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Friends Supported Programs » Watercraft
Center
Watercraft Center
One-Week Boatbuilding Class
Class fee: $1,750.00 ($1,700.00 FOM)
Each
student builds a traditional flat-bottomed skiff or a small
round-bottomed boat over a one-week period. Class participants will
build their own flat-bottomed skiff or small round-bottomed boat,
either carvel or lapstrake planked, up to 15 feet in length, with an
expert’s guidance. Students must discuss the boat they wish to build
with the instructor before the class begins and receive his
approval. They take home their boats, which will be ready for
primer, at the end of the class. The class price includes the cost
of all materials. Tools are supplied, but participants are
encouraged to bring their own battery-operated drills (including
charger) and palm or orbital sanders. (64 hours)
A Boatbuilding Carpentry class is a prerequisite for
this class.
The extra materials (excluding sails) required for a
sailing craft add $750.00 to the class fee.
(By pre-arrangement only, a discount of $1,000 is
available for those wishing to take the class but not take home a
boat.)
Flat-Bottomed
Boatbuilding Carpentry
Class fee: $135.00 ($110.00 FOM)
Traditional techniques, developed to solve
woodworking problems unique to vernacular boatbuilding, are taught
in this hands-on workshop. Participants work as a team to construct
a twelve to fourteen-foot version of a traditional “rack of eye”
flat-bottomed skiff. In the process they learn how to set up the
boat, spile and bend planks, plane bevels, erect framing, and
explore fastening options and the characteristics of traditional
boatbuilding woods. (12 hours)
Round-Bottomed
Boatbuilding Carpentry
Class fee: $135.00 ($110.00 FOM)
This class teaches skills essential for building
round-bottomed boats. Students learn to derive shapes of frames and
planks, plank both carvel and lapstrake hulls, and understand
traditional construction techniques. They also examine and
experience the properties of various boatbuilding materials, the
advantages and limitations of different construction styles, and the
properties of the range of fasteners and adhesives for boat
construction. (12 hours).
Lofting
Class fee: $75.00 ($65.00 FOM)
Boatbuilding plans usually come as scale drawings and
tables of numbers on a few sheets of paper. Lofting is the process
of taking that information and using it to produce full-sized
drawings for patterns from which a boat can be built. It is the
first step in boatbuilding and the most common stumbling block for
anyone starting off on their own. Students loft a boat following a
sequence of steps which is reusable for any boat to be lofted in the
future and gain a working knowledge of the terminology and the
process. (12 hours).
Lift Half Model Making
Class fee: $100.00 ($90.00 FOM)
This class is recommended as the place to begin a
woodworking, model making, or boatbuilding experience. Students are
taught how to read a set of plans and use the basic woodworking
tools most commonly found in a boatbuilder’s tool kit to shape a
lift half model of a North Carolina Shad Boat. The lift model is one
of the easiest and most accurate of half models to make. The class
is organized in such fashion that the models are completed in a
step-by-step procedure ready to start applying a finish. (12 hours).
Oar Making
Class fee: $125.00 ($100.00 FOM)
While well-crafted oars are increasingly difficult to
find or to afford, making them oneself is enjoyable. This class
examines the basic principles of oar design and construction and
explores the many varieties of oars suitable for use in small boats.
Students lay out and make their own pair of well-balanced oars
during the class. (12 hours)
Spar Making
Class fee: $125.00 ($100.00 FOM)
Students study the materials and hardware used for
spars and learn a variety of techniques for laying out and
constructing both solid and hollow wooden spars in this hands-on
class. Students construct a hollow spar to be divided among class
participants for a variety of decorative applications.
Alternatively, participants in our boatbuilding classes may take
this opportunity to make spars for their boats (materials NOT
included in tuition cost). (12 hours).
Sail Making
Class fee $125.00 ($100.00 FOM)
Students
learn about the layout, lofting and building of sails. Repairing and
re-cutting sails is covered as is machine sewing and handwork
technique used by sailmakers. Students may use the techniques they
learn to complete a ditty bag, or use the class to make the sails
for a boat constructed in one of our boatbuilding classes (materials
for these sails NOT included in tuition cost). No prior experience
is required. Bring your own sewing machine if possible. (12 hours)
Knotting and Splicing
Class Fee: $75.00 ($65.00 for FOM)
Rigging and operating your
boat in a safe seamanlike manner requires practical knowledge of the
proper use of a variety of knots and splices. Learn hands-on how to
make the various basic knots, bends, hitches, and splices, and, just
as importantly, when and where to use them.
12-Volt Marine Electrical
Systems
Class fee: $75.00 ($65.00 for FOM)
This class is for boat owners who would like to learn
how to sort out the 12-volt electrical system on their boat in a
hands-on and practical way. Find out how a multimeter works. Learn
how to maintain a boat’s 12-volt electrical system and the best
tools to include in an onboard tool kit. Class covers
troubleshooting wiring, switches, gauges, starters, alternators,
engine alarms, etc. The class includes a period of practical
problem-solving for the students to work through while under the
direction of the instructor in a classroom environment. Students are
encouraged to bring their multimeter to class, along with questions
about their own 12-volt systems. (8 hours)
Diesel Maintenance
Class fee: $75.00 ($65.00 FOM)
Participants learn basic maintenance procedures for marine diesel
engines including changing filters, bleeding air out of the system,
proper lubricants, fuel additives, and troubleshooting engine
problems. Students are encouraged to bring engine specifications and
owner’s manuals for their specific brand and model diesel engine.
Materials include a 13-page handout. (8 hours)
Build a Boat in a Day
Class fee: $300.00 ($275.00 FOM) per team.
Each adult and child team uses the stitch-and-glue
technique to assemble a prepared kit for a small flat-bottomed
plywood boat suitable for rowing or paddling. The boat is 7’ 10”
long, 32” wide, and weighs about 40 pounds. By the end of the class
each boat will be completed to a watertight condition and
clear-coated with epoxy. Detail finishing and painting is the
responsibility of team members and may not be undertaken in the
Watercraft Center. Teams are limited to a maximum of 4 persons, at
least one of whom must be an adult. The minimum age limit for
this class only is 8 years. (6 hours).
Classes generally are offered on the weekends at the
museum’s Harvey W. Smith Watercraft Center. Please refer to the
museum’s current calendar of events for specific class dates and
times. Participants must be at least 16 years old, unless otherwise
noted. A minimum number of participants, specific to each program,
is required for classes to operate. Payment in full must accompany
registration. “FOM” denotes a discounted price for members of the
Friends of the Museum. Penalties apply for cancellation within one
month of the beginning of a class.
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