Category: River boats

Matt Atkin photographs boats and river life in Cambodia, part 1

 

 

 

My brother Matt Atkin’s mission to photograph interesting boats and water-borne life throughout the Far East using his Fuju Finepix X100 continues with a mass of illuminating photos from near Siem Reap, Cambodia.

He tells me these shots are of the floating village of Tonle Sap on the River Mekong, which as well as floating homes, a floating school and shops, a floating church (it has a cross above in the photographs), and a temple. The entire village moves from time to time depending on the level of the river.

I must say I like the cute little outboard canoes driven by what could easily be petrol-driven strimmers, and intrigued by the shallows-dodging prop-rudder-steering doberries the larger boats have.

Keep out of the prop’s way, though, if you happen to fall in!

The next selection of shots from this collection will include kids in large washing bowls, and a hand-powered travelling shop.

 

The steam launch Halcyon

Will Stirling of boat builders Stirling & Son of Tavistock sent over these photos of a steam launch named Halcyon, which the company repaired recently.

‘The owner tells me that she was built on the River Thames before the Second World War,’ wrote Will. ‘She is built of mahogany on oak and is in very good condition.’

For a bit of video of Halcyon steaming on the Tamar, click here.

By coincidence, Stirling and Son currently has another boat called Halcyon in the shed – though this one is a straight stemmed-cutter with a counter stern built in the late 19th century.

‘Work seems to come in flurries,’ says Will. ‘This has been an autumn of spars with a large new boom for a pilot cutter, a new mast for an Admiralty pinnace and the refurbishment of all of the spars for a 32ft gaff cutter.

‘I’ve also attached a photo of 12ft rowing dinghy number 22, which is now ready to be fitted out.’ See the shot below. Number 22! Stirlings have made a lot of dinghies to their beautiful design.

Stirling and Son traditional yacht building and wooden boat repair can be reached by phone at 01822 614259. The company’s website is at www.stirlingandson.co.uk.

Massimo Di Nonno’s photos of the early part of the Man on the Water small boat voyage from London to Istanbul

Don’t miss these photos – this is a lovely, lovely collection of the early part of Giacomo de Stefano’s Man on the River small boat voyage from London to Istanbul, which he completed a few weeks ago. The boat, an Iain Oughtred-designed Ness Yawl built by Giacomo and friends is now on exhibition in an Istanbul museum.