Modeling in the Flesh and Screen

Modeling the hull

After slicing and dicing the hull "shell" in the computer, I had the parts cut and assembled them into a quarter scale model. Modeling is a great way to test the plank shapes and make sure the lines look good in 3D reality.



The CNC cut parts delivered by CNC Routing & Design in Camden, Maine.



The molds set up and plank-keel attached. The molds are stand ins for the permanent bulkheads that will be set up in the actual boat. The molds are set up using hot glue.



Planking up the model over the molds. The planks (1/8" thick ply) fit well and the lines came out as fair as I could have hoped.



The CIY model with outer stem and gunwales attached. I slightly tweaked the sheer.



Aft view showing a very pretty transom. I also made slight tweaks to the width of the strake below the sheer, but most people would never notice. Not me; I see a line that's a 64th of an inch off!

Once I was assured that the hull aesthetics and plank fits were "right", I proceeded to finish modeling the interior of the hull and, finally, designing the strongback system, no small task. I'll report on this next post and hopefully show some paint on the model, too!

A Real Hull Model

The Calendar Iands Yawl

Hull Modeling in the flesh: part 1

CNC cutting parts for a quarter scale model

The 3D computer model is sliced up into sections that become molds for defining the hull shape.

You can see the molds formed now, trimmed to the hull surface,  and one more to go!

The hull is planked and ready to be broken up into the "flat" 2D geometry.

A neat screenshot that shows the 3D and 2D nature of the work: in the foreground is the 3D hull model. In the background is the geometry flattened onto the "construction plane".

This is the file with the 2D geometry as received by the CNC cutter, CNC Routing & Design in Camden, Maine. Tim will load the file into his Shopbot software, make toolpaths, and cut the parts.

The ShopBot machine cuts to my lines with a couple thousands of an inch accuracy. These are the planks of the boat, the bottom keel plank in the center and the sheer strake to the far right and left.

The molds of my quarter scale kit around which the planks will be wrapped and checked for fairness and for fit.

Sail Plan for CIY

The Calendar Islands Yawl will be a lug-yawl rig. Details forthcoming!! 

Stay tuned for the quarter scale model of the boat. I'll be assembling the hull to check the fit and fairness of all her lines before proceeding to build out the interior structure and complete the model.

Calendar Islands Yawl 16 Update

Specs

LOA 15' 6"

Beam 5' 2"

Anticipated Hull weight 150-200 lbs

Displacement ~520 lbs

Here are some screen shots of the CIY model with lapstrake planking. The garboard is actually stitch-and-glued to the bottom, glassed, then the rest of the planks are plywood lapstrake with no fiberglass required. The bottom exterior is definitely oriented towards a lot of beaching as this is a sail-and-oar dinghy with an emphasis on sailing.

The waterline shows quite a bearing aft which should allow for a good planing when the wind is up and the crew is sitting aft and hiking out.

Now that the hull is complete, I can begin thinking about how to layout the interior structure with CNC cutting and kit building in mind but also so that the boat can be scratch built from just the plans or full size patterns.

I'll also sketch the rig but I bet folks know what the rig will be since its implied in the name. The CIY is named for the over 365 islands that dot Casco Bay. These islands and the sailing around them are the intended waters for this exciting boat.

The plan is to find a willing boat builder out there to build the first hull. I will sell the kit at my cost. Its a great way for someone to get into the boat they want for significantly less than what will be the retail cost.

New Boat: CIY 16

The Calendar Islands Yawl 16

A Sail-and-Oar Dinghy for one or two people

The CIY 16 began as a 19 x 6 1/2-foot daysailer design with a deck and coaming with a bit of Herreshoff flavor. A friend who sails the Goat Island Skiff design by Michael Storer wanted a similar boat -- singlehanding, lightweight, lug rigged sail-and-oar dinghy -- but with a hull shape more amenable to Maine waters. I immediately thought of my CIY lines that I had drawn years ago and that had been sitting untouched and in need of inspiration. I had already put the lines into the computer so I scaled them down and reworked them to make this hull. The specs are:

LOA 15 1/2'

Beam 5' 1"

Displacement ~522lbs

Depth amidships 1'9"

DWL is 3'10" x 13'2"

Cp is 0.54

The hull has a wide plank keel for rolling the boat up and down the beach. The skeg is there for tracking under oars, but the cutaway allows the stern to come through the wind when tacking. The lines are fairly straight forward and full aft. In a breeze she will plane. Yet trimmed on her DWL, the transom is out of the water and the stem is in the water and she'll row fine with 10' oars so long as we keep her light. Construction will be 1/4" plywood: bottom and garboard stitch and glue style, with lapstrake sides, about 5 strakes total for topsides.

It's always fun designing something really new. The next steps are to put in all the planks in the model so look forward to that post. I'll be looking for someone to prototype the boat. Let me know if you are interested. Stay tuned!

Landing School Boat Launching

A great week of learning, teaching and boat launching last week at The Landing School where I instruct in the Wooden Boatbuilding Program. These students just launched a Joel White designed Maine Coast Peapod. It performed great at the launch last Friday. We enjoyed a jaunt in the Kennebunk River during a small craft advisory. We ducked out into some of the swell, three of us aboard, to see how mannerly a Peapod is in these conditions. Even I was struck -- again -- by how well behaved a sea boat the 'pod can be, whether bow to or stern to the waves. We turned around and rushed in with the swell and tide as the regular Fall start students watched on and snapped photos.

With most of my work in plywood, CNC cutting and making boat kits, it is a joy to help students learn to build a boat in solid wood and one that does not depend on epoxy for holding it all together or fairing over mistakes!

Finer points of final assembly.

Check out the Programs at The Landing School on the Rocky Coast of Maine.

This year has been a crazy one and we will be unable to attend the Waterfowl Festival as we usually do...

...However...

 ...there is another new, and for true enthusiasts of model boats, perhaps more interesting, show being held in Oxford, Maryland on Saturday, November 9^th. You may or may not know their names, but the lineup of talented model makers is quite impressive, thanks to Master Model Maker Ed Thieler who organized the event.

I don't know the whole list of model makers that will be in attendance, but I do know that in addition to Ed Thieler (Chesapeake vessel expert noted for the precision and beauty of his boats and dioramas), Capt. Eddie Somers (Smith Island native and Chesapeake boat expert), Capt. Don Willey (specializes in Chesapeake and various other craft and is a Marlinespike expert), Capt. Ron Fortucci (Half-hulls, Pond Yachts, professional cabinet maker and sailor), Jim Wortman ( model maker and historian from New York's famous South Street Seaport Museum)  and others will be there, many of whom will be talking about their models and/or the history of the boats they've replicated of the Chesapeake Bay. We'll be there too, with our models and books and we will be discussing “photogrammetry”.

Whether you know their names or not, their works are among the finest in the region and the models that will be there will be something to behold. It will be a rare assembly of such highly talented artists of the type. Some models will be for sale (if you're looking for something different for Christmas), while other models, for display only, will make you say “Wow!”

As great as the Waterfowl Festival is, it's worth taking the side trip to Oxford. You won't find anything like this at The Waterfowl Festival and if you like fine carvings and art, you are certain to love the model boats that will be at this show. After all, the heritage that makes the Waterfowl Festival what it is could not have been without the boats.

Come to the Model Show at the Oxford Community Center, in Oxford, Maryland, from 10:00am to 4:00pm on Saturday, November 9^th, 2012.