New Boat Building Video on Youtube

Hi All:
I just posted a new video on youtube that I'm sure you'll enjoy. It goes through all of the different types of boats I design. I describe them and show some new pictures I haven't published elsewhere yet. Check it out:




Let me know what you think!

- Jeff

Fitting Sheer Clamps and Chine Logs

Announcing a new How-To Guide on my web site. It's called Fitting the Sheer Clamp and Chine Log Guide. I get a lot of emailed questions about this so I've created an illustrated guide that should clear up any questions you may have. It may be located in my Boatbuilding Article page here: http://spirainternational.com/hp_articles.html where of course all articles, construction photo essays and how-to guides are always FREE!

- Jeff

Free Study Plans

I've been looking over other designer's websites and have found that many charge for study plans. I can understand this because they take time and money to print out and mail. On the Spira International, Easy-To-Build Boat Plans web site, study plans are always FREE. You can download them immediately and print them out on your own home computer printer. It makes things a lot easier and you get to see the study plans RIGHT NOW! Isn't that a refreshing change.

- Jeff Spira

New Boats added to Website

I've updated the site with some new boats I've worked on for specific customers. They include a new 20' ultralight stitch and glue rowing dory called the Puget Challenge for long distance rowing, two new vee bottom Carolina dories, the 15' x 7' Alamitos, and the 5.2 M Metric Kachemak. The very popular Mission Bay is also now available in metric dimensions as well. Also the 25' Kona Hawaiian Sampan and 32' Kodiak Pacific Power dory plans are complete and you can now buy them online. Several of these hulls are under construction now and I hope to have pictures soon. I also put up a 14' Jon boat that I've had done for some time called the Crawdad. (Mmmm Cajun mud bugs - makes my mouth water just thinking about them.)

I'm working on a series of sailing sharpies as well. Study plans for the first one are up so you can look it over. It's called the Inagua, named after the island in the Bahamas. It's a 14 footer. I have future plans for a 19 footer and a 24 footer also.

Be sure to stop by and tell me what you think.

- Jeff Spira

New Boatbuilding How-To-Guides Section

When people write in and ask how a certain aspect of building a boat is done, I'm going to start putting together How-To-Guides for various things. Sometimes you get the same question a number of times so these easy-to-follow guides should be just the trick to visualize some of the trickier aspects of the craft. The first one is now up on the website and it is called: How to Layout the Ribs on a Framed Boat. These will be in Adobe pdf format, so they're easy to download and print at home as well as viewing online. They can be located on the main Spira International Boat Building site here: http://spirainternational.com/hp_articles.html