Category: Small boats

Build the Babson Island 14 skiff, from Woodenboat and author Tom Hill

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Tom Hill’s 14ft Babson Island skiff

Views vary about the boat plans that have appeared in Woodenboat magazine, but I’m rather in favour of the trend. Boat plans that appear in magazines add to the sum total of happiness in the world, they help to make the case that real people can build boats and they provide beginning boatbuilders with a new way into building small boats.

And, as a long-serving magazine and newspaper journalist,  I think it’s welcome evidence of magazine publishers coming to grips with the age of the Internet.

So here’s a link to plans and instructions for building the Babson Island 14 skiff designed by well known author, expert builder and small boat designer Tom Hill,  and presented by Woodenboat. I can’t see anything extreme or strange about it, and it’s full of craftsman-like detail.

PS – I’d like to remind readers that about 18 months ago Woodenboat plugged intheboatshed.net – see the story.

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Stop Ofcom billing the RNLI for its comms

I gather there are moves afoot to charge the Royal National Lifeboat Institution commercial rates for using its communications equipment. If, like me you think this isn’t right, please sign this petition on the issue.

In a country where the Lifeboats are the one essential rescue service manned by volunteers and supported wholly by charity, I think this proposal is an unnecessary blow to a great institution that should be dear to the heart of every boat owner.

What proposition am I asking you to sign? It’s simple and harmless enough: We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Protect the RNLI from paying licence fees for using Maritime radio frequencies.

The story from the petition organisers is that Ofcom wants to bring ‘market forces’ into maritime and aviation communications, and that RNLI will have to pay £250,000 a year. Apparently, smaller search and rescue charities fear they may have to close. See a report published a few weeks ago by the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

I’m hoping that none of this is true, and that if it is Ofcom will come to realise that what it wants to do simply isn’t politically acceptable while the Lifeboats remain dependent on charity alone.

Jordan Boats supplies Iain Oughtred boatbuilding kits to the USA

Iain Oughtred’s Arctic Tern

Cut-out ply component parts and MDF frames and full-sized patterns for Iain Oughtred’s legendary catalogue of boat plans are now available in the USA from Jordan Boats.

Alec Jordan of Jordan Boats based in Fife, Scotland rang this week to say that the kits are being supplied in the USA by a company in Maine. Apparently, the same outfit also supplies for Woodenboat magazine.

The boat components are made from Bruynzeel and Shelmarine BS1088 marine plywood, which are not Lloyds Type Approved, but have an excellent reputation – Lloyds Type Approved ply kits are also available at an added cost of about 30 per cent.

Jordan Boats’ bank will not yet allow payment in US Dollars through its website, so the only way to order is by getting in touch through Jordan’s contact page and asking for a confirmed kit and shipping quotation. For shipping please remember to include your Zip Code, so please remember to include this together with your phone number and Skype name, if you have one.

Alec says it will take a day or two for his contractors to obtain the shipping quote, but when he has it he will will email it to you together with payment details.

Typical kit prices at the time of writing are: Ness Yawl, $2,208; Fulmar, $3,029; Feather Pram, $744; Badger, $1,254; Auk, $1,076; Acorn, $1,076; 13ft 6in Tammie Norrie, $1,346.

Kits are also available for Acorn 12, Acorn 15, Elf, Granny Pram, Guillemot, Humble Bee, Mole, Puffin, Skerrieskiff 15, 15ft Tammie Norrie, Tirrik, Wee Rob and Wee Seal. At the time of writing, Alec was working on adding the Shearwater and had plans to offer the Caledonia Yawl.

New designs can be added to order.

Jordan Boats

For more on Iain Oughtred’s boat designs, including photos of Chris Perkins’ award winning Macgregor canoe and his new Stickleback canoe, click here.

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