The St Ayles Project in Portland, Oregon

What a great weekend!

Mary and I visited the design incubator ADX in Portland, Oregon last Saturday. The Wind and Oar Boat School is building a St. Ayles Skiff there and on Saturday they laid-up the two garboard planks.







We found about half the ten women team suiting up for epoxy work.









The first plank to go on was the first one ever for this team of builders, but you wouldn't know it. By the second plank they were seasoned professionals.

Talk about quick study!















Laura, Liz, Jann and Beca are pretty happy and proud - rightfully so.


The week before our visit, OPB Radio (Oregon Public Broadcasting) interviewed Laura, one of the team members and Kelly, one of the owners of ADX, about this project.
Mary has put together a video of the first garboard plank going on, with a portion of the interview as a sound track. You can get a good sense of the atmosphere and excitement. At one point, there were as many photographers as boatbuilders!

The two men in the video are Travis, who is an instructor and Peter who is the founder of the Wind & Oar Boat School.

St Alyes Skiff at the Wind & Oar Boat Building School from doryman on Vimeo.

I feel a real sense of privilege to be witness to this process. It's very difficult for me to keep my hands off the boat. Hopefully the class doesn't mind my prying and pestering.






They plan to name the boat Rosie. Portland is called the City of Roses and the women feel an affinity for Rosie the Riveter, from war time days when women carried the economy of the country at home and in the factories.











I will be gone on an adventure for most of the month of July (more on this later) and at the rate they are going, the Wind and Oar Boat School might be done with this boat by the time I get back.





Hopefully I'll make it to the launch. And if I do, so will you!


More photos here.