COURSE STRUCTURE
1. Length of Courses - length, experience needed, testimonials
2. How They Work - daily routine, who can come, how many
3. Prices - workshop charge, two examples, extra days, preparation time
4. Getting Home & Fitting Out - trailer, space, parties!, AdviceLine help
5. Enquiries 1. Length of Courses
They come in any length, depending on what design you want to build and how long you can come for. A simple boat like the 6 Hour Canoe can be done in four days. A complicated and finicky sailing canoe, including all the full size drawings and jigs, took a husband & wife five weeks, with some days free for attending to business at home.
But the essential is: you take your hull home at the end of your course. This might seem too good to be true, but nobody has failed to complete the course they set out to do. But you actually have to have woodworking experience, don`t you?
No, you don`t. Others have done it from scratch, notably Nell P. And she walked a whole lot taller out of the workshop.
"I built this boat", she said to her husband, a Naval officer, as we drank a toast, "and I name her Junket!" (Navy slang for a jolly expedition). Nell P. Build-a-Boat, Shearwater, 1995 2. How They Work
Long before the start of your course we will have decided what design you want to build, how long your course will be, and when you want to start. A wide range of boats is possible. The design, and your preferences, govern how long it will take to get your hull to the point where you can take it home. - The day before the start, you travel down to Devon and settle in to your accommodation. Most people prefer to travel on Saturday, so we often start on Sunday, but you can arrange to start on any day you like.
- We start off gently while I show you where all the tools are kept, and run through the essential safety rules. We take a good look at the plans and discuss the first jobs to do over coffee and biscuits. These jobs could be marking & cutting out the moulds, or bevelling the laminated frames that I have prepared beforehand.
- We get stuck in on those jobs, which usually involve some use of a plane. Intermission on sharpening planes & chisels and tuning up the ones you`ve brought with you!
- There is a lot to get through so it is good to start as early in the day as possible. After two or three days the set-up (jig) is usually pretty well trued and ready, so the next days are filled with planking.
- Marking out, jigsawing, fitting & fairing a plank, cutting the `gains`, gluing it, cleaning up the glue(!), and bevelling the plank on the opposite side occupy all our waking hours. You get into a good rhythm. Some of the days are quite long. We try to fasten one plank each day so the glue hardens overnight and we can take the cramps off next morning.
- There are usually one or two other things to attend to while the planking is going on - casting the weight into the centreboard, fairing & coating the board, shaping & bevelling the outer stem(s). A change is as good as a rest. You realise you`ve got faster & better at planing and you learn some new techniques.
- Planking done, there are the outer keel & stem(s) to fit and fasten.
- At the end, it`s the turn-over celebration and congratulations all round.
We put your new hull on to the trailer or roof-rack. Tidy the workshop. Don`t forget your tools & the plans. Drive, elated, back home.
Who can come?
Anyone can. What is important is your enthusiasm to do a good job and willingness to follow instructions carefully. Being an efficient cook - reading a recipe, thinking through a plan of work, assembling the ingredients, weighing accurately, is probably as good a `qualification` as any. It helps to be reasonably able bodied, but if, say, your knees trouble you, I do the kneeling underneath to clean up the glue. How many can come?
As many as you like, within reason. Husbands, wives, partners, children, all on one boat.
If you are building a simple, quick boat why not build two? We have had three 6 Hour Canoes going at once, so come with your friends, cousins, club members - the cost of my time remains the same. There`s only a bit extra for materials & preparation. For families and clubs this seriously reduces the cost per boat!
I strongly encourage this because there are several more great advantages: - everyone in the family/group has a stake in the boat(s)
- cooperative effort to achieve a tangible aim cements a strong bond between everybody
- the building is quicker and easier, the jokes more and funnier!
- even quite young children are usually very responsible and careful workers if they have a real task which leads to creating something they can use and be proud of.
- My teaching experience has given me copious practice in arranging the work and allocating jobs so that everyone always has an achievable task. And of course some can go down to the beach or up to Dartmoor when they`ve had enough!
3. Prices
My workshop charge is £25 per hour, i.e. £200 per day. All courses are based on this.
Two examples:
1) Shearwater 16` 6" sailing & rowing `færing`
Course length: Two weeks (13 days, of which two are are half working days)
Price: £3,850 Made up as follows:
12 days @ £200 - £2,400; preparation 6 days - £1,200; materials - £250
Shearwater needs considerable preparation since 18ft. sheets of ply are needed. I laminate and shape the curved frames & stems, and build the sophisticated Formica lined centreboard case, which is best fitted before the boat is planked.
2) 6 Hour Canoe 15` 8" open, double/single paddle canoe
Course length: 4 days
Price: £985 Made up as follows:
4 days - £800; preparation ½ day - £100; materials - £85
Two canoes - £185 extra, i.e.£585 each, saving £400 per boat! Extra days are £200, and longer preparation is the same charge. So if the time available for your course is very tight I can have the set-up & moulds ready and we can get right on with the planking on the first day. Alternatively, if you have more time, you might like to do the lofting (full size drawing), or make the centreboard case. 4. Getting Home and Fitting Out
If you are going to build a Shearwater, I can supply a specially designed road trailer/launching trolley. Or you can take her home perfectly well on a roof rack. Other designs will need the trailer built to measure, so it may be more practical to get that done during your fitting out.
It`s a wise move, before your course, to get ready the space you will use for fitting out. Then your hull can go straight in when you arrive home. We discuss suitability of space, order of work in fitting out, and a myriad similar things, over coffee on the course.
When you arrive (or even before!), invite lots of friends & neighbours for a `Welcoming Party`. Tea & cake will do nicely. They`ll go overboard admiring & congratulating. The fitting out is off to a great start!
Now, the image many people have of the amateur boatbuilder is of someone spending hours cloistered in garage or barn over years until ... suddenly out pops this boat and everyone is astonished. There is a short moment of glory and then not much more is heard. Nobody else took part, so nobody else feels involved or keen to get on the water.
Sadly, that is often what happens. But it need not be so. The trick is to involve lots of people right from the start. If you can possibly do the course as a family or couple, that`s brilliant. Then have `parties` frequently!
The first job will be a pair of trestles. When you and your partner/children/friends have finished them, hold a `trestling up party`. Nothing difficult - tea and buns. Everyone lifts her on to her trestles, tea is poured, buns are handed round. Some ask questions which you can`t answer, others indicate diffidently that they would be glad to lend an occasional hand, yet others offer a tool or know someone who has some timber going free. Try to have simple, non-critical jobs in mind for anyone who can be persuaded. A jolly time is had by all. Your children/helpers will be fiercely proud of her and mustard keen to start the next bit.
ADVICELINE
For Build-a-Boat customers my AdviceLine service is free, right up to your launch party. 5. Enquiries
If you find the idea of a Build-a-Boat Course attractive, please do go to the Enquiry Form and fill it in. Making an enquiry commits you to nothing. I will then be able to provide any more information you need, and discussion might well reveal that you could realise your dream using AdviceLine, which could be vastly cheaper!
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