Updated – 3 May 2022
For those lucky to have a CNC machine
This is the way to scarf and cut your plywood.
Andre from Australia is using a CNC router to build this 3.4m long small boat, Noosa, in his workshop in Melbourne. He kindly allowed me to share these pics of his progress.
In his workshop, Andre’s using his CNC router to cut the plywood parts of the boat with precision. While it takes a little time to set up, once ready, it only took him 2 hours to cutout the complete boat.
Advantages of CNC
– It’s fast and precise.
– No measuring and marking out before cutting required. This is a big time saving. It eliminates drawing the parallel lines across the plywood, marking out the dots and joining them using a baton. No batons needed, no reading from plans, no lofting, no mistakes.
– Carefully cutting along the lines that you’ve marked out is also eliminated. This is tedious work and requires concentration. The machine does it super accurately and far quicker than you can, resulting in perfectly shaped parts.
– For parts longer than a plywood sheet, no scarfing required. Sheets are normally bonded together before cutting, by grinding a taper on the edges to be joined and bonding them together. It’s a job I never liked… With CNC, it’s not required. The machine cuts finger joints into the parts along the line where they will be joined later.
A big help on large jobs
When I built my cat, a large part of the job is cutting. Slowly and methodically following pencil lines with an electric jigsaw. Pencil lines that took even longer to mark out. Anything that can replace that part of the job is very worthwhile. Cutting intricate shapes in plywood is a time-consuming job and a large part of any build. Even a foam cored or steel boat uses plenty of plywood, for example, in the interior.
You wouldn’t buy a machine just to make a small boat like Noosa, but if you have a machine or have access to one, it’s an interesting alternative. A CNC router is definitely a tool on my list for my next boat build…
As with 3D printers, the price trend is down and the performance and variety of brands keeps improving. Kits and plans for making your own router are a great project in themselves. This was rare a few years ago. CNC cutting was expensive, affordable only in the industry and no one would have dreamed of making one themselves.
Model boats
All plans I create these days include CNC files as an option, even for building models. Checkout the nice job Olivier in Tahiti is doing with his CNC router, and 3D printer, building a new model of Geelong.
Especially with models, 3D printers and CNC machines make creating small intricate parts easy to do and accurate. More on 3D printers, and models, in coming posts…
I hope this gives you some more ideas for building.
More info on CNC routers (Wikipedia).
Happy building,
Tim Weston
Hi Tim, Have been reading through your website – its a great resource. You might be interested in this as a CNC option that is affordable and being developed by a group of like minded people. https://www.maslowcnc.com/, Cheers, Dan
Is there any way to get a copy of his .dxf files so I can build it on my CNC?
I just sent you an email Tim. Plans are available now with the dxf, CNC cut files as an option. Regards, Tim
Hi Tim, love this project. would you be able to send me a copy of the cnc files please? Happy to make a donation.
Hi Byron. The CNC files are available as an option when you buy plans for any of the boats. The files for Geelong are nearly finished. Just had to the plans page. Regards, Tim
I have full size plywood sheets plans for a 16′ skiff. How would I go about converting these to use a CNC machine?
I would be happy to send the CNC files back to the owner, since they don’t offer CNC plans and preserve their rights. If I make a 2nd boat, I would purchase an additional license from them.
Hi Loren. You would need to talk with the designer to get files. You would need the original CAD drawing to create the CNC files. Or the PDF/paper templates would need to be redrawn in CAD to create files from them. If anyone knows another way please chime in, but I can’t see another way of doing it. Tim
Hi Tim
My name is Paul and I’m looking to home build a Wharram Tiki 30 catamaran starting later this year in Sydney. To speed up the process of this project I’m looking for a company that can CNC cut all the plywood pieces and deliver them.
I have a set of plans for the Wharram Tiki 30 catamaran, with all measurement for the ply cuts.
I would like to know:
Do you offer a CNC cutting/delivery service from plywood sheets?
Have you supplied CNC plywood cuts for yacht’s before?
Do you need a set of CAD drawings (digital files) with all the plywood piece measurements or can you produce/make the CAD digital files for the CNC cutter, from the drawings?
If you can’t create the digital CAD files off the plans do you know of a reputable company that can offer that service?
Can you please confirm if you offer these services and if so what is your address or best contact number so I can arrange a meeting.
There is information about the Tiki 30 below
https://www.wharram.com/shop/study-plans/tiki-designs/tiki30
Could Andre in Melbourne do this CNC work?
Thank you.
Paul
[email protected]