Category: Racing sailing craft

Preserving old cotton sails

There’s a query on the forum that I can’t begin to answer, but someone might know the best approach.

Our correspondent has bought an old Enterprise dinghy dating back to 1957, and it has arrived with cotton sails. Is there anything he can spray on them to protect them without staining?

If you know the answer to this, please go to the forum – there’s a link in the sidebar to the right of this page!

For more on Enterprise dinghies, this link takes you to the Enterprise Class Association website: http://www.sailenterprise.org.uk/

Merlin Rocket 252 brought back to life

Merlin Rocket 252 Merlin Rocket 252 Merlin Rocket 252 Merlin Rocket 252

From the wonderful Classic and Vintage Racing Dinghy Association, here’s a heart-warming series of photos in which traditionally-built Merlin Rocket 252 is brought back to gleaming life. Great work!

The Merlin Rocket class was born when the established Merlin and Rocket classes merged a long time ago. With such an early sail number, I wonder whether this boat predates the merger? And if so, was it a Merlin or a Rocket?
http://www.cvrda.org/gallery/pages/garry/index.htm

For more on small boats: http://intheboatshed.net/?cat=18

Would you like to see your project here?

Forest & Stream skiff

Send your interested friends this link: http://intheboatshed.net/?p=374

Just about everyone who comes to these pages is some kind of boat nut, and I’m a boat nut too. I’d like to make this weblog as interesting and useful to us all as possible, and I want to fill it with news and photographs about:
•Projects about old boats, historic boats, traditionally-built boats, and traditionally-derived boats.
•Boating history and traditions.
•The skills involved, the craftsmen and the available training.
So, whether you own these kinds of boats, work on them, sell them, build them, paint or photograph them, write about their history, design them, run a club or organise events, or collect old songs and stories connected with them – if you would like to bring your projects to the attention of a wider public, email me now at gmatkin@gmail.com!