Technology, Tooling, Materials, and Craftsmanship

   Work Of The Masters In The Modern Era

     Technology, Tooling, Materials, and Craftsmanship represent multiple levels of advancement in human knowledge and skill. Fire and stone axes were the advanced technologies of early boatbuilders, who learned to choose the best trees from which to carve a canoe, the most highly developed design of the age. Over time, each field of knowledge grew, typically as an overlapping of the fields; better materials and techniques in the hands of skilled craftsmen resulted in better tools, which allowed for the better use of better materials to build better boats. And so on. Tools tend to develop from work, as does tooling, as does technology; the practice of craft presents challenges best met by new designs of tools and techniques. Knowledge only grows, efficiencies and qualities increase, and through it all the craftsman's work is the critical interface between technology, tooling, and materials.

     At the time of Easterly's building, wood was still the most commonly used material for boats of her size; the oak, cedar, mahogany, teak, and spruce were the best woods available, bronze and monel the best metals. This brings us to a pertinent question: Easterly represents a high point in the skill and craftsmanship levels needed to build a fine small yacht, but would we build a boat the same way today? The answer is, if one seeks a challenge and a showpiece, then yes; the skills needed to build such a boat are of the highest order, and the finished piece will provide several generations worth of pleasure and prestige. Otherwise, no: we need to acknowledge and understand a fundamental truth, that what we now call "classic" or "vintage" was in it's time, the state of the art. Everything about technology, tooling, and materials advanced at an accelerating rate throughout the 20th century, as did the role of craftsman in the process. The intent and purpose of a given vessel must be weighed in the decisions surrounding it's creation.

     In reality, the development of modern technology, tooling, and materials is an entirely logical continuation of a long historical progression. The imperative to find better ways to do things, always resisted by the status quo, has moved humanity steadily forward to the point we are now at, which is certain to change as time progresses.

     Boats are the beneficiary of much of this development; in the past watercraft often provided the impetus for technology, tooling. and materials advances, but today's advances are the result of large, multi-discipline, multi-source research and development. Designing sailboats would never have led to developing computers and software, nor to computer numerical control routers. But, the availability of such technology/tooling simply changes the nature of boat building.

     My father once, when he was nearing the end of his passage through this life, commented that a production boat should be of higher quality than a custom boat, since one may invest so much more into the templating and set up work. It is indeed a truism that the more sophisticated technology, tooling, and materials become, the less skill is required to produce a high quality, finished product. This of course is because the level of skill and knowledge that goes into the technology, tooling, and materials is at once so highly developed, and also utterly repeatable, that better results are achievable than with hand-crafted work with less skilled craftsmen and less time required. In Easterly's time, bronze screws were a prime example of this, a combination of sophisticated metallurgy and mass production machinery, producing fasteners easier and faster to acquire and drive home than the less secure, handmade trunnels and nails they replaced. Today, epoxies and other adhesives, correctly and strategically used, allow even higher quality and more durable connections to be made, with arguably less skill required than driving screws home.


     This too follows the the historical trendline: the skill and talent of individual boatbuilders, designers, loftsmen, toolmakers, sawyers, and sailmakers has always been reflected in the quality and performance of final products. Having all the skills, knowledge, innovation, and labors of chemists, engineers, programmers, manufacturers, and tool and die makers on the boat builder's palette provides the option to create especially good and fine boats with details of finish and function brought to a never before achievable level of structural integrity and longevity. Such boats may be entirely custom or built in volume (either and all benefit from the underlying, highly advanced technology, tooling, and materials); they may incorporate the finest or the most functional of joinery and finish. The skill of the sawyer to select the best tree has been supplemented by the ability of chemical and manufacturing industries to develop the best materials and technologies. It is in many ways the best of all times for boat designers and builders, and for the owners and users of boats. But, it is only worthwhile if the boats produced get used often.


     The next posting will, at last, be a set of short descriptive pieces on designs in various stages of completion or concept that I will categorize as Designs for the Master. This will include a Link to a separate blog for such designs, where I will be able to include some thoughts on the construction and the processes and approaches to be taken for each design. As this work progresses, drawings, photographs, and further detail will be added to each design.