Have Fun Boatbuilding

In these days of over regulation and elimination of risk, building your own boat is one of the few remaining areas of practical self-expression. It seems to me that more and more, people are searching for some escape from the shackles of the consumer society, and the desire to build a boat is a stream which runs deep within the soul of many individuals. I say individuals, because the boatbuilding public is made up of some of the most individual of people. Everybody wants something just a bit different. 

 

Why the desire to build a boat is so strong in the victim is difficult to determine, but if the spark is there, it is just about impossible to dodge. To paraphrase the late Arthur Ransome (of Swallows and Amazons fame), “The desire to build a boat starts as a single cloud on the horizon, but before long it grows to cover the entire sky”.

 

When you finally give in to the urge to build a boat, invest some time and some money in reading the right books. I’ve seen so many instances of people spending time, effort, and money traveling down the wrong path, just because they didn’t have the proper advice. Just like the time spent sharpening tools, time spent reading the right books is time saved. Not only is it time saved, but it is money saved as well.

 

Although building your own boat requires dedication, it is a source of great pleasure when done properly. Even though I build boats for a living, I still get up early to have a look at the results of the previous day’s gluing, cutting, painting etc. The excitement has never left me. But if you are building or renovating your own boat, the pleasure is magnified many times.

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To quote the Atkins, father and son, “Working for a living or profit is seldom a continuous pleasure; it is something that must be done; therefore there is compulsion behind it. And, wherever there is compulsion one’s freedom of will is restricted. A living must be made and so we all accept work as an ingrained duty. Somehow painting one’s own boat, tending one’s own cow, doing one’s own chores are pleasurable pastimes – but attempt the same occupations for a neighbor or boss for pay and, presto, pleasure quickly turns into work.

And so I would like to remind prospective builders of Sprite, or any other boat, not to feel duty-bound to complete the building at any particular time; rather just put the little skiff together when the urge to add another plank or two persists and the needed recreation sweeps away all thoughts of work. In this spirit how spare time will fly and, by the same token, how easily and quickly the boat will be completed!” (from Volume 38 of Motor Boating’s Ideal series – The Hearst Corporation, New York).

When you build your boat, do it the way William and John Atkin suggest – take your time and do it properly. Quick-and-Dirty boats just don’t return long term satisfaction, whereas a properly built boat will display the love that the builder has put into the job, and if she is built of good quality wood, well painted, she will age with a grace that a manufactured article can never match.

 

Supply of components for home building of boats can be a problem for some. Avoid the temptation of accepting a second-rate building material (for example exterior ply instead of properly stamped AS/NZ2272 or BS1088 Marine Plywood). Any money you save on buying low grade materials will be lost many times over in the resulting boat. Look at the advertisers in this magazine – you will find may fine suppliers dotted around Australia. If you can’t locate what you need locally, try www.duckworksbbs.com which is the Boat Builder’s Supply section of the great Duckworks in Texas. They have an increasing line of excellent components at really good prices.

 

Summer is approaching, and I’m looking forward to more sailing and less work. We are restoring my old Iain Oughtred designed MacGregor sailing canoe. She is so light that there is no excuse not to be on the water frequently. I remember a trip I did in her a couple of years ago – down Moreton Bay from Cleveland to the mouth of the Logan River, and then back via the bay islands such as Russell, Macleay and Coochiemudlo. The trip would have been routine (maybe even boring) in a large power boat – but for us in our tiny craft, it was a great adventure, filled with mild adventure, healthy exercise, and a hint of danger. Twelve hours of satisfaction and fun for the cost of a packet of peanuts! You can do it too…

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Great Boatbuilding Article

NY Times has a great article in its Preoccupations editorial about a writer who builds boats for fun and "describes his work on boats as a postgrad seminar in character-building". Please visit my links page to see this wonderful article as well as other good links.

"Building a boat offers no paycheck,
but teaches much about the values of work"

quoted from

"Finding an Answer To Rough Seas" by Lawrence W. Cheek

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Not about boat design or boatbuilding

Just another depressing water story, policing for profit, and Badtux has a solution...

I just listened to a great podcast about cooking and suchlike. I expect, if you have a spare hour to kick back and listen, you will enjoy it as well. That said, it really has no boat content whatsoever.

Well, actually, it sorta/kinda does in a sorta kinda way...

Listening to the Scandals

So it goes...

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Family Boatbuilding at Wooden Boat Show

We (myself, Christophe Matson, Eric Risch the designer of the EBDS, and Steven Bauer) had a wonderful time guiding three wonderful families through the construction of 3 beautiful Echo Bay Dory Skiffs this past Friday through Sunday. The skiffs were all made from precut kits, allowing for the quick, efficient construction.

Day 1 was assembling hull sides.

Day 2 was attaching chine logs, gunwales and bottoms.

Day 3 was installing seats and outerkeel as well as doing some shaping and sanding.

Then all 3 familes launched their creations. In fact, out of nearly 30 boats built at the Show, we were the only 3 that launched!

Not one boat leaked. One family rowed across the river to their home and the others loaded on the cartops to drive home to New Jersey and Colorado. They will receive sailing kits to complete their boats.

Big thanks to Wooden Boats support of Family Boatbuilding, to Eric Risch for giving us the design rights to use this boat, and to Christophe Matson for his patient skilled help with the families. Finally, thanks to the families for signing up with us. It was a blast, especially seeing you all rowing on Sunday.

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Kids Adventures Boatbuilding and Venturing

About eight years ago I wrote this piece as part of article published in the print magazine Australian Amateur Boatbuilder. At the time I felt that kids were having their creativity stifled by over-regulation in a society where concerns about liability and political correctness prevented natural behaviour. We complain about kids spending too much time in front of screens and not getting out into the real world - and yet we sanitise that world to such an extent that the spontaneous, adventurous activities which teach our children to identify (and take) risks have been replaced by artificial forms of entertainment.

It might look irresponsible, but the kids were well trained, carried the required safety gear, and were under supervision at this early stage. The boat in this photo is a home-built Phil Bolger Bee with a 6hp outboard.

Perhaps this philosophy does prevent a few deaths and injuries, but the kids are less likely to learn how to identify, and deal with risk. No matter how regulated our systems become, there will still be plenty of situations faced by us all which involve risk. I would much prefer to have my children exposed to the inevitable dangers of outdoor activity and have them grow up with some appreciation of what needs to be done in order to deal with unexpected challenges.

As Arthur Ransome wrote in the wonderful novel Swallows and Amazons in reference to a fathers telegram to his wife regarding their decision to allow their four children to sail and camp independently on a large lake in England, "...BETTER DROWNED THAN DUFFERS IF NOT DUFFERS WONT DROWN..."  The same fictitious father also said to his kids, "Grab a chance and you wont be sorry for a might-have-been"

The boys referred to in the article - my nephew (left) and middle son (right) building a 12ft sailing dinghy

Here is the old article I wrote...

Traveler’s Tales 

Many times I have bemoaned the lack of freedom which has come from regulation. Kids are driven to and from organised activities, the carriage of safety equipment is mandated, and irresponsible behavior can result in litigation. 

Regulation has come at a price, and one of the costs is the lack of freedom which nautical children experience. It is a well-worn line, but things aren’t what they used to be… When I was a kid, school holidays meant being away from the house from dawn until dusk without parental supervision. We were usually on the water, in the water, beside the water, or in the bush. If anything bad had happened, our parents would not have known before nightfall. 

Until recently, I had accepted that my own sons would be victims of this change in society’s attitude to risk, and that I would be seen as a member of one of the last few generations of fortunate, unregulated Australian kids. 

However, I had fallen for the trap of assuming that being subject to regulation is synonymous with having fewer adventures. In fact, it just means having safer adventures for those who want to participate.  

During the recent school holidays, one of my sons and one of my nephews had a “regulated” adventure which made me jealous. They both used wooden boats which were built at home, and they had each taken a large part in the building projects. The six horsepower outboards had been maintained and/or restored by the boys, and their own money had gone into the projects.  

One morning on the way to work, I dropped the two boats and two boys at the Manly boat harbour. Carrying the required safety gear and ground tackle, they traveled north along the coast to the mouth of the Brisbane River, passing inside Fisherman Island.  

Bee, one of the boats used on the trip, with her captain on-board

From there they explored up-river past tugs and cargo ships, stopping to touch the pylons of the massive Gateway Bridge. At Breakfast Creek they tied up at the wharf, bought chips from a vendor, and then set off again. Passing through the centre of the city, the two travelers continued past multi-million dollar houses until arriving at Queensland University. The picture of two young boys passing through all that evidence of wealth played over and over in my mind – their boats had only cost a couple of hundred dollars.  

The journey home was completed without incident, but not without adventure. They telephoned me from the ramp at four o’clock, having been gone for seven and a half hours. Instructions had been complied with and regulations (I hope) followed.  

These boys had earned the privilege of conducting the trip, and it had not been done without experience. I guess that they could have come to harm, but the decision to let them go was based on careful thought and observation. I can well remember the first time they were allowed out in my old sailing dinghy, operating solo under supervision. Even though the boat didn’t have the sailing rig set and the outboard was a mere 3.5hp, I was concerned enough to stand waist deep in the waters of Moreton Bay for over an hour while keeping them under observation. They were much smaller then. 

Time passes fast, I know. The rate at which they have learned has increased with the passage of the months and years, and they are now very competent seamen within the boundaries allowed. I am proud, and I enjoy their company.  

So if you want to free your kids from a screen-based existence, consider buying some plywood and glue, and in the process change them from spectators into participants in life.

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Family Corporate Boatbuilding

Some new photos up at my Flickr site for the two past corporate and family boatbuilding events at Mystic Seaport.

One thing we love is that all our participants launch every boat on the third day and they always look great, the people and the boats!

It is interesting that 29 boats were built at Family Boatbuilding and even out of the biggest group of 18 canoe builders led by "man with PA system", none of these canoes were launched and paddled on Sunday.

However, we were out there rowing for a solid hour in our Echo Bay Dory Skiffs. Yeah, kit builders!

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