Just Launched!
We built Phil Mislinski's Core Sound 17
Grasshopper. Click that link to check out the Phil Mislinski Photography site and the
photo essay of his new boat. We have to say, Phil takes some great photos, and Grasshopper looks
wonderful on his site.
Exciting News for 2007!
Check out our new page on the John Welsford Navigator and
its larger sister craft, the Pathfinder. Great Falls
Boat Works is proud to be able to offer these great designs for new owners.
Great Falls Boat Works is pleased to announce a new choice
in the construction of our CoreSound 17 and
Spindrift 10 series. We now offer construction
of both of these lines in Foam Cored Fiberglass hulls as well as our original
BS 1088 Plywood hulls.
We are preparing two new pages to explain the pros and cons of both construction types,
so please check back often. We'll include complete details of our custom, foam
core construction and why it is a step above mass-production techniques.
Until these pages are up, please feel free to email or call for more information!
Ray Frechette
P.S. - Don't forget to check out our
article from
Small Craft Advisor Magazine about a Core Sound 17 winning the Everglades Challenge.
Introduction
Great Falls Boat Works is a small wooden Boat Building company specializing in boats under 22 feet
in length constructed in wood, plywood and epoxy, and soon - foam cored fiberglass.
Building Methods
I build in various means and methods to include stitch and glue, tack and tape, glued lapstrake as well as others.
I do not however build in the more traditional methods such as riveted lapstrake, or carvel or double plank carvel.
This is not due to a lack of respect for these methods, however, there are several builders with
more experience in these more traditional methods who I could refer you to.
I choose to build in the methods I do as it allows me to take some
of the best attributes of wood and construct a well built craft that can display the beauty of wood and enjoy the lightness and rigidity in
a boat yet at a relatively low cost. The same sized 20 foot craft that I can build and sell at a profit that is at a price I can conceive of
buying myself would cost at least 4 times as much in traditional methods. Now I truly do appreciate a craft constructed of traditional
means, however I can not afford to buy one myself.
So How Does Commissioning a Custom Built Boat Work?
If you decide you would like to build a boat, a lot of consultation
goes into it before I ever buy a stick of wood for it. The cost of
this consultation, and the cost of all consultation while the boat is
being built is included in the cost of the boat, and is not billed
separately. Before settling on a design I want to know what your
intended use is, what your experience level is and what your
expectations are. You and I will both be happier if your chosen craft
is decided upon with these considerations carefully reviewed.
A Core Sound 17, as featured in our ad in Maine Boat and Harbor. This pic is from the designer's site,
B and B Yacht Designs. Just
one of the great family boats Great Falls Boat Works can complete for you.
All boats are a series of compromises. A feature of a boat will have both
positive and negative attributes. For instance the dead solid
sailboat that doesn't need a reef until a gale force wind is blowing,
and is extremely forgiving, will likely also be the slowest boat in
the fleet.
As a Favorite Naval architect friend of mine quoted to me one day,
"Other than Marriage no other discipline requires more compromise than
small craft design" As you are marrying yourself to the design for a while, it
will serve you well to know well what the pros and cons and attributes
of the boat will be.
What We Won't Do
On occasion a client does ask for something on a boat being built that
the builder simply refuses to do. While at first blush the buyer may
well resent this, it is not done lightly on the part of the builder.
The builder however will have his nameplate adhered to the boat long
after a buyer decides that the boat really does not suit him as he had
it built. And aside from the negative advertising a poorly altered
boat will have on a builder's reputation, the builder has continuing
liability should someone get hurt on the boat due to a fault on his
part. As such, I only build to designs drawn by recognized Naval
Architects and will only depart from stock parameters with approval
from either the original designer, or if he is deceased from another
recognized NA who reviews the plans.
Materials of Construction - Yes, it does matter
I will only build with top quality materials, to include plywood
manufactured to the tolerances of British Standard 1088. While there
are many who claim that marine fir ACX is fine with a coating of glass
on it, I am firmly of the opinion that it is a false economy.
Can you tell which plywood is going to protect your investment the best? We select only top
quality marine plywood conforming to British Standard 1088 for your boat.
Once you add the labor cost and material cost of the glassing, very little
is saved in a build. At most the savings amount to less than 5 %. If
someone is going to be very concerned about saving 2-500.00 on a 12-
15,000.00 boat, I know I am going to be having problems through the
whole build. While I do like the income that building provides me, I
would rather walk away from potential problems with a buyer. It is
still a hobby in many respects after all, and life is too short as it
is to contend with such issues. Also, the long term satisfaction of
the boat will be much better with the better materials. Paying for
quality hurts when you write the check, but you feel the pain of
economizing many times during your ownership.
There are other issues that I may strongly suggest, but acquiesce to
your wishes. One such issue that came up recently on a build was my
recommendation that a buyer place bottom paint on the bottom of his
trailer sailer. I had recommended a modified epoxy bottom paint to the
bottom not as a growth inhibitor, but rather in the event he ever
wanted to leave the boat in the water for a few days at a time. He
opted for 2 part epoxy topcoat instead. Now while he has not had
problems with paint pealing with his boat, he has conceded that he
wished he had taken my recommendation as there were times he would have
wished to leave the boat in the water for a few days and did not as the
paint used on the topsides is not recommended for immersion for more
than 2 days.
This is just a taste of the consultations and discussions that take
place during a build. Very often I try to consult with the buyer as I
am very aware I am building them Their Boat. At times even ergonomics
of the buyer come into play to make sure that the boat will be
comfortable to their frame.
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