Building a Dory without any Plans

Journal of the Traditional Small Craft Association

AshBreeze

The

IN THIS ISSUE

Three Additional

Boat Building

Stories

VOLUME 40, Number 1 • Spring 2019 • $4.00

Building a Dory

without any Plans

e Ash Breeze, Spring 2019

Ah, the spring issue! A sure sign that seasons will be changing, and we will

be back to boating soon. As I write this in January, looking out at the frozen

tundra that is Blue Hill Bay, with another nor’easter heading our way and

more forecasts of wicked negative wind chills, it takes a little imagination to

envision that bay dotted with its summer complement of classic pleasure and

rustic lobster boats.

ose of us who choose to live in these northern climes often get asked,

“How do you survive the winters?” and why. For many, the stark change

of seasons divides the year into manageable pieces, a time for being on the

water, a time for maintenance, a time for planning and dreaming, even

hobbies. Up here in Maine, there’s not much boating this time of year. Our

New Year’s Day row was canceled due to gale force winds, but we’re into

planning. We’ve opened registration for our Small Reach Regatta, planned

several other boating events, and met to discuss the next Maine Small Craft

Celebration. (Check out our MSCC ad in this issue.) As I write this in front

of the re with a swashbuckling Hornblower novel up next, there are worse

ways to pass the time.

Onto TSCA news—we had many requests for a TSCA calendar last year,

but we were late asking for photos. So, this year we’re getting our act together

early and asking now for you to send in your best photos of your boats,

a TSCA buddy’s boat, boating events, or scenic views. Depending on the

number of entries, this could turn into a fun contest. Send in your high-

resolution photos to our editor, Andy Wolfe, at [email protected].

Some of you are aware that Andy is recovering from a recent heart attack.

He’s on the mend, and we wish him the best. TSCA council members and

ocers come and go, but it’s stalwarts like Andy who keep this ship steaming

forward year after year.

Do you have too many boats? (Is that possible?) Extra boating gear

cluttering the garage? Check out the brand-new classied section on our

website: tsca.net/category/sale/. It is free to our members, another benet of

being a national TSCA member. While you’re shopping, isn’t it about time

to get a new TSCA shirt and/or hat to replace the old “boatied” ones you’ve

had for years?

I got a lot of response about the youth initiative we’ve been discussing.

Several chapters have youth boat building programs in addition to our new

Brooklin Ski Club; Cape Cod, Columbia River, and John Gardner. I’m

sure there are others. I think where the TSCA can really come into our own

is doing what council member Sue Wallace suggests, “Take a kid sailing.”

We have boats, and there are probably young neighborhood kids or relatives

around. Grab one and get them on the water. Come to think of it, it was the

Breeze

The

Ash

e Ash Breeze (ISSN 1554-5016) is

the quarterly journal of the Traditional

Small Craft Association, Inc. It is

published at Mariner Media, Inc.,

131 West 21

Street, Buena Vista, VA

24416.

Communications concerning

membership or mailings should be

addressed to: PO Box 350, Mystic, CT

06355. www.tsca.net

Volume 40, Number 1

Editor:

Andy Wolfe

[email protected]

Editors Emeriti:

Richard S. Kolin

Sam & Marty King

David & Katherine Cockey

Ralph Notaristefano

Ken Steinmetz

John Stratton

Dan Drath

Ned Asplundh

e Traditional Small Craft

Association, Inc. is a nonprot, tax-

exempt educational organization

that works to preserve and continue

the living traditions, skills, lore, and

legends surrounding working and

pleasure watercraft with origins that

predate the marine gasoline engine.

We encourage the design, construction,

and use of these boats, and we embrace

contemporary variants and adaptations

of traditional designs.

TSCA is an enjoyable yet practical

link among users, designers, builders,

restorers, historians, government, and

maritime institutions.

TAB Layout Design: Karen Bowen

Cover ©Rosemary Wyman

Hugh Lane's rowing boat in front of the

Portland Yacht Services launch

President’s

Message

continued on page 21

Steve Brookman

e Ash Breeze, Spring 2019

roughout my career designing and building boats, I’ve

touted the virtues of round bottomed, human-powered water

craft. Anyone who studies the results of multiple open water

races between rowing craft of dierent types cannot help

noticing that the outcomes almost always favor designs with

curved hull sections. ose who have had the good fortune to

try a wide variety of rowing designs in varied conditions know

that foot for foot, well-designed round-bottomed boats are

quieter and more comfortable in rough water than boats with

at bottoms and angular hulls.

While the performance and comfort benets to be derived

from well-designed, soft-sectioned hull forms are undeniable,

there are times when the trouble and expense of making or

buying them is hard to justify. Sometimes maximum eciency

and/or comfort are just not necessary. When the main focus is

catching sh or downing ducks rather than covering miles, ne

plus ultra performance is not called for. What you will need

on those outings is a craft with sucient room for the boat’s

occupants and their equipment and enough stability for the

intended activity.

ere may also be times when you want a break from fretting

about your favorite, meticulously crafted dreamboat. Perhaps

you want to introduce youngsters to the joys of life on the

water but feel they haven’t fully developed an appreciation for

ne watercraft, nor the skills necessary to preserve them. Some

people simply lack either the money to buy a ne boat or the

time or temperament to build one. Finally, a professional boat

builder, who could use a respite from the constant pressure

to please fussy clients, might welcome the opportunity to

undertake a less demanding project. Several of those factors

came together for me when I decided to create a special gift

for my favorite shing buddy/nephew.

What I wanted was an inexpensive, quickly assembled

boat that was easy to transport to our favorite shing spots.

It had to be rugged, car-topable, capable of accommodating

two persons safely, and easily carried and launched by two

persons of average strength at undeveloped sites—not much

more than about 100 pounds. I gured a boat 14 to 15 feet

long, 3½ to 4 feet wide, with a center depth of 14 to 15 inches

should meet my stability and weight requirements without

having to resort to exotic materials and expensive building

methods. Budget, space, and time constraints limited costs to

a few hundred dollars and construction time to a few weeks.

Professional pride dictated that it should look good and row

reasonably well.

ose parameters all favor a simple at-bottomed craft built

of plywood, something like a double-ended dory. is is the

type of craft that any reasonably skilled person with ordinary

handyman tools could make pretty quickly. e primary hull

planking and the seats of my boat were gotten out of four

sheets of ¼ construction grade plywood. e rest of the

wooden structural members were made from softwood (pine,

spruce, r) scraps that I had around my house and shop. e

single form was built on a half sheet of ¾ plywood leftover

by Andre de Bardelaben

The No Plans Dory

Beauty is as Beauty Does

continued on page 8

e Ash Breeze, Spring 2019

How to Build a River Taf Coracle

by Walter R. Peebles

e Welsh coracle is an ancient craft, mentioned in written

records a millennium ago. It is a simple, skin-covered craft

for a single individual to travel upon rivers or streams and

maybe ponds or small lakes as they are not particularly

eective against the current or wind. Originally built of split

willow rods woven into a lattice, hazel rods, and a covering of

animal hides, they were more recently made of ash laths and a

covering of fabric impregnated with tar or pitch.

ere are a number of distinct coracle types diering in size,

shape, gunwale construction, seat support, etc. My favorite is

the one shown in the photo, which closely follows a design

from the River Taf region of Wales. If you wish to build

your own coracle, my recommendation would be to look at

illustrations of a variety of coracles and simply choose the

features you like the best. e books listed at the end of the

article will get you o to a good start.

ere are many commonalities in construction between the

various types, though there were denite regional preferences

for overall shape, number of laths and stringers, and whether

or not the bottom should include diagonal laths. Several

dierent methods were used for stabilizing the growing

structure of the basket-like frame. A few were even built on

a rudimentary form, but that may be more trouble than it is

worth if you only want to build one.

Taf coracles were typically shaped something like half of a

walnut shell. On my boat, the gunwale frame is 41" wide by

57" long. e curved front and back pieces of the gunwale

were band-sawed from natural curves of elm branches that

came down in an ice storm. e longer, shallow-curved side

pieces were cut from a similarly obtained mulberry branch.I

laid various branches on top of each other until I could see

the right shape. e "ells" at the front corner are cut out of

a natural crook of apple. ese are all about 5/8 thick and

2½ across. ey could be made even smaller but going any

heavier would be pointless.

I glued up the elm and mulberry parts of the gunwale frame

rst with epoxy, with a half-lapped joint at the bow corners,

and a shallower overlap at the stern so the stern piece sits 1/8to

1/4 proud of the side pieces. I then used a benchtop mortise

machine to cut rectangular holes about 1/4" by 1" spaced to

where I thought the rib tops should wind up. (Of course, the

old Welsh coraclemakers didn't have mortising machines, so

they drilled, or burned, holes about 3/8" diameter and tapered

the ribs and stringers to t.)

Four ribs are located in front of the seat, spaced evenly

between it and the front bar. One rib runs under the seat

where the seat support will bear on it, about 3 on center in

front of the rear edge. e nal rib is about 3 behind the rear

edge of the seat. e holes on the longer front bar should be

farther apart from the centerline than the corresponding holes

on the rear part of the frame so that the stringers get closer

together towards the stern.

e seat is a plank of cedar about 5/8" thick and 11 wide.

ere is a lot of latitude in these dimensions, depending on

how heavy a boat you are willing to carry and what materials

are available to you. ere is nothing wrong with making the

seat only seven or eight inches wide or in using thicker stock

but keep the overall weight of the coracle in mind.

ere is a divider panel beneath the seat that is about 12½"

high (a bit more if you want a deeper boat). At its ends, it

more or less follows the curve of the boat. e exact shape and

t is of little importance. is panel forms a shelf on which

the coracle sherman places his net and lunch as he carries

the boat on his back upstream to his starting place. On some

rivers, the tradition was to only use three square posts running

between the seat and a narrow plank that rested on the ribs.

Elsewhere a solid panel, or a panel made up of woven laths,

or some thin vertical panels set into two grooved planks did

the job. e latter is what I did, using the cheeks cut o the

sides of the wood I used for paddles and fanning them out a

bit towards the top because I thought it looked nicer. Once

constructed, this can be screwed to the underside of the seat

two or three inches ahead of the rear edge.

I cut the laths from fairly straight-grained white ash plank,

about 1/4" thick by 1½" wide. e basic (canonical?) coracle

design has seven transverse ribs, for which you start with stock

5.5 to 6 feet long, seven lengthwise stringers from 7 to 8 feet

long, and two diagonals about 9 feet long. e Taf coracles as

described in 1938 by James Hornell omit the diagonals and

used only ve or six ribs, so I used six.

In theory, you could calculate lengths, or measure the ribs

on an existing coracle, but the weaving and bending up to

the gunwales is all done by eye, so having them all a bit long

and then just trimming them o at the end is much simpler.

I used kiln dried ash, but air dried or green would be easier

to bend. (I've also gotten good results with kiln dried clear

poplar and clear pine.) Sand the faces and edges and soften

continued on page 16

e Ash Breeze, Spring 2019

Eastern Shore Sea Glass and

Coastal Arts Festival

Saturday and Sunday, April 6 and 7

Community Day & Maritime Model Expo

Sunday, May 19

Maritime Day & Blessing of the Fleet

Saturday, June 1

Antique & Classic Boat Festival

and Arts at Navy Point

Friday and Saturday, June 14 and 15

Big Band Night

Saturday, July 6, (Rain Date: Sunday, July 7)

Watermen’s Appreciation Day

Sunday, August 11

Charity Boat Auction

Saturday, August 31 (Rain or Shine)

Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival

Friday and Saturday, October 4 and 5

OysterFest 2019

Saturday, October 26

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

OCT

HATCHES

EPOXY

GLASS CLOTH

HARDWARE

NAV LIGHTS

CLEATS

TOOLS

BOAT PLANS

BEACH ROLLERS

ROPE

PAINT

WWW.DUCKWORKSBBS.COM

Heritage Coast Sailing

and Rowing

Promoting Community

Boat Building, Sailing

and Rowing on the

Heritage Coast of Michigan

989-460-2642 • www.heritage-23.org

Come sail and row on beautiful Tawas Bay

e Ash Breeze, Spring 2019

by David A. Fitch

Building the Haven 12½:

Part 2—The Process of Building

Building the Molds

e standard practice for building a Herresho boat is

to build the boat upside down through the planking phase.

en the boat is turned right side up and nished. On the

surface, this concept does not raise to the level of causing a

concern. It appears to be quite ecient, and I suppose that

it is. However, it does prove to be somewhat of a mind game

when the plans constantly refer to doing something to the top

of or to the bottom of. One has to constantly remind one’s self

that the top is the bottom until the boat is turned over. Sound

confusing? Well it is.

When laying out the molds on the paper drawings, take the

time to assure accuracy. e ultimate shape of the hull will

depend on it. As each mold is completed, go back and double

check you measurements and alignments. e black and white

pictures in the book are sometimes dicult to understand. I

often had to read the text and look at the pictures multiple

times. When using the batten, be consistent with where you

place your nails for holding the batten. Placing the nails

directly on the drawing lines will result in an oversized mold.

I found it best to hold the batten so that the outside edge of

the batten rested to the inside of the drawing line, then place

the nails appropriately to hold the batten in place.

Don’t forget to mark the shear line on your molds. is will

come in handy later on. I placed the cross brace on each mold

in such a way that the bottom edge of the brace (that will be

the top edge when you turn the boat over) was on the shear

line.

Each mold requires that you cut a bevel to the outer edge.

e angle of the bevel for each mold is listed in the materials.

e instruction book has this task done after the molds are

set. I found it easier to cut the bevel while I was building each

mold.

Building the Stem

A little side note here. In my exuberance and ignorance

when selecting stock for the stem, I came across a slab of Live

Oak. I was so excited that I would actually have Live Oak

used in the frame of my boat. Live Oak is a protected species

here in South Carolina, so it is not readily available. Boy, was

I disappointed. As I started to mill, I found numerous checks

inside the slab not visible on the surface. I also found the

wood too brittle and very hard to mill. I ended up with a stem

that I refused to use. I tried a second time from the same slab

with the same results. Yesterday, I bought a quarter sawn 8/4

White Oak board that I will use for my third attempt.

I believe I alluded in the rst article that building this boat

in some ways is also building me. As a younger man when

things did not turn out exactly to my satisfaction, I would

say to myself well that’s good enough and maybe I’ll repair

or patch it tomorrow. No more. Now when something is not

what I absolutely believe is the best I can do, I throw the piece

away, get a new piece of stock and start over.

NOTE: At picture 37 in the book, it says, “Now is a good

time to install a 5/8 diameter pine stopwater.” I had no clue

what a stopwater was and there was no denition on the book.

When you run across something like this, STOP everything

and do your research.

Building the Transom

I selected Sapele for the transom rather than Mahogany.

e appearance is similar to Mahogany, but my selection was

more extensive. I think the Sapele may be a little less forgiving

for milling. I plan to go slow and easy to mitigate tear out.

Allowing for the width of the stock I was using, I calculated

the number of pieces needed for the transom. Using the half

width drawing, I measured the width for each piece and made

my cuts, leaving each piece a bit proud. I arranged the cut

pieces on the table and then over laid the template to assure I

had adequate stock for the nish cut. I also at this time marked

where I wanted the silicon bronze dowels to be located.

e Ash Breeze, Spring 2019

Monthly we arrive in your mail with interesting

articles from our readers about dreaming of, designing,

building or restoring, sailing, rowing, paddling and

adventuring in small boats. Plus readers’ letters,

Bolger on Design, featured columnists, advertising

from boatbuilders, restorers, and suppliers of plans

and material for small boating, and free subscriber

classied ads.

60 Pages — 12 Issues/Year

$8 Trial Subscription (3 Issues)

$32 Subscription (12 Issues)

SEND FOR FREE SAMPLE COPY

Messing About in Boats

29 Burley St., Wenham, MA 01984

www.messingaboutinboats.com

Bob Hicks, Editor & Publisher

ducktrapstore.com

• Plans • Tools

• Hardware • Books

Everything you’ve come

to expect from

Duck Trap and more.

Suggestion: is would be a good time to use the template

to roughly mark out your nish cut lines. Doing so will

prevent you from having a cut line run through a dowel—a

lesson I learned the hard way.

I used a doweling jig to drill the holes for the silicon bronze

dowels. I also used biscuits strategically placed through the

seams to add additional strength. Pulling the pieces together

with the dowels in place required a lot of force. I used my

pipe clamps for this job. After the glue set and the cleanup,

I once again used the template to mark out the cut line for

the outside edge of the transom. At the same time, I also use

the template to mark the degree changes for the sides. I used

masking tape to mark the designated angles around the sides

to prevent damaging the surface of the Sapele. en it was

time to tackle the rolling bevel in the transom side, which

was no small task for my skill level. I was not able to use a

power saw as shown in the book. I used all hand tools: block

plane, spoke shave, chisel, and Shinto saw. It took me a day

to do each side, but I was one very proud woodworker when

I nished.

Building the Centerboard Trunk

is is a fairly straight-forward, simple process. Follow the

steps in the book. I ended up laminating the bedlog because

I could not nd stock of suitable thickness. Be sure to put

a good seal coat on the inside pieces of the trunk before

assembly. You will not have another chance. I used two coats

of unthickened epoxy.

Setting the Molds

How you set your molds will depend to some extent on what

you are using for a base. Again, I used a raised strongback. You

can use any at and level surface to which you can fasten the

continued on page 23

e Ash Breeze, Spring 2019

from a ooring project. As I intended to sheath the hull inside

and out in berglass and epoxy, I assembled the hull using

ordinary yellow woodworking (aliphatic) glue and commonly

available, non-marine grade metal fasteners (staples, drywall

screws). e gunwales and oarlock sockets were installed

using corrosion resistant screws. e gunwales on my boat

were made from leftover mahogany that I felt didn’t make the

quality grade for my paying customers. Many other woods

would be suitable for trimming the hull.

After making a few preliminary sketches to work out the

basic hull dimensions and seating layout, I did the actual

design work directly on the materials right on the shop oor.

While my guesswork was informed by decades of experience,

less experienced builders attempting this sort of project would

probably feel more comfortable after making scaled down

mock ups in cardboard to test their ideas rst. Aside from

the reasons given earlier, this exercise (building this boat

and writing this article) was undertaken to remove some of

the fear and mystery from boat building by demonstrating

how easily a nice, practical small boat could be made using

primarily modestly priced, locally available materials. Every

year, hundreds of potential boat builders order plans for

boats that are never completed—many are never begun. For

rst-timers, the psychological barriers to boatbuilding are

daunting enough without the added pressure of having to

acquire the pricy, exotic, hard-to-source materials that many

plans specify. Except for the berglass cloth and epoxy resin,

which were ordered from a marine supply house, all of the

materials used to make this hull could have been purchased

at a big box hardware store. e Styrofoam that we used

for supplemental otation was actually free as it was made

from discarded packing material salvaged from a dumpster

behind a tractor store. Realistically, any rst-time builder with

modest woodworking skills should get pretty good results just

by looking at a few pictures and following the basic guidelines

presented here. Remember, pretty good is what we’re aiming

for. In truth, nothing resembling perfection is possible using

these methods or materials.

If at the end of this project you nd that you desire a boat

with dierent characteristics, (deeper, more stable, shorter,

lighter, more or less maneuverable, or just prettier) this type

of construction lends itself to experimentation. On your next

eort, simply make the desired changes. If you nd that you

absolutely must have more renement than this method

and these materials can yield, at least you’ll have gained a

heightened appreciation for the skills and patience that go

into producing premium boats with more sophisticated hull

forms.

ough my nished boat ended up with curved sides, raked

stems and conventionally upswept sheer and bottom proles,

no curved lines were cut into the side planks. Its pleasant,

boaty looks are the result of bending batten reinforced scarfed

side planks with straight, parallel top and bottom edges, and

No Plans Dory

continued from page 3

e Ash Breeze, Spring 2019

Specializing in

Small-Craft Sails

www.dabblersails.com

dabblersails@gmail.com

Ph/fax 804-580-8723

PO Box 235, Wicomico Church, VA 22579

Stuart K. Hopkins, Sole Prop.

modestly slanted ends around a single vertical building form.

Anytime are is incorporated into the sides and rake in the

stems of a panel-sided boat, some spring will automatically

appear in the sheer and rocker (upward curving prole) will

be introduced in the bottom. I could have gone for a more

dramatic hull prole, but, for the sake of building simplicity,

I went with straight, parallel top and bottom lines on the

side panels. (In a sportsman’s boat, a low, moderate sheer is

preferable because it’s less conspicuous to wildlife.) In that

same vein, I limited are in the sides and kept the stem rake

moderate and symmetrical fore and aft. Since the port side

matches the starboard side, all “design” work was done on

one side and transferred to the other by tracing the rst panel

overlaid on the second. As the bow and stern ends of my boat’s

hull are essentially the same, I really only had to design one

quarter of the hull. e bottom “planking” began as two end-

beveled (scarfed) rectangles glued to the bottom edges of the

bent side panels that were trimmed to shape once the glue

had dried. Because of the wide, at oor and relatively short

waterline, I decided to add a skeg aft to enhance directional

stability. e base material for that appendage was a 2x4

stud shaped to match the curvature of the bottom and glued

directly to the hull. While making this boat I tried to avoid

several common boatbuilding steps like building a strongback

and setting up multiple forms. Also, by covering the entire

exterior and interior (seats too) of the hull with berglass, I

was able to totally sidestep the need for separate, permanent,

dedicated, too often in-the-way framing. What might sound

to rst timers like a complicated building process was easier to

execute than it is to describe.

Nobody should be intimidated by this project. ough my

boat was built in a shop equipped for and by a professional

boat builder, every important part of the building process

could have been accomplished by just about anyone in

most any garage with tools likely to be found there. Also

anyone wanting to build a similar craft shouldn’t be afraid

to incorporate building techniques favored by other builders/

authors. Want to use a hot-melt glue gun, zip ties or copper

wire stitching? It’s your boat. Did I use my pneumatic nailer

or stapler? Not using available tools would have been foolish.

Having labored as a tool-poor boatbuilder for many years

when I was starting out, I speak from experience when I say if

you put forth your best eort, there will be little to distinguish

a boat built in a garage from one assembled in a well-equipped

shop by a seasoned master. Any applications of advanced

equipment didn’t noticeably improve the overall quality of

my boat or cut more than a day or so of labor o of the time

it would have taken an amateur to build this boat. When I

chose to use construction grade plywood for the planking

and epoxy resin saturated berglass sheathing, any pretense

of producing a museum quality historical replica went out the

continued on page 18

e Ash Breeze, Spring 2019

Life Members

• Dan & Eileen Drath • Jean Gardner • Bob Hicks • Peter T. Vermilya • Sidney S. Whelan, Jr.

Benefactors

• Norm Greisen • Samuel E. Johnson • Robert E. (Bub) Sullivan • John Weiss

Generous Patrons

• Roger B. Allen • Harold C. Appleton • Donald Betts • Kim Bottles • Bill Bradley • Steve Brookman • Lee Caldwell

• Keith S. Cheveralls • Dusty & Linda Dillion • Ben Fuller • Arthur Haberland • Robert & Jill Hazard • Colin O. Hermans

• Samuel Huber • David Kavner • omas E. King • Richard S. Kolin • Christophe Matson • Scott Morgan

• Richard Peterson • Ron Render • Bill & Karen Rutherford • Clayton Seelgen • Donald "Rock" Singewald • Leslie Smith

• Lawrence Sorenson • Bill Stirling • Benjamin B. Swan • Reagan Tucker • Andy Wolfe • Joel Zackin

Sponsor Members *

• omas Avgeris • Ellen Barrett • Michael C. Bill • Lee Bjorklund • Kent & Barbara Bleakly • R. Fairlie Brinkley

• Robert C. Briscoe • Michael Burwell • Richard A. Butz • John S. Calhoun • Charles Canni • Nathan Carey • John W. Carlson

• Karl Christoers • Steve & Gladys Clancy • Donald & Faith Clendenen • David & Katherine Cockey • Lee & Linda Conrad

• Brandon Cooke • Brian Cooper • ad Danielson • Paul DeRoos • Russell Dewey • Dick Dodson • James Denovan

• William Edwards • Sam & Debbie Elufson • Paul Erickson • Tom Etherington • Cricket Evans • Frederic Fischer • David Fuller

• Richard & Susan Geiger • Gerald W. Gibbs • Roseann & David Gode • David & Emily Green • Lawrence Ha

• Jerey Hallock • Dick Hamly • Mr. & Mrs. R. Bruce Hammatt • Bryan Hammond • Kevin Hart • Tom Hawkins

• John A. Hawkinson • Paul Hayslett • Allen Head • Peter Healey • David Helgerson • Peter Hendrickson & Nancy Temkin

• Dean & Susan Herring • Martin Heyman • Kevin W. Holmes • Peter Jay • Sally Johnson • Walt Kangas • Bruce Keefauver

• Remi Khu • Andrew Kitchen • Douglas Klaucke • David Kowall • Paul LaBrie • David & Sally Lawrence • Jack Lawrence

• David Lenowitz • Kent Lewis • Robert Lister • Chelcie Liu • Owen X. Loprinze • Jonathan & Ellen Lovell • Robert Macks

• Phillip R. Manheimer • Michael Martin • Pete & Susan Mathews • Michael McClure • Bud McIntire

• George "Mack" McKinney • Jonathan McNally • William Meier • Bruce Miller • Errol Miller • Mike Moore

• Daniel Morgenstern • Grigg Mullen • Mason C. Myers • Alexis P. Nason • Phil Nuccio • Lori Jo Orr & Michael Armstrong

• John Oswald • John Palenchar • Brian Palmer • Andrew Pisarczyk • Robert Pittaway • Peter Redston • Nathan Rome

• Chauncy Rucker • Richard "Je" Saar • Ron Schermacher • Richard Schubert • Paul A. Schwartz • Howard Sharp

• Bob Shipman • Gary & Diane Shirley • Charles D. Siferd • Michael A. Smith • John E. Stambaugh

• Zach Stewart & Annie Sommerville • John R. Stilgoe • John P. Stratton, III • Daniel Streeter • Kathleen Sullivan

• John E. Symons • omas Tarlow • Robert ompson • Cary Tolman & Pat Stefani • omas N. Tomlin • Jim Tolpin

• Richard Tracant • Don Traut • Larry Wachowski • Suzan Wallace • Chris Wick • Christopher Woodward

• George & Diana Woodward • Richard C. Wolfe • Steve Wright • Ronald Wurst • David B. Wyman • Bob Zolli

* Please join these and other Sponsor Members and Advertisers (shown throughout this issue) in supporting TSCA!

John Gardner Grant

In 1999, TSCA created the John

Gardner Grant program to support

projects for which sucient funding

would otherwise be unavailable. Eligible

projects are those which research,

document, preserve, and replicate

traditional small craft, associated skills

(including their construction and

uses) and the skills of those who built

and used them. Youth involvement is

encouraged.

Proposals for projects ranging

from $200 to $2000 are invited for

consideration. Grants are awarded

competitively and reviewed annually

by the John Gardner Memorial Fund

Committee of TSCA, typically in May.

“To preserve, continue, and expand the

achievements, vision and goals of John

Gardner by enriching and disseminating

our traditional small craft heritage.”

e source of funding is the John

Gardner Memorial Endowment Fund.

Funding availability is determined

annually.

Eligible applicants include anyone

who can demonstrate serious interest

in, and knowledge of, traditional small

craft. Aliation with a museum or

academic organization is not required.

Projects must have tangible, enduring

results that are published, exhibited,

or otherwise made available to the

interested public. Projects must be

reported in e Ash Breeze.

Program details, applications, and

additional information:

tsca.net/john-gardner-fund/

e Ash Breeze, Spring 2019

Chesapeake Bay

Maritime Museum

selected to build

Maryland Dove

e Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum has ocially been

selected to build a new Maryland Dove, a representation

of the late 17

-century trading ship that accompanied the

rst European settlers to what is now Maryland. Maryland

Dove is owned by the state of Maryland and operated and

maintained by the Historic St. Mary’s City Commission.

“HSMC and CBMM are natural partners in this

project,” said Regina Faden, Executive Director at Historic

St. Mary’s City. “It fullls both our missions and delivers a

new Dove to tell the story of (early) Maryland.”

Maryland Dove is Historic St. Mary’s City’s oating

ambassador and one of its most popular exhibits. e goal

of the new ship design is to be as close to the 1634 original

as possible, including features that were not known when

Maryland Dove was built in 1978.

Ship design work will commence in January 2019, and

construction is anticipated to begin at CBMM by mid-

year. e launch of the newMaryland Doveis targeted for

2021. All work will be done in full public view, allowing

the public to experience every stage of the project.

“We are thrilled and honored to have been selected

to build a new Maryland Dove,” said CBMM President

Kristen Greenaway. “Over the course of the next few years,

our shipwrights and apprentices will build a historically

accurate replacement to the existing ship, and we welcome

guests to be a part of the construction and education

experience.”

Maryland Dove, Historic St. Mary’s City’s

oating ambassador, sits docked outside the

shipyard of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime

Museum in St. Michaels, MD, where a new

ship will be built over the next several years.

To learn more about Maryland Dove, visit

the website: bit.ly/marylanddove. For more

information on CBMM, visit cbmm.org.

e Ash Breeze, Spring 2019

Learn How to Teach

Math with Boats!

Framing Square Math

Bevin's Guide to Boat Building Math

Afternoons in the Boatshop

Available in Paperback and PDF Ebook

BUY YOUR COPY TODAY FROM:

Mariner Media (paperback and ebook)

marinermedia.com/product-category/boat-math/

WoodenBoat Store (paperback only)

woodenboatstore.com/category/boatbuilding

Cooperation and Collaboration

by Joe Youcha

If you come to the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, NY,

over Columbus Day Weekend (October 11–14), you’ll see

over 150 folks learning about and sharing their experiences

of Teaching With Small Boats. ey’ll be part of the sixth

national conference held by the Teaching With Small Boats

Alliance (TWSBA), which encompasses groups ranging from

Maritime Museums to backyard builders working with Scout

groups.

“TWSBA 2019” is being held in concert with the Museum

Small Craft Association (MSCA). It just makes sense. So many

TWSBA groups also are part of MSCA. And, the theme of the

conference is cooperation and collaboration. Just as there’s a lot

of overlap between TWSBA and the MSCA, there are many

TSCA members doing TWSBA work—the Lost Coast Chapter

and the Brooklin Ski club jump immediately to mind.

Since a four-person discussion at the 2008 WoodenBoat

Show, TWSBA has grown into an organization with 133

Associated Programs (92 of which have attended national

conferences). ese programs from 24 states and Canada

annually serve 106,000 adults and 100,000 youth.

Over 150 people attended the 2017 TWSBA Conference

at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels,

MD. ose folks got charged up and went o and held 2018

regional gatherings in the Pacic Northwest, New England,

the Bay Area, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Great Lakes. As

many people attended the regional gatherings as attended the

national gathering in St. Michaels. ey worked on regional

needs and suggested topics for the Clayton conference. at’s

how TWSBA works. It’s driven by members who participate.

TWSBA teaching is “hands-on teaching.” is is what

you’ll see at the conference.

Planned sessions include:

• A hands-on educational “marketplace”—come try out

educational projects ranging from boat building to boat

design, lofting, model tow tanks, and navigation

• On the water programming

• A series of “101” instructional sessions on organiza-

tional development, program design, fundraising,

communications, and governance (It’s not all fun and

games…)

• Pecha Kucha sessions about exciting and interesting

programs

And, as always, there will be the informal down time that’s

so important for sharing and learning.

If you use small boats to teach in your community, or you’re

interested in learning more about this type of work, come to

Clayton! www.teachingwithsmallboats.org

John Brady led a tour of the Independence Seaport Museum

Small Craft Collection for TWSBA Mid-Atlantic participants.

e Ash Breeze, Spring 2019

In memory of

Michael K. Davis

Executive Director

died Nov. 3, 2008

Floating The Apple, an active TSCA Chapter

since 1994. With boats we build we promote

universal access onto the public waterways, as

a 501(c)(3) corp. [email protected]

Chuck Sutherland & Marilyn Vogel

2210 Finland Rd, Green Lane, PA 18054

canusailor@yahoo.com

canusail.org

A growing collection

of high quality

videos and blogs

that bring you

inside the world

of traditional boats.

Visit the following website

for a 10% discount

on membership:

www.OffCenterHarbor.com/TSCA

e Ash Breeze, Spring 2019

Cape Sable and the Sparrow

(Building the C. S. Sparrow)

e Ash Breeze, Spring 2019

by Michael Chapman

Southwest of Miami lies the peninsula of Cape Sable, an

eighty-seven mile drive through Everglades National Park

to the end of the road at Flamingo. A short distance west of

Flamingo is where the cape joins the mainland. Cape Sable is

the southernmost point of the continental United States. e

cape is bordered by Whitewater Bay to the north, Florida Bay to

the south, and the Gulf of Mexico to the west. Once a coconut

plantation, Cape Sable has a long, rich, and interesting history.

e Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow, an endangered species of the

cape, was the agreed-upon appropriate name, C. S. Sparrow,

chosen for the next boatbuilding project at the Barnacle.

e Barnacle is a historic state park, the oldest surviving

residence in South Florida located on the shores of Biscayne

Bay in Coconut Grove. Coconut Grove was the rst settlement

in this area long before the city of Miami. Ralph Middleton

Munroe, “e Commodore,” visited Coconut Grove in the

1870s, moved there from New York in the 1880s, and built

a life, family, and home in this tropical wilderness. When the

home was completed, Munroe commented the roof structure

resembled a Barnacle, and the name stuck.

Munroe was an avid yacht designer and builder with great

interest in the New England Sharpie and its possibilities for

good service in this area of shoal waters. Munroe furthered the

Sharpie design with the Egret, a double ended twenty-eight-

foot Sharpie that also navigated oshore between Biscayne Bay

and northern Florida tending to the mail service and other

duties. is period of history is before roads or rail-service in

South Florida; boats were the only mode of transportation.

e Egret was built in New York and shipped to Key West on

a Mallory steamer. Key West was the only major port in the

area. Munroe took possession of Egret and sailed back north

to Biscayne Bay.

Munroe perfected what he called the “rounded bottom

Sharpie”—the rst built was the Presto. is was a shallow

draft, center-boarded Ketch in the forty-foot range capable of

not only shoal waters but also blue water navigation. Sisters

of the Presto were described as “Presto Types.” e design

was controversial at the time due to deep-water sailors who

disputed capabilities of the design at sea. e Commodore

proved them wrong; one of the later sisters, the Kona, logged

a total of 4,000 sea miles from New York to Cuba, the

Caribbean, and Mexico.

e Egret and several other of Munroe’s designs were crossed-

planked Sharpies and in keeping with the New England

oystering craft design features. e cross-planked Flat Iron

Ski was chosen for the project. Funding for materials was

provided by the Barnacle Society, a non-prot organization

that supports the Barnacle. Along with assistance from the

Park sta, this project was made possible. A deciding factor

in this choice of boat was a photograph taken in the 1880s of

Munroe’s early design Sharpie Kingsh. In the photo, Kingsh

is tied to a pier with a Flat Iron ski in the foreground. is

was the connection to the Barnacle.

e design of the Sparrow was taken from Rauel Parker’s

book e Sharpie Book. Parker’s design as described was based

on the eight-foot New England oystering Ski in Howard I.

Chapelle’s book American Small Sailing Craft. Parker’s design

was 14-1 LOA, the perfect size for the project. In Parker’s

book, all of the designs are for plywood construction. Our

wish was for traditional cross-plank construction, so based

on Parker’s design, I redrew the Sparrow for traditional

construction.

It was very important to base all decisions on having

connections to the area. Building materials chosen were

Florida Cypress for planking, Florida Live oak for structure,

and Southern Yellow Pine for secondary structure and

deadwood. Mirage Manufacturing Company, builders of

the Great Harbor line of Trawlers in Gainesville, Florida,

were gracious in not only donating the Cypress and Live

Oak but also delivered it. e Cypress came from Gris

Lumber Company, family owned since 1955 and also located

in Gainesville. Unfortunately, the Live Oak proved to be in

poor condition and was not used; in its place, White Oak

was purchased. e wood chosen for spars is not local but

the better choice, Douglas Fir. In the matter of the Douglas

Fir, we can claim it was salvaged from one of the wrecks o

the coast. “Wrecking” in this area is another fascinating story.

One of the volunteer’s carved the sheet-line cleat from Florida

Lignum vitae. All other hardware is bronze or brass.

e project was started in 2016. In 2017, Hurricane Irma

caused a major delay with the project in that during the

storm a thirty-foot derelict shrimp boat dragged its improper

mooring and caused severe damage to the boathouse at the

Barnacle where the Sparrow was being built. e Sparrow

had an unscheduled sea trial, as the storm surge brought a

Early stages

continued on page 24

e Ash Breeze, Spring 2019

Coracle

continued from page 4

the corners a bit to make them easier to weave, but don't get

carried away—it's a coracle, not a yacht. e old sources all

refer to a framework of rough laths. It's helpful to mark the

centers on each piece to help align things when weaving.

It's also a good idea to practice the weaving pattern with

a few lengths of some kind of thin exible strips, like 1/2

wide plastic shipping straps or cane for seat weaving. You will

want something that is fairly sti to mimic the behavior of the

laths. Ribbon, for example, won't really tell you much about

how the basket stiens up as it develops. is is particularly

true if you are including full length diagonals in your coracle,

as it is far easier to work them in as you go than to try to insert

them in a fully woven mesh. For this reason, I suspect, some

traditions used partial diagonals that engaged only with the

outer two rows of the main grid.

I soaked the ash for about a week in a 4" pvc DWV pipe to

try to get some moisture back into the wood to help soften

it for bending. A little bleach in the water helps to cut down

on the risk of mold. e usual way was to sink the green or

air-dried laths in the creek for a few days. If you choose to

include full diagonals, you will need to start the weaving from

where the diagonals and the center rib and stringer cross and

build outward from there. Add a pair of ribs crosswise (one

on either side of the central crossing), then a pair of stringers

front to back, then crosswise again until all laths each way

are in place. Omitting the diagonals allows you to arrange all

seven of the stringers roughly in position and interlace the

ribs one at a time—a much simpler approach. e spacing

depends a bit on the overall size of the boat but keeping the

grid to about ve to six inches on center is a good start. A

rubber mallet is a big help, as are some sand bags or other

means of holding things in place while you're whacking away.

Some traditions used forked sticks holding things down to the

ground, and some used something like a shipping pallet to tie

the ribs down.

You can space the transverse ribs that will be under and

behind the seat a bit wider, and it will look nicer to narrow the

spacing of the stringers so that they get closer together towards

the back of the boat, which can be considerably narrower

than the front. I used the assembled gunwale frame to check

the alignment of the ribs. Some larger coracles benet from

interlacing a few partial ribs that don't bend up around the

bilge to stien the bottom in front of the seat where you step

in and out.

Once the weaving is done, it's time to turn up the ends of

the ribs and stringers. I have a commercial wallpaper steamer,

so I set up a manifold of hoses and open 1½" pvc plumbing

pipes about two feet long to heat several ends at a time. Start

with the stringers at the middle of the front and back, and

then do some transverse ribs, then return to the stringers, and

so on. e ends can also be bent up one at a time by wrapping

rags around the area to be bent and pouring boiling water on

the rags to concentrate the heat where needed. When the rib

is exible enough, bend it up and tie or clamp it in place, or

cut o and taper the end to t the hole.

Try to compress the rib end lengthwise as you make the

bend to compress the inside of the curve rather than stretch

the outside, and don't worry too much if a rib cracks.It is

nearly impossible to pull out the busted one and insert a

replacement, so just use a few small clamps to try to limit

the fracture and plan on smoothing it o and reinforcing the

outside of the break with a thin (1/16") layer of ash glued

on with thickened epoxy or gorilla glue. Once the cover is

stretched over the frame, the patch won't show at all.

As you bend up the ends, be sure to make the front of the

boat deeper than the back by a couple inches. It will look a

bit nicer and probably trim a bit better in the water. Trim the

ends, and either peg or glue them. It is very important that

the bottom be pretty at, for stability. is can be achieved

by ipping the frame over and weighting the bottom while

the whole thing dries out for a few days. A few boat nails

through the rib under the seat into the bottom of the divider

will help keep things in place. Be sure to sink the heads below

the surface so they don't tear the cover.

After the frame is dry, glue on the apple ells.” If you want,

you can drill a few holes into the seat and the ells and insert

dowels to give the appearance of a frame that is pegged

together. Sand it a bit and put on whatever nish you want.

ompson's Water Seal works ne, or you can varnish it if

you wish, but that may be kind of gilding the lily.Some folks

painted the laths white to enhance the contrast with the black

fabric cover.

For a cover, I used a second-hand 84" square dacron

tablecoth (like they use in the fancier restaurants) that I

obtained for a dollar or two from my local university salvage

yard. A lot of other fabrics could work as well, such as canvas,

our sacks, or even an old bed sheet. (I've thought about

taking a nished frame to a marina to have them use their

heaviest gauge storage shrink wrap as a covering. How does a

clear coracle sound?)

Staple the cloth to the edge of the gunwale, starting in

the middle of the sides and ends and working towards the

corners.Stretch as much of the shape as you can, then set up a

few pleats in each corner, trying to keep them as symmetric as

possible side for side.Fold them over towards the back. For a

neater appearance these pleats can be sewn at on the outside

using a "Speedy-Stitcher" or similar sewing awl. If you don't

stitch them, try to stick them down with whatever you paint

the fabric with, but don't fret—a lot of old photos of coracles

show large wrinkles.

You can paint the fabric with a variety of things.Heated tar,

pitch, or a mixture was traditional. I've tried non-bered roof

and foundation coating, but it takes forever to dry and gets soft

e Ash Breeze, Spring 2019

Sharing the Joy of Small Boats

SmallCraftCelebration.com

September 21-22, 2019

Portland Yacht Services

100 West Commercial Street

Portland, Maine

in the sunlight, so you wind up constantly cleaning tarry spots

from your hands, clothing and vehicles. I've had somewhat

better luck with a waterborne version from Menards.

Black asphalt fence paint seems to dry more thoroughly

but doesn't penetrate the fabric as well as the solvent based

foundation stu, so I thinned it about 50% with water to

blacken the fabric through, then immediately recoated with

the straight stu. A second coat (especially on the bottom)

may be a good idea. e fence paint is still a bit problematic

on really hot days and in direct sunlight. I am thinking about

using black or dark-colored latex house paint on the next

coracle or maybe even black sunbrella fabric and waterborne

polyurethane oor nish. I'm not a totally hide-bound

traditionalist, but so far all my coracles have been black.

I left the fabric a bit long, so that it protected the frame as

I painted it, then trimmed it so that I could fold over about a

half inch and staple it down. en I attached rub rails made of

about 1/4" by 1/2" ash, with the edges and corners rounded

o pretty heavily, using stainless steel oval head screws

I put a 2" wide carrying strap on mine, in keeping with

tradition, but the whole thing only weighs 23 pounds, so unless

you plan on hiking a few miles with it, you can easily leave it o.

e paddle is ve feet long with a shaft about 1/" to

1½"diameter and a 3½" wide blade about 24 inches long. I

made mine out of a ne-grained douglas r 2x4 that I salvaged

continued on page 26

e Ash Breeze, Spring 2019

window. Yet, my dory is no less authentic than any found

anywhere. Do you think they wouldn’t have resorted to these

methods at Lowell’s Boat Shop had they been available in the

1880s? e addition of epoxy resin, modern plastic llers and

synthetic sheathing fabric is undeniably an improvement over

century technology.

So you might be wondering, “How does your boat row?” It

rows about as well as any dory near its size—not brilliant, but

competent—safe and reassuring. If I were to build another,

would I change anything? Yes, but not very much. Every time

I complete a design-as-you-go project like this, I wish I’d had

done a few things dierently. (In a how-to companion piece,

I corrected some of the errors that I made when building my

boat.) My boat turned out a little heavier than hoped for, but

the stability and roominess of my 15x44 dory far exceeds

that of most 18 tandem canoes. It can safely and comfortably

accommodate up to three adults. If I built another, I would

work on reducing the weight some and maybe tweak the shape

to give her somewhat more conventional aesthetics, but overall

I’m satised with this boat. Functionally, both the concept

and methods behind project Sow’s Ear (that’s what we call her)

have proven to be completely sound. As I said at the outset,

sometimes perfection isn’t necessary, nor is it appropriate.

Indeed, it’s the roughness of craft like these which allows us

to put them in the background and concentrate on the task at

hand. ough my family has access to some very sophisticated

rowboats, this one gets used the most. It’s the one that I’ll lend

to my duck hunting neighbors without hesitation. It’s the one

that I can take my semi-invalid, octogenarian mother-in-law

out shing in, and it’s become our go-to choice for navigating

our rocky local rivers. It has served us admirably on our local

ponds, marshes, large reservoirs, and even Lake Erie. Based on

my experiences rowing this boat, I wouldn’t be afraid to take it

out on the Chesapeake Bay or other coastal haunts. As if that

isn’t enough, she draws compliments everywhere we take her.

So far, our budget drift boat has delivered all that we could

reasonably ask of it. e reception this boat has received has

been so positive that it’s easy to forget about the quick and

dirty nature of this project. A design like this could well serve

as the basis for an aordable livery eet. ink about it, over

a long summer you could build six nice rowboats for less than

$5,000!

No Plans Dory

continued from page 9

e Ash Breeze, Spring 2019

T&L TOOLS

Phone: 860-464-9485

Cell: 860-460-2212

www.tltools.com

UNSCREW-UMS™

broken-screw extractors

Remove broken screws and

other fasteners. Hollow tool

uses the stub as a guide.

170 Old Chequessett Neck Rd., Welleet, MA 02667

508-349-2383, [email protected], oldwharf.com

Building small

rowing, row/sail,

and expedition

boats for over

20 years on

Cape Cod, MA

Beautiful

Kits

chasesmallcraft.com

207-602-9587•[email protected]

You Can Do It

Sail

Row

Motor

Ready

to Build

10–20'

Models that

"REALLY SAIL"

Model boat kits

for all ages

SeaworthySmallShips.com

[email protected]

(410) 586-2700

Created by a boat builder • Made in the USA

e Ash Breeze, Spring 2019

Bayfront Maritime Center TSCA

Richard Eisenberg

40 Holland St., Erie, PA 16507

814-456-4077

rich.eisenberg@bayfrontcenter.org

www.bayfrontcenter.org

British Columbia Chapter

Quill Goldman, 2529 North Road,

Gabriola Island, BC VOR 1X5, Canada

250-247-9646

barefootwoodenboats@shaw.ca

Brooklin Ski Club

Eric Blake

PO Box 316, Brooklin, ME 04616

[email protected]

Brooklyn Chapter

Jim Luton, 570 20th St.

Brooklyn, NY 11218

917-971-7544

[email protected]

Bualo Maritime Center

Greg & Naomi Grundtisch

256 Iroquois Ave., Lancaster, NY 14086

716-681-1315

[email protected]

Cape Cod Chapter

Bill Stirling, 11 Naushon Circle

Centerville, MA 02632

508-790-0098

[email protected]

Bob Lister, 126 Donegal Circle

Centerville, MA 02632

508-420-1718

[email protected]

Cleveland Amateur Boatbuilding

and Boating Society (CABBS)

Ed Neal, 4079 Porter Rd.

Westlake, OH 44145

440-871-0334

[email protected]

Connecticut River Oar

and Paddle Club (CROPC)

Jon Persson, P.O. Box 281

Old Lyme, CT 06371

860-434-2534

[email protected]

Crystal River Boat Builders (CRBB)

Bill Whalen, 4539 N Grass Island Ter.

Hernando, FL 34442

352-344-5482, [email protected]

Delaware River TSCA

Frank Stauss, 856-981-0998

[email protected]

delrivertsca.net

Downeast Chapter

Steve Brookman

117 Parker Point Rd.

Blue Hill, ME 04614

239-822-1318

Stev[email protected]

DowneastTSCA.org

Floating e Apple

Adina Taylor, 1225 Park Ave, Ste C10

New York, NY 10128

212-564-5412

[email protected]

Florida Gulf Coast TSCA

Michael Jones, 4721 16th Ave N.

St. Petersburg, FL

727-560-5782

[email protected]

Friends of the North Carolina

Maritime Museum TSCA

Brent Creelman

315 Front Street

Beaufort, NC 28516

252-728-7317

[email protected]

John Gardner Chapter

Dan Nelson

U of Connecticut

Avery Point Campus

1084 Shennecossett Road

Groton, CT 06340

860-535-3623, [email protected]

Les Cheneaux Chapter

Mike Jellison

906-630-1230

[email protected]

Lost Coast Chapter—Northern CA

President Chris Barnes

707-506-6646

[email protected]

Lower Columbia River Chapter

Allen Bennett

262 State Route 409

Cathlamet, WA 98612

805-208-7335

[email protected]

Michigan Maritime Museum Chapter

Pete Mathews, Sec’y

PO Box 100, Gobles, MI 49055

269-628-4396

[email protected]

North Shore TSCA

Nathan Burgess, 28 Ronaele Road

Medford, MA 02155

[email protected]

Old Bay Club (Chesapeake Bay, VA)

Eddie Breeden, 3001 Wintereld Rd.

Midlothian, VA 23113

(804) 615-4413

[email protected]

Oregon Coots

John Kohnen, PO Box 24341

Eugene, OR 97402

541-688-2826

[email protected]

https://groups.io/g/oregoncoots

Patuxent Small Craft Guild

Brian Forsyth, 13464 Lore Pines Lane

Solomons, MD 20688

443-804-6439

[email protected]

Pine Lake Small Craft Association

Sandy Bryson, Sec’y, 333 Whitehills Dr.

East Lansing, MI 48823

517-351-5976

[email protected]

Puget Sound TSCA

Claire Acord, President

[email protected]

Marty Loken, Secretary

PO Box 216, Nordland, WA 98358

360-316-1557, [email protected]

E-mail forum: [email protected]

www.tscapuget.org

Ralph Middleton Munroe Chapter

Barnacle Historic State Park

Coconut Grove, FL 33133

John Palenchar, john@palenchar.net

7641 SW 65th Place

South Miami, FL 33143

305-666-9588 (h), 305-803-1653 (c)

Sacramento TSCA

Todd Bloch, 122 Bemis Street

San Francisco, CA 94131

415-971-2844

[email protected]

South Jersey TSCA

George Loos, 53 Beaver Dam Rd.

Cape May Courthouse, NJ 08210

609-861-0018

[email protected]

Active

TSCA

Chapters

e Ash Breeze, Spring 2019

St. Augustine Lighthouse Chapter

Jim Millette

2353 Commodores Club Blvd

St Augustine FL 32080

410-279-9826

[email protected]

Texas Boatcrafters and Messers

Mack McKinney

159 Albrecht Rd.

Center Point, TX 78010

830-370-8488

[email protected]

ames River Chapter

Russell Smith

6 Drawbridge West

Gales Ferry, CT 06335

860-536-1113

[email protected]

TSC Raleigh

Dean Herring

494 Darius Pearce Rd

Youngsville, NC 27596

919-632-5915

[email protected]

Warren Rivers (Rhode Island) Chapter

Rock Singewald

10 Taylor St.

Warren, RI 02885

443-980-5601

[email protected]

Chapters Organizing

"Twin State" NH/VT Chapter

Nate Carey,

Grantham Boatworks

P. O. Box 27

Grantham, NH 03753

603-863-2915

gr[email protected]

✔ Professional development online

and in-person

✔ Tabletop Woodworking Stations turn

your tables into a woodshop

✔ All and only hand tools

✔ Project plans with step by step

directions aligned to standards

✔ Support and advice

✔ Purchase and Rental options

Portable Woodworking for Schools and Camps: Empowering, Engaging and Easy!

Learn more at: www.maplewoodshop.com [email protected]

Pres. Message

continued from page 2

neighbor down the hill when I was growing up that taught me how to sail on his

wooden Lightning. Even though it was fresh water, it got in my blood and led me

to the Navy, a lifetime of sailing, and eventually the TSCA.

It’s not too early to start thinking about the upcoming council elections. Council

members serve a 3-year term starting on June 30th, so we have 3 vacancies to ll

this year. Last year, we had a record number of volunteers opting for the council

seats and had an actual election. I hope that the enthusiasm continues, and you’ll

put your name in the hat. e workload really is light, consisting mostly of voting

by email, and it gives you the opportunity to make your voice heard about TSCA

matters.

at’s it for this issue. Send in your photos and stories and stay warm. I hope to

be back on the water and writing about boating in what will be my last column.

Calendar of Events

Port Aransas Wooden Boat Festival

April 12–13, 2019

Port Aransas, TX

Beaufort North Carolina Maritime

Museum Annual Wooden Boat

Show

May 4, 2019

NC Maritime Museum

315 Front St.

Beaufort, NC 28516

Beaufort North Carolina Round the

Island Race

May 5, 2019

9:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.

NC Maritime Museum

315 Front St.

Beaufort, NC 28516

Go to tsca.net/events/ to

submit events from your

chapter and in your area.

e Ash Breeze, Spring 2019

drathmarine

hp://drathmarine.com

1557 Cale Point Road

Friday Harbor, WA 98250

Mole got it right...

e Ash Breeze, Spring 2019



continued from page 7

Wooden Boat Building

and Repair

615 MOYERS LANE

EASTON, PA 18042

ROB BARKER

molds. e operative terms

here is fasten. You will need to

secure the molds to the base.

is would be a good time

to have a helping hand. e

molds are not heavy, but they

are unwieldly. In addition to

fastening the molds to the

base, they have to be square

to the centerline and level. A

person on both sides makes

this task a lot easier. e rst

mold set, usually #13, also has

to be secured in such a way

as to support the rest of the

molds.

In the next article, I will

cover steam bending the oak

frames, tting the frames to

the molds and attaching to

the oor timbers, building the

keel, and getting it all ready

for planking.

e Ash Breeze, Spring 2019

Sparrow

continued from page 15

260 Dyckman Avenue

South Haven, MI 49090

269.637.8078

80 0. 747.3810

michiganmaritimemuseum.org

four-foot water level inside the boathouse. e

Sparrow was lashed to the strong-back, oated,

strong-back and all into a corner in the boathouse

with no damage. Repairs to the boathouse were

completed in November 2018.

e construction of the ski was straight

forward cross-planked, starting with the strong-

back and building the ski up-side down.

Traditional construction was very important, but

a few twenty-rst century materials were used.

Grooves were cut into the edges of the bottom

planks, when screwed in-place sealant was applied

to these grooves. is created an unseen, exible,

water-tight seam. is detail is similar to splining

using sealant rather than wood. Bronze screws

and bolts were used throughout, epoxy glue was

used in structural joints, and all components were

bedded in sealant. e Pintles and Gudgeons

were custom made, and to utilize at least a piece

of the Live Oak, the tiller was shaped. Synthetic

manila and cotton cordage was used for rigging

along with a Dacron sail. e sail was built for

vertical reeng to the mast. e ski is done-up

in red bottom, white topsides, and gray inboard colors. e

inside bottom, rub-rail, and spars were oiled and on the stern

seat the Cape Sable Sparrow was carved.

e Sparrow is a beautiful little ski, with pleasing lines

and double hanging knees at each thwart, also a very pleasing

detail.

Building the Sparrow in the historic boathouse at the

Barnacle on the shores of Biscayne Bay has been a fullling

experience for all involved.

e launching of the Cape Sable and the Sparrow took

place on December 8, 2018. Shake-down sailings will follow

in preparation for the 2019 historic Washington’s Birthday

Regatta.