Using easy DIY builds to help the uninitiated unlock New Zealand’s marine lifestyle is the objective behind Form & Float – an Auckland-based manufacturer of kitset timber boats. Its range comprises three craft catering for diverse boating aspirations – a kayak, a dinghy and a catamaran.
The kits come with instructions and all the required components (down to the last screw) and can be assembled in a garage. What’s not included is paint – colour choice and décor reside with the owners.
Form & Float was launched about 18 months ago by Simon Justice – a lifelong boatie/boatbuilder with an extensive background in industrial design. He laments that boating and DIY boatbuilding, once an integral part of the ‘kiwi’ DNA, are in danger of vanishing for good.
“Sadly, the tradition has dried up. New Zealand has such a rich legacy of boating and boatbuilding – and much of it was cultivated in backyards and garages. Modern children don’t grow up with those basic, practical skills my generation absorbed just by mucking about with tools.
“A workshop is no longer part of the home environment. Creating something from scratch is a foreign concept. We’ve become a ‘throwaway’ society – it’s easier to abandon something rather than repair it. I want to rekindle the can-do, DIY boating culture, even if on a tiny scale. I think these kitsets can help.”
Construction
The three kitsets Justice has developed are designed for easy construction and don’t require jigs or cradles or specialist tools.
“All you need is a relatively flat surface – a garage is ideal,” he says. Most of the pre-cut components (frames/ribs, for example) are produced with CNC machinery. “Precision-cut components make for very easy and accurate assembly – it’s hard to make a mistake.” The vessels all use glue-and-screw construction, using the West System epoxy.
Simplicity is the guiding principle. The kayak, for example (single-seater, 4.2m LOA), is a classic canvas-over-ribs-and-stringers vessel. Its 12oz canvas – stretched and stapled over the structure – receives a sealer/protective mineral-base acrylic coat. Paint also adheres to this base coat more effectively.
The dinghy’s construction uses Gaboon marine ply of various thicknesses (12mm, 6mm and 4mm), with premium pine for the stringers. At 2.5m LOA, it weighs a mere 20kg and is designed to take rowlocks and/or a small outboard (2.5hp is ideal).
Similarly, the cat is built from Gaboon ply and premium pine. A very stable platform, it’s designed for fishing/diving and is available in two sizes (3.1m and 3.6m LOA). Both pontoons contain watertight compartments, with an additional buoyancy compartment in the ‘sled’ interconnecting the two pontoons.
The smaller cat is designed for a 6hp outboard – its bigger sister is good for a 15hp unit. “Buyers can specify if they plan to use a short- or long-shaft outboard – I simply programme the CNC-router for the appropriate transom.”
All kits are supplied as flatpacks. It takes five working days to prepare one (after date of order). They are dispatched (nationwide) to the most convenient Mainfreight depot, where buyers collect them. Flatpacks are modestly-sized – the dinghy kit, for example, measures 2.5m x 600mm x 300mm and weighs 40kg.
Community projects
While the kits are easy solo builds, Justice says they are ideal projects for groups. “Because the assembly is so simple, just about anyone can be involved. I have this vision where a bunch of people – school children, multi-generational families or community groups – tackle a project.
“We’ve had grandparents-and-grandchildren teams – it’s powerful family time. School students could build a kitset – and perhaps raffle off the finished product to raise funds.” Justice has firsthand experience of the benefits such community projects provide.
“I ran a company in Japan for a few years and introduced kayak-building projects to foster staff engagement and team morale. They proved to be excellent ‘tools’ for helping people get to know one another.
“The most remarkable result was the immense sense of pride and satisfaction it instilled in staff – particularly among those who’d never previously touched a hammer! Predictably, with multiple teams building kayaks, it didn’t take long for the competitive instinct to emerge – something that was carried through to the final regatta!”
Words by Lawrence Schäffler, Photography by Lawrence Schäffler and Supplied
