Category: Rowing boat

Beale Park Boat Show preview: De Bootbouwschool boatbuilding school shows the Hanze yawl

Hanze yawl Bert van Baar De Bootbouwschool

Hanze yawl Bert van Baar De Bootbouwschool Hanze yawl Bert van Baar De Bootbouwschool Hanze yawl Bert van Baar De Bootbouwschool

Bert van Baar has written to say that at the Beale Park Boat Show (10-12th June) the De Bootbouwschool will be showing the good-looking Hanze yawl, which he and colleagues designed last winter during a three-day course on lofting.

With the aid of Pepijn van Schaik of Manta Marine Design, the school has now made a set of plans available to purchase; the boat will also be available as a kit this year.

The boat was built during a nine-day boatbuilding course with five people in my workshop during March – she is to be finished by the student who was lucky enough to win the boat in a lottery, although I don’t think this will be completed before the show.

The Hanze yawl will be rigged in the same way as Iain Oughtred’s Ness Yawl as standard, although other rigging arrangements are available on demand.

Bert himself has just finished a whitehall rowing boat with sliding seats for a Dutch owner, and is now building an example of Oughtred’s Kotik design for a Russian customer – it’s a streched version of the well known Wee Seal.

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Beale Park Boat Show preview: Stanley & Thomas, Thames boat builders and oar makers

Stanley & Thomas stand Beale 2010

The Stanley & Thomas stand at the Beale Park Boat Show will represent four different business lines based at a boatyard on the River Thames at Windsor: Stanley & Thomas Boat Builders, Stanley & Thomas Brokerage, and oar manufacturers J Sutton and Xcell.

Established in 1983, the boatbuilding arm began as racing sailing boat builders, but soon gained a reputation for restoration and repairs to classic Thames vessels, and has won many prizes at the Thames Traditional Boat Rally. Following good sales last year the brokerage is now looking to take on new listings.

J Sutton has a long record in producing handcrafted manufacture wooden oars and sculls; its products have won Olympic and world championship gold, silver and bronze medals, and wins at all levels of the Henley Royal Regatta.

The Oxford and Cambridge crews have also used Suttons, but the company has made oars of just about every kind, including 30ft barge oars.

Xcell is also based at the yard and supply a complete range of oars and sculls for competition and leisure, and is the only supplier currently producing looms combining GRP, carbon fibre and Kevlar.

The company has not failed to notice that Dorney Lake, venue for the 2012 Olympic rowing competition, is only two miles from its yard and is looking forward to some good business next year.

Light Trow Onawind Blue flies past (reprise)

 

Ben Crawshaw sailing Light Trow Onawind Blue in ‘entertaining’ conditions

I’ve posted this clip before, but can’t resist doing so again, after the chap who runs out local chandlery and I watched it again this afternoon. ‘It’s not a slow boat,’ I said, a little surprised as I’d forgotten how well the little Light Trow looks in this clip.

‘It’s a great advert,’ he said, ‘in fact it’s creaming along.’ I said little, but I can tell you that the designer blushed with pleasure!

There’s a serious message here for all of us: even in the UK this could be you, this summer. Get or build a boat and let’s all go sailing! (See the free boat plans page for a set of drawings for building this boat.)

For more posts about our friend Ben and his Light Trow, click here.