Gavin Atkin's weblog for the sort of people who like looking inside boat sheds. It's about old boats, traditional boats, boat building, restoration, the sea and the North Kent Coast
My thanks to Ginny Jones of Vineyard Sailing for spotting these videos about building and sailing these lovely clinker-built racing dinghies. Read more about them here and here.
As usual with these things, I want to have a go at sailing one – preferably this summer in a perfect breeze among lush green landscape and an sun twinkling on that Irish river water… One day!
Ben Wales has been in touch to report on the steady progress he and friends have made on restorating of the clinker-built 18ft former Royal Lymington Yacht Club motor launch Mary, which was used in Operation Dynamo, otherwise known as the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940.
Ben and his helpers have been working out of doors until recently, but I’m pleased to say a car port tent has made all the difference.
Here’s what he says:
‘Hello Gavin,
‘Since the Summer we have completed the work in renewing the engine beds and installed one new floor – the original beds were hard-nailed to the bilge planking, which was far from ideal. The new engine beds are now braced with brackets, and are a better fit than the originals.
‘The project had to be put on hold for a few weeks in late August as the weather was too hot and sunny for working on the boat.
‘The next phase of work was to fit new forward and aft bulkheads, and rather than fitting these in the same way as before (screwed to the topside planking) we riveted and screwed them top and bottom. We also made them up in tongue and groove planking to provide stronger bulkheads than previously.
‘In November we were given permission to erect a car port tent over the launch and were able to work up to mid-December, when we had to take down the cover because it was taking a battering from the high winds we have been having.
‘However, we did manage to pre-steam the main rubbing strakes and then fit the top port-side rubbing strake before the weather stopped our work.
‘We hope to resume work in February, when we hope to start laying a new deck and complete the final fit-out ready for what hope will be a late spring relaunch.
‘I will advise you further progress news in the New Year.
‘Regards, Ben’
 
The Boat Building Academy’s class of March 2013 have been good all year so the sun shone brightly when they launched their eight newly built boats built during their course into Lyme Regis harbour on 9 December.
About two hundred people cheered as the champagne corks popped and each boat floated. ITV cameras were there, as were Dick Phillips for Water Craft magazine, and Nigel Sharp for Yachting World.
Colin Henwood watched as his newest employee, Brian Reford, sped across the bay in his new speedboat.
Students started work at dawn, making final preparations for the 10 o’clock launch. The boats went out of the workshops at 9, marshalled by former marine sergeant and boat builder Roy Gollop, before being processed the short walk down to the harbour.
Tim Gedge, Director of the Academy, said a few words, as did Sally Holman, Mayor of Lyme Regis. Then the real business of the day started…
Toby Williamson’s 15ft modified Hiawatha canoe is strip planked in western red cedar, sheathed with glass fibre and epoxy. Toby came across the plans in Ted Moores’ book Canoecraft. He modified the sheer line slightly and changed the design of the thwarts and ribs in line with a similar canoe built by Luke Browne.
Toby, the youngest member of the class, decided that sixth form and A levels weren’t for him. He had seen a feature on the Academy in Coast magazine, visited and decided he should go to the BBA instead. Now the course has finished his is working for two months in Holland for a boat builder before going for a season on a game fishing boat in Madeira.
The BBA folks report that Toby says he has loved every minute of the course, and that it is a shame to have to leave – but he is looking forward to taking his new skills around the world.