Size and Lapstrake Construction

Can anyone explain why it is that lapstrake built hulls are hard to find larger than 28-ish feet. I am intrigued by the supposed size limit to a lapstrake built boat. Comments?

 

I've seen them over 40' (not often) Viking, Owens, Chris Craft and several other manufacture have built them in larger sizes.

The whole point of lap construction is to build a strong, light weight hull. Once you get to 40' or so, you get diminishing returns compared to other methods and materials. Wood in general loses a great deal of it's advantages over this size and becomes less desirable for a construction material.

 

Also, if you look at the 40-50 feet viking ships from 1000 yars ago it is hard to find trees like that now (in Norway at least). The planks are very wide and long so the trees must have been large. A "fembøring" of 40 feet, amore modern design from around 1900, have many more strakes because the trees where cut younger/smaller.

 

Lapstrake requires far more skills than ploping a hull from a mould, also takes far more time to construct.

FAST FRED

 

Lapstrake require some specialized skills, but I'd say they are not much more difficult then other types of construction. Doing a fine job of a hand layup in a mold requires skills that a person familiar with spiling planks would cringe at. The same would be true of a chopper gun expert attempting to put a rolling bevel on a carvel plank. It's all what you're use to or have been trained to get done. This is like comparing oranges and apples though. A skilled carvel craftsman would find fitting lapped planks within his abilities and a person use to fitting lap capable of molding several veneer layers. The skills they have would transpose well.

The hull construction requires a rather small percentage of the total effort in building a yacht. Some methods may take a little more labor or materials then others, but in the end not of much importance, when the whole project is considered.

It's very hard to beat lap construction is smaller craft and the very reason it's still widely used. Nothing looks better then the sweet, sweeping runs of finely lined off laps.