Chine bLog

A business contact of mine pointed me to an interesting article in USA Today - no, really, USA Today - on the shortage of boatbuilders in Maine. Apparently there are a number of factors driving the trend, but it threatens one of the hotbeds of boatbuilding - especially the classic kind we like here at Chine bLog. Worth thinking about how those of us with this interest can help (short of quitting and heading there with sanding board and block plane in hand). We'll certainly keep up the publicity end on ye olde blogosphere.

For four centuries Mainers have turned trees into boats, creating an industry that epitomizes the state's hard-working, sea-faring sense of itself. But now Maine has a problem with boats: Not enough people want to build them.

By the way, my contact was with The Wilderness Society, in important conservation organization focused on many places, including coastal lands.

I recently got back from a trip to San Diego for a wedding [side note: aside form the perfect weather, pleasant scenery, laid back lifestyle, and ubiquitous water sports, what IS the big deal about this town? ;^) ]. We were in a nice hotel on the harbor, but decided not to pay up for a room with a nice view. So we faced the road in. Ahhh - but what is ACROSS the road? A great view indeed! A boat yard specializing in wooden boats!

We were right across from Koehler Kraft, which seems to be an established San Diego yard. There were a couple of interesting boats out for repair - this sloop was short a couple planks - and a number of others on the floats. Unfortunately I couldn't get closer - this place was stacked. Now this is a view for us at Chine bLog!

It's always nice to find a new blog in our little space on the old web. Welcome, then, to our new Italian friends at Sibma Navale Italiana, a wooden boat building / boat restoration shop on, as best as I can tell, the Italian Riviera. Given that seems to be where TONS of key restoration projects are happening these days, it must be a nice place to be in the business. Keep up the good work and keep beautiful boats going strong!

Simba seems to specialize in building pretty power boats like that one above, and there is a series on the blog about the process. I confess my Italian is not far beyond that which has found its way into the American culinary lexicon, so I can't provide much commentary (and, in case you were wondering, Google Language Tools does an outstandingly bad job at providing a useful translation of a boat building blog - Come si dice "cold molded?"). I do like the blog as a way to tell stories about projects that are too detailed for the shop's main web site. It is nice to be able to get a peak inside a project in process.

Of course Simba found us here at Chine bLog, so they are also CLEARLY an astute bunch, in general...