Techniques – Page 211 – intheboatshed.net

The Yachtswoman’s Pocket Book – splendid advice for ladies embarking on a yacht

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I can’t resist sharing this with readers, for it’s priceless. The cover gives it away – three blokes, two of whom are wearing Breton caps, jawing on deck – while the dollybird does something with slices of bread below. She clearly is in need of this book’s advice about the necessity to use waterproof mascara, the benefits of the portable shower and remembering to take an extra jumper to avoid exasperating the man on board.

And to cap it all, there’s an introduction about how valuable all this advice really is – and all written by a man.

No, this stuff is not to be taken too seriously, though some of the advice on clothing, luggage and the rest is as true today as it has ever been. Still there is so much in here that sounds quaint and even funny to modern ears that I’m tempted to make a reading of this twaddle my first podcast!

Some more photos of the Light Trow Onawind Blue, built by Ben Crawshaw

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Ben Crawshaw’s photos continue to make me very proud, and I’m delighted to know that he is so happy with the 14ft Light Trow rowing and sailing boat he built from my design.

The only problem I have is that with each post from him I find the urge to build one myself becomes stronger. I keep having to ask whether I really need eight boats (I think it would make eight – I try not to think about it), but at some point the answer will surely come back that I do, if it looks and performs as well as Onawind Blue.

Ben sails off a beach outside his family’s apartment in Tarragona, and his latest posts at his weblog The Invisible Workshop include a discussion (with videos) of his efforts to learn to handle his boat in surf, and a photoshoot. As he says, the long and lean boat copes pretty well even though the plans I made up included a warning that the boat is really meant for sheltered conditions.

I think it’s forgivable for a designer to be a little conservative in these matters, for I’d be mortified if anyone was injured or worse in a boat I designed. But on the other side of the argument, I always knew that part of the secret of this boat would be its fairly narrow form and in particular its narrow flat bottom – what it trades away is maximum carrying capacity, but what it gains is good handling under oars and in moderate waves, and of course an elegant, slippery hull. I think many of us would like a boat that fitted that description…

For the free plans and for more on the Light Trow:

http://intheboatshed.net/?s=trow