Month: August 2009

Fishing off the East Anglian coast in 1954

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East Anglian Holiday
Who’s this old boy then? I wonder, was he a singer, a step dancer or a fiddle or melodeon as well as a film star? Does anyone have a story to tell?

It turns out that they do – check the comments below.

This 1954 colour travelogue put up by the British Film Institute begins innocently enough with lots of the usual material about attractions and seaside resorts – but in the second half there’s some terrific film of sea fishing from small boats in that era. Well worth a few minutes, I’d say.

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Alec Jordan’s beautiful model of Iain Oughtred’s new Scottish rowing skiff

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Alec Jordan’s model of Iain Oughtred’s new design, the St Ayles skiff. Note the liberal use of clothes pegs – Alec’s using pretty well the same building method he would in the real thing!

Jordan Boats proprieter Alec Jordan has built this model of Iain Oughtred’s St Ayles skiff, the boat at the heart of a project to bring competitive coastal rowing back to Scotland.

See an earlier intheboatshed.net post on the Scottish Coastal Rowing Project.

Jordan Boats is to supply cut-out ply kits for the project and like a good boatbuilder, Alec’s first step has been to make a model. Here’s what he says about it:

‘Hi Gavin

‘Attached are some pictures of the skiff model.

‘With the model having gone together successfully, I have now started on the
construction of the real thing in the past couple of days – I’m doing the donkey
work of laminating stems and frames at the moment. I will hopefully have
the moulds up on Saturday and start the planking next week.

‘The boat, I think, is absolutely sublime – I just hope that it rows as well
as it looks!

‘Best regards

‘Alec J

‘BTW, My Dad made the model of the Cutty Sark in the background, not me!’

Thanks for the pictures Alec – Iain’s design looks super and great good luck to all of you involved in this project.

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Sadie Snowdon builds a John Gardner dory

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Sadie Snowdon

Sadie to the sea Sadie workshop 1 Sadie workshop

Sadie’s 14ft Gardner dory project Dolly

Boat Building Academy student Sadie Snowdown built this 14ft Marblehead dory skiff designed by John Gardner, and launched it along with her fellow students’ projects back in June.

It’s a double-chine plywood rowing skiff with oak details that she has set up for two rowers with modern gates and pins rather than the more usual traditional rowlocks.

Sadie joined the course at Lyme after working at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard as a volunteer, during which she decided she wanted to develop her boat building skills. See the Portsmouth Dockyard website for information about the work volunteers undertake.

John Gardner’s books are a tremendous body of work if you’re interested in American boat types, and some of them have been available at very keen prices in recent years it’s well worth checking Amazon.

My thanks once again to Academy principal Yvonne Green for the photos.

For more on student launches at the Boat Building Academy, click here.

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