A canoe yawl in Bristol’s floating dock

Canoe yawl in Bristol Docks

Canoe yawl in Bristol Docks Canoe yawl in Bristol Docks

My sailing and boatbuilding pal Jim Vandenbos snapped these photos of a nice old canoe yawl in Bristol’s oddly named Floating Dock last week, and naturally speculated about the designer and the boat’s story. He thought the flattish sheerline suggested that it might not have been one of Albert Strange’s.

Does anyone have any answers please? Naturally, I’ve checked the Canoeyawl.org website but without success.

PS I should explain that Bristol’s Floating Dock isn’t actually afloat, but has lock gates so that vessels contained within it are always afloat.

Bill Samson builds a baidarka

Bill Samson builds a baidarka

This scrap of YouTube video is a trailer for Daphne Barbieri’s half-hour film about a project to build a Aleutian Islands baidarka, a traditional skin-on-frame kayak.

The builder here is Bill Samson, who is probably best known to the boatbuilding community as an early builder of Phil Bolger’s Chebacco boat, and long-time editor of the newsletter Chebacco News. The newsletter is still available in the archives section at the website www.chebacco.com.

 

Luke Powell’s Working Sail

Bristol Channel pilot cutter Amelie Rose built by Working Sail

Historian and writer Mike Smylie commented that I should see Luke Powell’s Working Sail website the other day – and he’s bang right. If your Monday morning needs a lift – and whose doesn’t? – I recommend you take a sneaky look as soon as you can.

While you’re there, check out the series of YouTube videos of the modern-built Bristol Channel pilot cutter Amelie Rose. But keep calm – if you’re in a public place, try to avoid exclaiming or singing too loudly or you may find people will start asking questions…