Gavin Atkin's weblog for the sort of people who like looking inside boat sheds. It's about old boats, traditional boats, boat building, restoration, the sea and the North Kent Coast
The Boat Building Academy staffer Emma Brice has kindly sent over a couple of photos she took at this year’s somewhat wintry-looking student launch. I hope it wasn’t too cold down at Lyme!
The catboat above left was built by Michael Tyler; the Caledonian Yawl above right was built by David Campbell.
I gather the Academy’s tutors were particularly pleased to finally launch Gary Thompson’s Haven 12 ½built during the September 2010 course – it couldn’t be launched in June because of strong winds.
Remember Chris Perkin’s award-winning Macgregor canoe built to Iain Oughtred’s design? Well, it has turned up on a BBC series following largely forgotten steamer routes taken by Victorian holiday-makers, and pioneer canoeist Macgregor himself. (I’m sure they’re not forgotten among boating enthusiasts!)
It’s a wonderfully scenic part of the world and it’s great to see Chris’s immaculate little boat being paddled by the presenter, and I think the series will be well worth watching. Broadcast transmissions have been restricted, but it is available to many of us via the BBC iPlayer.
John Milgate’s wonderful Duck Punt design looks like tremendous fun to me, and I was pleased the other day to discover that plans to build these little boats are now available from Dylan Winter’s Keep Turning Left website.
I’d include some built in bouyancy and you wouldn’t see me out in a boat like this without a lifejacket, but the way they slip through the water with their tiny 35sqft recycled Optimist sails is an inspiration.
Dylan thinks one of these little flat-bottomed sailing canoes derived from boats used by wildfowlers will make a great platform for filming, which I guess they may be if you’re skilled enough to hold a sheet, steer with a paddle and aim and aim a camera at the same time.
Good luck to him and I hope he ties on his camera securely – I fear I’d be in the water in a moment if I concentrated on something that demanding while sailing one of these tiddly little canoes. Distractions such as cameras aside, though, one of these boats would be a wonderful escape in sheltered waters, particularly on a summer’s evening after a long day’s work.
I tip my hat to Bill Serjeant and his weblog Bill’s Log – for that’s where I learned that Dylan had posted the Duck Punt plans. Thanks Bill!
