More of Matt Atkin’s spectacular photos of Phillipines beach boats

Matt Atkin's photos of the boats of the Phillipines

Matt Atkin's photos of the boats of the Phillipines Matt Atkin's photos of the boats of the Phillipines Matt Atkin's photos of the boats of the Phillipines

Matt Atkin's photos of the boats of the Phillipines Matt Atkin's photos of the boats of the Phillipines Matt Atkin's photos of the boats of the Phillipines

Brother Matt Atkin has sent me more of his wonderful photos of the boats of the Phillipines. As usual, click on the large and small thumbnails for a much bigger image.

Click here to see a post including a small earlier selection of his shots from the Phillipines in which I drew attention to the close resemblance between these craft and the ones that Folkard drew in the mid-19th century. A reprint of Folkard’s classic book Sailing boats from around the world is available from Amazon.

Matt Atkin's photos of the boats of the Phillipines Matt Atkin's photos of the boats of the Phillipines Matt Atkin's photos of the boats of the Phillipines

Matt Atkin's photos of the boats of the Phillipines Matt Atkin's photos of the boats of the Phillipines Matt Atkin's photos of the boats of the Phillipines

Matt Atkin's photos of the boats of the Phillipines Matt Atkin's photos of the boats of the Phillipines

Ben Wales’ clinker launch restoration

Ben Wales working on 18ft clinker launch Mary

Ben Wales working on 18ft clinker launch Mary

The new stem, and the old stem piece and apron removed

Some time when you’re sitting in the warm, spare a thought for dedicated Ben Wales working when he can in the open air during this winter restoring his 18ft clinker-built motor launch Mary. While you’re at it, wish him luck and good weather.

Here’s what he wrote a few days ago:

‘Here is the latest update on my restoration on Mary. The work has been slow – the weather held us up for over a month as it was just too cold, and before that it was wet whenever we wanted to work on her outside.

‘The stem has now been replaced in English grown oak as the old one was badly worn and soft. Without a doubt this is the most complex and time consuming job we have done on the launch, and all without  power tools or power.

‘First, a template had to be cut out for the bottom and top stem piece and then drawn out on a new in 4in thick oak plank where the two were cut out.

‘The lower part of the stem, which joins with the kee, was first shaped to fit and then holes were drilled out for stainless steel bolts made the job. It had to be scarphed on each end, and a mixture of paint and putty was applied for packing.

‘The top part of the apron was also replaced and that was cut and shaped before the top stem piece was fitted.

‘While the upper part of the stem was fitted we had a quite a task to shape it, as we tried to follow the original patten precisely – but found that had been cut wrong. So after more shaping it fitted far better than the original it replaced.

‘The next task is to fit the gunwales and knees, and to reframe the topsides. When the Weather gets warmer and I have saved up some money, I will purchase the timber to plank her topsides.

‘Ben’

Thanks Ben – I’ll be thinking of you at least!

For an earlier post about this project, click here.

Early hydroplane, foy boat Ethel and 1956 Enterprise join NMMC ‘flying boats’

Early hydroplane Defender II on the move

Early hydroplane Defender II Foy boat Ethel ramp screen image Enterprise No 2 Speedwell

Early hydroplane Defender II, foy boat Ethel, Enterprise 2

Three new ‘flying boats’ at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall in the past week are Enterprise no 2, a Tyne foy boat and an early hydroplane.

Named Speedwell, the Enterprise was built in 1956. It was designed by the prolific Jack Holt using what was then an exciting new material – waterproof plywood.

Ethel is a River Tyne foy boat built in 1907. Foy boats have been associated with the rivers of Britain’s north east coast for at least three hundred years. Their main task was to tow sailing vessels in and out of the river estuaries during periods of calm or contrary winds.

Under sail the performance of the Foy boat was not exceptional, but under oar it was a different matter – they were excellent rowing boats.

Defender II was built in 1908 for Fred May and was one of the first of a new breed of power boat now classified as an unstepped hydroplane. The boat’s hull is fairly conventional at the bow, but almost immediately flattens out, becoming virtually hollow at the stern. This allows the boat to sit on top of the water when under power, reducing drag and increasing speed. When first built Defender II reached a top speed of 14 knots, an impressive speed at the time.