Boat builders' thread

[Keith 66]

Something about boat building and repair workshops. They always look like they're 200 years old.

Is yours this one ? The pic is on alamy. Cant post it due to copyright.
https://www.alamy.com/saunders-moto...reator-kirk-sons-of-cowes-image221519045.html

No, Unfortunately the name & history of my one is lost. The sewn contruction tells us Saunders built her as he was the only one who used it. She was basically derelict for about 40 years before i got her, we know her history back to an owner Capt Walker just before WW2, prior to that nothing. I have spent years searching, Lloyds register of yachts, Nat maritime museum, Motor boat museum & more. Factory records were destroyed in WW2 when the factory offices were bombed by the luftwaffe. Lloyds register lists many saunders launches but none of the entries dimensions fitted.
I have corresponded with Ray Wheeler who was the author of From River to sea, the definitive history of the Saunders company, he was as stumped as we were.
The Motorboat magazine from 1903 onwards has quite a few articles & photos on Saunders & we found an article from late 04 stating that Saunders had started fitting steel frames to some high powered boats after some sustained damage in rough weather racing. As my one has 6 rolled steel frames it pointed to her being one of these, but she does not fit the recognised later class sizes at 27.5 ft. The hull design is typical of this era & within a few short years the hull design had evolved away from her type. So it looks like she may have been built with an eye to racing or maybe not! In any case 115 years down the line i doubt we will ever know!

 

[Vann]

Check out Leo and the the Sampson Boat Co. Series of videos on YouTube. Simply awesome

I agree. I look forward to his fortnightly videos.

The other one I follow is "Acorn to Arabella" - two guys, 100 miles from the sea, building a boat mostly from timber sourced on the property. Nearly finished planking (no! not that sort of planking ). Weekly videos.

It's interesting to watch the differences and commonalities between the two builds.

Cheers, Vann.

 

[Vann]

...we know her history back to an owner Capt Walker just before WW2...

Of Swallows and Amazons fame?

Cheers, Vann.

 

[Keith 66]

Coincidence! our one was ex Royal artillery & had one leg having lost the other in WW1.

 

[Terrytpot]

Whilst I’ve always felt drawn to boats I’ve been fortunate enough to have always remembered what I’d heard about them and as such have dodged that particular bullet quite successfully..for the unluckiest of you, you’ll know all too well that in essence, a boat…is a hole in the water into which you pour all of your time and money, simply to keep it afloat! For those that have gone down that route, I salute you

 

[Jameshow]

Whilst I’ve always felt drawn to boats I’ve been fortunate enough to have always remembered what I’d heard about them and as such have dodged that particular bullet quite successfully..for the unluckiest of you, you’ll know all too well that in essence, a boat…is a hole in the water into which you pour all of your time and money, simply to keep it afloat! For those that have gone down that route, I salute you

Standing in a cold shower tearing up £20 notes!!!

Cheers James

 

[Chris Brunton]

Have you built a boat? Post a picture! Tell us the story.

What went wrong?
What went right?
Would you do it again?

Inspire the rest of us with the story of your dream, fulfilled, or scare us off with your tales of pain and misery

I loves a wooden boat. I loves it even more when it ain't mine and I don't have to paint it!

I've just made a boat... in the last 2 days! A tiny bit more to do - finish the bitumen (maybe a few more coats, and add the gunwale laths). I'll be on the river Lea in the next few days

 

[Stevekane]

We have a little Cornish Shrimper, GRP with a few wooden bits and I spend more time than I can really afford looking after it,,as everyone has said, wooden boats look wonderful but the maintenance is beyond me, esp as your probably going to be catching up on years of previous neglect. I recall reading one of the old sailing classics, Magic of the Swatchways or the like, and the chap describdes leaving his office in the city to catch the train down to somewhere like Pinmill in essex where he calls in to see if “old Bill” the yard owner has carried out his instructions, several good sorts there, very skilled all working for about 5/- a week,,,and that seemed to sum it up, old wooden boats are great if you can get people to work on them,,,trouble is they want more than five bob to do it,,,,

 

[duke]

I've just made a boat... in the last 2 days! A tiny bit more to do - finish the bitumen (maybe a few more coats, and add the gunwale laths). I'll be on the river Lea in the next few days View attachment 112845

Looks good, what is your top speed?

 

[Chris Brunton]

Looks good, what is your top speed?

...still putting the bitumen on to waterproof it at the mo - and a couple of little extras like a hand carved cleat to cover the calico at the end of the thwart... then the top speed is how fast I can fall in, or how many circles I turn in a minute!!! I'll add a photo when it's properly finished and ready for the water

 

[duke]

...still putting the bitumen on to waterproof it at the mo - and a couple of little extras like a hand carved cleat to cover the calico at the end of the thwart... then the top speed is how fast I can fall in, or how many circles I turn in a minute!!!

Looking forward to the river pic.

 

[Daniel2]

We have a little Cornish Shrimper, GRP with a few wooden bits....snip

I taught sailing to parole candidates on a Cornish Shrimper in my youth.

 

[AFFF]

I agree. I look forward to his fortnightly videos.

The other one I follow is "Acorn to Arabella" - two guys, 100 miles from the sea, building a boat mostly from timber sourced on the property. Nearly finished planking (no! not that sort of planking ). Weekly videos.

It's interesting to watch the differences and commonalities between the two builds.

Cheers, Vann.

Thank you Vann, just checked this YouTube channel out. I'm hooked!

 

[JefL]

Coincidence! our one was ex Royal artillery & had one leg having lost the other in WW1.

Did he have a son called Tommy?

 

[Aden30mm]

What's the saying, how many times your happy with a boat:

The day you bought it and the day you sold it.

 

[woodfarmer]

This was the last boat I built, from bare mouldings from Colvic (Ardley laminated plastics) moored off a beach at Tean in the scillies. You can't see any of my work, the keel bolts, the rudder and its fixings. the keels main and bilge from 5" x 5" thick greenheart laminated to a max of 2 foot or so widem then shaped by hand. As were the engine beds and internal cross frames. Even the pulpit was home made. I wish I had her now but do hope to buy another when I can eventually return home to Cornwall.

 

[stuckinthemud]

I wove a little coracle from hazel with a bit of skirting for a seat, covered it with a waterproof nylon cover tied on around pebbles. The cover was a mistake, too light in weight it wasn't totally water proof but it was massive fun for a few years when the kids were small pushing them up and down a small stretch of river over the way. I was often stuck in the mud, its how I decided on my user name!

 

[joshvegas]

I have been looking into building a ply stand up paddle board.

Which then morphed into looking at tortured ply canoes.

Naturally I am now looking at things like Paper Jets and Cherubs. It's only 20 years since i last sailed 420s and i'm looking at single hander skiffs with asymetrics and trapezes as a way back in to a sport i can't afford

 

[Jameshow]

Paper jet nice light boat!

Lots of epoxy and cloth, Yet 2x1 for the wings!

any thing of John welsford take your fancy?

cheers James

 

[stuckinthemud]

Canoe yawls, pretty much any design, but especially Albert Strange's Wenda top my wish list.