How to learn wooden

boatbu!ld!ng !f you don't have a

workshop
Sep 14, 2023

“I want to learn boatbu!ld!ng, but …”

I’ve been !n touch w!th a lot of people who want to learn wooden
boatbu!ld!ng but are held back by obstacles that feel d!ff!cult to
overcome.

What I hear the most !s:

1. I want to learn boatbu!ld!ng, but I don’t have access to a su!table

workshop.
2. I want to learn boatbu!ld!ng, but I don’t have the t!me
3. I want to learn boatbu!ld!ng, but I can’t afford !t.
4. I want to learn boatbu!ld!ng, but I’m afra!d I’ll fa!l.
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 These are all real and relevant concerns. But !n most cases, I
bel!eve they can be overcome.

In th!s blog post ser!es, I’ll address each of these four !ssues, one by
one.

Obstacle 1: I want to learn boatbu!ld!ng, but I don’t

have access to a su!table workshop

When you bu!ld a boat, you'll of course need a place to bu!ld !t.

The workshop space should be at least as b!g as the boat, and

!deally a b!t b!gger. It should be under a roof. Good l!ght!ng,
electr!c!ty, a workbench and some tools are necessary, too.

Not everyone has access to these sorts of fac!l!t!es. Espec!ally !f you

l!ve !n the c!ty, a su!table workshop space can be very d!ff!cult to f!nd.

The great news !s that you can eas!ly get started learn!ng
boatbu!ld!ng w!thout a full-s!zed workshop. The key !s to start out
by bu!ld!ng a scale model boat.

Scale model boatbu!ld!ng !s a great learn!ng platform

Bu!ld!ng a boat at, say, quarter scale, w!ll teach you almost all the
sk!lls you’ll need to bu!ld a full-s!zed boat:

Read!ng and understand!ng the plans

Loft!ng (draw!ng the var!ous parts of the boat at full s!ze)
Accurate setup of molds, stem(s), keel, transom(s)
Sp!l!ng (creat!ng plank patterns)
Fa!r!ng, cutt!ng and f!tt!ng planks
Cutt!ng and f!tt!ng knees, frames and other parts w!th complex
shapes and bevels.
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 I would argue that you can learn 80% of the techn!ques you’ll need
to bu!ld a full-s!ze boat when you bu!ld a scale model.

Scale model boatbu!ld!ng !s much more access!ble

At quarter scale, a 12-foot (3,6m) boat !s all of a sudden just 3 feet

(90cm) long. Th!s means that !t eas!ly f!ts on a table !n your k!tchen,
basement or garage. It’s not heavy and can eas!ly be put as!de when
you’re not work!ng on !t.

It can be bu!lt of read!ly ava!lable mater!al such as doorsk!n plywood

or 1/8” (3mm) veneer. All cuts can eas!ly be done w!th !nexpens!ve
hand saws !nstead of stat!onary power saws.

So bu!ld!ng at scale !s much more access!ble than bu!ld!ng full s!ze.

But that’s not the only reason you’d want to cons!der !t. Work!ng at a
smaller scale puts you !n a much more forg!v!ng, playful sett!ng,
because the stakes are much lower: Mater!als are much less
expens!ve. You don’t need a b!g workshop. Gett!ng bu!ld!ng mater!als
!s much eas!er. You can get by w!th very few, !nexpens!ve tools. You’ll
spend less t!me complet!ng the project. And, not least: Because you
won’t go on the water !n your scale boat, the !ntegr!ty of the boat (or
lack thereof) won’t put the personal safety of you or any passengers
at stake.

These factors all make the learn!ng process much less stressful -
and poss!bly a lot more fun. You’ll get to the po!nt where you learn
core boatbu!ld!ng sk!lls a lot faster than !f you have to set up a full
workshop and source full-s!zed lumber f!rst.

What you don't get when you bu!ld a scale model

The downs!de to bu!ld!ng a scale model !s - of course - that the

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 project won’t get you a boat that you can go on the water !n. You’ll
“only” get a model.

And, although the process !s very s!m!lar to bu!ld!ng a full-s!ze boat,

there are of course some th!ngs that are d!fferent: You won’t need to
go to the sawm!ll or lumberyard to select and purchase b!g lumber.
You won’t learn to use stat!onary mach!nery such as bandsaws and
jo!nters/th!ckness planers that are used to m!ll large s!zed lumber.
Model boats are usually assembled us!ng glue !nstead of mechan!cal
fasteners such as r!vets, screws and na!ls. And the hapt!cs of
work!ng w!th full scale lumber !s d!fferent from work!ng w!th fract!on
scale wood.

But that sa!d, most of the general sk!lls are exactly the same
regardless !f you bu!ld a scale model or a full-s!ze boat.

Scale models: A good way to start learn!ng wooden boatbu!ld!ng

So !f you’re just gett!ng !n to boatbu!ld!ng, and espec!ally !f you don’t

have a workshop yet, I would argue that a scale boat would be a
good way to get started: You’ll learn the bas!c techn!ques, and you’ll
make all your beg!nner’s m!stakes !n a playful sett!ng where the
stakes are not too h!gh.

And the scale boat w!ll be a great pract!ce run !n case you dec!de to
bu!ld the full-s!ze boat at a later stage: You’ll have a very good feel
for the ent!re process, wh!ch w!ll help you steer clear of m!stakes.
Your model boat w!ll be a great reference for check!ng construct!on
deta!ls.

The total t!me you’ll spend bu!ld!ng a scale model and a full-s!ze boat
m!ght actually be more or less the same as just bu!ld!ng a full-s!zed
boat, because you’ll work more freely and because the model bu!ld
w!ll have g!ven you exper!ence wh!ch w!ll keep you from mak!ng
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 t!me-consum!ng m!stakes.

If you're !nterested !n learn!ng wooden boatbu!ld!ng (full-s!ze or

fract!on scale) I suggest you s!gn up for my free m!n! course. The
m!n! course focuses on full-s!ze boatbu!ld!ng, but - as ment!oned
above - the bu!ld!ng techn!ques are mostly the same.

- M!kkel Pagh
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 My fr!end Mark Reuten at Nomad Boatbu!ld!ng has over a quarter
century of exper!ence !n wooden boatbu!ld!ng, but he st!ll bu!lds lots
of models. Here’s a model of the F!ddlehead Canoe that he bu!lt
wh!le he surveyed the early development of a Small Boat
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 School course on bu!ld!ng th!s boat.

Here are a few process shots from Mark's Instagram account:

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 If you want to d!ve deep !nto the m!ndset and work processes of a
long-t!me pro boatbu!lder, I h!ghly recommend Mark's Nomad
Boatbu!ld!ng YouTube Channel.
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