You gotta see this

 

 

Cool!

8 hours ago, lew said:

Cool!

 

Yup, I agree

So..., which Kreg Jig should I use?

Amazing!

I was staggerblasted.  The material is all Rubberwood.  I have a friend in Malaysia,  some decades ago we were trying to come up with a way to move  tons of the stuff here and sell it.  I never found a buyer.   I rather suspect all I accomplished was  to get  the potential buyers t o contact their Pacific Rim connections and  go through them.

Anyway,  Those guys blew me away.  No shaping of board,  no careful joinery,  no steam, bending.  They needed a board to bend they pulled it into shape and fastened it home.  Extra material hanging off?  No issues  whip out the power planer.  Boards don't come together tightly  no worried  just fill the cracks with something  and the paint will cover all the little  defects.  

I was shocked at the dowel joinery. I would never dare to do it the way they did. But it worked~!!!

In fact they were no defects  because it's part of the plan the method the skill set includes a way to account for what we'd see as glaring  flaws.   They slapped that thing together and will take it out on the Ocean and  feed their families with it.

 

Edited November 11, 20223 yr by Cliff

we build things for beauty and comfort and longevity, they build them to be useful, and when the start to fall apart, they'll just make another.  labor and materials are cheap, so if you get 3-5 years out of it, it served it's purpose.

 

Color me nothing but impressed! I am slightly off put (?) by some of the possible safety issues, but that was amazing!

Boat building is quite a craft. Never built a boat myself but I've had the opportunity to visit The Lowel Boat Shop in Amesbury Ma often. Established in 1793 and the oldest boat shop in the country still operating as a manufacturer, restorer, museum and teaching facility today. Their dories have proven to be very seaworthy and were used as rescue boats in high surfs. Definitely worth visiting. if you ever have the opportunity. My uncle was also a boat builder but he built larger boats, 36'-40' sport fishing boats and pleasure crafts.  He owned his own boat yard on the Merrimack river.

I gotta get there! I keep meaning to, but haven’t yet.

Artie,be glad to take you there. I'm a centurian member. I could also show you one of my uncles boats. Let me know while I am still able. They are open  

tues-Fri till 3:00 pm for visitor. You can have the guided tour or just roam as you wish. They are also having an open house, I believe Dec 3-5.

35 minutes ago, Artie said:

I gotta get there! I keep meaning to, but haven’t yet.

As @Al B stated, the Lowell Boat Shop still reigns as the oldest, continuously operated boat shop in the country. While no longer owned by a Lowell family member, the heritage, tradition, and craftsmanship remained unchanged. There are numerous You-Tube videos about Lowell's. Do a search for Lowell's Boat Shop.

 

Below is a short documentary capturing the essence of Lowell's. Somewhere on this site, Al shared pictures and the story of his last visit there.

 

 

Thanks   Dave! Hope you took to time to watch the video  with Graham McKay who is now managing the shop. Shows some of what they are doing, the old ways and how apprentices are taught. Apprentices are high school student, girls and boys learning to use hand tools and becoming woodworkers.

I first learned of Lowell's Boat Shop on PBS's Craft in America series, I love that episode!

» Lowell’s Boat Shop segment

WWW.CRAFTINAMERICA.ORG

 

12 minutes ago, Al B said:

Dave! Hope you took to time to watch the video  with Graham McKay who is now managing the shop. Shows some of what they are doing, the old ways and how apprentices are taught. Apprentices are high school student, girls and boys learning to use hand tools and becoming woodworkers.

Yes I had watched that some time back after you shared your visit there. The history is so interesting as well as the passion to continue the legacy. What an opportunity for young people to get hands on practical experience. Sure wish it was closer. I'd love to see the place.

1 minute ago, Grandpadave52 said:

Sure wish it was closer. I'd love to see the place.

 Boy me too, it's on my bucket list for sure after I retire, and me and the missus take some trips across our nation.

Also, Cliff, wonderful video! I loved it! We can certainly tell they've done that a few times. I wonder if they are the local builders for the rest of the folks, or if the families all have a builder in their family.

That was interesting to watch. It also appears that is not the first one they built.

13 hours ago, John Morris said:

 Boy me too, it's on my bucket list for sure after I retire, and me and the missus take some trips across our nation.

Definitely worth the visit if you have the opportunity,

1 minute ago, Al B said:

Definitely worth the visit if you have the opportunity,

Thanks Al, we most certainly will, if we are in the area we'll drop by and say howdy Uh wait, that is if you'll have us of course.