Category: Traditional carvel

Traditional carvel plans and boatbuilding

Photos from the Festival du Bois Salé

These photos of what looks like some very relaxed late summer sailing were taken by the outstanding boat designer François Vivier at the recent (and splendidly-named Festival du Bois Salé) organised by the Le Défi du Traict, which is based around the Traict de Merquel.

The event is a rally of traditional boats and craft derived from traditional types, and seems to involve a fair amount of activity in Vivier’s sail-and-oar boat designs. The event seems to take place each September and I only wish it was nearer!

Le Défi du Traict was originally formed in 1997 to enter a competition sponsored by the magazine Chasse Marée to build a replica of 1796-style yole recovered from a ship that foundered in Bantry Bay – and it looks to me as though that yole appears in one of the photos.

A summary of how boats rot and what you could do about it (in the past)

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This chapter is from quite a time before epoxy, polyurethane and the rest, of course – but it’s still what nightmares are made of.

Whenever I read it, I can’t help thinking one should really take the somewhat tactless step of examining every plank of a boat before setting out, even just across the bay…

Thunderbird – frighteningly expensive but a 2200hp twin-engined Art Deco beauty

Here are some more photos from my brother Matthew Atkin’s recent trip to Nevada and California.

Designed by John L Hacker, M/V Thunderbird was built by the Husking Boat and Motor Works and launched in July 1940.

She is 55ft long, and powered by twin WWII Allison V1710 aircraft engines that were previously fitted to a P-38 Lightning – and that adds up to 2200hp. Fuel consumption is 4US gallons per mile.

There’s nothing about this Art Deco-era vessel that doesn’t make me want to sit down and gawp. Keeping her in this wonderful condition must be a tremendous enterprise – she’s said to cost $5000 for every hour under way, all supported by public donations, so there seems little doubt that Hacker’s amazing Thunderbird is a deeply loved boat.

Read about Hacker-Craft here, and see a video of Thunderbird being launched for her 71st season here.