From Norfolk – the distinctive singing and melodeon playing of Tony Hall

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Yarmouth, engraving by William Miller after Turner

A 19th century engraving of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, by William Miller, after a
typically drama-packed painting by Turner. Image from the Wikimedia

For the last few days I’ve been listening to the melodeon playing of Tony Hall, a musician I’ve admired since the 70s. Tony plays the melodeon, a kind of push-pull accordion that came to dominate the music of much of England, when cheap models arrived in large numbers from Germany in the 19th Century.

Of course, it’s commonly been a seaman’s instrument – just think of old Bob Roberts, skipper of the last working sailing sailing barge, the Cambria. I’m glad to say I was lucky enough to hear him perform not so very long before he passed away.

Now, since one of Tony’s recently recorded songs, Down on the Hard, has some dreamy boatbuilding references, I thought I should share it – with the CD label’s permission, of course. Click on the link for a little song that I think will make many of you smile.

And for a bonus, here’s Tony again, this time playing his version of The Abbot’s Bromley Horn Dance.

For more of this stuff, order a copy of Tony’s new album, One Man Hand on the Wild Goose label.

Follow the link for more references to songs and singing at intheboatshed.net.

Yacht – a collection of Michael Frith’s watercolours of the classic fleet of yachts

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Michael Frith yacht paintings

Michael Frith yacht paintings Yacht - a collection of Michael Frith’s watercolours of the classic fleet of yachts Yacht - a collection of Michael Frith’s watercolours of the classic fleet of yachts

Yacht - a collection of Michael Frith’s watercolours of the classic fleet of yachts Yacht - a collection of Michael Frith’s watercolours of the classic fleet of yachts Yacht - a collection of Michael Frith’s watercolours of the classic fleet of yachts

Paintings and sketches from the pages of Michael Frith’s book Yacht

Yacht is a hand-bound limited-edition book of prints of well known classic yachts painted by the renowned watercolourist Michael Frith, and inspired by the America’s Cup Jubilee event at Cowes in July 2001.

A sailor since childhood, Frith attended the event as crew on the last wooden Nicholson yacht, Quiver V (1969), which gave him the opportunity to view many of the 150 yachts present in close-up action. The sight moved him to begin recording the boats in paintings, a project that has since taken him to the Mediterranean and the Carribbean.

As readers will see, his vividly coloured paintings and sketches capture the characters of the boats, and very often something of the thrill of sailing them.

The book includes a foreword by Harry Spencer of Spencer Rigging and an essay by Dan Houston, editor of Classic Boat, and includes a pictorial index of the names and specifications of the yachts that appear in the paintings. It runs to 160 A3 landscape pages, and each of the 1000 copies is signed and numbered by the artist.

About the artist: Michael Frith has worked for many national newspapers including Newsweek, TIME, The Times and The Sunday Times. He has held 25 solo exhibitions, and his paintings form part of many private and public collections, including the National Portrait Gallery and the Bank of England.

The book is priced at £400.00 plus postage and packing, and orders can be placed through the publisher’s website http://www.spotred.co.uk.

Have you any artworks you would like to share with intheboatshed.net readers? Email us now at gmatkin@gmail.com.


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Percy Dalton’s Fal Estuary oyster dredging boat plans available from bookseller

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St Melorus plans on sale from Dalton Young

Plans for Percy Dalton’s Fal Estuary oyster dredging boat St Melorus are
available from booksellers Dalton Young

Looking at the 2008 Beale Park Show exhibitors’ websites I noticed this drawing of the St Melorus on the Dalton Young site. The company is a specialist bookseller, I’m delighted to see my book Ultrasimple Boatbuilding appears to have pride of place on its virtual shelves.

On looking around, I also noticed it also sells a set of plans for a Fal Estuary oyster dredging boat drawn up by Percy Dalton.

Drawn up originally for local boatbuilder Terry Heard to build in wood at his yard near Mylor, the St Melorus design is 28ft long, 26ft on the waterline, has a beam of 9ft and a relatively shallow draft of 4ft 4in, all under an impressive sail area of 700sqft.

As drawn, the St Melorus has a large open working cockpit and no engine, as these were are banned by local bye-laws still in effect today.

However, Heard’s yard, Gaffers & Luggers, went on to use the wooden boat as a plug for a GRP version, though I gather the hull has been adapted somewhat to create a cruising version complete with an engine and coach-roof.

Percy Dalton Fal estuary oyster dredger painting

One of Percy Dalton’s small paintings. The boat may not be of St Melorus,
but there’s clearly a strong family resemblance! Thanks go to Stuart
Young of Dalton Young for allowing us to use this image. Click in the image
for a full-sized version of thissmall painting. There are more samples here

See the list of exhibitors at the Beale Park Thames Boat Show web pages. Take a look at our extensive coverage of last year’s event.

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