Points to remember:-
BUILDING TIME
The building times are based on Hanneke's estimations, supported by letters from builders.
They are by the nature of human vagaries only an approximation, a rough average. Some builders treat each piece of wood in a caressing loving fashion and end up, after a long time, with a boat that is also a piece of wood sculpture. Others throw pieces of wood together and end up with a quickly built, rough sailing ship. People are free to do as they wish, I personally like to take the middle way.
The building site and tools available also affect construction time. If you have a good covered shelter with power lines for hand-held power tools, you will build considerably faster than if you build the boat some distance away from your living base, in the open or under the simplest of polythene shelters, without power, using only hand tools.
I built Rongo and Tehini in the open with only minimal shelter and hand tools. It can be done but the phrase to describe it is "Character Forming"!!
BUILDING COST
Costs are approximate. Some builders love to put rare and expensive woods into their boats, others get as much pleasure hunting around scrap-yards and doing deals for their basic building materials.
Builders' attitudes towards their choice of wood, winches and gadgets they put on their boats, can make a considerable difference in cost from the standard average shown in Hanneke’s table. (Whatever you do, do not try cheap non-brand epoxy and incompatible glass cloths!)
Building costs are printed on a separate sheet, (see your regional distributor) because of frequent changes due to inflation.
BUILDING METHODS
The Classic designs were developed before pre-epoxy glues and are built in a simple, traditional manner. They are male-orientated in building method, i.e. to get a well-built boat, skill is required with sharp edged tools, usually a training skill given only to males.
Built roughly, Classic designs may leak, leading to rot. Unfortunately, some Classic designs have been built roughly, but the surplus of timber in their construction give a strength safety margin allowing rough builders in the first years of ownership to successfully sail long distances before rot develops. (Beware of such boats on the secondhand market)!
The PAHI construction is a stage between the Classic and the TIKI designs, though still requiring wood working skills. The application of glass cloth has become an essential part of the construction.
