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MANUFACTURING |
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Carlson Boatworks’ main shop facility is situated in Lower Michigan located between Detroit and Lansing. Built only 3 years ago, the shop is well insulated, well lit, and has dust control systems for ideal working conditions. The shop is also completely humidity controlled – similar to commercial furniture factories – so that uncoated wooden joints stay tight and movement from expansion and shrinkage in the unfinished wood is negligible. Day and night throughout the year the relative humidity and temperature remain unchanged. Once assembled the West System coating encapsulates the proper moisture content in the wood for the life of the boat. As new lumber is brought into the shop it is stored until it has stabilized at its final dimension prior to cutting and installation in the boat structure. Technological advancements in boat design are constantly evolving and Carlson Boatworks strives to remain at the forefront of these improvements. Using the latest 3D hull design software, integrated directly to 3D architectural modeling software, it is possible to “float the design” and to visualize it from any angle well before any cut is made in any piece of material. Once the final design is approved and the last line is digitally faired, the lofting process begins. Traditionally lofting is hand drawn in full scale, transferred to patterns, transferred again to the final piece and then cut by hand yet again. This construction process consisting of multiple steps can combine small but significant errors affecting the performance and appearance of the final manufactured product. To eliminate the above problems, Carlson Boatworks is committed to the use of its own in-house CNC cutting machine that is capable of producing 100% repeatable pieces, within thousands of an inch anytime it makes a cut, so as to precisely transfer digitally designed pieces comprising the CB 25’s structure to actual constructed reality. Pieces simply fit together as designed and as the smaller pieces are combined to form larger subassemblies, the final structural dimensions are preserved throughout the manufacturing process. It is this accuracy that makes the traditional sharpened pencil nearly obsolete. Well, almost…the final inspection still comes from skilled craftspersons at every step along the way. |
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Send mail to
eric@carlsonboatworks.com with
questions or comments about this web site.
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