Category: Suppliers

Adam Newton of Beer, Devon builds a gorgeous 12ft glued clinker rowing skiff

Adam Newton 12ft rowing boat Morning Glory Adam Newton 12ft rowing boat Morning Glory at Beer

New intheboatshed.net reader Adam Newton of the Boatyard at Beer has written to tell us about a clinker built rowing boat he has constructed. As usual, click on the images for a much bigger photo.

Here’s what Adam says about the boat:

‘I have just stumbled across your website and found it very interesting. I’ve just launched my 12ft glued clinker rowing boat Morning Glory which I built over the winter months. She is based on a Shaldon Regatta rowing boat used at local regattas, the design of which Phil Morrison, a designer of Salcombe yawls, Merlin Rockets and many more dinghies, altered to my requirements. (There’s a great article about the Shaldon Regatta here.)

I had a Shaldon Regatta and they are a very good all round boat, easy to row, stable and light enough to pull up and down the beach. There’s an article about the regatta on www.swmaritime.org.uk website.

I had been thinking about building a wooden rowing boat for a few years and finaly got round to doing it. The regatta is 11ft with a 4.6ft beam and a 3ft transom but i fancied something a bit racier hence the 12ft-4ft-2ft measurments of Morning Glory which I’m calling a Beer 12 design, as I live in Beer, East Devon.

‘The planks are spruce with oak ribs and mahogany seats and gunwales. I just intend to row it around the bay at Beer, but it’s also light enough (51kg) to put on the roof of my car and to go for a jolly elsewhere. You can’t beat an early morning row with the sun on your back, and she is a pleasure to row.’

I don’t doubt it! Thanks for the story Adam – any time you and your pals in Devon have something to share with intheboatshed.net readers, please let me know at gmatkin@gmail.com.

PS – Adam has kindly sent me these photos of Morning Glory’s build. Thanks again Adam!

'Beer 12' Morning Glory built by Adam Newton  'Beer 12' Morning Glory built by Adam Newton 'Beer 12' Morning Glory built by Adam Newton 'Beer 12' Morning Glory built by Adam Newton 'Beer 12' Morning Glory built by Adam Newton 'Beer 12' Morning Glory built by Adam Newton 'Beer 12' Morning Glory built by Adam Newton 'Beer 12' Morning Glory built by Adam Newton 'Beer 12' Morning Glory built by Adam Newton

BBA student builds Justin Adkin-designed fiberglass rowing skiff – then starts company to make and sell them

Jim's Justin Adkin rowing skiff off to sea. Photograph by Laurence Madill Jim's fibreglass rowing skiff. Photograph by Jon Palmer

Jim's fibreglass rowing skiff - Photograph by Jenny Steer Jim Little's fibreglass rowing skiff - Photograph by Jenny Steer

Boat Building Academy student Jim Little has built a fibreglass rowing skiff designed by instructor Justin Adkin.  (Earlier student, Jon Palmer, built a similar boat in 2009/10.)

The fibreglass boat is included on the course to introduce students to this method of boat building. It was designed for short- to medium-length coastal regatta rowing races, and has a solid fibreglass layup in chopped strand matt, built in buoyancy tanks, a modern pin gate oarlock and a fixed seat rowing set-up.

There was talk that it would race on Monday 8th August in the regatta at Beer, which is Justin’s village home, though I see how Justin did from the regatta website.

Jim worked in journalism, marketing and communication before dipping his toe in the water on one of the BBA’s eight-week woodworking skills course, which lead to him joining the 38-week long course. He has now set-up a business in Devon called Fox 14, which is making and selling the boats.

The BBA course launch day was windy for the small sailing boats built by the students, but Justin took the new skiff for a spin and came back chuffed after having successfully ‘surfed’ several waves.

To see a photographic diary of the build click here, and for the Fox 14 website click here.

Marcus Lewis builds a new clinker-built Fowey River sailing dinghy

 Marcus Lewis Fowey River dinghy

Marcus Lewis mayflower dinghy time lapse 002 Marcus Lewis mayflower dinghy time lapse 005

Fowey boat builder Marcus Lewis has got in touch to show us these photos (top) of the latest clinker-built Fowey River sailing dinghy that he has built.

‘This is number 61 in the long established local class. It was built in the spring and launched a couple of weeks ago.

‘Named Puffling, she is built of Canadian spruce with mahogany sheer strake, thwarts, gunnels and steamed oak ribs, all rivetted together with 1300 copper rivets.

‘She was built for champion Dart 18 catamaran sailors Kim and Sarah Furniss, who live near Fowey, and have now decided to sail something more sedate but still challenging given the fickle winds and frustrating tides of Fowey Harbour.

‘They have already raced Puffling successfully already in the Wednesday evening and Saturday afternoon races.

‘My latest project is a 14ft Mayflower dinghy, which is gunter rigged and with a steel centreplate. These were formerly built by Skentlebery’s in Plymouth, (there’s an article in Classic Boat magazine in January 93 for those with an extensive collection).

The company has licensed me to build them, and am building one ‘on spec’, hopefully in time to show it on the Wooden Boatbuilders Trade Association stand at the Southampton Boat Show. If any reader’s in the market for a newly built gunter rigged dinghy of about this size, I might be well worth getting in touch with Marcus right now – his website is at www.woodenboatbuilder.co.uk.