Tag: wooden boat

A beautiful model of a ring-netter

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Jay Cresswell’s model of Ribhinn Donn I, and (bottom right) Antonia & Ruaraidh

This stunning model of a ring netter has been made by Jay Cresswell, an ex-trawler skipper, long-standing Old Gaffers Association member and authority on marine history who has for many years lived near Aberdeen.

He writes:

‘You might like to see the attached. I’ve nearly completed a 3/4in to 1ft model of the 54ft Alex Noble & Sons-built ring netter Ribhinn Donn I. (Her sister is Silver Quest, which is currently sitting in the mud at Penryn down by Falmouth.)

‘I still have to complete rigging details, wheelhouse interior and other bits and pieces such as semi-balancing edge to rudder. The bottom is quite literally anti-fouled. The model is built from original yard drawings for these two boats.

‘This is the second ringer I’ve tackled, the other being a Weatherhead & Blackie 56-footer to same scale named Antonia & Ruaraidh after my two oldest children. (See above.) The original boat in this case is the Catherine Anne, which was chopped up a few years ago in one of the UK fishing vessel decommissioning rounds.

‘I hope you like the images. It’s been a year’s worth of spare time. There are no metal fastenings in the hull, with all planking dowelled to the frames.

‘Regards, Jay Cresswell, Aberdeen’

I certainly do like them Jay – you’ve created a couple of meticulous models that rival or better many of those seen in museums. I particularly like the way every detail seems to be properly to scale. Many thanks for sending them over.

Bergius cruising dinghy Dodo on show at the National Maritime Museum, London

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Dodo – click on the thumbnails for larger photos

Currently on show at the National Maritime Museum, Dodo was built and designed by 19-year old William Bergius and his younger brother Walter in Glasgow, in 1896.

Fitted with a removable keel of 50kg, she was the first of a series of boats by that name belonging to the Bergius’s, and seems to have been built with camp-cruising in mind. In 1897, a very confident young William wrote the the editor of The Yachtsman in the following terms:

‘Sir – I have read with great interest the letters regarding “Multum in Parvo” cruisers, and cannot help thinking that most of your correspondents want far too big a boat. Last year my brother and I built a boat in which, despite the small size, we can easily sleep three.’

Dodo is quite a big boat in a small length: she’s 14ft 6in in length, 5ft 4in in beam and a draft of 2ft 4in with her keel attached, and with a sail area of no less than 150sqft in a low-profile gaff-rigged mainsail and roller-mounted jib; despite her fairly hard bilges amidships (they’re less hard towards the stern) and small keel she will have been an energetic performer. William Bergius deserves our admiration for creating such a useful little boat.

I don’t think anyone would build a small keelboat like this for open-boat cruising now, but looking at Dodo, I kept thinking I’d seen something a little like her more recently, and now I think I’ve worked out what it was. Take a peek at John  Welsford’s Pilgrim drawings, and see what you think – of course much has changed, but some things – including the rig, generous freeboard and use of a sensible half-decked arrangement decks – are not so very different. Of course, if I wanted a boat to go cruising in myself, I’d take the modern conveniences and comforts of John’s boat every time.

Finally just to show the world what fabulous buildings the museum occupies, I’ve added two more shots for readers’ entertainment.

The Royal Observatory from the NMM’s colonnades; the NMM buildings, the Palladian-style Queen’s House and the Old Royal Naval College with the River Thames and the Isle of Dogs beyond

A post-Christmas visit to Dungeness

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Dungeness, Christmas 2009. The first and penultimate photos are Julie’s – the rest are mine

Dungeness is one of my favourite places on the coast round here, and so as the day after Boxing Day dawned cold and windy but with occasional gaps in the clouds we drove down for a meal of locally caught fish and deep-fried chips, and for a stroll on the gravel bank.

It’s an extraordinary place. The site of a classic English South-Coast beach-launched fishing fleet, we’re told that it is the largest area of beach shingle in the world, and that it has been classified as an arid desert. A small community lives here in a variety of wooden huts, many of which are built around condemned railway carriages, and of course there’s the astonishing miniature Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway to provide colour and entertainment.

On a day with better light than we had it’s also a gift for photographers, for as the gravel area has slowly grown, a variety of old boats,  sheds, boilers, winches and other leftovers from generations of fishing in the area have been left behind on the landward side.

At the top of this post I’ve added some fairly self-explanatory shots (readers will notice the tubby and hard bilged-lines  typical of traditionally-built South Coast beach boats), but at the bottom I’ve added a couple of photographs of a restored tanning boiler that has been refurbished as a monument to three local men and their industry – the plaque includes at least one local family name that I recognise. I’m reminded that there are said to be people in the area who still remember and occasionally sing a local version of the song The Wreck of the Northfleet. If anyone is out there who can help me, I’d love to get in touch with one of them! Please contact me at gmatkin@gmail.com .

The locally caught fried fish (and chips) is excellent at the Pilot Inn, and there’s usually fresh fish available to take home from the local fishermen, and when it’s open the old lighthouse is worth a visit. All in all, if you’re ever in the area, I’d recommend calling by for a look round. It’s a grim kind of spot as you’ll see from the photos, but I’d happily live there – though I daren’t say so too often as my family already think I’m half potty.