Category: Traditional carvel

Traditional carvel plans and boatbuilding

Building the Colin Archer Emma

There’s plenty to read and pictures to see at the Emma website – but as it’s in Dutch, I suspect many Intheboatshed.net readers won’t understand it too readily. If Nederlands isn’t your favourite language, happily all is not entirely lost – it’s possible to make sense of quite a lot of it using Google Translate and I gather an English version of the site is in the works.

However, there is no Google app that can help you get over the urge to acquire a similar vessel from somewhere and go sailing forever…

The Wikipedia has quite a lot more information about Colin Archer (1832–1921), shipbuilder and designer of more than 200 boats including the design used for building the Emma.

Archer was famous for his durable and safe vessels, and his output included a distinctive double-ended design for the Norwegian Lifeboat institution.

The class of boat remained in service for many years, and some original boats and later builds have been adapted for use as cruising yachts – Emma is an example of a recent build by Tom Pollman from Holland, and is based on drawings of lifeboat RS22, Vardo.

556px-Colin_Archer_Statue

Colin Archer monument erected in his home town of Larvik, photo by Stig Andersen from Wikimedia Commons

33 Hverdagens menn

A striking old piece of film of Norwegian fishermen at work. The title translates – says Google – as ’33 Everyday Men’. These blokes would sail the4ir boats in any weather, it seems – they don’t look entirely ‘everyday’ to me, and neither does the cameraman!

My thanks to Paul Gilbert for spotting this video.

Business plan for boat moorings and maintenance at Faversham Creek would be in surplus after four years

A business plan examining the financial feasibility of developing repair and maintenance of traditional vessels in Faversham Creek has concluded that a net present value of £560k could be achieved over 15 years after including all costs.

The project would lead to 10 new full-time jobs and would be be in substantial surplus in its fourth year, says the report, which was written by a group of business-minded individuals follows a request by Faversham Town Council for an assessment of this kind in support of the local neighbourhood plan.

Achieving these benefits would be dependent on public support and funding, including providing a new opening bridge however.

The authors conclude that the Thames from London to its full outer estuary includes some 51 Thames sailing barges, 170 Dutch/motor barges and approximately 533 smacks and other traditional vessels, and that in business terms restoring, refitting and maintaining these vessels amounts to a turnover of £6m a year, with a significant secondary revenue from moorings.

They concluded that Faversham should be able to attract 18 per cent of the available Thames barge work, 10 per cent of Dutch barges and 7 per cent of smacks, which would require three extra dry docks to be available for mainstream repair, and maintenance along the tidal Creek and light maintenance and general moorings elsewhere.

The predicted annual income including from mooring fees is £700k gross, or £200k net of operating costs – which it is thought would lead to 10 additional full time jobs in the town.

Some £1.3m of capital expenditure would be required, including £860k for an opening bridge and sluices £280k for quay structures, £50k for initial dredging and £140k for dry docks and other equipment – and if the Council were to invest in an opening bridge, the report argues it would be feasible to raise the remainder from bank loans and private investment.

Read the report here.