Gavin Atkin's weblog for the sort of people who like looking inside boat sheds. It's about old boats, traditional boats, boat building, restoration, the sea and the North Kent Coast
US boat builder Thad Danielson of Redd’s Pond Boatworks fame came to the UK this summer to join a meet of the Albert Strange Association and to attend an Old Gaffer’s Association for a rally – and he took lots of photos.
Read his account and see his photos here. You’ll be glad you did – particularly if you don’t know the coast of Essex and Suffolk…
These photos come from the collection that will be used to illustrate a new edition of A Boatbuilder’s Story, the autobiography of legendary self-taught Port Mellon boat builder Percy Mitchell, who was born in 1901.
I gather he was described by yacht designer and cruising author Dr Claud Worth as ‘an artist in wood’.
A Boatbuilder’s Story is said to include a particularly moving account of the building of the large Cornish fishing lugger Ibis.
Read all about the new edition here.
Fowey boat builder Marcus Lewis has this newly built 11ft clinker-built rowing dinghy for sale.
The handsome little boat is based on a tender to the sailing yacht Veronique owned by Colonel Treffry, of Place near Fowey in the 1930s. It is planked in spruce, with steamed oak timbers, mahogany top strake and seats, and will be supplied complete with a pair of scoop paddles, bronze rowlocks, and a cover.
Marcus tells me he’s currently building two Fowey River dinghies scheduled for completion this spring: the planking is almost complete, the green oak is ready to slice for timbers, and the copper nails are on order.
Also, the 18ft Percy Mitchell-built Tosher Marcus has stored for some time has got to go because he needs the space it is currently occupying.
It needs a complete rebuild, but Marcus says it has suberbly shaped hull suitable for almost anything. ‘The last owner put in a big Lister two-cylinder diesel and went fishing, but the usual treatment these days is a gaff rig, with a 4-5ft bowsprit, jib and staysail, with a topsail if you are feeling adventurous.
‘It bit of time would have to be spent working out the sail plan and centre of effort, and a bit of a calculation about an additional keel – she has no external ballast keel at all, but a 300-400lb shoe well bolted underneath, and a bit of internal trimming ballast would keep her down to her marks, and make her a stiff enough to sail well.’
