Category: Techniques

Claudia Myatt’s six top tips for maritime artists

Claudia Myatt sails

Claudia Myatt is a talented and highly effective maritime artist who knows how to conjure up a form in a few sweet lines – see some samples of her work here.

Her site also has a nice download of traditional boat drawings for kids to colour-in, which might provide some entertainment for children shut in due to all the bad weather we’ve been having.

Claudia has drawn up her six top tips for drawing and painting boats and ships. They sound like they could make all the difference to those of you draw well enough to find the experience rewarding – and if you do I can’t tell you how envious I am!

My thanks to regular intheboatshed.net reader and contributor Paul Mullings for leading me to this one.

How to wedge and set a trunnel

– don’t say you haven’t been told.

The link goes to a weblog about the restoration of the Morgan, the last timber-built whaling ship. She’s cared for by Mystic Seaport folks, and the weblog is well worth taking time over.

To see how the a trunnel is inserted and wedged into place, scroll down the post.

Just look at this beautiful half-sized sgoth niseach built by BBA student Mairi Macleod

Mairi46

I’m blown away by Boat Building Academy student Mairi Macleod’s photo log of the building of her half-size sgoth niseach. This boat that Mairie built is 16ft 6in compared with the full-sized boats of 30ft.

Sgoth niseach means ‘Ness-type skiff’, Ness being the northernmost part of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides where the boats were used for fishing.

The boat is to be called Runag, which is Gaelic for Little sweetheart, and was planked in Alaskan yellow cedar on oak, with the planks and ribs fastened with traditional rose head copper nails.