Quality Plywood & Epoxy Encapsulation

I am a believer in epoxy encapsulation of wood; I wasn't always. Encapsulation entails coating the wood with multiple coats of epoxy, saturating the wood surface and building up a moisture-barrier. The moisture barrier is key for bilges and underbodies as it keeps water out of a laminate and maintains a more constant wood moisture content in timbers. Wood movement and ingress of water is what often gives wooden boats a bad name: high maintenance. Encapsulating forms a stable base for varnish and paint. We tell customers to expect a 10 year life for their paint. After 10 years of normal use they may need to do a fresh coat. That is as good as any fiberglass boat maintenance.

What convinced us of the merits of epoxy encapsulation was a visit to my friend Steven's house. He has a faering he built with his son that shows the effects of different plywoods and of epoxy coating wood.

You can see three panels in this Faering. The darker plank is Joubert Sapele faced Okoume (varnished), the middle strake is Okoume by Joubert, and the lower plank in the photo is Shelman Okoume. All planks are finished with a Behr spar varnish.

This is the same boat closer up to one of the tanktops. It is Joubert Okoume. The neighboring plank is Shelman Okoume. Both were varnished the same. The tank top is more degraded and molded than the plank. The tank top along the edge of the plank is perfectly clear. This strip was inadvertently epoxy coated when the squeeze out from the glue joint was spread during the clean up process. The same thing happened in the next photo: can you see where the epoxy is?

The results? It is clear that the epoxy coated areas of plywood are making the plywood much more durable and holding up much, much better. The sheer strake is probably holding up better because it is higher in the boat and receives less foot traffic and a lower angle of sunlight upon it. The middle strake and tank tops get more direct sunlight. But the different brands of plywood may have to do with the difference between planks made of Joubert vs Shelman. It is too bad Shelman went out of business. Clearly, Sapele holds up great and Steven made a good decision putting it in as the garboard. With that said, I have also seen Sapele planked boats flake and shed paint after many years and these were boats that were not epoxy coats.

The moral of the story: epoxy encapsulation is a good thing.

Top 5 Thanksgivings at Clint Chase Boatbuilder

We are certainly thankful at CCBB for five big things:

#1: The new shop. The goal by the time we were sitting down for turkey was to be in the new shop and pretty well set up so we could get back to customers' projects with as little delay as possible. We are a few days off the goat but still pretty darn thankful for this 1100 SF space where we'll be able to build above 30' or have multiple smaller boats in construction, or new construction and a prototype, or one big boat, mastmaking, and oarmaking all happening under one roof for the first time.

The new shop on moving in day October 1st

#2: Our customers. We wouldn't be here without them. A handful now are out there building our boats around the States, from Maine to Washington, Montana to Texas. Thanks to those who have helped me start out and who help me keep on!

#3: The designers we contract with have been key to our success and I thank all of them: Francois Vivier, Michael Storer, Bruce Elfstrom, Eric Risch, Ruud Van Veelen, Rodger Swanson, Roger Long, and all those who have helped contribute to our grand plan.

#4: Casco Bay and Maine: Though we are in a semi-industrial, urban neighborhood, it is but a 3 minute ride to the ramp that accesses the most beautiful waters in the Northeast. I am very thankful to have access to these parts, the islands, the open ocean and the memorable rows and sails we've had.

Fort Gorges in Portland Harbor

#5: Of course my family who have been unbelievably supportive in my ventures, not the least of which is starting our business building beautiful boats, spars, oars and selling boat kits to others whose dream it is to build their own boat.

Drake and kids in Flanders Bay, Maine

Dories get some attention!

I signed onto the Wooden Boat Forum the other day and to my utter delight someone else had created a post on one of my boats, the Deblois Street Dory. At the wonderful 2nd annual Fall Shop and Messabout, I finally had an opportunity to sail the D St. D myself. First off, the talk and messabout was wonderful. We had special guests, Walter & Karen Wales, Sam & Susan Manning, and Thad Danielson. Over 35 people attended.

Together under one roof, the speakers represented about the most knowledge about dories alive today. Walter is infamous for his experience with the Marblehead Gunning Dory, using the boat all his life for the designed purpose of the boat: rowing to ledges and hunting ducks. Sam is renowned for his drawings of boats in general but, to my mind, especially for his illustrations in the Dory Book by John Gardner and Sam. Sam's drawings are what inspired me to design my own dory, the Deblois Street Dory. I very much would like to produce a kit for the Marblehead Dory at 18'. Who would like one? Let me know...would you like it at the originally drawn 19'6" or 18' or 16'?

How about the Deblois St Dory...would you be interested in seeing this boat available as plans and/or a kit? More photos of the D St Dory underway:

More on the 2nd annual Fall Talk & Messabout can be seen on the WBF thread "2nd Annual Shop Talk and Messabout at Clint Chase's Shop"

More about the WB thread on the Deblois Street Dory

The Perfect Rowboat, Sailboat, or Both?

Do you like the idea of a boat that can row and sail but they often don't like the idea of compromising on one or the other? It is a trade-off. A good sailboat's lines are not good for rowing and a rowboat's lines are not good for sailing. The latter is true mainly because the hull is quite narrow and fine on the waterline, especially at the ends. A fast rowboat's lines just don't provide the stability, often, for sailing and the addition of a slot for the board introduces drag and makes the boat slow for rowing. Wooden Boat's long time manager of their boathouse often cites the Joel White Shearwater as an example. Reluctantly, listening to customer demand, Joel White added the centerboard and it really made a difference in the sailing ability: it made it possible. But it also introduced noticeable drag when rowing: the boat was slower under oars.

Drake

is very similar to Shearwater, only narrower and longer on the waterline, no daggerboard, and therefore faster under oars.

because of the moderate keel to provide some lateral resistance and enable excellent tracking for rowing. We don't have a centerboard, so there is no drag induced (though a tight fitting plug for a daggerboard trunk can fair the slot to the hull reasonably well). I've been asked a number of times, and I just will not add a daggerboard to Drake. She is just a blast to sail downwind and can sail as high as a beam reach quite fast. The sail adds tremendous range when you consider the sail as auxiliary power.

But if you want to sail upwind, and row well, you need a boat with a lot of flare in the hull and a shape that provides excellent secondary stability. Joel White's Shearwater and his 18' version of the boat are good examples. Another ideal example is the dory. What I love about the dory is that it is narrow at the waterline and flares out to a generous width, for a rowboat, at the rail, usually 4'8-5'. The Deblois Street Dry is nearly 5' at the rail. The stability this shape produces lends itself to sailing (see photo of me sitting on D St D's gunwale), but the narrow width at the waterline when the boat is not heeled means that it will row well. The double ended shape of the waterline on a dory keeps the ends fine for rowing ability. Drake shows a similar shape (see photo): narrow waterline, 4'1" at the gunwales provides secondary stability.

The Marblehead Gunning Dory is, to me, perhaps the perfect boat. If I could have only one boat (let's not think about that...what a shame that would be!), I would have a gunning dory or a Swampscott Dory. Come to my annual

Shop Talk & Messabout

to see both of these dory types in the flesh and meet two experts on dories: Sam Manning and Walter Wales.

Thank you to Chris Partridge, blogger in the UK:

Rowing for Pleasure

for bringing up the subject of rowing vs sailing characteristics in a boat

Invitation to Fall Shop Talk & Messabout in Portland, Maine

Please join me for the 2^nd annual – “It’s a tradition now” – shop talk and messabout. This year we’ll welcome our guest designer/builder Walter Wales. Also with him will be WoodenBoat’s Associate Editor Karen Wales (Walter’s wife) and renowned illustrator Sam Manning and his wife Susan.

Walter is an acknowledged expert on the Marblehead Gunning Dory originally built by Will Chamberlain of Marblehead, Massachusetts. Sam illustrated John Gardner’s “Dory Book”

Walter and Karen will bring their Gunning Dory REPUBLICAN, built in 1960 by Capt Gerald Smith from Will Chamberlain’s molds.

Walter and Sam will talk about the history, design, construction, and use of this famous dory type. In addition to REPUBLICAN we’ll have a couple other dories on site to look at and discuss.

You can read about the Marblehead Gunning Dory in John Gardner’s books, “The Dory Book” and “Wooden Boats to Build and Use.”

Bring a boat because afterward we’ll head to East End for a sailing and rowing Messabout. Snacks and drinks provided in the shop, but bring a lunch

WHAT: 2^nd Annual Shop Talk & Messabout

WHERE: 25 Deblois Street Portland, Maine. Deblois is off Brighton Avenue

WHEN: Saturday, Oct 23^rd 11am. Messabout after lunch. Sunday rain date (stay posted on my blog for weather update)

MAP: http://tinyurl.com/ClintShop

CCBB Blog ClintChaseBoatbuilder.blogspot.com