July 2008 – Page 6 – intheboatshed.net

Was Dr Who in Paris in the 19th Century?

Diving suit at the Paris Musée de la Marine, Paris. As usual, click
on the photo for a larger image

Clearly the answer is likely to be yes. Either Dr Who was strolling down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in the 19th Century, or his creators were – for how else could the carapace of this extraordinary alien come to be in the Paris Musée de la Marine?

A humorist might say that the presence of Dr Who and various aliens would explain some of France’s extraordinary historical twists and turns during the century before last, but I’d never dare risk disturbing French dignity in that way. No non no!

From Norfolk – the distinctive singing and melodeon playing of Tony Hall

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A 19th century engraving of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, by William Miller, after a
typically drama-packed painting by Turner. Image from the Wikimedia

For the last few days I’ve been listening to the melodeon playing of Tony Hall, a musician I’ve admired since the 70s. Tony plays the melodeon, a kind of push-pull accordion that came to dominate the music of much of England, when cheap models arrived in large numbers from Germany in the 19th Century.

Of course, it’s commonly been a seaman’s instrument – just think of old Bob Roberts, skipper of the last working sailing sailing barge, the Cambria. I’m glad to say I was lucky enough to hear him perform not so very long before he passed away.

Now, since one of Tony’s recently recorded songs, Down on the Hard, has some dreamy boatbuilding references, I thought I should share it – with the CD label’s permission, of course. Click on the link for a little song that I think will make many of you smile.

And for a bonus, here’s Tony again, this time playing his version of The Abbot’s Bromley Horn Dance.

For more of this stuff, order a copy of Tony’s new album, One Man Hand on the Wild Goose label.

Follow the link for more references to songs and singing at intheboatshed.net.

The boat that didn’t quite win the boatbuilding competition at Beale Park this year

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Francis Rayns’ handsome 10ft pram dinghy built to plans by John Gardner.

(Click on the images for a larger view)

$Francis Rayns\' clinker-built dinghy at the Beale Park Thames Boat Show$

It says a lot for the standards of the Watercraft magazine Amateur Boatbuilding Awards that this very nicely made little boat only came second this year.

True, one might complain that the material of the clinker strakes is perhaps a little slender, and tradititionalists might suggest that the knees could have been grown rather than laminated – but these seem to be small issues when set alongside the near-flawlessness of the work.

What’s also notable about this particular boat is that builder Francis Rayns reports that the materials cost came out at just £250 – I think that’s an appealingly low figure for such a handsome 10ft boat. She’s built in larch on oak with copper fastenings, by the way, and Francis built her to plans drawn after Nathaniel Herreshoff by John Gardner and published in his book Building Classic Small Craft.

If you haven’t got Building Classic Small Craft, I strongly recommend it – in addition to this little classic, the book contains plans for 46 other boats for a price less than £13, and a long section on boatbuilding techniques. You can’t buy much for that little money these days, but this book is a real bargain.

$Francis Rayns\' clinker-built dinghy at the Beale Park Thames Boat Show$

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