Builder's Blog: The Unlikely Boat Builder

16 October 2009
Lofting -- Take 2

Out of ignorance comes innovation. Or at least the chance to re-invent the wheel.

Back at my lofting board, I had banished my cheap plastic spirit level to an out-of-favor position on a lower shelf in my 'work shop'. However, I still hadn't lost my faith in gravity. If my spirit level couldn't handle the simple job of drawing a vertical line, I had an even simpler tool that could.

I found my old fishing tackle box, stored away with the camping gear. I'd had that box since my college days, when I lived on Burden Lake in upstate New York. That lake was home to some mighty feisty Blue Gills and an expert angler, named Dewey, who'd taught me the trick of catching them (make sure your hook is in the water, not the trees.)

With a 1/2 oz. sinker and some fishing line, plus the dim memory of how to tie a fisherman's knot, I 'built' a plumb-bob.

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On Board with Mark Corke: Magneto ignition tip

Now have to admit that i have something of a soft spot for the old British Seagull outboards. I've own one for getting close on to forty years and although it's smelly and noisy I love it. Simple in the extreme, they take a hell of beating and still run, or they should.

Seagulls like many early outboards and other utility motors of that era had magneto ignition which works great most of the time but a problem can occur where you fail to get a spark at the plug. Assuming that the lead and plug is good you may wonder if the magneto itself is at fault and need replacement. The answer is - perhaps, but a good tip before you throw out the old motor or replace the expensive magneto is to crank the engine in reverse which often restores the properties of the magneto and brings back the HT spark.

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Building Ravn: a 19-foot faering: Gunwales and inwales

I've come to accept that almost every step in the boatbuilding process takes twice as long as you estimate it will. Putting the gunwales and inwales on Ravn was the exception -- it took about 10 times as long.

Part of it was that I chose to use purple heart for the job. I had some nice 12-foot long strips left over from laminating the keel. I've also come to like the wood for how strong and hard it is. It also glues well. The downsides to the wood are that it does not work well with planes, chisels and spokeshaves because it tears out easily, it gives you the nastiest splinters of any wood I've ever worked with and it smells like -- I'm not sure what -- wet dog, maybe? It's pretty much on the other end of the spectrum from wonderful pine scent.

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World Speed Record Attempt: Once more into the fray for Paul Larson & SailRocket

All the on-shore calibrations were carried out this morning so now we are heading out across the lagoon to speed-spot once more. The wind is whistling outside and beginning to make a steady low roar. Big dark clouds are massing out to sea. It's not a normal day. Its forecast to blow 27 knots but we only have a couple of hours tide left. It's still very gusty.

I decided to go over as it is an exercise that gets the whole team back into sailing mode. It's the best final shakedown to make sure that everything is working as it should be.

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Australian 'did not invent winged keel on yacht that won America's Cup'

Toni O'Loughlin in Sydney
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 14 October 2009 17.13 BST

It was a sporting victory that inspired Australia's then prime minister, Bob Hawke, to declare any boss a "bum" if they sacked a worker who took the day off to revel in the nation's glory.

But now the legacy of the Australian yachting team's spectacular triumph, when it seized the America's Cup in 1983 to end the New York Yacht Club's 126-year grip, has been rocked by claims that the man hailed as a hero for the winning vessel's revolutionary design only played a minor role in its creation.

Ben Lexcen is credited for Australia II's winged keel. But Peter van Oossanen, a Dutch naval architect who worked with Lexcen on the vessel, says he can confirm what the Americans alleged in protracted court battles but could not prove - that the boat broke America's Cup rules on yachts having to be designed by residents or citizens of the country they represented.

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Inside IYRS: A little visit to the IYRS Maritime Research Library

Written by: Tom
10/14/2009 12:21 PM

The IYRS Maritime Research Library is just about finished, but it's now open for business.

One of the lesser known treasures of IYRS is the newly opened Maritime Research Library on the top floor of the mill building. The Fall issue of Restoration Quarterly has a good article about the library and should be available on the IYRS website soon.

In the meantime, here are a few photos to give you a taste of what you will find if you come visit.

Jill is our reference librarian and she has the enviable qualities of being both friendly and professional. She knows what we have in our collections and if we don't have it, she knows how to get it.

Click here to read the entire IYRS Blog.

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Lowell's Boat Shop to revive Mighty Merrimack Rowing Race

It has been an exciting, revitalizing year for a local historic treasure, Amesbury's own Lowell's Boat Shop on the banks of the Merrimack River. Now, as a means of celebrating the highly successful completion of a Partners in Preservation (PIP) grant and of expanding its rowing program, the nation's oldest continuously operating wooden boat building establishment is reviving its Mighty Merrimack Rowing Race (MMRR) - the featured event of the Boat Shop's Fall Haul celebration - Oct. 25, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The MMRR was started by Jim and George Odell in 1983 and was last held in 2005. This year's race, a preview of the 2010 race, will be the first step in reviving the annual event. It will be a small, less formal event intended to reflect the fun and pleasure of rowing.

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