Category: Events

Events such as historical events, races, exhibitions, processions, regattas and so on.

Boat Building Academy and National Maritime Museum Cornwall launch short courses at Falmouth

Ropework course

The National Maritime Museum Cornwall and the Boat Building Academy have teamed up to run a series of short three- and five-day courses at the Falmouth museum’s premises.

The first weekend course, ‘Make a fender – decorative ropework and splicing’, with BBA visiting instructor Roy Gollop on 30 and 31 March will teach decorative ropework and splicing, and participants will make a fender to take away.

Roy began his marine career as an apprentice boat builder in 1946 before enlisting in the Royal Marines, where he was responsible first for landing craft operations before becoming senior instructor of seamanship.

He returned to Lyme Regis and managed the family fishing business for several years until he reopened his  toolbox and began building clinker dinghies and working boats for local people.

BBA  principal Yvonne Green says that running short courses at the NMMC gives the Academy the opportunity to offer short practical workshops outside the limited space available at its Lyme Regis premises.

  • hand tool sharpening and timber preparation 4th-5th May
  • basic joints 11th-12th May
  • dovetails 18th-19th May
  • wooden boat restoration 17-21 June
  • bending wood 22-23 June
  • half model making 29th-30th June
  • replace and scarf a plank 6th-7th July
  • repair a ply dinghy 3rd-4th August
  • ‘Knees up’ with Gail McGarva (shape a knee for a 12ft clinker sailing dinghy and have it fitted to a boat) 17th-18th August
  • basic woodworking skills continued 30th September – 4th October
  • oar making 2nd-3rd November

More information is in the programme: BBA courses at the NMMC 2013.

Also new from the BBA is a timber supply and machining service that will also cut timber brought in by customers.

Timber generally in stock includes sapele (25mm, 32mm and 50mm), American white oak (25mm and 50mm), European oak (25mm, 32mm and 50mm), Western red cedar (25mm and 50mm), Douglas fir (25mm, 32mm and 50mm), Far Eastern ply (4mm, 6mm, 9mm, 12mm and 18mm), Robbins Elite ply (6mm).

Machining of strip planking (with bead and cove) at 6mm and 9mm thickness is also available. Contact the BBA on 01297 445545 or email office@boatbuildingacademy.com.

Sawn timber

BBA students build 15ft strip-planked Ted Moores-designed canoe

Photograph by Rebecca Joseph

Photograph by Rebecca Joseph (2) Photograph by Rebecca Joseph (3) Photograph by Rebecca Joseph (4)

Photograph by Emma Brice Photograph by Emma Brice (3)

Boat Building Academy student Ryan Gostick built this 15ft strip-planked Ranger canoe with help from fellow student Don Smith.

I gather Ryan stuck closely to the original Ranger design from Ted Moores’ book Canoe Craft, and used western red cedar strip planking, and American cherry inwales and gunwales – and his own hand-made canework seats.

Before starting at the BBA, Ryan worked and travelled for 10 years building big tops and structures for theatres and concerts.

After spending some time using canoes in Canada, Ryan dreamed of one day of owning his own canoe, and after restoring a small fibreglass boat he developed an interest in boat building.

When he joined the course the opportunity to build his own canoe as part of his boat building training was too good to miss.

Ryan, who has now returned to Oxford, has named his craft Néla after his friend’s daughter. He’s very proud and happy with the boat and plans to keep the canoe and to enjoy her with family and friends.

His goal now is to combine his new skills and love for travel by working as a boat builder in either Australia or New Zealand.

Former green keeper Don studied English, film, psychology and environmental science at college, but instead of going to university, chose to look for a more practical course and went to the BBA instead, after finding out about it on the Internet.

Since graduating, Don has been working for Beautiful World Tents at Horsham, West Sussex, where he makes giant hat kata tipis, yurts and Native American tipis.

There’s a photo log of Néla’s build on the BBA website.

DVD and article about Humber sloop Spider T’s trips to Arbroath and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant

spidertscotland09

Early morning on the Hartlepool to Blyth leg – photo: Chris Horan

Mal Nicholson and the Spider T folks are marketing a DVD documenting the Humber sloop’s remarkable month-long round trip to Arbroath and back in 2011.

The aim of the trip was to attend Arbroath Sea Fest, which was organised to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the building of the wonderful Bell Rock Lighthouse by Robert Stevenson.

Priced at £10 and available from the Spider T website, the 35-minute DVD is made up of a sequence of Chris Horan’s excellent photographs, and is remarkably watchable.

Horan’s camera-work is beautifully composed, and his lens has a way of capturing a place’s atmosphere and the characters of his human subjects that eludes most of us. And, of course, it was clearly a great, unforgettable, trip.

The Spider T crew promote the charity the The Sailors Children’s Society.

Also, from crew member Dave Everatt comes this splendid article describing the Spider T’s 2012 trip to the Thames to take part in the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant marking 60 years of Elizabeth II’s reign. Everatt is and Humber Keel and Sloop Presevation Society’s magazine Slabline.

I particularly like this extract:

‘At 14.35 hrs, twenty minutes later than expected, we were called to our mustering position ready to join the main event. Progress was rather start/stop in
the earlier stages but, once the pace settled, it went very smoothly.

‘The crowds of people on the riverbanks, bridges, moored vessels, balconies and in buildings all the way along the route made for an electric atmosphere, cheering loudly as vessels horns and whistles blew. A group of girls on an adjacent riverbank shouted “Spider, Spider, Spider … ” and danced a spidery dance as we came by, a magical moment.

‘As we headed past Westminster the rain began to fall getting faster by the minute until, by the time we had passed under Tower Bridge, Her Majesty the Queen waved and Prince Phillip doffed his hat, it was absolutely pouring down and we were soaked to the skin.’