Category: Modern boatbuilding

Modern and plywood boatbuilding and plans

Apple Pie – a project for the mid-winter break?

Apple Pie

Apple Pie

I’ve posted about this little boat in the past, but I think the message is well worth repeating at a time when many of us are thinking about the boats we’d like to build and use during the coming year.

Chuck Merrell’s Apple Pie dinghy is so small and simple, she’s a real kitchen-table boat – that is, she’s small enough to be built on a kitchen table, and simple enough that you may well be able to finish her before anyone complains they can’t do anything useful in the kitchen because there’s a boat in the way.

Seriously, it should be possible to build her in a very short space of time, and with very little in the way of materials. She’s also a clever and useful design and would make a great first boatbuilding project. Here’s the link for Chuck’s free boat plans.

If you do build one of these boats, we’d love to hear about it! Email me at gmatkin@gmail.com.

Dale Austin built one and has kindly allowed me to post a photo of the finished boat (below). Click on the picture for an enlargement.

He has also put up a photo log complete with instructions on his own site:

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mrwizard/sail/dinghy/dinghy.html

Applie Pie photo

 

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Matt Stiles’ stunning Joel White rowing wherry

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Instructor Justin and dog Worthington guiding young Matt on his first time in
a narrow, round-bottomed rower. I don’t think he’s talking about a fish, but
about balance in a naturally tippy boat

Yvonne Green, principal of the Boat Building Academy at Lyme Regis (see earlier posts) has promised to send us material about the student boats launched a few days ago. The first comes from Matt Stiles:

‘Matt from Buckinghamshire was the youngest student on the March course. He is a qualified RYA Dinghy Instructor and is pursuing his love for sailing and woodwork.

‘He built a 20ft Joel White Bangor Packet rowing wherry, cold moulded with 1.5mm sapele veneers (two layers diagonal, final layer fore-and-aft) spiled to simulate carvel planking and finished bright throughout.

‘Matt confessed shortly before the launch that he’d never rowed, so academy instructor and Atlantic rower Justin Adkin gave him a crash course in what not to do and advised a dry suit. Matt, happily, didn’t capsize and the wherry looked fantastic.

‘Gav, Happy Christmas. It’s a pleasure dealing with you, and we love the site. Here’s to many more communications in 2009.‘

Many thanks for the photos of this terrific piece of work by Matt. Here’s to a great Christmas despite all the gloom, and here’s to many more many more projects from Lyme!

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Ben Crawshaw celebrates two years of his Light Trow, and weblog The Invisible Workshop

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Onawind Blue, December 2008

Down on Spain’s East Coast, Ben Crawshaw has written a post this week celebrating two years since he started The Invisible Workshop – his weblog about building and using his Light Trow light-weight plywood beach cruiser.

I can’t tell you how pleased I am that he’s enjoying his boat so much. Take a look also at his recent posts about the local polbeiros with their excellent hull forms, wild rigs and even wilder tillers; and also at his posts on the Battle of Lepanto and a locally built currach.