Boat builder and historian Will Stirling has sent in these shots of his latest beautiful 9ft clinker dinghy – Will has a great eye for a photograph and these shots are up to his usual standard, even if it was a miserable day.
These dinghies are a regular product line for Devon-based Stirling & Son and should be better known. This particular example is mahogany on oak with copper and bronze fastenings, spoon oars, with the name relief-cut with gold leaf.
Will also sent over a photo of half a whole mahogany butt sawn at 1/2in. ‘Dinghies in kit form’, he says wryly… There should be enough for seven to ten dinghies worth of timber in this part of the log – the rest arrived in a second delivery on the same trailer.
Will and his workmates had to cut hundreds of softwood sticks to place between the planks to allow the timber to season – softwood is chosen for the job because it does not stain. I gather teabreak at the Stirling & Son shed was dominated by question of how to calculate the optimum size of spacing stick to provide effective airflow and drying while using the least timber – and Will has asked whether any intheboatshed.net readers can advise?
By the way, Stirling & Son run twice-yearly courses during which students build their own 9ft traditional dinghy under the guidance of a skilled shipwright. The courses are part-time, running for three days a week for sixteen weeks, and cost £3,500 including materials.
For more posts relating to Stirling & Son boatbuilding projects and boat design work, click here.
