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
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Here’s some more of my brother Matt Atkin’s striking photos from Hong Kong – to see an earlier post click here. Once again, I don’t think either of us can say much about what the boats are, but it’s fascinating to see shots of a working and dwelling boat-using culture so very different from the one we know here in cold, rainy winter-bound Kent.
Thanks once again Matt!
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Dutch dinghy and steel-built Forest & Stream skiff
Over in Holland, Hans-Christian Rieck has taken these photos of a traditional steel-built Dutch dinghy of a type often used as tenders to steel-built barges and other craft. They’re strikingly curvaceous little boats, given that they’re made from plates of sheet steel, particularly when compared with the steel-built Forest & Stream skiff seen in the background.
The F&S skiff is being smoothed with filler prior to being painted and having its woodwork fitted. I will be fascinated to hear how this boat works – and I trust it does work well in steel, as it will presumably have a theoretical life time of 80 years or more. I’m pretty sure it will be fine, by the way – it’s clearly greatly scaled up from the 12ft ply dink I drew some ten years ago no, and that will no doubt compensate for the extra weight of the hull. I’d like to take a trip to see it once she’s in the water if that’s ok please Hans-Christian!
Hans-Christian’s workshop trains youngsters in the metalworking skills, and the steel dinghy belongs to the Graf Ship Association – it is destined to be cleaned and refinished.
Here are some earlier images of the F&S skiff, and of a ship, the Jantje ready to be transported to Nordhorn after being sandblasted and sprayed.
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Fowey River dinghy No 54 Four Brothers sailing around before the start of the Polruan Regatta held on Bank Holiday Monday
Fowey boatbuilder Marcus Lewis has sent me this photo from Cornwall to mark a series of outstanding successes in local regattas.
After a week at Fowey Regatta in which she won three out of seven races ande claimed the Overall Cup for Fowey River dinghies, Four Brothers also raced to victory in the Polruan Regatta, in which she snapped up the Silver Cup.
In one race during Fowey Regatta No 54 was challenged by Marcus and Johnny Nance in No 53 Kingfisher but Four Brothers leapt into the lead on the last lap and took the winners gun.
Both boats were built by Marcus at his workshop in Fowey and were launched this year. See Marcus’s website: http://www.woodenboatbuilder.co.uk
Marcus is currently restoring a Mevagissey Tosher built by Percy Mitchell, and I understand the refurbished boat will be for sale.