When the ARTS and CRAFTS movement peaked in the 1920’s, it was the grandest era in craftsmanship. Ethics were impeccable, nothing was compromised. If it looked like stone, it was. The roofs were slate lasting 100 years, hardwood floors with roaming boards, elaborate balustrades, and everything authentic! The labor force had an abundance of talented craftsmen and the economy was having a heyday. The buildings of this time period are highly prized. They were built so well that they are virtually all still standing in sound condition, serving their owners beautifully.
Today our society has a disposable mentality; there are very few artisans left. I have been working with wood for 35 years. When anyone makes a commitment like this, ethics become the lifeblood of the artist. The lack of availability of highly skilled labor makes the production of more than a handful of boats per year impossible; therefore mass production of our boats is out of the question.
The Arts and Crafts esthetic is obvious in every detail of our boats. The hardware is Silicone Bronze, designed by N. G. Herreshoff, much of it cast in his original molds! Bronze is a self-preserving metal. The oxidation that forms protects the underlying material indefinitely. The Herring Bone Stripe is made of Ash, Cypress, and Sable. Utilizing Skew Scarf Joinery, it is built right into the hull. Breathtaking as well as the strongest section of the hull. The hull is old growth Western Red Cedar from Oregon. It is rot resistant, lightweight, with long lengths, even strength, and has a natural beauty making it ideal for hull construction. The Rub Rails and Keel are caped with “Half Round” Bronze for wear and impact resistance. The topsides are book matched New England White Ash, reputed to be the finest in the world for its hardness, wear resistance and tenacious strength. The Mast and Half Wishbone Boom are Cypress with the ability to flex and recover, again and again. The trees are lightweight, rot resistant, tall and straight in spite of the pounding they take from hurricanes. The sail rig is cutting edge, designed by Eric Sponberg, Naval Architect. We agreed on a “Cat Rig,” with a half wishbone boom. The mast is forward and angles back providing lift to the bow. It pivots to keep its elliptical shape properly aligned with the sail, flexes to ease the impact of sudden gusts, which allows us to maximize the sail area while preventing the boat from getting knocked over easily. The wishbone boom will never hit you in the head when coming about and allows you to tension the sail according to conditions. In a strong wind a tight sail performs better by removing flutter, while light winds are more efficiently captured with a “belly “in the sail allowing it to fill.
The entire boat is blind fastened, the same way the finest furniture is made. Two thousand five hundred 18 gauge, 316 stainless steel edge nails are used in the 12’er, proportionately more in the larger ones. Every strip is coated with epoxy on both edges, clamped into position then nailed. This procedure makes an airtight waterproof seal between every strip, therefore if the seal on the hull is compromised and water gets in, it cannot spread throughout the hull destroying the boat. The blind fastening also eliminates the dark streaks of discoloration that plague most wooden boats and makes them high maintenance.
Controlling movement in wood is essential to making a more maintenance free boat. Wood does not move with changes in temperature. It is changes in moisture content that make it move. Read a can of varnish for marine wood and it will tell you that the moisture content must be around 15% for best results. This is because varnish does not seal wood from air. There is a seal, but wood holds a significant volume of air. When the temperature changes, the air expands or contracts creating pressures that drive the exchange of atmosphere in and out of the wood. As this occurs the relative moisture content inside the wood changes, which in turn swells or shrinks the wood. It is this movement that makes the surface of the varnish eventually crack and therefore fail, creating the cycle of required maintenance for wooden boats. Therefore, the entire hull is coated in West Systems epoxy that is both 100% airtight and waterproof. Next, three layers of 4 oz. fiberglass cloth are applied with more epoxy, inside and out for incredible strength and wear resistance. The multiple layers of lightweight cloth accumulate to the same strength as heavier cloth, but the clarity of the finished hull retains the marvelous beauty of wood. Another reason for the heavier layup is longevity, the resistance to damage, i.e. denting and puncture, due to normal use. I have found that it is easy to puncture a single layer of four ounce cloth, three layers is close to bullet proof, preserving the all important seal that excludes moisture. And finally the extra layers, though not necessary for this size hull, give it extra strength to prevent flexing. All compost structures lose strength due to flexing, which breaks the fibers of the cloth and in turn decreases stiffness and can eventually lead to failure. Wood loses about half its strength from maximum stress, but does not further deteriorate. The engineering for this hull called for 1/8” wood and one layer of 4 oz. fiberglass cloth. So with three times the glass and 3/8” wood this hull will withstand millions of cycles of stress, translating to a lifespan equal to the life of the epoxy, 100 years!
Our boats are built to last for generations of reliable service without the “normal” hassle of maintaining a wooden boat. Ten layers of varnish protect the epoxy from damaging UV light and provide a beautiful, long lasting, easy to maintain finish.
This is why our boats are an investment that will serve many future generations!
Well Steve, I think we did it.
Hey there,
Nice blog, I just came across it and I’m already a fan.