Chine bLog - 2. Designs & Designers

A couple classic wooden working boats at the Maritime Museum of San Diego

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 03:37:51 +0200

I had an opportunity to stroll briefly past the Maritime Museum of San Diego this weekend. Looks like a nice spot for those interested in ships. I did find a couple nice-looking local wooden work boats. The first is a little fishing boat that apparently traces its roots to the Mediterranean, courtesy of Italian immigrants. Very cute.

The second is a gorgeous little sloop that was used to go meet ships early in her career and then as a racer later in life. I love this boat. She has a gaff rig and long bowsprit that seem Friendship sloop-ish but then has that shallow, double-ended hull. Nice find there.

The Center for Wooden Boats - Part 4: Other available boats and some thoughts on livery services

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 02:46:00 +0200

So once more, for now, to the Center for Wooden Boats, getting back the the livery service, from which I got a nice sail in the Cape Ann dory Q'ONA. The service offers both oar- and sail-powered boats in a variety of sizes. I few more I liked:

Lake Oswego Boat
The original 60-year-old boat was found in Lake Oswego, Oregon. Built by a Finnish boatbuilder in Portland as a stock boat, it was made using a half model which a customer brought to the builder. It became a popular boat at Skunk Lake, Oregon (which later became known as Lake Oswego). It may be a copy of the Rangely boat, a sporting boat developed on the Rangely Lakes of Maine about 100 years ago. The unique features (i.e. a flat-bottom plank in place of a keel and a two-part stem with inner and outer pieces) make the boat relatively fast to build. The current CWB Lake Oswego boat was built by students of Eric Hvalsoe.

Love the sheer on this one. I definitely want to take this for a spin on another trip...

Unless I can gather some friends, I'll just look at the gig.

Pilot Gig DAN
This 21 rowing boat was designed and partially built by the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding in Port Townsend, Washington. The school's founder, Bob Prothero, donated the unfinished boat to The Center for Wooden Boats in memory of Dan Dygert, a charter member of CWB. The boat was completed through donations in memory of Dan Dygert. The type is similar to the pilot gigs in the 18th and 19th centuries where fast and seaworthy rowing boats were used to carry ship's pilots to vessels about to enter a port. The planking is red cedar, frames are white oak, fastenings are copper. The Dan is regularly used and maintained by a group of CWB rowers. It also has been used in traditional boat competitions. This type of boat also utilized by rowing clubs in Shelton, Olympia, and Anacortes.

Finally, this one, SILKIE, is for advanced sailors (I'll have to pull together my credentials):

Continue reading "The Center for Wooden Boats - Part 4: Other available boats and some thoughts on livery services"

The Center for Wooden Boats - Part 3: Build a sweet baidarka

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 14:55:00 +0200

My very first finding at the Center for Wooden Boats, even before my Cape Ann dory sail and my close-up with Haida dugout canoes, was the biggest surprise. I walked into the Center and was immediately confronted by a few folks working away on some skin-on-frame Aleut baidarkas. It sure looked like a class, and indeed it was. Holy smokes, I thought, this place runs boatbuilding classes too? It does offer boatbuilding classes - lots - and a bunch of other kinds of classes too.

It seems they have run this class before, as there were a few finished baidarkas on the floats. I found these to be really lovely kayaks. I confess I am much more a fan of other forms of kayaks - some baidarkas just look funny to me - but these ones worked really well. The class was doing a fantastic job too. They were building the boats entirely with pegs and lashing and the details were great. I was particularly struck by the bows.

It seems that the various classes run the mix from being day or weekend classes to full-week ones, like this baidarka one. This would be a great destination. We haven't even touched on Puget Sound beyond...

Location: Kodiak, AK, USA

The Center for Wooden Boats - Part 2: Real Haida dugout canoes!

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 04:47:00 +0200

Hopefully you enjoyed my last post on my first rental experience at the the Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle. Let me now step back to some of the other treasures I saw there.

I thought they might have a Haida dugout canoe there, and I was itching to see a real one. They do not, though, have one. They have two and quarter. Behold.

They had one in the water; I am not sure if it is open for rent (though I will be asking next time). It is one fine-looking chunk of cedar, though, eh? I find these boats beautiful, not just for the lines, but also for the artwork. Native Northwest art is incredible, and seeing it on a boat is seeing it in a truly natural form.

The second canoe was up on land; not sure what its status is. Her artwork is well displayed, though:

Continue reading "The Center for Wooden Boats - Part 2: Real Haida dugout canoes!"

The Center for Wooden Boats - Part 1: Sailing the Cape Ann Dory Q'ONA

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 03:26:00 +0200

I was in Seattle for business last week, which allowed me to make a pilgrimage to the Center for Wooden Boats, a place so cool I cannot contain it to a single post, nor even two. In fact, friends, a roughly two-and-a half-hour visit gave me four interesting posts to lay out for you. This place is everything I expected and then a bunch more.

Here's the overview, for those not familiar. The Center for Wooden Boats is, on the surface, a museum of small, classic boats that happens, unlike others of its type, to be set smack in the middle of a major American city. Right away, that gives it some cache. The thing that first drew me to the place, however, and I have known of it for a couple years, was the fact that this museum has a livery service. In short, for many of the boats, you can not only touch them, you can use them. At a very reasonable cost, too. Brilliant concept, and I have been itching to check it out. Thursday, 6/12, was the big day.

After looking around a bit, I found my way to the livery shack, where the manager, Zach, gave me a going-over on my sailing chops before letting me free on Lake Union. There were some nice options: a few Beetle cats (never actually sailed one), some small prams (seemed a bit tame), some knockabouts (a bit much for single-handing, first time out). Then something a little different caught my eye: the boat I was to come to know as the Cape Ann dory Q-ONA. Now she was the ticket.

Continue reading "The Center for Wooden Boats - Part 1: Sailing the Cape Ann Dory Q'ONA"

"Xebec" - your "X" word for the week

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Fri, 30 May 2008 03:29:46 +0200

My daughter's kindergarten class had "X" week last week. We had to find SOMETHING original for her to bring. Something struck me in the back of my mind, and a quick Google brought it to me: "Xebec." A xebec, according to the authority, Wikipedia, is:

a Mediterranean sea sailing ship that was used for trading and other things. It has a long overhanging bow and stern. It also refers to a small, fast vessel of the 16th to 19th centuries, used almost exclusively in the Mediterranean Sea.

Note that Wikipedia classifies the article as, ahem, needing work. I am guessing the gem ..."trading and other things..." fits that bill... Anyway, "piracy" seems to be one of those "other things." Here is a nice-looking model of one, yours, for $225, at SMC Trading:

Xebec model on sale at SMC Trading

So this was all interesting, but it ended up being moot because my wife said it had to be a word they might actually know [editor's comment: beginning with "X"??!!]. Well, as it happened, I had to take my daughter to school the next day. And don't you know, they have a picture board with "X" letters... and guess what is gracing it... That's right, I'm the man...

Location: El-Jazair, Algeria

Cuttyhunk for Memorial Day - boats, but no boating

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Thu, 29 May 2008 04:09:50 +0200

I got out to Cuttyhunk Island for Memorial Day to open the house there. No boats to play with, but I did get a chance to snap a few pics. Enjoy!

Sweet finding at Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum - Howard Chapelle's battens!

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Wed, 28 May 2008 04:35:00 +0200

Check this out: I am wandering around the shop at Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and I see a long, old, wooden box. I assume it is battens and open it. Whoa - there's a name... Howard Chapelle! I am holding Howard Chapelle's personal batten box! Take a moment to reflect on the history of those strips...

Sailing a Delaware Ducker - finale, for now, with Cheaspeake Bay Maritme Museum's Apprentice for a Day program

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Mon, 19 May 2008 09:23:00 +0200

And so, like all good things, another set of sessions with Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum's Apprentice for a Day program has ended. And what a way to go - sailing a Delaware Ducker, the sister of the one on which I have been working. We got two little sails in, with some fine tuning of the rigging in between. Video of the sail is below; note that I shot it before we tightened up the snotter to get the sail to lie right. Enjoy, and thanks to our new friends at Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum!

Here are the completed boats. That red one is just amazingly beautiful...

More from Chesapeake Bay Maritme Musuem - two-masted crabbing skiff still for sale

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Sun, 04 May 2008 02:45:24 +0200

I was pleased to be able to at least see a picture of the two-masted crabbing skiff I worked on last year during my Apprentice for a Day stint at Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. Here she is, and she is still for sale. A bargain at $10,500. This boat would be a wonderful, solid say-sailer / camp-cruiser with loads of character. If you are in the market, you really should take a look. To learn more, see my past posts on this boat: day 1, day 2, day 3, and day 4.

We have a launch! Rowing a Delaware Ducker

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:23:37 +0200

I was able to get out to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum for another round of its Apprentice for a Day program. The highlight of the day was launching the other Delaware Ducker (then one not being built in the program) and getting out for a little row in her. Here is a short video of her maiden strokes with master shipwright Dan Sutherland first and then Tony, another museum employee second.

Based on a brief outing, this boat rows beautifully. I hope to be able to sail one soon.

Now, to other updates...

Continue reading "We have a launch! Rowing a Delaware Ducker"

Happy birthday Lowell's Boat Shop!

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 02:59:00 +0200

Nice article in the Newburyport (MA) Daily News on Lowell's Boat Shop, which turns 215 - that would be two hundred and fifteen years old - on May 5. Not impressed yet? Chew on this: This makes it the oldest continuously operating boat shop in the U S of A. Not yet? The founder, Simeon Lowell, invented the dory. Invented. The. Dory. My friends, we are talking about some hallowed ground. Keep it up, Lowell's!

More sparring, partner - Cheaspeake Bay Maritime Museum "Apprentice for a Day" part II

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 03:45:28 +0200

I got out to to Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum's Apprentice for a Day program again this past weekend and had another great day. First of all, the Delaware Ducker has a full combing, the beginnings of a paint-job, and a cleaned up false-stem. She is looking lovely.

For work, I got to finish my sprit. You may recall that last week I took a blank down to something nearly, but not totally, round. First, let's put this spar in context...

Continue reading "More sparring, partner - Cheaspeake Bay Maritime Museum "Apprentice for a Day" part II"

MISTER JIM, a nice Chesapeake Bay workboat

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 03:05:09 +0200

On my most recent trip to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum I took a quick wander around to check out the other beauties. Among the beauties was this one: MISTER JIM. "Mister Jim" just screams beauty, no?

Location: St. Michaels, MD, USA

Where are traditional boats? An attempt to map them...

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:40:00 +0200

Maybe this is interesting and useful; I'll try to improve it as I can. Using the Yahoo! Pipes tool, I have plotted traditional boats on an interactive map. Check it out!

Introducing myself to the Delaware Ducker - apprenticing again at Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 03:42:45 +0200

For Christmas this year, Mrs. Chine bLog again gave me a four-pack of days apprenticing with Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum's Apprentice for a Day program. You may recall my very happy time doing this last year. This is SUCH a sweet deal. For $25 ($15 if you do the right thing and join the museum) you get a full day working on as fine a small boat as you could find with some great people and highly accomplished shipwrights. Even if you interest in great boats is passing, check it out - you will have a great time.

This year I went unaware of what the project du jour would be. Happily I arrived to find a real treat - the latest in a growing fleet of Delaware Duckers. I had not, heretofore, made the pleasure of their acquaintance. I didn't catch the actual dimensions (doh!), but I am guessing the boat is 16' long and a bit under 4' abeam, designed for rowing and sailing, originally in pursuit of the eponymous fowl. Check out the pictures below - these are some stunning boats, and apparently they sail as well as they look.
Continue reading "Introducing myself to the Delaware Ducker - apprenticing again at Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum"

Great posts on Brazilian Jangadas by Indigenous Boats

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 03:07:48 +0200

Jangadas from Wikipedia via Indigenous Boats

Many thanks to our friend Bob Holtzman over at Indigenous Boats for his nice posts on Brazilian Jangadas, traditional craft from Northeastern Brazil. I encourage you to read both: one and two. I am digging this blog - great substance here:

It is a sailing raft built of pueba logs, lashed and pegged together, and sporting a rig with quite a large mailsail and (from what I can tell from the book's photos), sometimes a tiny jib. The mast angles forward very sharply, and the boom angles upward at the stern, so that the mainsail takes the shape of an isosceles triangle resting on its apex. There's a surprisingly sophisticated 11-position mast step that allows the mast's angle to be changed by a considerable amount, no doubt shifting the amount of weather/lee helm, but otherwise, the jangada is about as simple as a craft can be. The jangadieros, or jangada fishermen, take these boats 30 miles offshore in search of market fish, with the logs awash the whole way. Steering is by way of an oar.

Many thanks, Indigenous Boats!

Location: Sao Luis, Brazil

Sweet Hawaiian sailing canoes - The Hawaiian Sailing Canoe Association [Hawaii, USA]

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 02:57:37 +0100

I came upon the site for the Hawaiian Sailing Canoe Association tonight. Mostly info about their race series, but they do have a nice photo gallery that is worth looking at. Looks like these boats absolutely fly - I need to try one.

Photo by Terry Galpin

Location: Hawaii, USA

Traditional boat lovers are in the house! Welcome Indigenous Boats!

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 04:16:21 +0100

Our good friend Gavin over at intheboatshed.net has score another great find. Thanks muchly, Gavin, for introducing us to Bob Holtzman and his new (I take it) blog "Indigenous Boats - Small Craft Outside the Western Tradition." All of a sudden we find our selves with lots of company here, but heck, if it helps elevate the treasures to be found in other waters, bring it on.

this post on native American whaling craft, especially for its nice picture of a Haida-style canoe. Welcome to our little club, Bob. I look forward to learning from you.

Welcome to the world Canoe Sailing Magazine!

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 02:59:00 +0100

Some of our kindred spirits have been hard at work. Canoe Sailing Magazine has launched online - congrats to the proud authors! I just noticed its birth just this evening and haven't looked at it much, but I am fairly confident I won't live to regret giving it the Chine bLog stamp of approval in the form of a place in our Honor Roll and RSS reader. Todd Bradshaw, he of Canoe Rig fame, seems to be in the mix, so I'm in based on that alone. This looks fantastic, folks - well done!

Iraqi wooden boats part II - more canoes of the Ma'dan

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 03:23:00 +0100

As I have said before, we bloggers are easy to please: give us a nice comment and we are set for a couple weeks. I was thus thrilled with the comment Suzie Alwash left on my recent post on the traditional wooden canoes of the Ma'dan (Marsh Arabs) of todays Southern Iraq. Suzie gave us great additional information, including the type of boat: "mashhoof" and construction. Sweet! Suzie should know. She is Senior Project Advisor with a project called Eden Again, dedicated to restoring the marshlands of Mesopotamia. In other words, she knows the area well and is just back from there. The best part - yes, there is more than her informative comment - is her offer of more photos. Needless to say, I gladly accepted and am happy to share them below on her behalf (if you enjoy them, you might thank her by seeing how you can help her organization).

Incidentally, these marshes and their restoration seem to be much in the news. Here is an article today from The Times.

Location: Al Chabaish, Iraq

A great honor for a great designer: Lifetime Achievement Award for Phil Bolger

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 04:22:12 +0100

It is as simple as this: say what you want about appearances, if you like messing about in small boats you have to regard Phil Bolger as a true boat design genius. And it isn't like all of his work tilts to the purely practical. He did the Gloucester Light Dory. Period. Full Stop. 'nuff said. That alone is cause for celebration. [Not sold? Here's more] That fact that it is one of 700 designs, many of which are both friendly for homebuilding and quite pretty. By the way, we greatly admire him here at Chine bLog.

We were thus very happy to see, courtesy of WoodenBoat's RudderPosts blog, that the WoodenBoat Show honored him this past year with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Abso-fricken-lutely! They ought to just name the darn things after him. Here is a man who approached so many projects with a fresh eye but sensible foundation. I have read that true creativity is achieved not by pulling wacky ideas out of thin air, but by starting form existing items and changing one or two dimensions to achieve something new. That, to me, is Bolger's hallmark - taking classic themes and re-crafting forms that are simpler (to build and to use) yet still retain the classic ancestry. Look no further than his Light Schooner for another example. Congrats, Phil - much deserved.

Location: Gloucester, MA, USA

To Iraq - traditional canoes of the Ma'dan

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 04:10:09 +0100

So I am going to wade into Iraq. Oh if you want to hear about the war, you're at the wrong blog; I think there are about 3 million others who can oblige you on that one. No, we are staying true to topic here at Chine bLog. As I often say, cool boats show up in all kinds of places. I opened the recent issue of Zoogoer, the magazine of the National Zoo here in DC, and I came upon an article on restoring ruined wetlands. In it was a shot of a nice looking wooden canoe which is the traditional craft of the Ma'dan (also called the Marsh Arabs). Welcome to Iraq coverage, Chine bLog style.

US Army Corps photo

You may recall hearing of the Ma'dan in the more prominent Iraq talk - they have lived in the wetlands at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers for millennia. Saddam Hussein drained these marshes in the 1990's as retribution for an uprising and basically put a huge crimp on the life style of the Ma'dan. The marshes are now coming back, and that means a return of Ma'dan traditions. Well, if you live in a marsh, you need boats. And in narrow, shallow channels, you want a canoe. These are some nice ones.

Photo courtesy of Land and Water Magazine

Actually, the image above is taken from a bad angle and doesn't show the spectacular sheer line evidenced in the picture in the magazine. The picture here gives a bit better sense - the up-swept ends are stunning. The builders - who I am sure do this by eye and feel - definitely nail these. They are clearly well-suited to their task but also, like so many traditional craft, show that artistry is always in the mix. That warms my heart.

It wasn't clear to me how these boats were constructed. I was initially guessing dugouts, but was having trouble picturing sufficient trees in that area. I was able to find one picture though, courtesy of our good friends at NPR, that shows a little of the construction. Basically the boats are flat-bottomed with planked sides. It looks like there might be a large number of ribs / frames with exterior and interior planking. They have some athwartships members for support, but they are mostly open - these are work boats, after all. There is also some kind of substance - not sure what it is - used for sealing and structural support. Some kind of clay - anyone know? Always some new twists. Needless to say, I dig these boats.

Location: Al Chabaish, Iraq

Roger Fletcher and the river boats of the American West

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 04:08:58 +0100

There is logic to this, but I won't get into it. Suffice it to say that I had recently been thinking about the wooden dories and river boats indigenous to the American West. I don't know much about these boats and have never been in one, so I don't think about them much (of course, that means nothing, since I think a lot about lots of boats I have never been in - let's move on...). Well, lo and behold, if my nightly missive from the good people at Google didn't bring me a little something on the subject (courtesy of The Statesman Journal form Salem, Oregon). I guy named Roger Fletcher from Oregon has just written a book about these boats that is the culmination of his exhaustive research into them. He literally resurrected 13 designs (publishing 11) from the dead and has now preserved them. The boat is called Drift Boats and River Dories: Their History, Design, Construction, and Use, and it looks like a great resource. I certainly am inclined to raise a toast to Mr. Fletcher's efforts - we need people like him to make sure great designs and the thinking behind them remain available.

I particularly liked a few passages from the article that found me:

"My passion for boats is tied to the parallels I see between the river and how one runs this course we call life," Fletcher said. "The river is wonderful medicine for the river of life. That sounds kind of hokey, but that's where my passion is. I enjoy fly fishing and I enjoy getting out, but that isn't what pulls me. It's the river itself, and the people who share the passion."

His research, the hard work that it was, sucked him in... this led me down a path that brought me in touch with a variety of marvelous people whose passion for rivers and river people surpasses my own..." By telling the story of those people, he also tells the story of the boats.

"What I've done is define the key points in time in the evolution of boats -- what caused the builder to quit building a square-end boat and start building a double-ended boat," Fletcher said. "What were the circumstances, what experiences did he have and how did he do it? I discovered the history of these boats and my natural curiosity took over. These boats are Oregon's unique contribution to the wooden boat world, and that has become more and more obvious as I've done the research."

Location: Oregon, USA

Friendship Sloop chatter in the blogosphere

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 03:16:49 +0100

Courtesy of Gavin over at intheboatshed and his recent discovery of YouTube [ ;^) ], we now see that Ted at Dovetails has posted a nice video of his Friendship Sloop sailing in a brisk Westerly off mid-coast Maine. The page includes some nice profile drawings and photos as well - its a heck of a nice boat.

Searching around for this post left me with the startling realization that, with the exception of a stray mention in the prior post where I mentioned Dovetails, I have never said anything about Friendship Sloops on these pages. I guess I have been focus on the boats of foreign lands as opposed to my native waters, but here's the real irony: Friendship Sloops are one of the most beautiful boats ever. Period. Full stop.

Look at Ted's fine example above. The clipper bow, elliptical transom, and sweet sheer that ties them together, makes for some tremendous lines, and then you typically plop a high gaff and double headsails on her... the result is outstanding. I had an opportunity to sail in the annual Friendship Sloop regatta many years back and it was an amazing experience. I have always loved them; basically, they had me at "hello."

Here's a final Friendship Sloop story: when I was teenager, we chartered a boat in mid-coast Maine and found ourselves not far from Friendship, Maine with a day of crummy weather. At my behest, we made tracks overland to Friendship in an act of pilgrimage. Let me tell you how many sloops we saw there: none. zilch. Z-E-R-O. Our only solace after such disappointment, was a near-miss: and ice cream shop called "The Friendship Scoop."

Dugout canoe from the Congo River basin

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 03:52:33 +0100

One of my favorite web sites is that for the African Wildlife Foundation (full disclosure: it was designed and build by my company, Forum One Communications). It is packed full of gorgeous images, but I kept running into one that stuck with me, for obvious reasons.

This, my friends, is a lovely dugout canoe from the Congo River basin in central Africa. The canoe represents AWF's programs in its Congo Heartland (protecting wildlife means partnering with the communities of the area) and conveys that message well, but I just love how the boat looks. The long overhang and subtle, up-swept sheer - Mmm-mmm-mmm. Once again, people in the region have built these boats for centuries for transport and fishing, but they did not sacrifice grace and beauty in the "design."

(More on the image)

Location: Bongandonga, Congo

The Wooden Dory - another blog in the family

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 03:36:45 +0100

I ran across a new (to me) blog in our little circle: "The Wooden Dory - Dedicated To The Worlds Best Wooden Boat". It is small and gets infrequent attention, but I hope that will improve. Time was when I would have backed the subtitle wholeheartedly, at least for small boats. My tastes have now changed a bit, though, and I would call various flavors of classic dory great, great boats, but not the best. No matter - the blog's author, Fraser Wheaton, is on the right track and I hope he expands on his idea so that the dory as a "class" gets more much deserved attention.

Here is a nice sample, taken form the post "Why Build Your Own Dory":

In short sir, you take the time and effort to build your own dory because its something you can take pride in, in a busy world where folks no longer take the time to stop and create something with their own two hands. It keeps us in touch with our past and lets us enjoy the present a little more.

Could have said it better. In fact, couldn't have said it anywhere near as well. Row on, dory man!

More on proa racing in the Marshall Islands - videos on YouTube

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 01:46:31 +0100

Location: Majuro, Marshall Islands

The other night, I added a post about the return of proa racing to the Marshall Islands. Don't you know, then, that days later, we now have some video of the 2001 races. "aqlunafoo" added a post to the Proa-file yahoo group with four interesting videos. Many thanks!

Here are some race videos. As with much on YouTube, it is really a music video, with the ame footage repeated a few time. No matter, its well done and show the boats going through their paces. They look like a blast.

Here is another video, this of a bigger boat from the Marshalls. This looks like it might be a fishing boat, but it is clear it is pretty fast. Another gem here.

The traditional Malagasy fishing boat, part deux - the rig

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 03:06:10 +0100

Thanks to Ruth from the blog VazahaGasy for picking up my last post on her partner's building of a traditional Malagasy fishing boat. She updated her pictures to include a few of the boat under sail.

As I suspected would be the case, the boat carries a loose-footed lanteen rig. Really, I would have accepted nothing less! Seriously, this fits the boat well - I bet she looks nice under sail - and shows how that rig made its way down the coast of Africa.

Rath also gives us a good shot of the owner / builder. Great work! The boat is lovely. It is a work boat, but you can tell was well finished nonetheless. Enjoy!

Location: Antsiranana, Madagascar

Check it out - the kite-proa

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 04:52:28 +0100

The Proa File Yahoo! Group has an interesting discussion around one member's experimental kite-powered proa. It seems to be an interesting concept with kinks still enmeshed. The first post includes a link to some videos, which aren't as dramatic as I had hoped. It isn't clear how fast the boat was going, but it seems less than I expected. It was a shake-down cruise, though...

The 2007 Peace Canoe project - an index

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 04:31:20 +0100

I decided it might be helpful for folks that are coming to see info about my Peace Canoe, PEACE OF THE PUZZLE, to have a little better overview page for the project. Below, therefore, please find a list of all the related posts, along with the topics covered.

Walking the walk - a wooden boat (Peace Canoe) for Chine bLog! - Rationale for choosing to build this boat right now.
Beginning work on the Peace Canoe - Materials, making seats, and cutting the chine logs.
More on the Peace Canoe - scarfing sheer clamps and chine logs - Some pointers on scarfing the sheer clamps and chine logs, but please read this one in partnership with the entry below on issues I had.
The Peace Canoe progresses - have plywood, will start cuttin' - Cutting out plywood side panels and using butt-blocks to create the full panel length. Includes problems with the butt-block method.
The Peace Canoe gets seats and gets closer to full sides - Seat unit construction and fitting chine logs to stem and sternpost.
Building the Peace Canoe - time on the Moaning Chair - Problems in scarfing; problems with stems / sternpost bevels; repairing sheer clamps.
Back in business - the Peace Canoe - Fitting the bottom.
Structurally complete! The Peace Canoe gets a bottom - Pictures of the boat before final finishing.
Getting closer - ready to paint the Peace Canoe - Picture of the boat pre-painting.
And that's a wrap! The Peace Canoe is complete! - Pictures of the completed boat in the yard, with better close-ups that the ones below.
Successful christening and launch of the Peace Canoe! - pictures of the boat on the beach and underway.
Initial performance thoughts on the Peace Canoe - What is the Peace Canoe like as a boat?

I hope this series is fun and useful! Enjoy PEACE OF THE PUZZLE!

Movie you need to see: "Ten Canoes"

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 01:54:00 +0100

Here's a movie you Chine bLog readers should see: "Ten Canoes." The movie recounts an Australian Aboriginal myth, highlighting the culture and practices of the people of far Northern Australia in the process. It is another in the genre of movie that features actual members of an indigenous community in the area where the film is set. I happen to go for this type - these "untrained actors" always do an amazing job and, in this case as well as others, create a lovely tale.

Here is the bonus: as the title suggests, local traditional canoes, and the making of them, play a hefty "supporting actor" role. I clipped the image here from the movie site. They are bark canoes (the tree species is not identified). The builders basically cut around the circumference of the trunk at the bottom and then make another cut around it about 15 feet for so up the trunk. Apparently it has to be the right season so the bark is supple. They then cut a straight line down the trunk, thus allowing them to unroll a roughly 15 foot buy three foot sheet. As best I could tell, they then stitch the ends together, stitching two rows in the bow to create a flat surface. Somewhere in here they also some branches as athwartship "frames." Finally, they cut the bow shape out of the stitched end. Voila, a bark canoe, down-under style.

As I have mentioned before, I am always impressed to see how different boaters around the world design their craft...

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Successful christening and launch of the Peace Canoe!

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 21:36:00 +0200

Gorgeous October day here outside DC, a perfect day to be on the water. Gulls and an osprey wheeling about, gusty nor'wester keeping things clear and cool, the pleasant surroundings of Mason Neck State Park (map) - just the environment to christen and launch the Peace Canoe. So christen it we did (the kids helped), using the very nastiest champaign I could inadvertently pick up. She is now PEACE OF THE PUZZLE. Enjoy some pictures of her first outing (we were lucky enough to come upon some friendly kayakers, one of whom took our picture and was kind enough to send it).

Thank you to all who have read about PEACE OF THE PUZZLE's birth and provided encouragement along the way. It was a blast and I look forward to some great family adventures ahead!

Initial performance thoughts on the Peace Canoe

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 21:33:00 +0200

So we have a short paddle in PEACE OF THE PUZZLE under our belts now. I spent a couple months building it (a few have asked me for hours - I have no idea, but it was a good many) - aftre all that work, what is this boat like? Obviously I'll need much more time to assess, but some initial thoughts:

Strengths:

Appearance - The Peace Canoe is a pretty boat, no question about it, particularly in the water. We got compliments on and off the water, including things like "unusual," in a very complimentary sense. I expect we'll get noticed in this boat for the right reasons.
Stability - This boat will be a good family boat. I am fairly confident that one could have half the Rockettes do a kick-line on the starboard rail and she wouldn't go over. In more practical terms, this means a good boat for a family with young children (check) and a good boat for fishing (seems like a good idea).
Tracking - Of course being long and not very rockered, the boat seems to track pretty well.

Weaknesses:

Weight - The boat is a lot heavier than I expected it would be. It is basically unmanageable alone, and even my wife and I, two reasonably strong adults, had to work a bit to put it on the car.
Beam - The stability is a plus, but it comes from being quite beamy. With the sides flared as they are, the boat actually does not fit upside down on our standard car roof-rack. It rode OK right-side up, but I wasn't wildly comfortable with it like that. I will need to get some additional attachments, and it will be fine, but it isn't as car-topable as it might seem.
Freeboard - Maybe it is a function of the weight, but with four of us in the boat - and two of us are small children - the boat sat deeper in the water than I expected, leaving less freeboard than I might like for more open water. I had been planning on trips in the Bay and such, but I will be a bit more cautious for those ventures. This may be more of a true flatwater boat.

More as I learn more... In particular, I haven't gotten much of a feel for core paddling ability. The weight seems like a slowing factor, but we'll see.

And that's a wrap! The Peace Canoe is complete!

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 22:53:00 +0200

I have spent much of my free daylight hours over the last couple weeks putting paint on the Peace Canoe. Today, at about 10:30 AM local, I made some final touch-ups and called her done.

Obviously there are little things that make me cringe (that only I will likely notice, for the most part), but on the whole, I am pleased with the boat. If I do say so, the colors work well. I agonized a bit on this point, so it is good that the results are so positive.

Part of the reason the results are so good is that the design is a good one. I had moved the boat into the front yard to paint (we have an oak the rains acorns), and as I began to see the boat from a shallow angle on the port side, I began to fall in love with the sheer.

Well done, John Harris.

By the way, I wish I had moved to the front yard months ago. I have gotten tons of complements from folks walking by (we live on a main path to the local coffee shop), as well as several drive-bys (including a "Damn! Good job, sir!" from a dude in a utility van). It has been a thrill. Of course, if I had been working there earlier, there may have been more commentary on the work in progress ("yes, I DO know that that piece is cracked!!!")...

Boats of Lake Malawi (Lake Nyasa), Africa

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 04:06:19 +0200

We bloggers tend to pay a great deal of attention to our web stats - page views, visitors, visits, etc. It is a tangible validation that somebody is paying attention. Or, in my case, 50-75 somebodies a month, pretty consistently (you know who you are). One area I am always eager to see is the geographic location of visitors. A visitor from a new country - even just one person - is such an exciting and exotic touch-point. It sends me looking for more on a theretofore less known land

Tonight was no different, and tonights treat was a visit from Malawi, in Southern Africa. Why so interesting, it being land-locked and all? Ah, but it sits astride Lake Malawi (also Lake Nyasa), one of the largest lakes in Africa (in fact, 9th largest in the world). I figure any large body of water must be navigated, and I was curious to see what kinds of boats one would find there. There weren't many sources to find, but I did get a couple good glimpses via Vintage Africa Safari's site.

Click to enlarge

It appears that the boats are a mix of pirogue-type flat-bottomed canoes and dugout canoes. The dugouts are interesting in that they are shorter and more enclosed than others I have seen. They appear to keep more of the top of the log, giving the boats pronounced tumblehome and not a ton of room for the crew. It would be fascinating to know more about why this is the case - the nature of available wood? Something about the fishing techniques on the lake? Custom? Please comment if you can add any insight here.

By the way, Malawi looks beautiful and the lake appears to have some small boat touring going on. Add this one to the list...

Location: Monkey Bay, Malawi

Getting closer - ready to paint the Peace Canoe

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 03:27:03 +0200

And after a couple weeks of planing and sanding and one final clean-up, she is ready to paint. Voila!

I have also chosen the colors, not an easy task for me. She will look something like this:

Never Sea Land's pictures from Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 19:47:04 +0200

David over at Never Sea Land posted some great pictures from Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival. There are a number of them and it would be impossible to highlight all the great boats in there. Just site back, scroll, and feel the love. I do recommend finding the Haida-style canoe - that is a nice traditional boat David shot among the classics.

Structurally complete! The Peace Canoe gets a bottom

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 03:40:00 +0200

And then, after a final push, in the gathering twilight, the Peace Canoe had a bottom. And that, gentle readers, means she is structurally complete. Houston, we have a boat!

Just a whole lotta planning and sanding, plus a mother lode of plastic wood, and we will be cracking open a paint can or four!

How cool is this - my Wayfarer Dinghy adventurer surfaces!

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 04:41:00 +0200

A while back I wrote about the Wayfarer Dinghy, a subject that still keeps people coming back to Chine bLog. It referenced my first knowledge of the boat, an adventure in one up the coast of Labrador. Imagine, then, my very pleasant surprise to see that the man behind that adventure found my post and identified himself. Geoff Heath, many thanks for stopping by - I am truly honored.

Rediscovering Never Sea Land and its ULUA in progress

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 04:21:00 +0200

I have written before (with admiration) of Gary Dierking's ULUA, a sailing outrigger canoe. I recently noticed a comment from David over at Never Sea Land, one of Chine bLog's sister blogs in this space. It turns out he is building an ULUA, and is blogging about it. This category is also interspersed with a variety of useful links of outrigger canoes. David, great looking effort, keep up the good work. Consider your RSS fed.

Michael Storer Boat Design - nice work from Down Under

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 03:48:00 +0200

I recently found some comments I had heretofore not noticed, including one from designer / builder Michael Storer, who seems to hail from Australia. Thanks for visiting, Michael! Storer has some nice-looking plans, including one I particularly like, a sailing canoe called BETH.

Back in business - the Peace Canoe

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 03:19:00 +0200

At long last, I believe I have the sheer clamps replaced in a working manner. Man, oh man, was that an mistake that added time to the project! Just getting the broken ones off took several nights of careful digging for the nails with a tack-puller and cutting the goop with a utility knife. Exhausting and frustrating. But, I persevered. And now, I am ready to move forward!

So it looks pretty good. That there is a boat. So let's see... what next...

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More from Cuttyhunk - treats in the harbor

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 05:03:50 +0200

One nice thing about knocking around Cuttyhunk is that there are usually a modest number of boats worth ogling. Here are a few choice ones from the trip:

Boat of the Trip Award: GODSPEED from Mason, NH

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 05:02:00 +0200

And now we have the one we've all been waiting for (trust me, you were waiting for it): the Boat of the Trip Award, given periodically to that vessel that best encompasses the ideals of Chine bLog. And the winner is: GODSPEED, from Mason, NH! [Mad applause]

I am not very good with eyeballing boat size, but I am guessing she is about 28' or so with a gaff ketch rig. The lines, to me, suggest a scaled up life boat, with a multi-chine hull. She was designed and built by the owner, whose name I did not catch (but, based on a quick Google, I am guessing he is the proprietor of Godspeed Boat Works of Mason, NH). Here is why this boat wins the award, aside from being a nice-looking, not-what-you-see-everyday wooden boat: he and a family of five or six - plus a dog - have cruised all over the East Coast in this boat. Look at the view facing forward:

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