The Goat Island Skiff kit builds differently than the boats built from just plans.   A Calendar Islands Yawl 16 being built upside down over a building jig which comes precut in the kit. Believe it or not, the CIY was heavily inspired by the GIS and a guy who sailed the heck out of a GIS he built, Christophe atson. Any modern wooden boat designed these days is drawn in the computer, modeled and rendered in such a way that enables the boats to made into a kit. What does that mean? It could be as simple as using the computer software to generate 2D geometry representing the molds of a boat ..read more

In the last two posts, I wrote about wood-chine and plywood-glued-lapstrake construction utilized in our kits. I spoke about how these traditional plywood methods, when kitted in a smarter way using CAD and precision machining by CNC, allows a beginner to experience these more “traditional” plywood construction methods in a way that brings joy and success to first time builders. Boats using these plywood construction methods - such as the Caravelle and Drake 17 photos below - have never been more accessible to people than they are now. with our kits. Wood-chine construction - the chine log is ..read more

A Calendar Islands 18 showing off its lines. Many of our kits use a hybrid system of Tab-n-Lock, glued-lapstrake, and tack-and-tape construction. Glued lapstrake is sometime regarded as harder to do than stitch-and-glue construction - but while it may require tool use and a couple other boat building skills, it is quite easy once you have seen it done. We are working on videos to show the technique, but the process is thoroughly described with photos in the boat manuals. A great way to learn about this is in our workshops. We have a a great class called Boatbuilding 101. In only 3 days, we co ..read more

The crew after 3-days of building On Friday, July 15th we launched a new boat, the Points East Pram. The Pram has been a productive and easy collaboration with Points East Magazine, a wonderful boating magazine that is free and full of great reading about all sorts of boating from around New England. I always wanted to design a Pram and I’ve always loved the magazine, so it was natural to call the project the Points East Pram. You can read all about the Points East Pram project in a series of articles published in Points East, starting in November with the article that introduced the project ..read more

The Maine Boatbuilders Show was fantastic as always. The booth is always humming nearly the whole show with people learning about the boats, how they can build one or get one custom built in the shop, what is included in a boat kit, and al the ins and outs of these great small boats. An Echo Bay Dory Skiff for a customer in Virginia. A Calendar Islands Yawl under construction t is especially nice to see customers, old and new, and connect about their boats and projects. I will say this, it often is about the boats. The careful design, the exact cutting, the high quality materials, and the co ..read more

Two workshops are schedule for 2019, Intro to Boatbuilding with the CIY and Sparmaking. Late last year, I had a group in the shop for the first run of Introduction to Boatbuilding with the Calendar Islands Yawl. Here is what Ben had to say… “For me, the greatest takeaway from the class is the confidence in myself to make my project successful.  Having helped build a boat under your guidance was a great experience. I loved the shop, felt really comfortable moving around, felt like I was working in a friends space.  For Dave and I your teaching style was excellent. You gave us the info ..read more

Family Boatbuilding at WoodenBoat School There are still 3 spaces! Register at the School's website. In one week, you can build this 10-foot outboard skiff with your family in the most beautiful, fun setting, in Brooklin, Maine, home of WoodenBoat. FEATURED LAUNCHING Drake Raceboat 20 Nate Rooks has launched his own Drake Raceboat 20. He will race his boat in the Seventy48, a 2-day rowing race from Tacoma to Port Townsend, WA. He is also documenting the build, launch, training, and race as part of Off Center Harbor. So there will be some great video coming out. Here is a sneak peek video&nbs ..read more

Talking with a potential customer for a Drake 19 recently brought up a common question. Do I have the skills to build from plans? And, Should I build from plans or from a kit? To build from plans, the primary skills needed are plans reading and problem solving skills, or put another way, you have to figure things out on your own. Chase Small Craft plans have a ton of information, but there is no manual for how to read the plans and extract the info needed to make parts, set up the boat, and so on. I provide full size patterns for most of the parts, which allows the builder to transfer the shap ..read more

Release of two new Drake Rowboat Kits MkII Drake Rowboat & the all new Drake Raceboat  Now shipping The guys from Off Center Harbor produce some wonderful videos for all of us. They do it well, are gracious, and support my work. Please consider supporting them with a membership and get in return a wealth of wonderful knowledge and good vibes through their beautiful craftsmanship online. Off Center Harbor You can click here to watch the full video about this boat on OffCenterHarbor.com, and please consider supporting their good work with a membership. Likewise, the good folks at Small ..read more

Perko #1 Horn style oarlocks Thomas Oarlocks, oval Chase Small Crafters can now choose between two styles of oarlocks in their kits. The familiar horn style oarlock is a standard choice. They allow the oar to pop out easily to stow in the boat and the oarlock comes out of its socket and stores in the boat, tied off to the boat with a gold colored, braided lanyard that comes with the hardware kit. However, new rowers tend to have to learn how to keep their oars from popping out prematurely.  Or do you choose the Thomas oarlock? This oval lock is unique in shape and better than a round oa ..read more