Month: February 2008

Two new friends

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Aboriginal whaling craft used in North-Western America

I’d like to quickly point to site put up by two friends I’ve never met. The first is Bob Holtzman’s weblog Indigenous Boats, which focuses on boats outside the Western tradition, a subject that interests many boating enthusiasts. Bob has been a great pal – he’s the man who first asked me to write Ultrasimple Boatbuilding and then guided its progress through to publication. I’m not sure that every author of such a complicated book ends up feeling friendly towards his editor, but we never had a serious disagreement and I’m glad to say that some of the most important ideas behind the book came from him.

East Coast Pilot

The second link goes to Dick Holness’ site East Coast Pilot, which centres around the book East Coast Pilot – Lowestoft to Ramsgate, of which he’s co-author with Garth Cooper and Colin Jarman. The big news at the moment is that the second edition is out now in time for the 2008 sailing season – but in this transition period make sure you order the new edition rather than the old one. The link I’ve given above is the right one, but Amazon still appears to have some stocks of the 2005 edition.

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Howard Irving Chappelle’s intriguing small ketch Southwind

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Chappelle’s Southwind dory-sharpie schooner

Chappelle’s picturesque schooner Southwind

Howard Irving Chappelle was a giant among chroniclers of American vernacular boats and boatbuilding – his books Small American Sailing Craft and Boatbuilding are classics, but look out also for his books on schooners, speed in sailing ships and the development of the sharpie. His books are of wide interest far beyond America’s borders because so many small American sailing craft derived from the old world, as Chappelle makes clear.

Although they’ve been reprinted several times over the years, many of them are difficult to find and not available through Amazon – so if I hadn’t already got most of them I’d begin my search at Abe Books.

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Amid all the research, line-taking and writing he did over the years, it’s often forgotten that Chappelle was a practising naval architect who also found time for designing dinghies, cruising yachts and fishing craft. I’ve written posts in the past about his friendship with the British boatbuilding innovator Herbert Ashcroft, but today I thought I’d draw attention to his shippy-looking shallow-draft dory-sharpie ketch Southwind.

Take a look at the article and drawings at the Svenson website – there’s enough in this material to actually build the boat, and certainly enough to make a nice model.

I must say I’m intrigued. The boat makes a handsome picture, would no doubt turn heads anywhere and has a lot to offer shallow water sailors. But has it ever been built? If so, can anyone tell us how it performs?

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Photographs of the Medway river on a limpid winter afternoon

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Photograph of River Medway water meadows

 

Photograph of River Medway water meadows Photograph of River Medway winter sunset Medway River Park - the story

 

Photograph of River Medway water meadows

 

Photos of the Medway – the last taken by my daughter Ella

I took the kids, now young teens, out for a February half-term stroll along the river yesterday afternoon. No doubt they would say they hated it, but dads have to do this sort of thing, don’t they?

We came back with these shots of a calm, elegant and rather beautiful river. I’m determined now to take a another trip up here by boat, just as soon as we can make it – and the good news is that Ella’s keen to paddle up here. Now that would make a nice couple of days out, wouldn’t it?

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Book a room in South-East England