Tag: stitch and glue

Schoolchildren build two Julie skiffs at Faversham

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A group of lucky schoolchildren have built two 16ft Julie skiffs at a Faversham Creek Trust boatcamp led by local boatbuilder Alan Thorne and assistant Malcolm Hazleton at the trust’s Purifier building.

The skiffs are to be launched at the town’s nautical festival around mid-day on the 23rd July. Naturally, Julie and I plan to be there!

See the free boat plans page in the tabs above to download the drawings etc to build this lightweight plywood flat bottomed skiff and two shorter versions at 14 and 12ft.

When I called by on Friday afternoon I met a small crowd of enthusiastic, engaged kids and a clutch of happy parents – and two cool looking boats, Santa Crews and Stormy.  Alan and Malcolm had done a good job, and the FCT’s boatcamp had been a success.

‘Have you had a good time?’ I asked.

‘Yes,’ the kids called back.

‘Would you do it again?’

‘Yes,’ they chorused.

A mother turned to me and said ‘My son’s always been a maker and now he’s decided he wants to be a boatbuilder.’

I think she must have been reasonably happy with the idea, as she did not add ‘but I think he should have a proper job as well’.

The following shots are Malcolm’s. Thanks fella!

BBA students build a 14ft Broome Runabout

Boat Building Academy students Joe Latimer and Alex Lyddon dipped the 14ft Broome Runabout they built on the Academy’s long course at the Academy’s student launch day December.

The photos are by Jenny Steer, Derek Thompson and Becky Joseph.

Named in memory of one of the builders’ late grandmother, the Honda HP40 powered Rita rapidly left the harbour and raced across the bay.

Designed by instructor Mike Broome, the boat is built in stitch and glue, sheathed in bi-axial glass cloth and epoxy underneath a painted finish.

Joe and Alex added their own customisations, which included a burr walnut dashboard, bright finished sapele laid deck, cockpit soles and match boarding.

Joe visite Lyme Regis regularly on holiday as a child, and in 2012 he completed the BBA’s five-day basic woodworking skills short course. That course, and seeing the boats being built in the workshop gave him a taste for woodworking and boat building, and so he joined the 38 week course.

Alex came to the Academy from Surrey. ?As a qualified RYA sailing and powerboat Instructor, he has taught RYA courses in Egypt, Greece and Sardinia with tour operator Mark Warner Ltd.

In April Joe will use his new skills to travel and work his way around Australia. The BBA folks report that he’s satisfied with what he has learned and the skills he will be able to use in future – but also that he’s sad the course is over.

Alex, meanwhile, is exploring maintenance work opportunities with a charter company working in the Greek islands…

See ‘Rita’s’ photographic build diary here.

Philip Risacher’s Ella skiff dream photos

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Reader Philip Risacher sent me these photos of a great 1/10th scale model he made of my Ella skiff design – and I am of course completely charmed. Here’s what he says:

‘I started the model about four years ago, but it lay as a brown cardboard model until a few weeks ago when reading through Ben Crawshaw’s blog got me back in the mood to build myself a boat. Of course the “everything needed to build a full size boat” is not yet within reach, but luckily my eyes fell on my little Cheerios box skiff and my brain said “oohh, that could be quite beautiful.”

‘So I started back at it, first gluing on some mahogany gunwales, then sealing the whole thing with shellac, painting, thole pins, Samson post, and the hand made oars complete with Turk’s head knots and eyes to scare the sea monsters away.

‘Just this weekend I brought her out on the lake to take some pictures, you’d think she were big enough to sit in, but alas it is only an illusion. I hope some day to make a boat I can sit in. Thank you for the great design(s), so kindly shared with us out here in dream land.’

Here’s the giveaway:

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See more shots here.

Ella skiff plans are here.