Category: Techniques

Henwood & Dean 30th anniversary book

Head, Heart, Hand – a Boatbuilder’s Story (the link goes to an impressive collection of sample pages) is a beautiful book documenting the work of Thames-side traditional boat building firm Henwood & Dean, with photographs and design by Michael English.

The book is published to celebrate three decades of the Henwood & Dean boatyard – an event that is also marked by local newspaper the Henley Standard.

I’d guess that it would make a nice Christmas present for quite a few folks out there…

By the way, if like me you feel a little awed by the the varnished finishes the Henwood & Dean team achieve, you may be interested to know that Colin Henwood will be leading Boat Building Academy courses on renovation and finishing at Lyme Regis next year on the 18th-22nd February and 18th-22nd November (by coincidence the dates fall on the same dates each month).

BBA students launch their boats on the 5th December – and you are invited

 

Readers are invited to join Boat Building Academy students and staff at 10am on the 5th December to see this year’s class of 18 students who have completed the 38-week course launch their boats into the water at Lyme Regis Harbour.

It will be a morning to remember, as the students launch their boats, and in many cases mark the beginning of what we all hope will be successful careers in boat building.

To see the boats going together and to find out more about the students as the big day looms, click here.

To get a taste of the event, there are some photos of the BBA’s last student launch day here.

Rafting bamboo downriver to market in Thailand

 

Transporting bamboo by river in Thailand – photos by Matthew Atkin. Click on the thumbnails for a much better view

As you butter your second slice of toast and enjoy your tea at lunch today, you might consider the lifestyle enjoyed by this chap in Thailand. He hacks down bamboo, and then rafts it down a big the river to market, and does it several times a week, every week…

Thanks to my globe-trotting brother Matthew Atkin for two more excellent photos taken with his Fujifilm X100 camera.

, camera