Fall lecture series at IYRS to focus on great yachts, past and present

Beginning in late October, the International Yacht Restoration School will host a five-part lecture series that will explore the great yachts of today and yesterday. On five Tuesday nights from October to mid-December, experts will give lecture-goers a look at a series of magnificent yachts and the people behind them-including newly restored classics such as the stunning 104-foot Trumpy design Freedom, the majestic J-Class sloops and the largest Herreshoff schooners ever built, steam yachts that today stand as the megayachts of old, and the historic 1885 Coronet now being restored on the IYRS campus.

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Where guideboats are born

SARANAC LAKE - A guideboat sits overturned and elevated on A-frames above a pile of sawdust. Tools, some dating back to the 19th century, are everywhere. Some hang on the walls; others are hidden under lumber.

Seated amid the tools, guideboats and scent of pine, Chris Woodward explains the building process.

"In a typical boat, the ribs and stems would be steamed and bent," he said. "Well, these aren't. They are all sawed to shape. It is known as a 'sawn rib.' But in order to get the grain to follow the curve of that rib, you need a curved piece of wood."

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Inside IYRS: The backbone begins to take shape

Written by: Tom
10/12/2009 9:30 PM

The first year students are busy building backbone parts these days.

We'll start things out with a little correction. In the last entry, I said that the hull construction for the Gar Wood was Batten and Seam while the construction of the Chris Craft was double planking. Well, that's both correct and incorrect. The hull above the chine on the Gar Wood is Batten and Seam, while below the chine it's double planked. And on the Chris Craft: it's the same thing Thanks to 2nd year student Jens for clearing that up!

When students are accepted at IYRS, they get an extensive list of tools that they'll need. The first years are getting lots of opportunities to use these tools now as they are deep into the production of boat parts. Let's take a look.

Click here to read the entire IYRS Blog.

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