Happy New Year

Keeping with my tradition of trying to get out on the water, first thing, first day, of the new year, I took the pram down to the pond and went for a row.  Lots of cloud cover, temps in the high 30'sf, but comfortable and the water was wet, as oppose to frozen.
It's a good way to start the year, and to plant a seed for what might be in store for the rest of the year.

Happy New Year!
First row of 2016

The more I use this little boat the more comfortable I am with it and the more useful it seems to be.  What I took as instability when I first got in here I now realize was initial instability, like any narrow boat, a canoe, or kayak for example.  She stiffens up pretty solidly at about 15 or 20 degrees I'd guess.
I am actually surprised that I have not come across many more documentations of this type of boat.  For the person on a budget you can't get much cheaper.  The one sheet of plywood that it requires cost $14.00, and the rest was of the wood was gotten from scrap, but an 8 foot 2x4 would probably have covered the chines and gunnels and another the framing, and you'd have left overs.
This boat seems to be a good answer to needing a tender for a small cruising yacht, as would a kayak but this boat is open and could haul a bit more water or supplies to and from the mother ship.
The wooden floor is down in the shop now so I am just about ready to start setting up for building.  I have become convinced that I should do some work on the skiff.  All these books I've been reading about american heritage small boats, especially the Sharpie's, has me thinking that adding a centerboard to the skiff will produce a decent sailing boat.  We'll see.

Warm days of December

the strange warm weather that we are having here this season has some benefits.  The pond has not yet frozen over, though there is ice in the shallow shady sections.  We've been getting down there in the pond boats every few days.

Those little boats, though an educational experiment, have been really good for just this use.  They are small and light, so they are easy to portage down the trail to the pond and the small size makes the pond seem bigger, or big enough to be interesting.  The right boat for the right body of water.
While some people are moving up in the size of the boat, I seem to be moving to smaller and smaller, kind of.  Different people get different things from boating, and have different ways of experiencing it.  I have not ever taken my boats so far from home, but I do use them, not as much as some other people, much more than many.
It is now about 2 decades that I have been sailing and keeping boats.  Seems like it all started not so long ago.  I hope that is a good sign.

"Tartlet"

Went out on our 5 acre pond this morning.  The pond isn't really ours, or when I say ours I mean the area's pond.  Anyway I portaged the pram down the 700 ft or so, with little effort.  This is what that pram was intended for.  It being early sunday morning the place was mine to share with the birds and squirrels.
The really great thing about being out there this morning was the reacquaintance with the virtues of this little boat.  It is small but it does so very well for what it is.  I didn't bring along the CrazyCreek chair that I wanted to tryout in the boat.  I think that it, or something like it will add great comfort while just sitting and enjoying  the view.  I am tempted to just make a wooden seat/backrest for the boat but I really don't want to clutter the space up any more or add weight to it.
With this experience fresh in my mind I think I can imagine how the WEE PUP must handle.  The dimensions are just different enough to make a real impact.

Tartlet
Just enough boat, just

I am pretty happy with this little boat and sometimes it just takes seeing it again, or using it again to remind of just how happy about it I am.
Oh yes, I think every boat should have a set of oars made just for it as well.

I look eagerly forward to this winter's build.

Plank, Oar, spar? Or all of the above

A month or so ago a crew was down the road taking down a bunch of trees that loomed over a neighbors house.  I got them to drop off the wood and wood chips at my place.  Most of the wood was cut up for fire wood but I had them leave five logs of a Spruce at lengths of 10 feet and they dropped them of for me as well.
I have begun milling the wood for future projects.

10 foot Spruce logs sitting in my driveway.  The one is a
good 2 feet in diameter. (in the background is the
temporary boat barn that has now been up 5 years)

I am thinking of using the wood for small boat spars.  I have built laminated solid spars and I think they work pretty well, though I'd like to try a "birdsbeak" hollow spar for a mast for the skiff.
I think I could also make some long rowing oars with this wood.  There is also the possibility of using it as planking in either a traditionally built boat or a strip plank hull.

The first two planks are about 18 inches by 10 feet by 2 inches thick

 I am storing them vertically for now.  I saw a video on OCH and in it Harry Bryan stores his cedar planks this way.  It allows for easy inspection and there is not much concern for that kind of wood changing shape as it dries. I don't know that I will leave them like this but for now it's convenient.

I am making a lot of saw dust, or shaving. which will be stored and then used as litter for the chicken coop.

 I am using a 16 inch electric poulan chain saw for the work.  It isn't ideal but it works pretty well and, I don't have to smell the exhaust of a combustion engine.  The nice thing about the electric is that when I release the trigger, it's off, and the torque it constant.  This saw was given to me by somebody clearing out there garage and it works pretty well.  I rather save my Stihl for the work where electricity is not available.

It is strange to see it looking more like lumber than a tree.

I had considered buying an attachment guide to help with the work but I saw some videos of guys, probably in the Philippines, doing using a chainsaw free hand and cutting these lovely hardwood planks, so I figured I'd try it.  I am glad that I did because the work has come out fine, or at least good enough for me.  The key is to go slow.  Using a chalk line to mark off the log helps to give continual reference for straight, at least in one dimension.

I'd love to be able to build an entire boat this way, and maybe this is enough wood to actually do it.  I don't know yet.  The next boat I want to build would be my trailerable cruiser, so something in the 15 to 17 foot range.  With 10 foot planks I suppose it is still possible with scarfs, or if I build a strip plank hull.  A strip plank hull seems like a really good idea, It is still a wood boat but no need to worry about seams opening up if it is dry sailed and having a limited supply of long clear wood does not preclude that style of construction.
I have read that Spruce is not the best for rot resistance, but I have it and nothing lasts for ever anyway, and I am OK with that.
I think a good 9 foot set of oars will be the first thing to make, or a new mast for the skiff.  We'll see.

LEMon Skiff

Almost done!  I need to finish up the oars.  I may also change the rowing thwart as I think the build would be easier with the middle station incorporated into the framing for the thwart.

Lemon yellow picture, Lemon Skiff!
the picture just came out this way, honest.

Here is a less yellow pic.

Not much rocker but really simple to build.
Note the oars and the pad on the transom for an small motor.
Thole pins over bought hardware makes this boat very cheap to build too.

Pizza Box boat design

My little brother wants to build a boat in his garage as project to keep him busy.  I had considered getting him one of the books on instant boats but in looking thru them I thought it might be better and a bit more fun to just come up with a boat for him on my own.
I like getting the basic boat idea by thinking up dimensions and then building a model from cardboard.  Pizza boxes work great for this and I seem to have a good supply of them, about one more each week.
His boat will probably be used for fishing on the local lakes where he lives and need to be transported in the back of his pickup truck.  It will be rowed, though I wouldn't put it past him to apply a trawling motor to it at some point.
A simple hard chined skiff seems the best thing for a first time boat builder who is really a fisherman and a construction worker/tradesman, but not a finish carpenter.  He has limited tools in his "shop" so I will keep it as simple as possible.

The pizza box skiff!
11-6" LOA, 4' beam, 16" depth amidships, draft about 3"
With 3 sheets of 1/4 inch plywood
plus solid wood for frames and stem, skeg, skids
about 100 pounds I'd guess.

Very simple cuts, butt block scarfs, constant bevel on the chines, the bottom will be cut out last to the shape of the sides.
I don't think it will be a fantastic rower but it will probably have a good capacity and subtle lines.  It has a small amount of rocker that is determined by the small amount of flare and the width of the transom against the width of the midsection.  Two thwarts and maybe a small deck at the bow.
He'll have to build some oars as well unless he finds a set at a yard sale or something, but I'll include plans for those too.
I am tempted to build it myself just for the fun of it.
I will build a plywood model at the same scale and maybe send it to him.
messing about!

WoodenBoat & Launchings!

I got a package in the mail from Wooden Boat Magazine.  In the package was a very nice letter, a copy of issue #239, July/August 2014, a decal that says "Proud Wooden Boat Builder", and a cap with the Wooden boat Launchings Logo and the issue # embroidered on it.  The letter stated that my pram was included in this issue of the magazine.  And so it was when I looked inside.

WoodenBoat Magazine | WoodenBoat, Small Boats, MotorBoats, Getting Started in Boats, and Professional BoatBuilder

I didn't set out to be recognized in anyway when I started building these boats, but the admiration they have received when I launch them at the lake or river and from a few comments on this blog has been appreciated.  It is true that I offered up the pictures and descriptions of the boats, so that they might be noticed, but it was only after I had completed them and been presently surprised by the result and impressed by how easy and inexpensive, and enjoyable the boat building and designing process was, that I thought to share that discovery with others, and see if others saw what I appreciated in these boats.

The Sam Pram, Tartlet

It is fun for me to see the boat in a magazine.  It is still fun and amazing to me each time I put her in the water and climb in, and she floats, and rows, and takes me away from shore to be in that place where men often go, where we are not exactly welcomed, but not turned away, somewhere between beneath the surface, where we can't breath, and below the sky, where we can't fly.  Neither place is really ours to inhabit for very long, but in a boat we can dance between them and for long periods of time.  Even the slightest little boat, such as this pram, is a "magic carpet" that can take us, under our own power, to that place between and a part of sea and sky.

Sunday on the Pond

First day back out on the water!

Bird box in the distance

I took the pram down to the pond for my first day back out on the water since my bad day in the water.  I was back on the venture in the marina to get it to the ramp and on the trailer, but this was my first day out just to go boating.  It was lovely and different from the last day, very different, and that was good.
I rowed from one end of the pond to the other seeing turtles under the water, being surrounded by the little birds catching the gnats and flying bugs, and threatened with loud honks by the geese as I got to there side of the pond.  I pulled in the oars and let the little bit of breeze push me down wind and then I'd row back up again.
Though the pram is very small, single person size, or maybe 2 small children, it is very nice to row, very peaceful, and the sound of wooden oars on the wooden gunwale and thole pins fit very nicely with the sound of water slowly being pushed by the wooden hull.
I floated and day dreamed of a little boat, like a little cat boat, for the pond.  Dreaming and designing in my head while being in the specific bit of water I am designing for is a wonderful way to be.
The little wooden boat made me less enthusiastic about the work I have to do on the venture 21 to get her back into shape.  Fiberglass is an unpleasant think to work with and a boat made of it can lack any real character if care is not put into the accommodations for the human beings that will inhabit her.  Little outings in my wooden boats, like this might help me to get the job on the Venture 21 done, and then find her a home, so that I can justify building a little cat boat........... or something.

His and Hers

So Liz's boat is finished.  I really like it.  All the wood and varnish make it look special.  I am eager to see her in it and on the water.

I decided to change the rowing situation on the pram for the 4th time, I think.  Brought it up to the shop and worked on it then took the opportunity to see both boats together.

His & hers.

In some ways the boats are very similar and in others so very different.  I have enjoyed watching the evolution of my building style and methods.  I suppose I am giving myself a education that moves in baby steps over a long period of time.  I have built 3 boats over a year and a half, all of similar type, but each different in the particulars and the intended use.

Pram & Double paddle canoe

I took off the red oak oar locks that were on the pram for 2 reasons.  First, the red oak just looked out of place on the boat overall.  Second,  If I was to use the double paddle option then they would be in the way.  I had always intended for the oar locks to be removable so that either rowing or paddling could be chosen.  Now I have a 1-1/2" x 3/4" x 12" thole pin that bolts to the frame with a bolt and wing nut for easy removal.

My fleet is growing.  Seems a bit crazy at times to have so many boats, but I am sure they said the same thing about Imelda Marcos and her shoes, and we know she was as sane as any of us, right?  I think that building boats is like any addiction, "Hi, my name is Richard and I am a boat-aholic".  Actually it feels more like a therapy, the way painting a canvas or throwing a clay pot, or playing guitar, are therapeutic as well as artistic.
I think I am ready for the next phase of my apprenticeship.  I am not sure what that is but it feels like I have done the "One sheet of plywood, flat bottom boat" and of my own dimensions and could move on.  Maybe a multi chined boat, maybe a stitch & glue, definitely a longer boat.
I like that these boats are inexpensive to build, really cheap, and use very little "milled" purchased wood.  The plywood is a guilt trip for me to some degree.  It takes a bit of manufacturing and shipping and cutting to make a sheet of plywood, as well as some chemicals that aren't so nice.  I think these boats already have a limited life span because of the type of plywood, glue and finish I am using, so I go ahead and use the Plywood.  If I could build a traditional planked boat, or dug out, all with found materials I would, but then again, I don't know that I could build the type of boats I would use with that method, so then why build at all?  I have built 3 boats and used 5 sheets of plywood.  I think that's OK.  I don't feel too badly about it.
I think about building for other people but I don't know that anybody would want one of my boats.  They are easy enough to build and I think people should just build their own if they want won.

Project Completed, "Tartlet", the Sam Pram single sheet plywood boat and custom oars!

A bit of chill in the air but otherwise a sunny, beautiful sunday morning.  The dog and I took the little boat and it's newly made oars across the way and down to the pond to give it the official trial and launching.  It works, and even better, it works well.  The oars turned out to be just right.  My "thole pins"  work to, though not as well as I would like, but I have ideas of how to make them even better.

I am surprised by how well the little boat tracks with such a short water line.  My fiberglass dinghy that has been the tender for the Bristol has always made me very happy and comfortable with it's rowing characteristics, even when going out in 30 knot plus, 5 foot short cycle waves, when all the inflatables were left tied to the dock.  It tracked well but was agile.  This little boat feels similar, but to a lesser degree.  That makes it comfortable to me and a boat that comforts me is a good boat.

The elevated floors and seating proved itself today when I picked up some wet trash from the pond (why do litterbugs always have such bad taste in beer?).  The bottom of the boat ended up with about 3/4 of an inch of water but I stayed very dry.  I gotta remember to keep a sponge on board.

I was also surprised at how easy it is to carry this boat.  The oars tie down to the floors and the whole thing is carried like a turtle shell, using the braces for handles and the oars rest pleasantly against my back.  I was worried that they might be a bit heavy but they were no problem.

While sitting and looking at the boat I had the epiphany I had been waiting for about the updated and "yacht tender" version of this boat.  It would be a simple thing to come up with if I were to give up my "one sheet of plywood" requirement, but where is the fun in that?  Lots of boats have been drawn that will serve as a small tender, but not many are made so conservatively.  Anyway, I think I know what to draw for the next version, though it may not be a pram as much as a pointy bowed skiff. I do like the utility of a pram bow over the pointy end which has less useable interior space.  At this scale, every inch counts, literally.

Now is the time to set aside the boat building and get on with the boat using.  So much the better because for me building boats is a necessary evil, first to get me thru the winter, secondly to get me a boat that I might not otherwise be able to afford, and thirdly, it gets me messing about in boats, but the best thing is just to be out on the water in boats.

"Tartlet", the Sam Pram, one sheet plywood boat with custom oars.
Project completed April 21, 2013. (begun Jan. 10, 2013)