Category: Traditional carvel

Traditional carvel plans and boatbuilding

Penobscot Marine Museum online photo archive expands

Circa-1905 image of the steamer Verona being launched into the Penobscot River, photographed by Preston Williams. From the MacEwen Photo Collection at Penobscot Marine Museum

Photographer "Red" Boutilier captured the converted fishing trawler Natalie Todd being rechristened for use as a passenger-carrying windjammer in this image from the Boutilier Collection at Penobscot Marine Museum. Monhegan Harbor, with the northern end of Manana Island in the background. From Penobscot Marine Museum's David J. Lindsay Photo Collection

Our pal Bob Holtzman has been in touch to say that the Penobscot Marine Museum at Searsport, Maine, USA has added new collections to its online photo archive that bring the database up to more than 50,000 images. The material is available free at www.PenobscotMarineMuseum.org.

One of the new collections is that of well-known Maine photographer Everett ‘Red’ Boutilier, who captured the Maine waterfront from the 1950s until shortly before his death in 2003. His work was published in Downeast, National Fisherman, Sail, Yachting, Soundings and other magazines and newspapers.

Boats, fishing, and shipyard scenes from Maine’s midcoast area dominate the more than 20,000 photos in his collection, whose acquisition by the museum was made possible by a gift from another frequent publisher of Boutilier’s work, the magazine Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors.

Two other newly-added collections with strong maritime content are:

  • the MacEwen Collection, which includes the work of amateur photographer Preston Williams, who shot early 20th-century scenes of the waterfront at the Maine commercial centre of Bangor
  • the Lindsay Collection of photographs by David J Lindsay, whose work boats and shipyards, mostly in Lincoln County, Maine, but also in Massachusetts and Vermont

Thanks Bob!

The story of the new Britannia

Britannia replica returns to Cowes - Photo by Hamo Thornycroft www.yacht-photos.co.uk

Britannia replica returns to Cowes - Photo by Hamo Thornycroft www.yacht-photos.co.uk Britannia replica returns to Cowes - Photo by Hamo Thornycroft www.yacht-photos.co.uk

Britannia replica returns to Cowes – photos courtesy of Hamo Thornycroft 

My thanks to Jana of the Britannia Trust for sending over these photos, and information about the building of the new Britannia.

On King George V’s death in January 1936, the old king left instructions that his famous J class racing yacht named Britannia was to ‘follow him to the grave’.

Stripped of all her spars and fittings, the elegant old racing machine was towed out from Cowes and sunk off St Catherine’s Deep, somewhere west of Ventnor and south of the Needles, on July 1st. The remains of her hull are there to-day, rotting in a deep watery grave. Nobody is supposed to know the exact location (but see Adrian Morgan’s comment below), though fishermen from the island report having  snagged nets on her.

An exact replica of her hull was built, between 1993 and 2009 at a shipyard in the Russian port of Arkhangelsk, inside the Arctic Circle, and financed by a Norwegian magnate. Since then she has overwintered in northern Norway, until in January she was brought west and south to Cowes, and arrived on the 4th February.

The yacht has been purchased by Minicast Holdings of Gibraltar; on completion of her fitting out, the company will donate the use of her to the Britannia Trust for a minimum of 10 years.

The Britannia Trust’s plan is to complete the building work at Cowes, including fitting new deck hardware, installing a new interior, and fitting a mast, rigging and sails, engines and generators. The aim is to create a flagship for charities aiding underprivileged children and war veterans, and to use her as a fundraising venue for charities.

The trust believes the new Britannia is ideally suited for charitable work, as it has the potential to attract thousands of people every year.

The reconstruction team is now seeking sponsors for the project, which is to be project-managed by Giuseppe Longo, who was responsible for managing the restoration of the Lulworth. Stefano Faggioni is to act as chief interior designer, with the aim of making the interior of the new Britannia look as much like the original as possible, but with  modern amenities.

The reconstruction process will be documented and filmed, and during the works a live webcam will stream continuous images from the dockyard.

Stirling & Son makes progress with beautiful Victorian gentleman’s sailing yacht Integrity

Stirling and Son Victorian racing yacht Integrity Bow

Stirling and Son Victorian racing yacht Integrity  Stirling and Son Victorian racing yacht Integrity Port Quarter

These delicious shots of the Victorian-style racing yacht under construction by Stirling and Son have been sent over by Will Stirling, a man who really should be called a photographer, as well as a boat builder, designer and historian.

Here’s what he says:

‘We are fitting her out at the moment in oak panelling. The detail has been taken from photographs of Victorian yacht interiors, with lots of morticing and tenoning to make up the frames, then the different fielded and flat panels, and then the beading.

‘This gives the bulkheads an interesting 3D effect.

‘We have made up patterns for all of the deck fittings and are having them cast in bronze by Ian Major of Major Castings (tel 07897 924 005).

‘Russian hats came out in force last week during the cold snap, which particularly affected John in the yard, as he was fitting the metal work to the spars in a long and drafty shed.

‘Integrity will be launched in mid-May by the Mayflower Marina in Plymouth.

‘Best wishes, Will’

I’m looking forward to seeing photos of her afloat. Stirling and Son is at Tavistock and can be reached via its website, or by phone on 01822 614259. Will doesn’t mention whether Integrity has a buyer, but if you’re in the market for a boat of this kind I guess it wouldn’t do any harm to enquire.

For earlier posts about Stirlings’ projects and plans, click here and follow the ‘Older posts’ links – there have been quite a few over recent years.

PS – I wonder how the Victorian racing yacht Leila’s getting on over by Southwold Harbour? Does anyone know?

PPS – Donan Raven (see comment below) has been in touch to point out that there are some good clips of Will’s workshop included in a YouTube video about the America’s Cup. It seems the directors thought it would be fun to film a traditional boat builder sailing one of the AC speed machines, and Will agreed…