Why build a boat?

The question is raised often on boat building sites the world over. The reasons are many and various but boil down to several key factors:

boats are beautiful to behold, building one is an act of creation, for some even a form of art
you want something different, a boat that you can't find in prebuilt craft, new or used
to save money, you can get more boat for the buck when you provide the manpower
lets not forget the rebuild, returning life to a craft from the past that has been abandonned and needs to be taken apart and put back together again.

Building a boat is an art form. Sometimes you just have to create something with your hands, something beautiful yet useful. Something to give a special meaning to our life. The thrill of casting off from the shore for the first time on a craft built by ones own hands! No matter what size. From the tiny dinghy to an ocean capable cruiser the feeling of accomplishement remains the same. Boat building is easy yet the final result never fails to have an impact on those who haven't, those who can't. So boat building also flatters the ego. There is nothing wrong with that - within socialy acceptable limits it goes without saying! For some building _is_ the journey and once finished start over on something new.

You need a boat, for whatever reason (fishing, hunting, Sunday picnic), and nothing you have seen fits your needs. Mass produced boats for the most part have little personality. They are designed to please the greatest number of possible clients. They just don't cater to special needs. They are not flexible. They just aren't you! But you just found what you need in the portfolio of a good designer. Or you may find something almost right but you start tweaking this and that to obtain the boat that fits your needs. You can even sit down with a designer and have him draw something just for you! Building your own boat gives you, most times (you can also build to strict class rules), a one off, something unique, truely yours... If you can't build you can often find someone to build for you. The one off isn't reserved for the happy few. Ask on the forum.

Now the tricky one - building to save. I'll give you my take right up front: to save money you need to know what you are doing. If you are a first time builder you will often spend more than what you would have if you bought a prebuilt craft. If you are a perfectionist you will probably allways spend more. The time you spend - even if this is your hobby - has value. A good amateur builder will aways count time spent, add it to his budget and give it a monetary value. One reason for building that is always true is you can spread the cost of your boat over the period of construction. This helps save money, and marriages... If you build boats for use in tough conditions you can build to "workboat quality" finish. Same is true if you need a boat fast (sometimes you do). The artist will want a boat that is better finished than the standard commercial offerings and the irony is that he will save too - a perfect finish takes time, time is money...

Rebuilding takes on many forms. In rebuilding there is building and it can be like starting from nothing in some extreme cases. The techniques explained elswhere in these pages for building new boats often apply to those who rebuild the old.

And me? I build to save. I build to spread the cost. I build because I love working with wood. I build to use, not just for the act of building. I love being out on the water! I can save because I was trained in most all of the trades that come into play when building a boat. I like to design my own boats (or adapt the designs of others), but I did train as an industrial designer. I finish my boats to workboat quality but I do know how to go further when I have/want/need to.

This is my take on the why - I have been building boats since I was 12 or 13 years old. It won't reflect your reasons so please let us know why you build. Have your say, that is what this site is all about.

Tony Grant [kiwi]