Chine bLog - 6. Organizations & Education

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"

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...

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"

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"

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"

Hooking them early - boatbuilding with my son's preschool class

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 02:58:00 +0100

My son is in a coop preschool, so the parents rotate being in the classroom helping out. My wife had been doing it all Fall, but after her January session I decided I would take a turn. I also decided to bring a little of that Chine bLog style to the class. What better interest to ingrain in impressionable youngsters than boatbuilding?

I sketched out a fairly generic hull with LOA of about 10" and beam of 4" and grabbed a bunch of scrap wood from my shop. Wood and design in hand, I headed to my local Woodcraft (a fantastic resource for the shop-deprived) and milled the scrap wood into 16 boats and 16 sets of different shaped blocks. Being me, I also cut up dowels to make 16 8" masts and drilled a mast step in each boat.

In the class, I started with a quick intro to boats, shown below. Surprise surprise, no stinkin' Cigarette or tubby plastic thing made the cut! Thanks to the various sites I pilfered for this PPT.

| View | Upload your own

Then the kids got to sit with their hull, their set of blocks, and a tube of glue and make their own boat. They loved it. The room grew quiet with concentration as creative minds went to work. Check out the output - a fun, productive activity, I'd say.

Greg Rossel recognized for his efforts to teach kids the art of wooden boat building

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 03:48:43 +0100

A quick call out to an article in the Morning Sentinel newspaper (of Maine) about boatbuilder / boatbuilding teacher / author Greg Rossel teaching a group of kids how to build wooden boats. I am always a fan of efforts to bring the next generation into the fold of wooden boat builders and afficianados, so here's to Greg for doing this.

"Everywhere you look at it there is cool stuff," said Greg Rossel, the lead instructor for the class. "The kids have got to pay attention to chemistry because they're mixing the glues. They have to know the qualities of the wood. When you're doing layout you're using geometry. It's team-building. Each part that everyone's making is important and the boat doesn't float until all those parts go together. It's using life skills and having the confidence you can build something. Even if these kids don't go into boat building, they'll always have the confidence they can do this."

Alexandria Seaport Foundation gets a mention in a Australian blog

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 01:14:00 +0100

Alexandria Seaport Foundation got discovered by Australian blogger Mike Hitchen and his blog i On Global Trends. Good on ya!.

A good time to support Alexandria Seaport Foundation

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 03:36:44 +0100

I have written in the past about the Alexandria Seaport Foundation. I love this organization. They are currently building their endowment and have a commitment from the Ohrstrom Foundation to match donations. Think about supporting them now.

Northern Forest Canoe Trail benefit auction

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 03:08:40 +0100

I mentioned the Northern Forest Canoe Trail a bit ago. I see in Paddling.net's newsletter today that they are holding a benefit auction online. Check it out.

Another organization doing good by building boats - Rocking the Boat in NYC

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 03:12:49 +0100

I stumbled onto the story of the non-profit organization Rocking the Boat, based in the Bronx, New York City, in the blog Bridge Over Troubled Water. It's another great story of an organization using the building of wooden boats as a path to helping at-risk youth. I love it. Here's a nice quote form the founder and principal, Adam Green:

Knowing that they can solve problems, knowing that things happen and we can deal with them, says Green. We cant deal with everything in our lives, but certainly when you're working with wood on a boat you can talk things out, look at the problems and resolve them. I think that kind of problem solving, as deep as you can imagine, is a really, really powerful part of this.

Good stuff. Rock on, Adam.

Incidentally, Bridge Over Troubled Water seems to be about water quality issues in general, especially in New York City. It has a link to this organization, The Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club, a club dedicated to canoing a pretty nasty industrial canal to promote its revitalization. More power to you, folks...

On the subject of festivals - the Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 19:54:40 +0200

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is hosting its own festival, the Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival on Saturday, October 6 from 10am-5pm. Distressingly I won't be able to go as I have a wedding that day. I bet it will be great, if anyone can go.

View Larger Map

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.

C IS for Canoe - Green Hour gets a little blue

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 03:14:00 +0200

I have mentioned National Wildlife Federation's Green Hour site before. I was pleased to see the site say the possibilities of getting on the water as an avenue for getting kids involved in nature. Last week's entry was titled "C is for Canoe" and encourages finding a rental place nearby and getting the family out on the water. Here here!

By the way, NWF friends, we are nautically precise here at Chine bLog: the driving tool for a canoe is a paddle, not an oar.

Relief - The Smithsonian Folklife Festival delivers

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 05:04:00 +0200

I called out the Smithsonian Folklife Festival recently and I am pleased to say I was wrong. There was indeed an exhibit on traditional boatbuilding along the Mekong, albeit one boat from one group of people. It was not a total loss, so bravo for not having the big miss I initially suspected.

The exhibit in question featured a group of Bahnar people from West-central Vietnam [Editor's later addition: strictly speaking, it seems these people do not live on the Mekong]. They were build a traditional log canoe using a decidedly untraditional, for them, poplar log. There is a great write-up in the Washington Post on their story of getting to and being at the festival. Suffice it to say they are a remote people and this was a big voyage into very unfamiliar territory.

Continue reading "Relief - The Smithsonian Folklife Festival delivers"

Big miss from the 2007 Smithsonian Folklife Festival

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 03:54:47 +0200

In case you aren't aware, every Summer here in DC the Smithsonian runs the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. It is an often entertaining - and always obscenely hot - display of three different geographic areas and the culture thereof. The 2007 Festival kicks off soon, and I was interested to see the title of one of the three subject areas: "Mekong River: Connecting Cultures." Cool, I thought, there should be a fascinating collection of boats.

And yet, not. I looked at the schedule for the Mekong River program, and I see some important topics, but nothing about the boats. Eh? Folks, how big a miss can you make? It's a river and you are talking about connecting cultures! What is connecting them?! Boats!! How do you miss this? They did manage to get a picture of one, but I find it hard to believe that there aren't traditional boat builders they could find (the festival brings native artisans over for the duration). Hopefully when we go I'll find that they simply didn't list this feature...

Making sawdust again, part IV - a mast and its partner

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 03:18:50 +0200

And so, it came, my last of four trips out to Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum's Apprentice for a Day program. What a great experience it has been - I can't wait until life's other demands allow me time to head out there again.

The boat is coming along well. The frames and deck knees are all in and shaped, the forward deck beams are in, and the centerboard trunk is now snugly in place. Having worked on a number of these pieces over the last few weeks, I love seeing them in their rightful home.

Continue reading "Making sawdust again, part IV - a mast and its partner"

Still more from Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum - a surprise treat

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 04:25:26 +0200

So one more surprise was in store for me during my recent trip to Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. At lunch I mentioned Howard Chapelle, he of American Small Sailing Craft and other utter classics, since he lived in the area. One of the boatwrights responded that Mr. Chapelle had retired to the museum. And you know that nondescript desk I had walk by a few times - was his!

So here it is folks - Chapelle's desk. You are looking at a high alter of traditional small boat design. Think how much is preserved of traditional small craft from the man's hand. It was stunning to think about. And more stunning that it is in a museum and not shown off. Goodness, folks, this is an exhibit! Make this thing public!

More from Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum - a small replanking project

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 04:16:39 +0200

This skipjack is up on blocks at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. I think the planking might need a little work. Looks like it is in good hands.

Making sawdust again, part III - Of deck knees and a centerboard

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 03:14:53 +0200

Geez - it has been too long. Apologies to my loyal readers - yeah, you three - for keeping you hanging. Last weekend brought me back to Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum's for another installment of the Apprentice for a Day program. And a great day it was.

The boat has come along a bit more since I was last back. Frames installed, a couple deck beams, centerboard trunk coming along, and preparation of deck knees. And deck knees were the task for the day.

Continue reading "Making sawdust again, part III - Of deck knees and a centerboard"

Making sawdust again, part II - I was framed!

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 03:08:07 +0100

Yesterday was another gorgeous day, with a light breeze and a clear sky. Chesapeake Bay looked gorgeous, shimmering below me, as a crossed it on the Bay Bridge, headed East again for another day with Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum's Apprentice for a Day program. Last week had whetted my appetite; yesterday I was hungry, though. I couldn't wait to get back in the shop and see how the boat was coming along. And here she was, already looking more herself:

Seeing a boat right-side up for the first time is always exciting, though I was interested to so how much had NOT been done in the week I had been away (which included two full building days). Most of her planking was done, but not all. There were a couple gaps up forward that seemed odd, until they were explained by my master for the day, Tony. It turns out, with these cross-planked boats, that there is so much twist up forward that the conventional way, even after steaming, doesn't work. The forward planks were literally being carved from solid blocks of pine. Wow - what a chore! This boat was going to be authentic, but there is a reason most boats have fore-and-aft planking, and this might be part of it. Can't say I hadn't already learned something, and class had yet to begin.

Continue reading "Making sawdust again, part II - I was framed!"

Making sawdust again - apprenticing at Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 03:25:51 +0100

As my regular readers know (you know who you three are), I am longer on boat building desire than I am on facilities and time to actually do it. Ergo, I blog... That all changed today, however, and will again three out of the next four weekends. Courtesy of a thoughtful Christmas gift from Mrs. Chine bLog, I am spending four days in the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum's Apprentice for a Day program. This is the perfect deal for someone like me. I get to head out to St. Michaels, on Maryland's Eastern Shore, and spend a day in a working traditional boat shop guided by the museum's boatwright staff. It was great, needless to say.

Click on image to see lines drawing

The current project is a 17ish foot crabbing skiff, which looks like it will be a beautiful and solid boat. She is being built to lines taken off by Chapelle in his invaluable surveys of traditional American craft. I arrived to find the hull still upside-down, with planking in progress. One pair of fellow apprentices set to work on a day of fun with bevels, creating the forward bottom planking from cedar stock. I headed aft...

Continue reading "Making sawdust again - apprenticing at Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum"

National Wildlife Federation launches Green Hour web site

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 02:02:00 +0100

I mentioned a little while ago a program that the National Wildlife Federation has launched called Green Hour. It is dedicated to the premise that:

As a society, we are raising the first generation of Americans to grow up disconnected from nature.

That's the bad news.

The good news is that the steps that got us here are easily traced, and the way to work toward reversing them is clear.

Most importantly, by giving our children a "Green Hour" a day -- a bit of time for unstructured play and interaction with the natural world -- we can set them on the path toward physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

The program recently launched its web site at www.greenhour.org and I am extremely proud to say yours truly and my colleagues at Forum One Communications provided strategy, design, and development services to bring it to life. Everyone should check it out, and parents of small children should definitely sign up and check in. This is a really important program and the complementary angles for messing about in boats are myriad. Nature is a joy, boating is a joy. Give these gifts to the next generation.

A book to think about - for almost all ages

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 02:46:03 +0100

I have been reading my 2+ year-old son Dr. Suess's The Lorax recently, and I was reminded again what a great book it is, both from and entertainment and message standpoint. For those with small children, you really need to have this one on the bedtime list, if it isn't already. Even if you don't, go down to the library and give it a read just to marvel at it. The lesson, taking care to use resources sustainably and in harmony with the broader world, couldn't be more relevant today. UNLESS we want our marine resources to go the way of the Truffula Trees, we ALL need care a whole awful lot.

Alexandria Seaport Foundation on CBS news

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 04:56:01 +0100

Tonight must be multimedia night... my friends at Alexandria Seaport Foundation made the CBS Evening News! Congrats to Joe Youcha and crew for getting some q.t. with Katie Couric.

Saving classic rowing craft - Rowable Classics

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 03:52:12 +0200

My dad, who lives in Mid-coast Maine, pointed out Rowable Classics, a non-profit organization up there that helps restore and and find loving owners for classic rowing boats. Seems like a great idea. When I rowed in high scholl we had some old wooden shells that were beautiful boats. The web site is a little rough - they seem like they really want you to deal offline, but you can see a bit of what they have a do. Rowers among you should check it out.

"A Voyaging Canoe for Tikopia" - an effort to keep South Pacific traditions alive

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 04:27:05 +0200

Staying in the same part of the world - and I mean the South Pacific, not Western PA - I note this project: "A Voyaging Canoe for Tikopia," sponsored by British designer James Wharram. Wharram aims to build two double canoes in the voyaging canoe tradition of the South Western Pacific and donate them to two islands in order to perpetuate their autonomy and their traditions.

We should build 2 Tikopian Double Canoes (by Andy Smith, our builder in the Philippines) and give them to the islands of Tikopia and Anuta (its sister island), so they can continue to be self-sufficient and take pride in their ancient sailing heritage. The two canoes would then be sailed the 3000 miles to Tikopia along the ancient Polynesian migration route for handing over to the islanders.

They seem to be asking for various sorts of assistance. I assume this is legit - Wharram is, I believe, an established designer - and the cause is good. A while ago I read The Happy Isles of Oceana: Paddling the Pacific, by Paul Theroux, and, without openly pointing fingers, many of the Pacific islands have had their culture and traditions ransacked over the last few centuries. These were some of the great seafaring people of history, and many now have no connection to the amazing skills and voyages of their ancestors. That is really sad. Good for Wharram to try to pull this off.

Location: Tikopia, Solomon Islands

Mots Maya - Kayak-building and kayak-eco-tourism in the Yucatan

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 23:35:56 +0200

Oh my - sometimes you run across something astoundingly special. A new client of mine, Rare, has funded a venture on Mexico's Yucatan Pennisula that provides kayak-based eco-tourism. The venture supports the local economy in a new way and provides new opportunities for local communities to have sustainable livelihoods. Even better, it appears that they are using self-made kayaks, creating the first kayak shop in the region:

This path took Jose Eduardo to Canada to learn the art of kayak making. He is now the only kayak maker in the Yucatán. With start up grants from Mexicos National Institute of Indigenous People and Rare, Mots Maya is attracting visitors for tours ranging from birdwatching to kayaking expeditions.

This is totally cool. Anyone heading down that way should definitely look into supporting this venture.

"Cold Days on Lake Superior" - Week two of the Superior Waters Project Trip is Up

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 19:06:54 +0200

Check out entry two of the Superior Waters Project trip journal.

Good call from WoodenBoat - "Getting Started in Boats"

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 18:33:00 +0200

I was pleased to see the insert in the July/August 2006, Issue #191 of WoodenBoat: "Getting Started in Boats." It is a step-by-step manual for building an attractive little skiff aimed at the novice boat-builder. Kudos to WoodenBoat for jumping on this opportunity to expand the proverbial pie and bring more folks aboard the wooden boat world. Even better was that they created a nice web site with a builders forum. I think this will be an important step - connecting people who are working on the project with each other. Camaraderie, shared advice, shared celebrations - all are nice inputs on top of a well-thought publication.

Interestingly, I guess there has been some discussion about the choice of design. It is not a slam-dunk: cross-planking on the bottom, changing stem bevels, and a stem-bent keel. Many felt this was too complex for the first-time builder. The editors recently explained, in the current issue's editorial, they liked it in that someone who mastered the tasks need to build this boat could take on most any second project. I like that thinking, but I am afraid I don't agree. I was struck by these aspects of the design when I first saw it and I fear the analogy is that of getting into shape: people decide to get back into shape, they go out for a long, hard run or whatever, they get hurt, and they stop exercising again. Mission failed. I worry that could happen here - that people will get excited but get bogged down and not complete the project. That is the worst outcome - they will feel poorly about themselves and will be more likely to distance themselves from our world. Good ideas and fair points, gang, but I think we need to start smaller.

Joe Youcha - a Washingtonian of the Year!

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 04:22:59 +0100

While I am going crazy with postings tonight, a quick congratulations to Joe Youcha, Executive Director of Alexandria Seaport Foundation on being named one of Washingtonian magazine's Washingtonians of the year. He does a great job and is a caring, personable guy - this is much deserved.

Cuttyhunk Yacht Club

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 03:17:00 +0100

Of course no discussion of Cuttyhunk would be complete without a shout-out to my beloved Cuttyhunk Yacht Club. Pipe down - it isn't a yacht club like you think about - the main building is a garage with college-kid-Summer-dive appartment above it [having lived there for three Summers, I can tell you it is the best deal going - the view itself is worth a mint]. What it is is a quality sailing instruction program for ages 6 to 16 or so. We race other clubs around SE MA and do well, but have intraclub competitions that are low-key and good-natured. All in all, a great mix of seamanship and sportsmanship. It turns 50 this Summer - here's to ya, CYC!

Continue reading "Cuttyhunk Yacht Club"

Alexandria Seaport Foundation

nospam@example.com (Tim) — Wed, 28 Dec 2005 03:15:00 +0100

If anyone is looking for a great wooden boat-oriented non-profit to support, I would encourage you to look into the Alexandria Seaport Foundation, based here in Alexandria, VA. While it does many things, its core mission is using boat building to bring hope into troubled young lives. The organization's purpose:

Through the building and use of wooden boats, the Alexandria Seaport Foundation helps young people turn their lives around and provides families, community groups and schools with meaningful educational, social and recreational experiences.

Continue reading "Alexandria Seaport Foundation"