intheboatshed.net

Francis Rayns’ handsome 10ft pram dinghy built to plans by John Gardner.

(Click on the images for a larger view)

It says a lot for the standards of the Watercraft magazine Amateur Boatbuilding Awards that this very nicely made little boat only came second this year.

True, one might complain that the material of the clinker strakes is perhaps a little slender, and tradititionalists might suggest that the  knees could have been grown rather than laminated - but these seem to be small issues when set alongside the near-flawlessness of the work.

What’s also notable about this particular boat is that builder Francis Rayns reports that the materials cost came out at just £250 - I think that’s an appealingly low figure for such a handsome 10ft boat. She’s built in larch on oak with copper fastenings, by the way, and Francis built her to plans drawn after Nathaniel Herreshoff by John Gardner and published in his book Building Classic Small Craft.

If you haven’t got Building Classic Small Craft, I strongly recommend it - in addition to this little classic, the book contains plans for 46 other boats for a price less than £13, and a long section on boatbuilding techniques. You can’t buy much for that little money these days, but this book is a real bargain.

The first of the two Blue Moons built by Cem Gur and colleagues in Turkey is launched. This one  is going to an owner in Greece.

Designed by Thomas Gillmer, the Blue Moon is such an attractive boat that even my kids are oohing and aahing over the pictures!

For more Blue Moon posts at intheboatshed.net, follow this link.

Light Trow Onawind Blue armed to the teeth for a substantial open
boat cruise along the Spanish East Coast. Photo by Ben Crawshaw

From The Invisible Workshop:

Tuesday, 24 June 2008; Onawind Blue’s birthday

‘A fitting day to leave but despite my best intentions I didn’t get going until 11am, the family waving from the beach as OB, under full sail, bore off south southwest beneath grey skies in a light, easterly breeze.

‘Blessed with a favourable wind we ran quickly down to Tarragona and then, as the wind increased—almost certainly due to the un-forecast deep, dark clouds grumbling on the western horizon, even more quickly.

‘To windward the gunmetal waters were flecked with white… ‘

Read the rest of the series here.

For more intheboatshed.net posts about the Light Trow, click here.

Onawind Blue moored - photo by Ben Crawshaw
from his second report