|
Maybe I’ve been
living in New York City for too long, but these days it seems like the
quicker you can get something done, the better. Take, for example, McDonalds—a
number of them now guarantee your food in 90 seconds or less. Or how about
online access? Instant access, through the likes of DSL and cable connections,
has become the preferred method for surfing the Web. Even this article
that I’m writing is wanted sooner, as opposed to later. But at Jarrett
Bay Boatworks in Beaufort, North Carolina, the old saying of “good
things come to those who wait” seems to be alive and well.
It is true that all
boats—even production boats—are handmade to a certain extent.
There are no machines that just produce these magnificent machines without
human input. But Jarrett Bays, cold-molded, custom boats that possess
the Carolina flare that’s a trademark of vessels built in this part
of the country, are hands-on handmade.
They’re entirely
hand-sanded (I didn’t see one power sander the several hours I spent
touring the facility), largely hand-painted, and designed from the ground
up—even down to the doorknobs—as per customer specifications.
And customers don’t simply dictate whether they’d like cherry
or burlwood for their cabinetry or whether they’d like Caterpillars
or MTUs; rather he/she is involved in the entire process—from the
boat’s conception, straight through to the color of the interior
fabrics and even the interior set up. Entire staterooms can be relocated
or even eliminated, closets can be removed for rod stowage, towers can
be re-angled, and more. Gary Davis, head of new construction, and others
involved in the construction of a Jarrett Bay concede that their customers
become “like family” by the time construction is complete.
Though there are different
approaches to cold-molded construction and certain builders prefer one
material to another, Jarrett Bay builds on a wooden-framed jig, not on
a mold, and the structural portion of its boats are built upside down,
directly on the jig. Three layers of thinly laminated okume plywood (thin
enough to bend by hand, which is a key reason Jarrett Bay uses this medium)
of varied thickness are stacked one on top of the other in alternating
directions. Each layer gets, as Davis says, “glued, screwed, and
tattooed,” under the guidance of Vince Russell, who oversees most
of the hull construction. It’s then fiberglassed on both the inside
and, once the hull is removed from the jig and flipped, outside as well.
Next page >
Part 2: I noticed the complete absence of fumes
at the Jarrett Bay plant. > Page 1, 2,
3
|