Author: Gavin Atkin

Panels drawings and coordinates for the 12ft flat-bottomed Ella rowing skiff

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Ella skiff, panel plotting, sheet 1

Tonight, I’ve finally managed to find some time to make a little more progress on the plans for the stitch and glue flat bottomed Ella rowing skiff. We now have four drawings to show where the panels that make up this stitch and glue-built boat fit on three 8 by 4ft sheets and one 4ft by 4ft sheet of ply; and we have four tables of coordinates to enable builders to markout and finally cut out their material, create the necessary taped or butt-strapped joints  before beginning assembly.

I won’t explain how stitch and glue works here as there’s a lot of material available on this both on the Internet and in books such as my Ultrasimple Boatbuilding – the only thing I’d say is please don’t try the process without reading about it properly first. That way lies sticky madness, strange-shaped boats and epoxy glop that won’t go off, as at least some people have found in the past. Just check the forums…

Here are the drawings files you’ll need: Ella skiff plans.

A few warnings are required here.

Prospective builders should be aware that I am not a qualified naval architect and that my plans are amateur and experimental. I accept no responsibility for any injury or loss arising from building or using this boat and I urge builders and users of this boat to do so with care.

This boat is not for use on the sea or in any hazardous conditions. It is a small boat suitable for rowing on small lakes and slow-flowing rivers. It may be rowed but should not be used with an outboard of any kind unless the stern is doubled and otherwise reinforced. Even if that were done, it would be dangerous to use an outboard of more than 1hp. This boat is not designed to hydroplane and should not be made to do so – far too many fatal accidents occur each year beause some bozo thought it was fun or safe to put a large engine on a boat for which it was not designed.

I would also ask builders that if any coordinate creates a line that does not appear as it does in the drawings to contact me immediately. You may have found an error, and will need corrected measurements to be able to go forward. Also, I will want to correct anything that is wrong for the sake of future builders. In general, if you build this boat, please contact me at gmatkin@gmail.com. Especially with the first few boats built, I will want to be in close touch in order to ensure the boats are successful and the plans cause no problems.

These plans aren’t entirely complete – for example, they don’t show where the oarlocks need to go, or specify the gunwales or inwales – and I haven’t written my usual short essay yet. All of that will come.

Finally, if after all this you are still interested in building this small, simple and perhaps elegant little boat, I would strongly suggest that you build a model first! Read all about making a model here and here. There is also more on the Ella skiff design including the preliminary drawings here.

PS – It’s become clear that depending on your build, some folks will find the thwart a little high – if that could be you, it will be a very simple job to make the seat lower if you do so at an early stage.

Complete plans will follow, so why not subscribe to intheboatshed.net?

Racing Montagu whalers off Auckland

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Whalers racing off Auckland many years ago; as usual, click
on the thumbnail for a larger image

Reader Paul Mullings has contacted us with this photo of Naval whalers racing off Auckland, New Zealand many years ago. This is what he says about it:

‘The New Zealand forces used to hold a regatta, at the end of which they challenged a team of representatives from the Auckland Yachting Association to a series raced in the whalers.’

It looks like a hoot to me. These boats’ sportiness is evident: no doubt their length and lightness made them fly in a breeze.

In fact, Paul put a comment on one an earlier post on Montagu whalers in which he reminisced about sailing Montagu whalers when he was a boy:

‘Oh the memories – 45 years or so ago I was a Sea Scout in the 6th Leigh Troop headquatered at Leigh-on-Sea in Essex. We had a Montagu whaler at the time and I have ingrained memories of rowing (I think I still have the blisters!) and sailing, what at the time seemed a huge boat. Being long and thin they could really fly under sail in any kind of breeze and I vividly remember storming across the Thames Estuary on more than one occasion bound for the Medway. Happy days!

For more on whalers at intheboatshed.net including one for sale, click here.

The greatest RNLI rescues and tragedies described in a new book

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Scenes of lifeboat operations clockwise from the
top: Fraserburgh; Penlee and Mount’s Bay

Lifeboat Heroes by Edward Wake-Walker is a new book that tells the stories of 16 of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s most dramatic rescues from its distinguished 185-year history.

Anyone sitting safe from a storm by their fireside when their local crew races to the station is bound to wonder how it must be on board their local lifeboat; this book should give them a clear picture.

The stories of triumph and disaster at sea are packed with personal recollections of crewmen, other emergency services, survivors, and local families who waited at home for their loved ones to return.

Newspaper articles from the time also report the devastating scenes. This is a quotation from the Daily Telegraph, 6th January 1881:

‘As the last man came I held my breath; he was alive when taken from the wreck, but had died in the boat. Four men bore him on their shoulders, and a flag flung over the face mercifully concealed what was most shocking of the dreadful sight; but they had removed his boots and socks to chafe his feet before he died, and had slipped a pair of mittens over the toes which left the ankles naked. This was the body of Howard Primrose Fraser, the second mate of the lost ship and her drowned captain’s brother.’

The earliest story is that of Sir William Hillary, founder of the RNLI, who rescued all 17 crew and passengers from the Fortroendet, which went aground in 1827. A more recent account concerns the valiant attempt at rescue in 1981, when brave Trevelyan Richards, coxswain of Penlee lifeboat was lost with his seven-man crew and all those he was attempting to save from the coaster Union Star.

Many of the incidents of outstanding bravery recounted here proved to be turning points in the history of the RNLI and the business of sea rescue in general. The wreck of the Mexico in the Ribble Estuary in 1886, when 27 crewmen from two lifeboats lost their lives, hastened the quest for powered lifeboats and gave rise to flag days and street collections. The loss of the Penlee lifeboat and her crew accelerated the development of today’s powerful lifeboats and reminded the public of the ultimate invincibility of the sea.

Edward Wake-Walker worked for 28 years with the RNLI, the final 16 as public relations director. His other books on the RNLI and its history are Gold Medal Rescues (1992), Lost Photographs of the RNLI (2004) and The Lifeboats Story (2007), and he is an honorary adviser to the RNLI Heritage Trust. He lives in Dorset.

The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. It provides, on call, a 24-hour lifeboat search and rescue service to 100 nautical miles out from the coast of the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. It is is largely a volunteer organisation – its volunteers include 4,500 crew members, 2,900 shore helpers and station mangers, and 35,000 fundraisers. The charity is independent from government and relies on voluntary contributions and legacies for its income. The lifeboat crews and lifeguards of the RNLI have saved over 137,000 lives at sea since 1824. For every copy of this book sold, the publishers Haynes will donate £1 to RNLI funds.