Ripple, designed and built by Nick Smith

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Ripple, built by Nick Smith

Ripple, built by Nick Smith

Traditional-style boatbuilder Nick Smith sent me these two images of his latest completed building job this week:

‘Hi Gavin, some pictures as promised.

‘New build Ripple on the River Stour at Wick, Christchurch, helmed by the builder, and on Southpool Creek at Salcombe, with proud owner holding the tiller.

Ripple has a new Yanmar 9hp inboard fitted, which gives her plenty of power !

‘Nick’

Thanks as ever, Nick!

Don’t forget you can examine Nick’s lovely work close up at the Beale Park Boat Show this weekend. Also, for more posts featuring Nick’s boats, follow this link.

More photos and a new boat from Nick Smith

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New 12ft Nick Smith runabout at Salcombe

New Nick Smith 12-footer at Salcombe

Bumble fully laden Bumble at the Stuart Turner centenary regatta Puffin at Buckler\'s Hard

While I was whooping it up in Paris this weekend, another set of photos arrived from boatbuilder Nick Smith over the weekend. Here’s what he had to say:

‘I am back from NZ and have just completed a 12 foot six runabout, mahogany on oak, pictured here in Salcombe harbour – that’s my brother sitting on the pontoon.

The other pictures are of the sistership Bumble which you have seen before, on the Thames. In the first, she’s fully laden and under full power. The second comes from a Stuart Turner event.

‘I will be exhibiting again at Beale Park Thames Traditional Boat Show, from the 6th to 8th June this year.

‘The last picture is of the steam launch SL Puffin under steam on the Beaulieu River.

‘Regards, Nick”

Thanks Nick – I’m sure intheboatshed.net readers will admire your boats!

Nick’s a member of the Wooden Boatbuilder’s Trade Association, and you can read more about him here:
Nick Smith at the WBTA website

Take a look at our extensive coverage of last year’s Beale Park Boat Show.

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The sad deaths of Just Buisson and a young helper by exploding rocket boat, Paris 1886

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Buisson and his assistant’s sad death by exploding rocket boat, 1886

The rocket boat explodes into a thousand pieces

It’s clearly French Week at intheboatshed.net, as we limber up for a lightning trip to Paris on Friday. This engraving depicts the explosion that killed the rocket power experimenter Just Buisson and a young helper, and badly burned his assistant Al Ciurcu a little way downstream from the Pont de Clichy bridge in 1886. Ciurcu recovered and continued with his rocket development work, by the way. I’d never for a second imagined that I might see a rocket engine in a clinker-built boat!

The basic boat was designed and built with displacement for a crew of six oarsmen.

The engraving below shows what the boat looked like before the explosion. For more on Buisson, a photo of his boat and a discussion of early rocket development generally, click here.

Just Buisson’s sad death by exploding rocket boat, 1886

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