depends on many things

Posted by Charlie Jones on Nov 12, 2004

I build boats professionally, and I built three CLC boats using the kits - Eastport Pram, Mill Creek 16.5, John's Sharpie, all with sailing rigs.

Of course, most of the boats I build are done from plans. I used the kits at the time because I was really pushed for time to get the boats finished. For example, I built the John's Sharpie in 6 weeks total time, kit delivery to load it on a truck to deliver and that was over both Thanksgiving AND Christmas.

In the kits you get EVERYTHING you need. We got hardware, screws, strapping for deck hatches, and on the sailing parts, all the blocks, etc. Saved me HUGE amonunts of time.

The second part is that from my shop, to get to someplace where I can buy Okume is a several hundred mile drive. If I'm building a larger boat, I can justify the time and expense of the drive to buy 25 or 30 sheets. I can also spend the time locating, ordering and waiting for all the other bits and pieces.

To drive over for 2 sheets can waste a day and quite a bit of fuel, which ain't cheap these days.

So it really depends on you. Can you save money building from plans? Certainly.

Can you save time by building from a kit? For sure.

So- if you have the place to obtain the materials easily, AND the time to do the project, go for the plans. It's a most satisfying way to get a boat. If you are in a hurry or are located away from supply sources, then go for the kit. It's ALSO a satisfying way to get a boat and you can't tell the difference after it's finished.

Hope this helps Charlie

In Response to: PRICES by PAUL on Nov 11, 2004

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