Boat Building Academy students’ launch

Maker:0x4c,Date:2017-11-2,Ver:4,Lens:Kan03,Act:Lar01,E-ve

The Boat Building Academy is inviting everyone to celebrate the launch of seven boats built by students on the internationally recognised 38-week boat building course. The launch is at 9:30am on Thursday 31 May at Lyme Regis harbour.

The 18 students are launching seven boats:

  • 17ft ply-on-frame Glen-L Ski King with 57hp inboard diesel engine
  • 16ft 6in Mill Creek two-seater kayak of foam-cored composite construction
  • 16ft6in Mill Creek two-seater kayak with a marine ply hull and a yellow cedar and sapele deck
  • a 19ft 7in Atkin-designed Utility Sea Skiff named Scamp. Her hull strip planked in yellow cedar, two layers of mahogany veneers cold moulded & sheathed, sapele back bone. The design has been adapted to accept an outboard motor, rather than an inboard engine. It has a sweet chestnut deck and fit out
  • 14ft Stirling & Son daysailer in glued clinker construction, using plywood and mahogany, with an oak keel and deck
  • 14ft Paul Gartside Skylark lug-rigged sailing dinghy in traditional clinker construction, in mahogany on an an oak keel and  timbers
  • 18ft 2in Iain Oughtred Artic Tern,  in glued clinker construction, with a mahogany ply hull, sapele well deck & trim, and iroko soles

The class of August 2017 come from all over the world, including Spain and the USA and locally, and their backgrounds are just as varied: they include musicians, lawyers, construction designers, teachers and a 17-year-old school leaver, who at home in the Scillies, has already worked with more boats than most students.

Students join the course for a variety of reasons, some join to retrain for a new career in the marine industry or to take a sabbatical from an intensive job. Others, like husband and wife Ros and David, both naval architects whose projects included aircraft carriers and warships, joined to build on their skillset so that they can maintain their 40-year-old wooden Osprey sailing dinghy.

Students graduate from the Academy with the industry=recognised City & Guilds level 3 diploma in marine construction, systems engineering and maintenance.

For further details and to see a preview of the boats see www.boatbuildingacademy.com.

Finesse 24 Whimbrel and an interview with skipper Nick Ardley on YouTube

Nick Ardley speaks!

News from the West Wales Maritime Heritage Society

West Wales Maritime Heritage Society member Brian King has been in touch to tell us about the society’s latest activities. Here’s what he says:

‘The society has been a bit quiet, our museum is open six days a week until the end of September, and behind the scenes we have been hard at work.

‘Our priority is to finish building our replica Tenby Lugger, Heritage, which was started by MITEC college in Milford Haven. We acquired the unfinished hull in July 2017, after the college ceased operations, and are currently working on the spars and auxiliary engine and are hoping to finish her in time for a naming event in Tenby in July.

‘We will use the lugger to take primary school children afloat as part of an education programme.

‘There were nearly 100 luggers in Tenby and ports all around, but after the steam trawlers came they were only used for tourist fishing and holidaymakers’ trips round the bay.

‘We are also building a copy of a local smaller fishing boat in the museum to demonstrate traditional tools and materials.

‘As well as maritime material, our museum also has displays of steam engines, models and local history.

‘The local scouts are building coracles in our shed. Each group will build their own and then combine for trips and competitions, and there is a programme for unemployed people to volunteer with us with the aim of improving their job prospects.

‘The Royal Naval Air Service armoured car was one of only 12 built on a Ford Model T chassis, and fought in Russia in 1916 and 17. It had a Maxim or a Vickers machine gun on the back.

‘It is not ours, but we show it because the owner does not have a display space. He bought in packing crates three years ago. The wheels and tyres are modern replacements, but most of the armour plates, engine etc is original. It is now roadworthy and will appear at Tankfest this summer.

‘We have 25 regular members, and always happy to welcome new recruits: specialist skills are not required, as there’s a lot to do painting boats and manning the museum.

‘Our Facebook page is West Wales Maritime Museum.’

Thanks Brian! Good luck with your great projects this year!

Regular readers may remember that Brian built a Barton skiff some years ago.