Vela al trezo

My friend Giacomo De Stefano who is a photographer and film maker in Venice, Italy has sent me some great photos of his home. It's been very interesting and even enlightening to experience life almost half a globe away. It's opportunities like this that demonstrate the effective global community that is nurtured by the internet.

With many desperate and challenging issues facing us today, the interaction of people of all races and nationalities in a spirit of community is essential to our survival as a species and that of many other species as well. True dialogue is the key to this struggle, across cultural, spiritual, racial and national boundaries, despite the confusing rhetoric of governments and politicians.





What does this have to do with lug sails (vela al trezo in Italian)? Something as simple and exquisitely beautiful as a well made sail on a worthy craft is a truth understood by people of many nationalities and communicates across cultural and language barriers. More than a metaphor, the lug sail is simple beauty in functional form.









These photos of Regata del Presidente are evidence for this opinion.




Giacomo tells me...

"The Sanpierotta is a flat bottomed working boat designed in a little village called San Pietro in Volta, so...Sanpierotta. They can be 20 to 28 feet and can be rowed or sailed with a lug sail plus a jib or even two lug sails. Perfect for the shallow waters of the lagoon."
[Venice]


All photos by Igor Boscolo

Voyage of the Wanderer

"To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise, you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen who play with their boats at sea... cruising, it is called. Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are contemplating a voyage and you have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about. "I've always wanted to sail to the south seas, but I can't afford it." What these men can't afford is not to go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of security. And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine - and before we know it our lives are gone. What does a man need - really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in - and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment. That's all - in the material sense, and we know it. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, playthings that divert our attention for the sheer idiocy of the charade. The years thunder by, the dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience."

"Before we know it, the tomb is sealed. Where, then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life?"

Sterling Hayden in "Wanderer"

Photo by Doryman of the Olympic Mountains (looking west) in northwestern Washington State. That's a cockpit lifeline down in the corner.

Kayaking the Mary's River

This morning I heard from my friend Greg (remember the story of the El Toro?). He's had a recent adventure running downstream on the spring overflow of a local river that runs near his house. The Mary's River is small and thus shallow in the summer months. In early spring, however the water level is high enough to cover the rocks and it's a rowdy ride! The spring foliage is just starting to show nicely, too...




Wish I'd been there, but this is the best we can do. Greg has a humorous way with a story, so he'll share his trip with us:

"Here's a virtual Mary's River trip. I always end up being the group photographer on these trips, and it sure adds another element of excitement as I hold paddle and camera going through fast moving water. Should have used the spray skirt, or maybe a lap cover of plastic and a big sponge!"





"These kayaks just don't have much for a bow when you're talking about plunging into foot and a half waves! I almost bought the farm at a point that has given me trouble before, so I'm going to etch that scene in my mind and go a different way from here on. Getting caught cross-wise to the current is no bueno."











"All in all, another incredible gift of a day of moments in the sun with water and friends."





Thanks Greg for risking your life for these photos!


That's a great picture of the covered bridge. And it's obvious everyone had fun!

Harvey Golden's Kayaks

I had dinner, weekend before last, with Harvey Golden and his family - but neglected during the Depoe Bay Boat Show to get a decent photo of the skin kayaks he brought.

Fortunately for us, there is a great blog about Harvey's historical research on the native kayaks of Greenland at 70.8%.

Harvey has written a book documenting the history of these simple, functional and beautiful native vessels:

Kayaks of Greenland; The History and Development of the Greenlandic Hunting Kayak 1600-2000

Uncle Gabe’s Flattie Skiff

The Uncle Gabe Skiff, designed by Sam Rabl and built by Rick Johnson with assistance from Doryman, made it's debut in the sunshine of an April afternoon.
A great all around boat. And it's an easy boat to build, too!

This is the skiff Doryman rowed out to the buoy and back, remember that story? There is no doubt this boat needs a sail rig. Since I'm a co-builder, I'll just have to get on it, eh?

Lou takes Sam for a ride. Pretty good deal for Sam, don't you think?

I think Lou is having fun, too!




We fiberglassed the outside of the hull for durability and added a skeg made of Iron Wood to improve tracking.







The boss is watching. Get to work, slacker!







Just before the show, the skiff was in the shop for last minute details. Rick Johnson, Master Shipwright, gives her some pretty finish trim.






This boat is intended for kids who have never handled a boat before, so it needs to take everything they give.


Notice that Rick's sign for his shop is inside the shop! (click on image to enlarge)
That's what I like about my friend.

As yet unnamed, this skiff has been built over the last year by volunteers as a donation to the nascent kid's rowing program at the Port of Toledo, Oregon. With funding for materials from the Depoe Bay Boat Foundation and the Port of Toledo.
The kid's rowing program; a prospective future project for Doryman.......

Please see previous posts about building the Uncle Gabe skiff, a design by Sam Rabl.

Cosine Wherry

Wake Me 2, built and owned by Fred Johnson is made of redwood, Sitka spruce and mahogany. All wood used in the construction of this boat is recycled!

The Cosine Wherry is a strong, lightweight, beautiful, high performance 14 foot rowing boat. It can satisfy the recreational requirements of a family, the practical demands of the sportsman, and the competitive desires of a serious rower. It's light and fast, a joy to row and stable - capable of hauling passengers and gear.






If you want the complete mathematical explanation of how John A. Hartsock came to design the Cosine Wherry, visit ConcreteCanoe.org






John's comments are those of an engineer, but his closing comment is that of an artist:










"Creating the Cosine Wherry was a rewarding experience. She has given me an appreciation of what must have taken place between builders and users of small boats in the 19th century. They must have been wonderfully intelligent people with an intuitive feel for hull shape and a willingness to communicate with one another."



Thank you Fred, for sharing your beautiful strip planked wherry with us!





Instructions for building the Cosine Wherry can be found in "Rip, Strip & Row!: A Builder's Guide to the Cosine Wherry" by J. D. Brown, J. Hartsock

Rangeley Lakes Rowing Boat

Susan Van Leuven built the Rangeley Lakes Boat from The Newfound Woodworks to demonstrate wood strip boat construction for her very fine book:
"Woodstrip Rowing Craft, How to Build, Step by Step"

Crystal Ember is a fixed seat, stable 15 foot rowing craft designed for sport fishing. Easy to row and fast, this lovely boat can be built by amateurs and first time boat builders using Susan's thorough step by step explanation. The wood strip method has the advantage of being less technically challenging than other boat building methods, but as Susan is quick to acknowledge, very time consuming.

While working full time as a wildlife field biologist, Susan created Crystal Ember and the sliding seat rowing shell Gold Lady (pictured on the book cover) to demonstrate her technique and write a book about it.
The book is illustrated with pictures taken by her and her husband (who is a habitual boat builder) during every stage of building these two boats and the pictures alone are worth the price!


It took Susan five years to build her boats and in the process she reworked the designs to accommodate the wood strip construction process. It's a credit to her work that the wood strip method has become very popular with home builders.

I met Susan and talked with her at length about writing such a fine book about a gorgeous boat and came away very impressed with the woman and her work.
Look at that inlaid feature strip, and the classy finish!

Susan is also a painter who works with water colors. Her sense of color combination and graceful proportion are readily apparent.
Her boats are a compliment to the natural surroundings of their intended purpose.

She builds boats for the pure pleasure of it and takes them to shows all over the west to encourage others to build their own boats at home.







Her advice to women who want to build a boat for themselves?





Draw a line in the shop and declare your own work area independent of your boat building husband, crossed by invitation only!






Her book is available in hardback and a worthy addition to any boat building library.

Susan has also written "Illustrated Guide to Wood Strip Canoe Building".

Nord Vinden

Doryman caught up with John Weiss last weekend to talk with him about his canoe yawl, Nord Vinden. You may remember hearing about this classic boat a while back in these pages, so a few pictures should complete the story.

The Nord Vinden is one of four built to the same plan. All four boats are rigged differently, which demonstrates the versatility of this design. John has replaced the deck with the planking shown, otherwise the boat is entirely original.


Nord Vinden (North Wind, in Swedish) drew many admirers. John showed up on Saturday for the Depoe Bay boat show, then told us he was going sailing on Sunday. Wish we could have been there!





















John Weiss is currently the president of the national organization of the TSCA. Thanks John for all your hard work!
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Spring

Is there any doubt that spring is here? It's going to be a good year for gardening. Doryman will be growing all his own food this year.

Ambitious yes?





The perennial flowers are up and thriving....

Revisiting Thistle #16

There is more from the Depoe Bay Wooden Boat Festival (and crab feed). Quite a bit more, in fact.

Sweet Sixteen, Thistle hull number sixteen, made a debut in the warm spring sunshine. No one knows for sure how many years it's been since this boat has seen the water, but she's ready to make up time.

For this show, Sweet Sixteen rested on her trailer on the tarmac and drew many admirers. There was general agreement that she didn't look her age. She's just as sporty today as she's ever been, after 63 years!
















You may know that boats in this class today are made of fiberglass. They may technically be the same design, but who would argue that the wood ones are prettier?



Doryman spent approximately 1000 hours restoring this old thoroughbred. A labor of love, indeed!







Designed by Sandy Douglas, the Thistle debuted in 1945. The sail plan consists of a main, jib, and spinnaker. The boat planes easily in 10-12 knots of breeze and will glide effortlessly in light air.
Hull number sixteen was manufactured in 1946. The Thistle Class Association has no record of this boat, so it is speculated that it was a "kit" boat, possibly assembled by it's owner and probably never raced.

But she's ready now!
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Around the Bouy

The tiny harbor at Depoe Bay, Oregon is one of very few sanctuaries from the Pacific Ocean on the northwestern coast of the US. Over the years, fishermen have enhanced the approach to this harbor, as humans will, by blasting out the channel and adding a concrete breakwater. Still, the channel is small and the prevailing winds blow on shore, so most of the year waves break across the mouth, making access dangerous.

The fishing fleet that operates out of Depoe Bay utilizes powerful motor boats capable of breaking through seas to get out and surfing the rollers on the way back in. During the recent small boat festival, the weather was calm, so a number of fools rowed outside to get a taste of the open ocean.




In the morning the sea was relatively flat, but by the time Doryman made his voyage with his friend Andrew (Doryman in a 15 foot skiff and Andrew in his 8 foot pram!!!) the winds from the northwest were building and also the swell. The waves were breaking onshore from both sides of the channel, the mariner's dreaded lee shore! The swell was eight feet high and some of the bigger rollers were curling menacingly and beautifully at twelve feet or more. As is often the case, nature was both threatening and poetic at the same time.





Off shore a couple miles is a bell buoy that marks the man made channel, since inclement weather renders the entrance invisible most of the year.

We took it as a challenge to round that buoy under oars. Andrew brought his camera to document the event. Pictures do not capture the depth or height of the swell. At the bottom of a swell that size, in a boat the size of a small dingy, the horizon disappears and you have to wait to rise on the next crest to get your bearings. The scale of the surroundings is sobering and humbling.

I'm sorry we didn't get any pictures of those big curlers breaking just to the south of the harbor entrance. Another quarter mile down wind and I wouldn't be here to tell you about it! I was so enthralled with the view, that Andrew felt compelled to call to me a warning that I might be getting too close.

It's not always you have the opportunity to stand on the brink and see the beauty and horrible majesty of nature!






As Doryman returns to safe harbor...

Foolhardy you say? Possibly, but also incredibly wonderful.

Huckleberry

Here on the Oregon coast the huckleberry grows abundantly. The native precursor to the blueberry, it's a bitter sweet fruit, which once saved Doryman's life when lost and deprived of food in the Olympic Mountain Range of northwestern Washington State (but that's a story for another day...). The bateau Huckleberry is a tribute to this forgotten food, once very popular with the indigenous people of this coast.

Based on the early bateau of the southeastern U.S., but also reminiscent of native canoes, what more fitting name than a tasty berry that might garnish a meal of salmon and oysters fresh from the Yaquina River? There are huckleberry bushes leafing with spring foliage outside my window right now.

The bateau Huckleberry was launched for the first time last Friday. Indeed an auspicious day... She Floated!



You laugh. But for a designer and boat builder that's the proof. Did I design the water-line correctly? Yes. It's always a relief, to find it so.

Huckleberry floats high. Maybe she's lighter than I thought, but she draws two inches empty, maybe less.

She's tender!

Stay trimmed...

On the first trial she floated easily with little effort. Later, she proved her lineage by accelerating like a water bug, efficient use of the quarter horsepower capability of the human body.

While launching Huckleberry I made the acquaintance of a travel journalist named Foster Church who took pictures the following day of Doryman cutting capers with his new canoe. Who knows? We may, one day, be famous!

As is always the case, the design indicates it's shortcomings within moments. Next time this bateau will have a inch or so more bottom rocker. The nearly flat bottom (two inches of camber) makes tracking easy, but turning is sluggish. Since Huckleberry was built primarily for running with the current down tidal rivers, this aspect will be of little consequence. But improving on a design is an excuse to build another boat!






It's simple and easy to build a boat of this type. I would recommend the
Peace Canoe, by John Harris of Chesapeake Light Craft. If you've never built a boat before, this is a good place to start.













In a few uncomplicated weeks, you can have a craft that will give you many hours of simple, healthy enjoyment.





More proof that functional beauty is not complicated or expensive.

(Also pictured: the incomparable skiff Paku.)