Reasons for building a boat – Part Three – sometimes it’s not about the boat.
Why is every boat different despite the best aim of the designer?
It’s because every customer is different. Which is OK!
Boat building
Mark Milam’s gorgeous wooden Duck – an OzRacer RV sailboat
Mark Milam has done an amazing job of overseeing a project combining his work with that of a boatbuilder friend. Also the best method I have seen of supporting a windsurfer mast in a sailing dinghy.
Wonderful woods, some great detail design and the very best fitting of a windsurfer rig to a dinghy that I have ever seen.
A UK Agent for Michael Storer Wooden Boat Plans – Fyne Boat Kits
Fyne Boat Kits has an excellent reputation for customer service and quality.
I am happy to announce that they will be gradually phased in as the UK Agents for storerboats kits, plans and materials.
Correction to OzRacer RV plans – Transom widths – an easy fix at any stage.
A correction to the OzRacer RV plans.
There was a small discrepancy in the corners of the boat which can be filled. Or if the panels are not cut yet they can be corrected so no filling is required. Apologies to all affected – I do my best but sometimes something sneaks through. Thanks Ryan for the building feedback.
Philippines Dugout Canoes for rapids and rocks – Pagsanjan Falls
I am in the Philippines at the moment.
I took five days out to go to the area where one of my Australian Filipino friends has her hometown. The general area is Laguna, I was staying at Lumban and nearby was a canoe trip to Pagsanjan falls.
I was really interested to see the local boats and to see how they might relate to the timber boats that existed previously. The boats are elegant and very well suited to their environment. Paddling and motor canoes are used on a daily basis.
This might be the first Hungarian Messabout for Homebuilt Wooden Boats
A few photos and a short report from Hungary.
They held their first wooden boat messabout. 30 people, 10 boats and a big pot of homemade goulash!
Visit to Duck Flat Wooden Boats in Adelaide.
I used to work at DuckFlat many years ago.
I visited them in Adelaide. Photo and text of a fast plywood trimaran, 40ft steam liveaboard boat, kayak, rowboat and a Hartley Powerboat restoration
Precut Plywood Kits Available for Storer Boats – UK, Europe, USA, Australia, South Africa.
List of Kit suppliers for Storer Boat Plans. UK and Europe, USA, Australia, South Africa. Kits make building a Storer Boat even easier.
Book – “A lighter ton” – New Zealand racing yacht design in the 1970s
In the late 70s as a sailing teenager I drew boats on every available paper surface.
A new book “a lighter ton” describes the exciting development of racing yachts to create newer, lighter, faster and cheaper and FUNNER boats.
Many of the developments were from New Zealand designers such as Bruce Farr, Paul Whiting and Laurie Davidson. A new book by Richard Blakey covers this exciting experimental period in yacht design
A week fast building two Quick Canoes for touring the Loire in France – Part 1
The above photo was taken on the third day of our Canoeing trip on the Loire River in France. The two black canoes didn’t even exist a week ago.
When I wrote the original article on Disposable Canoeing I had no idea at all what it would lead to me and a bunch of adventurers, wine and cheese connoisseurs. Most of us didn’t even know each other! The picture above is the result of this adventurism, but what happened to make it happen?
What technology was involved to make the boats faster to build than most stitch and glue boats and what weather conditions did we have to overcome to make it all happen.
First Goat Island Skiff in New Zealand
The first New Zealand Goat Island Skiff has been launched by Ian Howeth.
He has taken a year to build it as spare time became available.
It was launched during the Xmas break
Will golfball dimples make my boat hull, surfboard or sailboard go faster
Golfballs go further because of those dimples on the surface. Would it make sense to have those dimples on a boat hull?
It is not quite that simple as this little article attempts to explain.
How much fiberglass will prevent most damage to my ply or timber canoe or sailing dinghy?
How much fibreglass is really necessary to prevent damage to a plywood boat for most users?
For a long time I’ve been suspicious that both designers and builders are in a never ending spiral of more and more heavier fibreglass.
I argue, with data from the Turner designed Jarcat, that the weights of glass are clearly excessive for most uses and users of small boats.
Storerboats in Hungarian. Storerboats -> Magyar
Csaba is my agent in Hungary.
He has translated several of my plans to Hungarian.
This is some of his promotional material in Hungarian.
Jack Launches his Eureka Canoe. Built in Adelaide, finished in Melbourne – Pics
Jack is rather happy with his newly launched Eureka Canoe.
He has built it as a woodworking project over the last couple of years as time became available from his busy architectural practice.
Anyway … a bunch of nice photos and some of Jack’s writing.
Michael Storer at the Wooden Boat Show, Mystic Seaport, USA 24-26 June. Quick Canoe Electric kit
Michael Storer will be attending the 2011 Woodenboat Show in Mystic Seaport. He will be running a workshop for families building the Quick Canoe – choice of either the electric or the paddling versions along with Duckworks and J.O. Woodworking.
Photos from Goolwa Wooden Boat Show 2011 – looking forward to 2013!
Photos and slideshow from the Goolwa Wooden Boatshow 2011.
Over 250 boats – mostly in the water. Wooden hydroplanes, “restricted 21s”, riverboats, putt putt launches, classic sailing boats, kayaks, canoes and more.
I had the quick canoe, the eureka canoe and the OzRacer on the stand that was shared with Duck Flat Wooden Boats and Boatcraft Pacific. Good time was had by all.
Storer Boat Plans at the free Goolwa Wooden Boat festival – Feb 26/27
The Goolwa Wooden Boat show is on the coming weekend.
Storer Boat Plans and Duckflat are having a joint stand as per normal.
The show itself is free this year with 250 boats entered in events or on display.
The Canon – Tools for thinking about sailing and boat design – Books and Articles
One of the most important things as a designer or sailor is to keep an open mind, but also to be able to analyze things in light of real experience and prior knowledge. These are online and paper resources that force thinking in different ways.
This article, after a bit of a spiel, goes on to give some great resources that “opened my eyes” at different times in my life.
They focus on areas of structural design, sailing, sail aerodynamics and touch on a bit more.
Rules of thumb for boat and yacht design – are they legitimate?
There are lots of tips for building and designing boats on the net.
“Rules of thumb” are often quoted to help with the calculation of how much sail or how much keel or centreboard area or how big a mast is allowed to be and many other areas. Can a boat be stretched or shrunk or lengthened?
But how correct are they? Are they the best guide?