intheboatshed.net

Tamar salmon boat Gloria Marcella. Click on the thumbnails for bigger images

Stirling and Son are currently building some smaller boats after having had to relocate to a garage while they organise themselves some new premises – for some years they were based at Morwelham Quay, which is sadly now in administration.

To prevent misunderstanding, I should explain that the garage is a temporary arrangement and that the outfit will be moving to new premises to begin a new 44ft project by the end of this month. Meanwhile, however, Will and his colleagues have been hard at work, as he reports, and have sent in these very nice shots of a Tamar salmon boat in build:

‘Two recent new builds in the garage have been a 17ft salmon boat for the river Tamar and an 11ft pilot’s punt for a pilot cutter.

‘One of the elder salmon fisherman, Alec Scoble, who has net fished the Tamar in wooden boats since the 1950s has ordered a new boat in preparation for the renewal of the fishing licences, which have been suspended since 2004.

‘In order to increase the viability of the boat, Alec’s son Colin Scoble will net fish with tourists in the traditional manner, tagging and releasing the fish for the National Rivers Authority. Also as a continuation of the family tradition Alec’s grandson, Sam Scoble, helped build the boat.

‘There were no plans for Tamar salmon boats; it seems most likely that none have ever existed, so in order to record the shape for the future, I created a draught of the shape based on dimensions given by Alec. Before planking small alterations were made to the forward moulds following an inspection by Alec and his friend Frankie, who had both fished the river since War War II. The draught was altered accordingly and is now held by the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich.

‘The boat is named in memory of Alec’s wife Gloria Marcella, and  has an oak backbone and framing with spruce planking; all fastenings are copper and bronze.’

‘Best wishes, Will’

Will does seem to have the knack of finding some great projects!

Stirling and Son are offering plans for a traditional general purpose 9ft clinker-built dinghy and an 11ft pilot punt of 1900. For more on these, see this earlier post.

Water Craft editor Pete Greenfield has written to say that the January-February issue of his magazine will be in the newsagents from the 17th December. Here’s what he has to say:

Well, if you’ll permit the conceit that a boating magazine can have a sub-plot, this issue’s can be summed up as: What a difference a wooden boat specialist can make.

Wooden boat specialists like…

Alec Jordan of Jordan Boats who joined forces with the Scottish Fisheries Museum to launch the Scottish Coastal Rowing Project, commissioning Iain Oughtred to design the 20ft (6m) St Ayles Skiff, which local groups can build from a modestly priced pre-cut plywood kit. Amateur wooden boat builder Chris Perkins describes how they built the prototype.

Wooden boat builder and designer Matt Newland of Swallow Boats combines ply-epoxy hull construction with water ballast and carbon spars to produce the 20’ (6m) Baycruiser, the most innovative and exciting small cruising yacht in years.

Wooden boat designer Francois Vivier whose p-ractical pocket gaffer Meaban is now also available as a pre-cut plywood kit for home completion.

Wooden boat builder and designer Paul Gartside of Nova Scotia gives us full plans + offsets for a traditional round-sterned workboat with so much character you’ll want to get a craftsman to build her for you. But who? Perhaps one of the members of the…

Wooden Boatbuilders Trade Association. Wherever you live in the UK and whether you want a wooden boat built or restored, using traditional or modern methods, there’s a WBTA member not too far away with all the skills to do the job.

And one wooden boat builder who will be long remembered around Cornwall and beyond…

Ralph Bird, the great Cornish pilot gig enthusiast who sadly passed away in November, having built no less than 29 gigs and enthused a whole new generation of rowers.

It sounds like another great issue packed with material to me. It’s nice to see the old practice of magazines publishing plans coming back, and good also to see the WBTA getting itself some publicity, by the way.

Subscribe to Water Craft now

Martin Cooper has written to ask for any information on the Solveig design; he’d like to contact owners and to learn about other examples of this strikingly good-looking double-ender.

Here’s what he says:

‘I have owned her for 19 years now but in this time I have only limited information of the design. I know she was built by George Durr in Switzerland, but despite visiting the yard and meeting with George and his son Philippe, I have only found out that they recall her as a Solveig design. We believe the designer was Maurice Amiet but this information and extensive surfing the web has not lead to any further information.’

If anyone can please shed some light on this boat, please contact me at gmatkin@gmail.com, and I’ll pass the information on.