Category: Small boats

Book celebrates John Welsford’s Navigator

An enthusiast’s self-published book about designer John Welsford’s popular Navigator design is out now.

Robert Ditterich is a violin maker among other things, and clearly both a craftsman and a networker, for in addition to John Welsford himself he’s persuaded some well known names in the Navigator world to donate their experiences. Just some of his contributors are Steve Parke, Owen Sinclair, Richard Schmidt, Chuck Leinweber, Kevin Brennan, Martin Welby, Dave Perillo, Dave Johnstone and Barrett Faneuf.

In Something about a Navigator Robert outlines the development of the design and the aspects of the boat that have made it popular, and a bit of an analysis of the aspects of the boat that have made it such a success, some stories by Navigator owners, sailors and builders. There’s also a chapter about building a hull and another detailing fittings and a list of useful resources.

I haven’t seen the book itself, but if the Navigator is on your boat-dreaming list, I’d say Robert’s book is likely to be both informative and inspirational. Here’s what he says about it:

‘It is my sincere hope that this little book will give some pleasure, not only to Navigator enthusiasts, but to dreamers, builders and sailors who just want something simple, real, and creative in their lives and who find that thinking about little boats is helpful and maybe even inspirational in all that.’

Something about a Navigator is available in two editions, a low cost black and white version priced at $20 and a colour version at $42. Both are available from Robert’s weblog The Middle Thing.

Btw, if anyone has already got a copy, I’d be most grateful for a brief review!

250 year-old birch bark canoe in Cornish barn to be returned to Canada

Enys birch bark canoe sees daylight for the time in decades

The birch bark canoe on location on the Enys Estate A painting by historical artist John Buxton showing similar birch bark canoes as they would have been used over 200 years ago

Enys birch bark canoe sees daylight for the time in decades; the canoe on location on the Enys Estate; painting by historical artist John Buxton depicting similar birch bark canoes as they were 200 years ago

National Maritime Museum Cornwall curators are working to conserve what may be the oldest birch bark canoe in existence, before it is sent back to Canada.

For over 200 years, the canoe has belonged to the Enys family having been brought to Cornwall by Lt John Enys after he fought in the American War of Independence in 1776. It is estimated to be over 250 years old.

‘Lt Enys sailed from Falmouth in a packet ship to join his regiment in Canada to relieve the city of Quebec, which was under siege from the Americans,’ said NMMC boat collections manager Andy Wyke.  ‘He fought many military campaigns and toured the area for his personal interest – discovering this canoe along the way. It’s incredible to think its legacy has been resting in a barn in Cornwall all this time.’

The canoe has been kept near Penryn in an Enys Estate barn for many years but this week it was moved to the NMMC, where it will be conserved, preserved and put on show from late January until it is  repatriated to Canada in September.

The canoe came to light when Enys family descendent Wendy Fowler called the museum to request they look at the canoe lying in the Estate’s barn.

Captain George Hogg NMMC archivist and trustee said ‘When we received the call from the Enys family to identify their canoe in a shed we had no idea of the importance of the find. We knew we had something special, but having worked with the British Museum on the artefacts and the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough, Ontario, we now believe that this is one of the world’s oldest birch bark canoes. This is a unique survival from the 18th century.’

Canadian Canoe Museum researchers hope to identify where the boat may have been built and by which tribe.

PS – Duckworks has an excellent post explaining how birch bark canoes are made.

Lottery funds lerret oral history project

Gail McGarva Lerret Littlesea

Locals celebrate the launching of the newly built lerret Littlsea

Lyme-based traditional boatbuilder Gail Mc Garva and Lyme Regis Museum have won Heritage Lottery funding for a new project designed to enable people to learn and participate in the maritime heritage of the Dorset coast by exploring and sharing the story of the ancient local clinker-built lerret.

Titled Maritime Lyme and the Lerret, the project includes an oral history project that will collect, preserve and share stories connected with the traditional boats, and the material will be made accessible to the public online via a new website and in the form of a physical archive.

Also, 2011 will see a touring exhibition of the living history of the lerret with related community events. At the heart of this exhibition will be two lerrets, Vera, built in 1923 and the new boat Littlesea built by Gail in 2010 with funding from the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust.

PS – I gather that Gail will be starting a project to build an impressive third rowing gig for Lyme in the autumn of next year.