A busy and interesting summer for Stirling and Son

Stirling and Son 14ft dinghy

Stirling and Son are busy as usual this summer with varied work both in and around Plymouth and further afield.

Stirlings must be counted one of the most interesting boat building and design operations around. Down at their covered slipway at Plymouth, the pilot cutter Cornubia is having her hatches re-varnished and a replica Viking longboat is being repaired.

Further afield, in May a small team went to Germany to work on the 60ft teak built Mylne yacht Mingary. This is a link to a video of work on the yacht. See a video of the work on that job below:

In June Sara and Will visited Glasgow for the Clyde Classic Design Symposium and delivered a talk about the process of designing the new Victorian racing cutter Integrity at the Royal Northern and Clyde Yacht Club.

The plans for the 14ft sailing dinghy that Sara and Will sailed around the Eddystone Lighthouse and then across the Channel are now available. The plans comprise lines, sail plan, construction plan and technical detail with templates of the backbone, knees, rudder and moulds.

The study plans show the level of detail and are accompanied by a materials list and a scantlings list. The plans are not available through the website (which is due to be updated). For information on the plans please email Will at info@stirlingandson.co.uk.

14ft sailing dinghy study plans

In Spain Martin Scannall has built and launched a 9ft dinghy built to Stirling and Son plans. She is to be the tender to the cutter Sauntress.

At the other end of the scale Will is working in conjunction with naval architect Theo Rye on the design of a 140 ton topsail schooner of circa 1830 that is to be built in the far East.

Stirling and Son undertake traditional boat building and wooden boat repair and have an office at Tavistock, tel 01822 614259, and a covered yard at Devonport, tel 07727 233346.

Faversham boat builder Alan Staley wins skills award

Boat builder Alan Staley has won the Craft Skills Award for ‘Encouraging craft skills in the workplace’, and the YouTube video above shows Alan and his younger staff at work at his boat yard at Chambers Wharf, Faversham, including our friend Alison. The relevant bit starts about 3minutes in.

Sharp-eyed readers will also notice George Holmes’ Eel in the background, before she was ready to be brought out of the shed.

Read about the Craft Skills Awards here, and about Alan Staley’s boat building outfit here.

The good folks of the Faversham Creek Trust talk about Craft Skills award and about boatbuilding along the Creek in recent years here.

OGA 50th anniversary round Britain trip group divides at the Caledonian Canal

Cine Mara and Bonify in Kames Bay. Pic Ben Collins Greensleeves, Witch and Capraia in Cuan Sound - Pic Ben Collins

Photos by Ben Collins of the OGA

The Old Gaffers Association folks are continuing their 50th anniversary circumnavigation, but has effectively divided in two, with over a dozen boats are in the West of Scotland enjoying the scenery and planning to enter the Caledonian Canal later this week, while a smaller fleet including the North Kent-based local favourite, the 100-year old Morecambe Bay prawner Bonita, a collection of Scottish OGA boats including Tantina II and Naiad, and the Dutch boat Windbreker, are heading round the top.

Bonita will go to Orkney whilst the rest hope to get to Shetland, before all joining up at the next big gathering in Newcastle on July 5th to 7th.

More details of the Newcastle event can be found on the oga50.org website on the OGA Area events pages.

The site has a map showing where all the boats are, and links to individual boat blogs.