Rake of the Eye meets Technology

When classes started Monday August 24, 2009 at NC Martec/ Carteret Community College's Boat Manufacturing Program, the Hull and Deck construction class was introduced to "Marissa" a state of the art 18 foot boat designed by B&B Yacht Designs of Vandemere, N.C. Under the direction of Joe Clay, a seasoned and experienced shipwright and boat building, students will be using state of the art equipment and technology to prepare them to meet the future demands of the boat building industry throughout North Carolina.
At the same time The Charlotte Observer columnist Jack Betts was preparing an article entitled "Sound boats" which appeared in the News and Observer on Tuesday August 25 2009. He wrote about North Carolina Downeast, which is part of Carteret County. As Jack Beets writes,” They built them then the way a few still do: without plans, using a few tools and native woods such as juniper and cedar. They built them according to their needs, proceeding from plank to plank with the help of a virtual blueprint in their brains. Local craftsmen had an expression for it: "rack of the eye." We are fortunate to have Early's photographic record of these works of art.

In that class early Monday, there was a young man who recounted how he had worked with his grandfather and father repairing and constructing those boats. He has the opportunity to continue that tradition in a new way, with the current advances in boat design and construction, because of  his willingness to learn and the support of the people of North Carolina through Carteret Community College.