. People are really intrigued by what I have to offer, a couple dozen truly unique boat kit designs most of which are available only through CCBB!

This is the first time a Goat Island Skiff has been displayed at a US boat show as far as I can tell and people are loving the boat. My boat is still unpainted, but there are always a few boats at this show that are in progress, which makes it a lower key boat show. The philosophy behind this show is that it is a boatbuilders show. People talk to the boatbuilders not reps and, in the case of an unfinished boat, get a rare glimpse into the workings of a boatbuilder, work that is normally inside a shop until it is all painted.

Lastly, we are live on FACEBOOK and TWITTER. Like us on Facebook

www.facebook.com/clintchaseboats

www.twitter.com/clintchaseboats

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Invitation to Fall Shop Talk Messabout in Portland Maine

Please join me for the 2^nd annual – “It’s a tradition now” – shop talk and messabout. This year we’ll welcome our guest designer/builder Walter Wales. Also with him will be WoodenBoat’s Associate Editor Karen Wales (Walter’s wife) and renowned illustrator Sam Manning and his wife Susan.

Walter is an acknowledged expert on the Marblehead Gunning Dory originally built by Will Chamberlain of Marblehead, Massachusetts. Sam illustrated John Gardner’s “Dory Book”

Walter and Karen will bring their Gunning Dory REPUBLICAN, built in 1960 by Capt Gerald Smith from Will Chamberlain’s molds.

Walter and Sam will talk about the history, design, construction, and use of this famous dory type. In addition to REPUBLICAN we’ll have a couple other dories on site to look at and discuss.

You can read about the Marblehead Gunning Dory in John Gardner’s books, “The Dory Book” and “Wooden Boats to Build and Use.”

Bring a boat because afterward we’ll head to East End for a sailing and rowing Messabout. Snacks and drinks provided in the shop, but bring a lunch

WHAT: 2^nd Annual Shop Talk & Messabout

WHERE: 25 Deblois Street Portland, Maine. Deblois is off Brighton Avenue

WHEN: Saturday, Oct 23^rd 11am. Messabout after lunch. Sunday rain date (stay posted on my blog for weather update)

MAP: http://tinyurl.com/ClintShop

CCBB Blog ClintChaseBoatbuilder.blogspot.com

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Maine BoatBuilders Show Links

The final verdict is still out, but I feel it was a good show. The weather was too nice on Saturday so attendance was low. Today compensated for this with a steady stream of people and a higher than normal attendance. Friday and today were the best days.

Here are some pictures care of Maine Boats Homes and Harbors.

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Drake in the Small Reach Regatta on the Coast of Maine Day 1

The Small Reach Regatta was the next stop in my busy summer. The SRR is a gathering of 70 sail-and-oar boats, this year, at Lamoine State Park and put on by the Downeast Chapter of the Traditional Small Craft Association. Irowed and sailed (downwind) his rowboat design Drake and consistently finished in the front of the fleet (but of course it wasn’t a race!).

This event is an annual gathering and a wonderful chance to test and showcase the boats CCBB sells and builds to designs from around the world, for example Michael Storer in Australia, Francois Vivier in France, Eric Risch in Maine, Bruce Elfstroms beauties and my own designs. We will be carrying kits and building boats produced by a Finnish builder, Suomen Puuvenepiste. These are unique, semi-exclusive agreements to bring new sailing and rowing boats into the US market as CNC cut kits, bare hulls, and finished boats up to 25 feet. My hope is to bring a demo boat from all these folks to boat shows and events like the SRR. Next year well have a Goat Island Skiff Yawl to show off like this one built by a kit customer in TX for the Texas 200:

The event was three days. Day 1 was a short windy upwind row and downwind return to a classic small Maine coast island. Every day features an interesting lunch stop, a wonderful opportunity to rest and to look at others boats. Moreover, I see it as a learning experience to talk to the builders and owners of the boats. I learn something new from every one of the boats. For me, the SRR is about the finest form of professional development I can get.


On the downwind return to camp, a small squall came through and the force overcame my mast step..."WHAM!"...I heard the snap and the boat lurched and we nearly capsized. The first night was a quick repair with polyurethane glue while the sun set. Day two was to feature a long, fast broad reach to the lunch spot, and there was no way I was going to miss sailing that stretch! I was repairing until I couldnt see anymore boat...will it work?

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