Tag: Lyme

Students at the Boat Building Academy race to complete boat building projects

1 james higson paul gartside clinker dinghy boat building academy 1503113 2 Hannah Jenkins Polynesian canoe 3 fiona molloy tammie norrie boat building academy 1503112

Paul Gartside dinghy, Polynesian canoe, Tammie Norrie

4 uli killer spitzl boat building academy 130511 5 martin nott half rater sibbick boat building academy 1503112 6 Ollie Rees Barnacle 10ft clinker dinghy

Spitzl rowing boat, half-rater, 10ft dinghy

7 tom sargison cayman catboat boat building academy 1305113 8 sean quail - yachting world dayboat boat building academy 1503112 9 Chris Smith selway fisher canoe 7

Caymans catboat, Yachting World Dayboat, Selway Fisher canoe

10 wee rob canoe Matt Cowlbeck 11 gary thompson haven joel white boat building academy 1503113

Wee Rob canoe, Haven 12 1/2

Students and tutors at the Boat Building Academy are to launch a record twelve boat building projects by the September 2010 group on June 7th.

The event details are available here and the BBA folks would like to invite everyone to join us in the celebrations.

With 18 days to go, principal Yvonne Green says the workshops have never been busier – every spare inch of space seems to be occupied by a boat or a bit of a boat. On main instructor Justin Adkin’s weekly boat round on Friday morning Justin was quietly confident that every boat could be completed on time – but he did mention midnight oil on a couple of occasions…

Yvonne adds that while the students (and staff) will probably be shattered by launch day, the boats will be glorious.

‘The boats will be lined up outside the Academy before being walked down to the harbour on the morning of 7th,’ explains Yvonne. ‘Anyone who wants to join us walking them down is very welcome.

‘We’re then off to Beale on Thursday 9th and Art in Action on 23rd July. It’s going to be a busy summer.’

Here’s a quick preview of what will be going into the water, the links lead to each boat’s build diary:

They include:

  • Paul Gartside-designed 12ft traditional clinker dinghy, built in larch and oak with a grown stem and knees. This boat will also be at the Art in Action exhibition, where it has been entered into the Best of the Best category
  • Polynesian outrigger sailing canoe, 16ft long with a cold moulded hull and glass and foam outrigger
  • Spitzl classic German 4.4m lake rowing boat, built traditionally in clinker mahogany on oak. Her main builder, Uli Killer was still up at 7am one morning, and even then just kept oiling until by the end of the day she had 30 coats.
  • Iain Oughtred Tammie Norrie, glued ply and epoxy, with fifteen coats of oil.
  • Diamond Half Rater originally designed by Charles Sibbick in 1897 6.5m long, it is a replica created on the lofting room floor from photographs, a couple of similar lines plans and the only other existing replica Half Rater from another (American) designer that is owned by Rees Martin, a great friend of the Academy. Her hull has a cedar core with laminated outer and inner skins – the the inner skin was resin-infused
  • Yachting World Dayboat with spruce planking, mahogany backbone and oak timbers. She’s identical to a boat built by Lachlan MacKenzie and the class of September 2009
  • Traditional clinker dinghy built from lines taken from a boat restored at the school by short courses, planked in mahogany
  • 14ft Cayman islands catboat of carvel construction, planked in cedar Mexicana. She has a typical Caribbean hull shape used for fishing and racing. She will be going to the Caymans after the launch. All frames laminated in epoxy were baked i.e. post-cured to ensure maximum strength from the glue which then won’t be affected by the Caribbean hea.
  • Strip planked sailing canoe designed by Selway Fisher, 14ft, with a cedar core with laminated outer and inner skin, of which the inner skin was resin-infused
  • Iain Oughtred Wee Rob canoe in glued clinker ply, with simple fit-out with the paddler sitting on the floor boards
  • Joel White Haven 12½ made in epoxy glass and foam with traditional fit-out, oak-laid deck and rig
  • Fit-out of GRP rowing boat, CSM lay-up designed by instructor Justin Adkin from the sliced bread mould admired by David Johnson of Wessex resins some time ago – click here

It sounds like a great day in the making. I can’t be there for boring work reasons. So if anyone could send me some shots at gmatkin@gmail.com, I’d be most grateful!

BBA student Francis Clarke builds a Bear Mountain Boats stripper canoe

Derek Thompson LRPS - Frank Clarke Chestnut Canoe - Boat Building Academy

Derek Thompson LRPS - Frank Clarke Chestnut Canoe Derek Thompson LRPS - Frank Clarke - Bob's Special - Chestnut Canoe Company Frank Clarke Bob's Special canoe - bow cramp method

Paul Dyer - Frank Clarke Canoe

Students on the long course at the Boat Building Academy often build a canoe or kayak rather than a boat, and that’s what Frank Clarke from Norfolk did this year, says regular BBA correspondent Emma Brice.

A professionally trained canoeist – but lacking a canoe – Frank chose to build a Bob’s Special – a 15ft open canoe from the Chestnut Canoe Company catalogue.

The canoe was modified for strip planking and drawn by Steve Killing who works with Bear Mountain Boats in the US. More information can be seen on the Bear Mountain Boats website.

Frank’s canoe is strip planked with Western red cedar and has oak rubbing strips, thwarts, decks and fittings.

Usually when building the hull the strips are held to the mould with staples until the glue cures, and then the staples are removed. However, Frank wanted to avoid the marks that the staples leave, and so he invented his own tool, which he named a ‘bow cramp’ for keeping the strips in place as the glue set. It worked a treat: click here to see the photographic diary of the build.

Frank says his project will always be a reminder of his time at Lyme Regis, as well as a demonstration of his craftsmanship.

Before the course Frank worked in various roles, from customer service to sales and taught English in China, gained qualifications in outdoor activities and completed a fine art degree in sculpture. However, he became seriously ill and was paralysed from the waist down for two years: on his recovering Frank joined the course in order to regain his career direction and re-energise his creativity.

Since graduating Frank has decided to become a teacher and hopes to pass on his skills and interest in woodworking and fine art.

The first photo of Frank’s bow cramp method was taken by BBA Administrator Gemma Stunt.

Glued clinker John Gardner Whitehall skiff launched by BBA students

Derek Thompson LRPS - Mark Cotterill Whitehall skiff on parade

Derek Thompson LRPS - Mark Cotterill Whitehall skiff on the water Tracey Marler - Mark Cotterill Whitehall skiff Tracey Marler - Mark Cotterill Whitehall skiff waiting for launch

Chelsea Davine - Whitehall skiff with Matt Cotterill and Yvette Smith newly engaged

Photos by Derek Thompson LRPS (first two); Tracy Marler (third and fourth); and Chelsea Davine (fifth)

Boat Building Academy students Matt Cotterill and Nuh dan Per built this glued clinker epoxy ply 14ft Whitehall skiff ready for the student launch in December, reports BBA staffer Emma Brice.

Originally from the Yorkshire Pennines, Matt worked in package design and 3D branding before throwing it all in and taking up the chisel in March 2010.

Matt chose the John Gardner-designed skiff because of its general similarity to the traditional boats of the Thames – he lives in the Thames Valley.

The boat, named Nicky Nacky Noo, was made using Gaboon marine plywood, with West African mahogany plywood for the sheer strake. Matt, who I gather showed clear evidence of his designer’s eye, and great attention to detail and craftsmanship, incorporated steamed timbers and various bronze fittings.

When it came to launch day Matt certainly added a dimension of his own to the schedule: surprised onlookers cheered as he rowed out on his maiden voyage, got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend Yvette. She said yes, and accepted the wooden ring Matt had made himself.

A local newspaper article about the newly engaged couple appeared under the headline ‘Bride and Boom’.

I should add that Chris Partridge of Rowing for Pleasure beat me with this story weeks ago, but it’s still a very cute tale.

With the course is over, Matt is setting up his own workshop to develop wooden products, inspired by the shapes and forms of boat building and using boat building construction methods.

Nuh, Matt’s main helper on the build, is of Turkish descent but was born and grew up in Germany and is one of a number of German students who have studied at the BBA. Nuh was an IT project manager for a car manufacturer before attending the course at Lyme. He is now pursuing boat building opportunities in warmer climates and hopes to move to Greece.

PS – Photographer Derek Thompson has signed up for the next BBA 38-week course due to start in March and attended the December launch day to see what he was in for. I guess he found out…