2009 – intheboatshed.net

Don’t miss the great Boatbuilding Academy students’ launch, 8.30am, this Saturday

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Some of the boats Academy students have built in the past: Sadie Snowdon’s dory; Johnny Tyson’s whitehall; Edward Hoogewerf’s Ebihen;Marc Chivers’ pilot punt; Bob Hinks’ Cirrus; and Charlie Hussey’s Seapod the Peapod

If you’re in the area, don’t forget the Boatbuilding Academy’s students are due to launch their boats at Lyme on Saturday, starting at 8.30am. Read this earlier post to find out what boats will be included this year.

An invitation for 5th December – see the Boatbuilding Academy student boat launch

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Boatbuilding Academy principal Yvonne Green and colleagues have extended an invitation to intheboatshed.net readers to see students launch their boats at Lyme, starting at 8.30am on the 5th December.

The boats are an interesting collection, and will include:

an 8ft traditional pram dinghy built using trunnels and without adhesives or metal fixings
a 16ft 6in half-size sgoth niseach
a 16ft cold-moulded motorboat based on a design by C G Pettersson
a 15ft 11in Haven 12 1/2 designed by Nathaniel Herreschoff
a 16ft 10in double-ended clinker Tirrik designed by Iain Oughtred
a 15ft Chestnut strip-built canoe built from Western red cedar
a 7ft 10in Auk glued clinker dinghy, again designed by Iain Oughtred

I won’t be able to make it – I live in Kent – but I hope the weather gets better by early December, as I doubt there’s a boatbuilder in the world who would want to test their boats for the first time in the kind of wind we’ve been having too much of lately!

By the way – if any readers do manage to get along and would like to send in some photos and their impressions for publication, I’d love to receive them at gmatkin@gmail.com!

For more on the Boatbuilding Academy, click here!

Chris Perkins’ photos from sunny Portsoy 2009

Saturday, Portsoy 2009. Not really a day for a race! As usual,
click on the thumbnails for some nice big photos

Award-winning lapstrake boat builder and Iain Oughtred boat plan specialist Chris Perkins has written to tell us a little about this year’s Scottish Traditional Boat Festival at Portsoy, and to share some of his photos. If you enjoy these, there are lots more at his weblog Strathkanchris’s Little World.

‘A few snaps for you from a very sultry Scottish Trad Boat Fest. Went to the seminar on Thursday. The session with the Swedish boatbuilders, the Ravinis brothers, was brilliant and I would have liked more, Iain Oughtred’s talk was enjoyable if a bit rushed, and our American visitor Bob Walser on shanties was enjoyable – he has a good voice. I’m afraid that for me the history of the clippers, although well presented, wasn’t of great interest – they are far too big! Unfortunately I had to leave before Nigel Irens talk.

‘Saturday was a magical day. We were up at 05:30 so we could make the three-hour drive over in plenty of time to see the boats away. Lots of boats, bright skies and very little wind so the race turned into a bit of a drift around on glassy water – but the consolation was that the light was pretty darned good and created some good shots – well I like to think so!

‘It was an event that I think you and Julie would have hugely enjoyed. As always there was far to much to see and hear in the one day, one of these days I will take a boat over and ”do” the weekend properly.‘

Well Chris, it sounds irresistable. I’ll talk with Julie about 2010… Thanks for the photos!

I should add that Chris is a leading light of the Home Built Boat Rally group of British-based home boat builders.