Grand Craft: how 3D becomes the industry standard

Second wind thanks to 3D

40 years ago, Grand Craft was one of the premier wooden boat manufacturers in the United States. The manufacturing facility was located in Michigan. The company was famous for its mahogany boats.

In a way, shiny and polished mahogany hulls have been a symbol of American shipbuilding for quite some time. In those days, craftsmen made these boats by hand. However, the craftsmanship and uniqueness of the boats could not save Grand Craft from the crisis and further sale of the company.

Today, there are only a few major wooden boat manufacturers left in the US. Among them are Hackercraft in New York, Van Dam Boats in Michigan, Couer Custom and Stancraft in Idaho. Where is Grand Craft? After the change of ownership, the company took a short break, which was enough for the media to have already buried the company. But no matter how! 

Grand Craft Boats is back in service and ready to release new boats again, but now with modern technology. The company was acquired by Patrick and Rose Gallagher in 2021. The Gallaghers moved production to Wisconsin and brought in new cabinetmakers, joiners, finish carpenters, and marine technicians. 

Today, Grand Craft will place much more emphasis on modern technology, but at the same time the boats should not lose their original charm and charm. Patrick Gallagher says they will combine old technology with modern 3D computer modeling techniques.

3D as the basis of modern shipbuilding

Gallagher continues: “The frame, the frame, the decking, the bulkheads will all be designed by engineers in special software, and then all the main parts will be CNC cut.” Today, 3D modeling is not surprising, but the use of such an approach should have a positive effect, especially on classic boats.

Even though most of the work will be done by computer, this does not mean that there will be less work. Boats will still be made for quite a long time. However, it will still be faster than 40 years ago. Yes, natural wood boats cannot be launched as quickly as a similarly sized plastic motorboat. It takes up to 7 months for Grand Boats to produce one 9-meter yacht. 

So why use a computer? Gallagher explains it this way: “Indeed, capital acceleration of production cannot be achieved only using CNC and a computer. But you can improve the quality of this work and the final product.” 

That is, there is an expansion not quantitatively, but qualitatively. The computer helps to ascertain the quality and to give the client a guarantee that the shipyard is building the boat optimally. No more wasting time creating drawings by hand. Now you can focus on smaller details, making each boat unique.

The Making of Modern American Classics

The process of creating a 3D model and working with CNC is probably not worth describing. In general, everyone knows about this, Grand Craft did not invent the wheel here. Interesting things start from there. When the model is ready, and the CNC machine has already cut out the blanks, the craftsmen begin to conjure over the skeleton of the boat hull. 

It takes about a month to assemble the frame of the boat. This is followed by the application and installation of the first layers of sheathing - African mahogany is used for this. Interestingly, laying mahogany takes about three days for the bottom and two more for the sides. 

All boards are bent and adjusted by hand. The CNC has done a lot of the work, but now it's time for the craftsman to try and fit each board perfectly. Next, you need epoxy to seal and strengthen the case. 

When the hull is ready, it is necessary to connect it to the deck. After that, the last, facing layer of wood is laid. All these stages of production take another two months of time. Jeff Podhajaki, who is responsible for the production of Grand Craft, says: “The process is very similar to cladding a house. But, unlike the house, there are no bends at right angles. These boards have to be given neat and smooth outlines.”

One of the most interesting stages is the process of manual polishing of the boat. On average, it takes about 160 hours of work. Only after it can you install the engine, chrome parts, trim. But when the craftsmen begin work on the decoration, then the magic of “living classics” will begin to work. Along with the finish, which lasts between 500 and 700 hours, there is also another step of manual dry and wet sanding. 

Are handmade boats not only expensive toys?

Patrick Gallagher has a specific answer to this question: “These boats convey a love for fine things, but at the same time, respect and appreciation for hard manual labor.” Even today it is difficult to produce handcrafted boats on a large scale. However, potential owners of such boats may love chic, but among them there are few lovers of outright “gypsyism”: boats with an excessive amount of decorations.

Modern handmade motor and sailing boats are primarily a tribute to the craft and traditions. This, in principle, does not prevent the use of such modern solutions as, for example, CNC or three-dimensional modeling.

Also, modern classics has another interesting feature. Such boats are often made almost the same as they were 50-70 years ago, but they have modern electronics and equipment on board. Gallagher compares this to the car market: “Our boats are like Mercedes or BMWs. My client doesn't look at Lamborghini. And not because it's a bad car, it's just that Mercedes is the bearer of the company's traditions.” 

Modern handmade boats are no worse than their conveyor counterparts. They are neither better nor worse, handmade is just a different approach to building yachts.

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05.04.2023