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
Actually, these photographs come from a small trip down Faversham Creek in just about the smallest imaginable boat that could be used by an adult with a pocket camera – a Mouseboat.
I think it also shows clearly why the Creek must be defended, and how much is has been affected by housing development. Surely, it’s time for the town to take a new, maritime activity-friendly approach. I so hope it does…
David Emsley has just sent me these photos of the 10ft stretched Mouseboat he built back in 2005 and painted in narrowboat style.
He tells me he has now repainted it twice – he’s just finished this second re-paint ahead of putting it on display on the Wey and Arun Canal stand at the National Waterways Festival at Cassiobury Park
this weekend.
It’s amazing what people do with their Mouseboats. They also make quick and inexpensive small stitch and glue or chine-log first home boat building projects. Get the free plans from the Yahoogroup Mouseboats, or from the Duckworks Boat Building Supply plans page.
Mouseboats Yahoogroup member Tomasz has made me smile with his build successful build of my The Edge stitch and glue sailing dinghy design intended for teenagers and small – to medium-sized adults.
When I drew it, I described it like this: ‘designed to deliver the most fun I can squeeze out of a minimum of materials and construction work. In this case the main constituents are three sheets of 1/4in marine ply and a quarter sheet of 1/2in marine ply, some lumber and a sheet of polytarp’.
He describes it this way: ‘lively, fast and easy to steer. We did not observe her as tippy. You can easy climb into the boat from deep water.’
Well done Tomasz! I must say I particularly like the look of that lateen sail.
Plans for The Edge are at Mouseboats, and also at Duckworksmagazine.