Western skiff looking for a new home

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nigel irens ed burnett western skiff

nigel irens ed burnett western skiff nigel irens ed burnett western skiff

THE OWNER TELLS ME THIS BOAT HAS HOW FOUND A NEW HOME AND IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE!

Edward Beaumont has written to say that he needs to find a new home for his Nigel Irens– and Ed Burnett-designed Western skiff as he’s moving home. However, it needs to be the right home, as he’d like it to go to someone with a boathouse with access to river or lake: he feels a boat like this must be kept indoors, it would be saddened to think of it being left out, so much so that he’d rather burn it than have that happen.

Naturally, it has always been stored indoors, it comes with a trailer and trolley.

If you’re interested and think you might qualify, email me at gmatkin@gmail.com and I’ll pass your message along to Edward. Here’s what he says about the boat:

‘I suppose it was 11 years ago when I thought, what a very pretty little boat the Western skiff was! So I ordered the kit from Nigel Irens and built the boat in my garage with the aid of my younger son Sam, who was aged about 13 at the time. He’s in the Nike jumper in one of the photos, with me behind him. This was the day we turned the boat over and brought it out of the garage.

‘I love Nigel’s designs and would like to do a Romilly one day. I bought extra epoxy from the late great Tony Pink at Hill Head Chandlery (along with a lot of useful free advice), and also got a few extras from him, like a nice brass keel band that curls over the top of the stem in a way that pleases me. The boat is a little over weight, as I strengthened various things such as the mast support and added pads inside the transom to reinforce the rudder fixings.

‘Its a smashing little boat to row, really lovely for one or for two. It sails quite well, but you need to sit down low and its wet down there, so having sailed all my life and would say, I’d say this boat should be on a lake or river, but not on the sea. Also, if you go out for a picnic with the sailing gear (we had some great trips in the upper reaches of the Hamble) you have too much clobber to be able to row nicely, so in those circumstances it’s best to leave all the sailing stuff at home and just row.

‘That said, if you’re alone, the water is smooth, and there is a bit of breeze, it is nice to sail.

‘Called Little Faith (my wife said we would never finish it), the boat has not been wet for several years, but sits in the garage in which it was built on a nice combi trailer, with chocks under the stern. The sail is kept indoors and should be almost like new. The four Collars oars have leather on, but perhaps not in quite the right places, and I daresay that a few bits of string are missing.

‘The boat is finished in dark green with creamy white inside, and some varnish work, and I must say, I felt very proud at the launch – though that turned to shock when the mast rolled off the top of our van and knocking my elder son nearly unconscious!

‘I need to move this boat as the house is to be let. If someone comes along, and if I like them, I’d probably sell it for a lot less than the sum of all the bits cost me. But not if they are going to leave it outside or be silly with it, so it should probably be someone with a landing stage and boathouse. And if no-one suitable comes along I can always move the boat to my new house and stick it in another garage!

‘Best wishes

‘Edward Beaumont’

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A traditionally built Tideway at the RYA Volvo Dinghy Show

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The new Tideway in build at Good Wood Boat – click on the thumbnails for a larger photo

Traditionally built 12ft Tideway dinghies are available to order after a gap of ten years – and the new version of the boat will be on show at the RYA Volvo Dinghy Show.

The new Tideways are being built by Good Wooden Boat Company after the company’s Stephen Beresford met the Tideway Owners Association (TOA) at last year’s show and was impressed by the boat itself, and by the association’s activities and enthusiasm. Good Wood Boat specialises in building boats using Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) certified approved sources. (The company also builds Uffa Fox’s Redwing sailing dinghy, of which more later.)

The TOA says that the new boat has already been bought by an existing Tideway owner and its members are very excited by the prospect of the new boat joining the fleet.

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The First Melbourne Wooden Boat Festival

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Wooden Boat Association members of the Melbourne and East Gippsland areas out on the water – click on the image for a video of local members’ boats

The people of Melbourne are going to have fun this coming weekend – for their Victoria Harbour is to be home to the first Melbourne Wooden Boat Festival.

The event involves all of the major wooden boat and classic yacht groups in the area, and is intended to be a great event for boating enthusiasts but also connect the broader public with the spirit of wooden boats, boating and traditional boatbuilding.

It sounds like a big old do, with on-water and landside displays, model sailing and racing boats, trade displays, shanty singers, in-harbour sailing, working boats displays, boat maintenance classes, a shipwright’s conference. Naturally there will be sailing, rowing, steamships, tall ships, knot tying, boatbuilding, book stores, classic powerboats and, thankfully, the coastguard will be on hand to tell people how to do it all safely. It’s all being organised by the enterprising woodenboat.com.au.

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