How to build
Our kits are designed to be assembled on a flat and level floor. The first step is to cut the parts free from the retaining tabs on the aluminium sheets. Take the parts to be folded (eg, gunwales and side pockets) to a machine shop for the pressings to be done.
We supply a separate set of fold drawings for this process. You then lay the bottom sheets down and commence tack welding the structure together on the floor. All of the main structure is designed to be self-jigging, so provided you follow the supplied drawings and instructions the hull should be fair and true.
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The aluminium parts are pre-cut, numbered, and are complete with assembly alignment marks for ease of construction.
There is no plate rolling or plate development work needed to get the bottom and side plates to the correct shape. We use state of the art software to ensure hull plates can be easily pulled around by hand, or at most using a small chain block for assistance.
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There is always some basic trimming and cutting required in every kit, however the basic principle is we pre-cut everything we reasonably can, and minimise what is done on the boat. Extrusions like box section deck stiffeners need to be cut to length. But the majority of the fabrication work is fitting of pre-cut parts to the alignment marks, following a build sequence from a drawing.
What You Need
Our kits are designed to be assembled on a flat and level floor. An enclosed space is strongly recommended because you need to be out of the wind, and keep surfaces for welding clean and free of sand, grit or moisture. You need a MIG welder with minimum 240 amps capacity, set up for welding aluminium. You don’t need 3-phase power – there are many 240V machines to choose from on the market. The remainder is mostly home handyman type tools (sanders, drills, circular saw etc). Keep in mind there is very little actual cutting work involved – the majority is done already.
Required Skills
Our kits are designed to be put together by the home boat builder. In general only basic skills with hand or power tools are required, and the drawings are geared specifically to the home builder. It is recommended that you get some training in aluminium welding at a TAFE or similar, or have someone who has welding skills to help you. There are plenty of offcuts from the flat-pack kit to use for practise before you start.
