Getting ready for the Classic Dinghy Regatta in Schull!

We've been busy with preparations for the first ever Classic Dinghy Regatta to be held in Schull on the 21st and 22nd of July. Visit Sailing The Ettes on facebook for more news...
Here is a picture of some of the prizes we're making - we want every boat to get one - every wooden boat being sailed deserves a prize!

Making wooden boat models with children at Rosscarbery school

As part of the CRAFTed initiative organized by the Crafts Council of Ireland, Anke has been doing a 5 week project with 5th and 6th class of Scoil Naisiunta Mhuire in Rosscarbery.

The enthusiasm and energy of these girls is just amazing!
Using a technique inspired by the "bread and butter half models" ( a 3D modelling technique used by boatbuilders for hundreds of years), they laminated thin pieces of wood into "floating objects.

Even though I had cut out about 200 lozenge shapes ( inspired by the Broighter Boat) of various shapes and sizes - it was difficult for the children to find the exact shapes they wanted.
Spokeshaves were used to shape the pieces. I made special bench hooks to allow easy clamping.

The following week, the models were shaped up using spokeshaves, rasps and sandpaper. this was pretty hard work! The most sought after tool was the spokeshave. We only had four for the whole class ( 22 pupils). I had plenty of rasps and stanley surforms, but the spokeshave was definitely the most effective. For future projects I would definitely invest in more spokeshaves. They are such a great tool for kids!

I made angled clamping sticks onto which the models were screwed.But, I had underestimated the backset of the metal structure under the desk tops - this made it quite tricky to clamp the sticks onto the desks properly. I'll have to work on that one.
Oiling the models at the end of the two hour session was like a well deserved reward for everyone!

Once everyone had oiled their pieces and we had cleaned up the mess ( amazing how the classroom can look like a crazy woodshop in only one hour !) we layed the pieces into a fleet and talked about where we see ourselves in the "class fleet" - sailing in company.

 Designing rigging and sails was the next challenge!

Progress on our student boat

Slowly the 16ft fishing boat, which we began lofting with our students in October 2011, is getting planked by enthusiastic learners. The aim is to get it ready for steaming the ribs in May. Summer is approaching fast! It would be great to launch this boat in time for the mackerel season!

Tucking the plank ends into that transom was quite challenging. During the lofting we didn't quite determine what would happen in this area. So we left the bevel on the transom flatter than was needed. So, a bit of chiseling ( see below) was neccessary to make things come together.

Planking should become easier from now on. Up to now, we have had to steam both ends of each plank...

We've also had problems with the transom itself. It started to split right accross. Maybe the bolts were a bit shank-bound. Or maybe the timber was just drying out too fast.We took off the transom, relaminated it and put it back into place.



To learn more about the way we do clinker planking, please visit http://boatbuildingskills.blogspot.com/

You will also find info there on our upcoming workshops

Getting ready for the season!

With four Castletownshend Ettes being revarnished as well as the new project coming up (see moulds and backbone on the left) there is barely any room left to walk in our workshop!
It's exciting to see the boats like this and to look forward to the months of sailing ahead...
See "Sailing the Ettes" on facebook to see what the ette sailors are up to for the season.
We've been experimenting with various varnishes. For several years we've been using Le Tonkinois, which is pleasant to apply, but seems to require meticulous sanding between coats - a lot of work! We've also tried Deks Olje - the penetrating characteristics of the D1 appealed to us. But we found it really difficult to get D2 to dry in our workshop. D1 seems to be an excellent product to use in the interior of our clinker boats - we clean and dry them carefully before saturating them in the oil.
 For the exterior, we are now using Epifanes. The great thing about this varnish is that it finishes well and that one can apply several coats without sanding between them

In the foreground, you can see Sagette's deck, Roulette in the centre, and Minuette and Muckette behind. To the left is the backbone structure of the 16ft fishing boat which we are building with our students in an ongoing series of workshops.
Visit http://boatbuildingskills.blogspot.com/ for info on our series of boatbuilding workshops.

The Gardboards are fitted!

Our students have returned to start planking the boat we started lofting back in October.
Look at the amazing twist on that gardboard! We had to steam both ends of it to get the shape right.

We managed to get our hands on some Irish Douglas Fir - freshly cut near Kaelkill, West Cork.
It steamed beautifully. We used our localised steaming method, which is much more effective and economical than traditional methods. Come to our next Clinker Planking Workshop to find out how it's done!

If you would like to learn the secrets and tricks of Clinker planking, contact us. We will continue to run planking workshops until the boat is planked. Our upcoming session will be on March 30th up to April 1st. For more info visit: http://boatbuildingskills.blogspot.com/

Beautiful Backbone built by our Students!

This is the amazing backbone built by the enthusiastic participants of our recent four-day workshop. Using the drawings developed in November's Lofting Workshop, we explained how to lift patterns, shape and bevel moulds. Each student made several members of the backbone. As they fitted their pieces together, it became a great team effort. The excitement became tangible as everything came together and began to take shape.
 
The backbone is, of course, a replica of that old west cork 16ft clinker boat, which we pulled out of a hedge last spring and have since lofted. We have tried to keep as close as possible to the original.

The materials used were: oak for the stem, apron, keel, hog, transom knee and deadwood, and douglas fir for the transom.

It is now propped up, complete with moulds, ready to start planking.
Encouraged by the success of this one, we're already making preparations for our next workshop, which will reveal the techniques of Clinker Planking.
It will take place on the 23- 25th February.

Lofting Workshop

We hope our students enjoyed last weekend's Lofting Workshop as much as we did!
Lofting a boat ( even a fairly simple one) is quite intense - and as well as that we had some animated discussions about all aspects of boatbuilding and maritime interests. A most interesting way to spend three wild days in West Cork!
We had several enquiries from people who couldn't make it this time - so we are planning to run another Lofting Workshop 17-19 November. The follow-on workshop will be on pattern and mould-making as well as backbone construction. This will take place on 19 - 22 January 2012.
Please visit http://boatbuildingskills.blogspot.com for upcoming schedules.

Progress on "Happy Return"

Once again we have had the opportunity to spend some time on our Stella One Design. With the great help and pleasant company of Barry Rogerson, all broken ribs were replaced, stringers repaired, loose fastenings retightened. The hull is now nearly completely sound.

A New Bow-Sprit for "Jane Paul"

Notice the beautiful copperwork to accomodate the sheave. The bowsprit itself is laminated out of two pieces using resorcinol glue. It was intended as a mast for one of the Castletownshend Ettes, but proved to be too heavy for that. It seems to work very well on the "Jane Paul".

Old Long Island Boat

At the moment we're repairing an old fishing boat used locally around Rossbrin and Long Island. She is one of the old Long Island boats which were rowed and sailed using the awkward dipping lugsail. Cormac Levis writes about the history of these boats in his book: "Towelsail Yawls". She was originally built by a boatbuilder called Keohane near Ballylickey, Bantry.

Click here to see details of
 repairwork on this boat

Photos of castletownshend Ettes we have built and restored

To see the pictures enlarged click: areckardtferreira's photostream on Flickr.

Half Models of Castletownshend Ette

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Ever since we heard about half models at IBTC during our boatbuilding training, we've been talking about making some of our favourite boats. It's a really interesting process that definitely shows up flaws in the lines plan. For instance, we always found problems around station 4 during planking the real sized ettes. We were able to correct our lines plan from the finished half models.

This particular model will be a perpetual trophy for the overall winner of the Ette class at the Baltimore Wooden Boat festival.
See Sailing The Ettes on facebook for more info on events .

Visit to Norwegian Boatbuilding Museum

In October 2010, Anke worked at the Hardanger Fartoyvernsenter, a living boatbuilding museum in Norway, for two weeks. It was a Leonardo mobility work placement organised by the Crafts Council of Ireland. During her visit, she had the opportunity to work with ropemakers, shipbuilders, boatbuilders and youth workers.  She will be giving a slideshow and talk about this amazing experience at Meitheal Mara at 12:30pm on February 24th.

"Pirouette"

Pirouette is ready to sail ! With her newly polished hull and repaired keel she will be a pleasure to sail.
Notice the beautiful new rudder we built for her in the foreground.

Hopefully we'll see her at the Baltimore Wooden Boat Festival ( 27th - 29th of May). There will be at least five "ettes " participating in this event. For more news and updates on events in the sailing season see "Sailing The Ettes" on facebook.

How we build a Castletownshend Ette