Category: Techniques

intheboatshed.net finds one of its photos used elsewhere

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Morning at Beale Park, with one of Adrian Morgan’s
pretty skiffs in the foreground

I try to give credit where it’s due and a link wherever possible, so I was mildly disappointed by Ready, Aim, Inspire’s use of one of my photos without either a credit or a link. But there’s a saving grace: it’s accompanied by a great quotation from one of my favourite writers, essayist and author of Three Men in a Boat (to say nothing of the dog), Jerome K Jerome:

‘Let your boat of life be light, packed with only what you need – a homely home and simple pleasures, one or two friends, worth the name, someone to love and someone to love you, a cat, a dog, and a pipe or two, enough to eat and enough to wear, and a little more than enough to drink; for thirst is a dangerous thing.’

If you’re out there and listening, Mr or Mrs Ready, Aim, Inspire, we’d like a credit in return for our photo please! All those not equipped with a killer JKJ quote will be asked to pay, of course…

The moment every boat restorer looks forward to, hopes for, and dreams about

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Ross Lillistone’s restored Finn

Sailing in perfect conditions and looking good… Here is a Flickr set of boatbuilder and restorer Ross Lillistone’s restored Finn thought to have been built for the 1956 Olympics. As Ross points out, the sail isn’t quite right, but she looks great to me!

Here’s Ross’s email to me about it:

‘Dear Gavin,

‘The set was put up by Michael Storer after I sent him a few pictures of the boat after an on-line conversation.

‘The boat was restored by an apprentice at Norman Wright & Sons in Brisbane quite a few years ago, and passed through several hands before coming to me. Research suggests that she was originally KA 6, but in the photos she is carrying the sail KA 151, which itself carries a stamp from the 1970 Finn Gold Cup. I’m afraid that I can’t take credit for the restoration, but I am the custodian and maintain her. She is a beautiful boat, built from five layers of diagonal cedar, with an Australian red cedar plywood deck. Super to sail, even for a 54 year-old like me!

‘You may be interested in other photos which appear on my website. The boat I’m working on at the moment can be seen under the buttons labeled Periwinkle Photos (1, 2 and 3). She is a design and build commission, and you will see that her layout bears a striking resemblance to Nathanael Herreshoff’s Coquina. This was definitely not a case of copying, but rather an example of convergent evolution, separated by one-and-a-big centuries. The rig configuration determined the layout.

Please let me know if you want more photos (or drawings) of any of my stuff.

‘Cheers,

‘Ross’

Thanks Ross. To you and to other professionals, I’d say that intheboatshed.net focuses on traditional, traditionally built and vintage boats, with occasional forays into modern designs derived from traditional types. If you’ve got a story to tell, please get in touch. I need good photos, and 200-300 words or a little more if you need them to tell your story.

Freshwater – a skiff-like salmon trolling boat built by Adrian Morgan

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Freshwater – as usual, click on the picture for a much larger image

Launched in the last few weeks, Freshwater is a 16ft trolling boat built for salmon fishing in a loch near Aviemore. Built along the lines of a Scottish skiff with a narrow waterline, she is clinker-built of larch on oak, and has a small fore-locker and removable bench seats aft.

She replaces an older boat that was past her prime, and perhaps for this reason every effort has been made to prevent pockets of stagnant water causing rot – which is the reason for the unusual open gunwales.

Adrian reports that the price was under £5,000, excluding long-shaft Yamaha 6hp outboard. The boat is kept on a mooring on Loch Insh.

See Adrian Morgan’s website.