Gavin Atkin's weblog for the sort of people who like looking inside boat sheds. It's about old boats, traditional boats, boat building, restoration, the sea and the North Kent Coast
Traditional carvel plans and boatbuilding
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I’m officially on holiday, but here are some links to keep regular readers going!
Five Years in Siam From 1891 to 1896 by H Warington Smyth
Lowell’s Boat Shop, Amesbury, Massachusetts
A short but also long report from Brest 2008
Concern over ‘abandoned’ boat
Sunk Brits’ four-day raft storm hell
A History of Shipbuilding by Per Åkesson
Glimpses of Traditional Boatbuilding in Goa by Johan Roque
Elderly fella making very nice models
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Pete Goss’s new boat, Spirit of Mystery. All photos by
Mark Lloyd of Lloyd Images
Solo ocean racer Pete Goss’s latest project is to build a lugger to follow in the wake of the Mystery, which sailed from Cornwall to Australia to join the goldrush in 1854.
The Mystery was an open Mounts Bay lugger built in Newlyn. Times were hard and the seven Cornishmen, all related by either blood or marriage and shareholders in the boat, made the decision to try their luck in the goldrush over a pint in Newlyn’s Star Inn. It was suggested that the Mystery be sold to cover the passage, but being in good spirits after a couple of drinks Captain Richard Nicholls made an announcement. ‘I’ll take you in the Mystery,’ he said – and so the story began.
The Mystery measured 37ft in length with a beam of 11 feet 6 inches, and weighed 16 tons. Skipper and crew beached the boat to sheath her hull with zinc, decked her fore and aft, and set off.
The new Spirit of Mystery was launched a few days ago at Millbrook, near Torpoint in south east Cornwall, and was built by local craftsmen under designer and shipwright Chris Rees.
Goss’s intention is to research the original voyage, draw attention to the achievements of the original Mystery’s crew of seven Cornishmen, and to provide a vehicle to support the educational charity Cornwall Playing for Success.
But Pete also makes it clear that he has always wanted to build a wooden boat. And what a boat he has built! I’m sure we all hope the voyage is successful – but also that she comes back to the UK and finds a useful long-term purpose, as it would be nice to see her sailing around our shores.
An intriguing boat moored near Faversham
A mystery craft sails into Herne Bay
The first looks as if it could be Scottish to me but I don’t recall seeing her in the area before – is she a fifie? I’d certainly like to know more.
The second is very striking when seen from a distance. I’m pretty sure she’s the Colin Mudie-designed sharpie I’ve seen over-wintering at Faversham’s Iron Wharf in past years. If so, she’s working as a pleasure boat, and having seen her hull I can say that she bears a strong resemblance to the Nonpareil sharpies that Thomas Clapham designed and built all those years ago. There’s a short description of the Clapham’s Nonpareil boats here at the Wikipedia. Now, I wonder whether I might be able to persuade the kids they would enjoy a trip in her next week?