1957 – and Royal Leamington Spa Canoe Club are paddling Percy Blandford’s canvas canoes

This is one of the many great things we should remember Mr Blandford for… Look out for his books including his boat plans on sale second hand, or buy his plans from Clark Craft.

The latest issue of the wonderful The Marine Quarterly and two books: Mike Smylie’s Traditional Fishing Boats of Europe and an account of cruising in canoes in the 19th Century

Novelist Sam Llewellyn’s other project, the unfailingly beautifully edited The Marine Quarterly,  continues to impress, and I’m enjoying the new edition as much as I have each of the previous nine editions. I say it’s essential reading, and that a full set – if one could keep them together – would be an asset when waiting … Continue reading “The latest issue of the wonderful The Marine Quarterly and two books: Mike Smylie’s Traditional Fishing Boats of Europe and an account of cruising in canoes in the 19th Century”

Sailing Canoes – a brief history, published in 1935

  This 1935 history of sailing canoes originally published by the American Canoe Association is well worth a look. It has been republished online by the editors of the excellent Skinny Hull magazine. (There’s another link to this document at the Dragonfly Canoe Works website (I’m guessing this may be the original source). The photos in the … Continue reading “Sailing Canoes – a brief history, published in 1935”