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Dinghies on the Deben

Concertina player and occasional songsmith Alan Day is one of those unfortunates who would enjoy boats and boating – if only their seasickness were less severe.

Alan tells me he gets seasick standing in a puddle, but his affliction hasn’t prevented him taking this series of photos along the banks of the River Deben in Essex a few days ago. I must say it looks charming and I look forward to visiting by water sometime.

Note the name of the old wooden motor cruiser in the final photo. I gather it belongs to a local man of the cloth.

If anyone can add any information about the boats in the photos please, I’d be most grateful!

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Boat Building Academy principal Yvonne Green has sent us a final set of photos from the student launch day down in Lyme back in December, this time showing a 12ft glued clinker stem dinghy built by Joe Blathwayt.

Joe, a former architect, has moved to Lyme and wanted a fun beach and sea angling boat with an outboard, and so he built his dinghy on a course at the Academy.  The lines were taken from a 40-year old 10’ stem dinghy, and then adapted for the new purpose.

Now he’s based at Lyme, I gather Joe plans to combine working on boats and undertaking architectural projects.

Yvonne comments: ‘We started a new 38-week course today. It’s always interesting to see the different mix of people who come to us.

‘We showed them photos of the launch and the boats and told them that’s where they would be 38 weeks from now. The news was greeted with some disbelief… ‘

PS Don’t forget to ask for a pdf copy of the Academy’s prospectus for the coming year, as it makes interesting reading. Email Yvonne at office@boatbuildingacademy.com and I’m sure she’ll send you a copy.

The new 9ft dinghy from Stirling and Son – the lower
photos show the materials and moulds

The Stirling and Son boatyard down at Morwelham near Tavistock must be one of the most picturesque anywhere – I enjoy the photos Will Stirling sends us for their setting almost as much as the boats.

Here’s what Will has to say about the dinghy in the photo.

‘Dear Gavin,

‘The dinghy is to go to Northumberland – but I can build another with a lead time of approximately six weeks.

‘She is 9ft long of mahogany planking with an oak sheer strake. All other timber in the boat is oak with copper fastenings.

‘The shape is a very stable one, as I’ve had had some near-capsizes getting into dinghies in the past. She has a mid-19th century shape with the bold forefoot and relatively full bow, while she is finer aft with a shapely transom.

‘After building this dinghy I have set down the shape in a full five-page A2 draught with A4 offsets, scantlings and materials list. I am to build the next dinghy from this draught and then make full size mould templates with the planking lined out and a little colour booklet with photos taken along the way. I will let you know when that is all prepared, probably in a couple of months.

‘Best wishes

‘Will Stirling’

I think that booklet might interest quite a few budding home boatbuilders, and when it’s ready I’d like to put up a post about it here Will!

See the Stirling and Son Wooden Shipbuilding and Repairs website at http://www.stirlingandson.co.uk or contact the company at 01822 614 259.

PS – If like me you’ve been admiring Will’s trestles, see some handy trestle plans here. Ok, they aren’t Will’s plans but they look quite similar.