Boating, boats, ships and the sea – Page 643

intheboatshed.net skiff – photos of our model, and maybe yours too?

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The model’s parts all fitted, so far as I can tell at this scale,
which shows there are no serious mistakes here. The
glasses case isn’t essential…

Julie and I cannibalised the card from a pack of Lidl’s Soviet-style wheat bix (my favourite, for some reason), used Pritt glue to stick 55 per cent sized prints onto the material, cut the thing out and then assembled it in the traditional skiff fashion – attach bows, bend around central frame, attach stern, add bottom, attach everything else.

It only took a few minutes and yet again the magic worked – and a serviceable if rough model boat popped up in what seemed like a moment.

It was all very satisfying. All the parts went where they were supposed to, which at least proves I haven’t got any of the important components mixed up, and the darn thing looks the way most of us would expect a modern skiff to look – and no doubt it will perform like one too.

I think we’re set fair to finalise the plans for the stitch-and-glue/tack-and-tape version of this 15ft 6in flattie skiff in the next week or two. I’ll make them available for free from this website, and elsewhere. More traditional chine-log construction plans will follow, and after that, who knows? Perhaps a variation or two will suggest themselves…

If anyone else is following this progress and has built a model, we’d love to hear from you at gmatkin@gmail.com, and to be able to add your photos to this post!

See the whole series of posts on this project:

Complete free plans package for the intheboatshed.net flat-bottomed 15ft 6in skiff
intheboatshed.net skiff – drawings and coordinates for stitch and glue
intheboatshed.net skiff – photos of our model, and maybe yours too?
Intheboatshed.net skiff – now we can make a model
Intheboatshed.net skiff progress
Early drawings for a 15ft 5in lightweight flat-bottomed American-style skiff

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Intheboatshed.net skiff progress

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Julie – a flat-bottomed 15ft 6in skiff from intheboatshed.net.
As usual, click on the image for something much bigger!

This is the easy-to-build stitch and glue version of the Julie skiff, named after my partner. A more challenging traditional version is to come later, but meanwhile I think this straightforward s&g build should appeal to many first- and second-time boatbuilders.

She has a good hull that will row nicely, and has been laid out for convenience and easy construction with the number of parts reduced to a minimum consistent with a strong, rigid structure.

In this post you can see that I’ve made some significant progress towards completing the plans, but the next big job, of course, is to map out the panels, which I intend to do in the next few days. I’d be delighted to hear from anyone out there who is interested in this project.

A question from a reader has prompted me to explain the foredeck detail. It’s not meant to be used as a seat, and I’ve placed it 3in below the sheerline partly because I think it looks nice but also because it provides somewhere to keep a mooring line and maybe a small anchor. I haven’t drawn them yet, but the idea is to have two drains to open water at the wide, aft end of the foredeck area.

See the whole series of posts on this project:

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Beyond the Quay, a CD of sea songs by Tom and Barbara Brown

Tom and Barbara Brown’s new album Beyond the Quay is
made up of sea songs

Tom and Barbara Brown are old friends, and I’m very pleased that they should should put out a CD of sea-songs. Songs connected with the sea have been out of fashion around the folk scene’s clubs and festivals for far too long in this country.

Interestingly, even though I’ve recently heard the claim that sea shanties are the new Rock’n’Roll, there are none here. Instead, this CD is full of songs about ships, ports, sailors, and of course heroes and villains. Most are traditional and most belong to the West Country.

Tom and Barbara’s performances are marked by some very effective harmony singing, of which there are two excellent examples here: Young Susan and a version of The Death of Nelson to a tune learned by the couple from traditional source singer George Dunn of Staffordshire, with additional verses from the broadside ballad.

Another aspect of this disk that I particularly like is that it includes a very nice but less well known version of one of my favourites, The Bold Princess Royal. Tom’s version from Bristol is much harder to sing than the one I know from Sam Larner – so much so that he gets extra points from me for making an excellent job of it. I gather it came originally from a singer called Albert Lightfoot.

In the interests of historical veracity I should explain that Tom’s version has the same problem as Larner’s – he has the British ship being chased to windward, which seems unlikely as the Moorish pirates’ xebecs were far better to windward than the British boats during the era being described.

And I should also add that Tom and Barbara have been lucky enough to be supported on this CD by our old friend Keith Kendrick and young musicians and singers Emily and Hazel Askew.

Copies of Beyond the Quay are available direct from Doug Bailey at WildGoose Studios and from folk music CD stockists generally. While you’re over at Doug’s emporium, do take a look at some of the other recordings he has on offer including Keith Kendrick’s recent CD Songs from the Derbyshire Coast.

Further information about Tom and Barbara Brown and a programme of their performances and general doings is available from their website http://www.umbermusic.co.uk .

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