Wind and Oar Boat School

In Portland, Oregon there is a new wooden boat building school. The Wind and Oar Boat School is not-for-profit and community oriented. At present the school is in the middle of it's first build. The St Ayles Skiff is the boat and it is being constructed by a team of women who have never built a boat before.









I've told you about this group previously. At that time, the school was awaiting approval of it's application for non-profit status.





Now it's official and the Wind and Oar Boat School is on it's way.





Founder, Peter Crim keeps us up to date:


"The molds are all mounted and aligned using the string through the alignment holes method. The stem supports are attached. We are scraping and sanding excess epoxy from the frames we glued last Saturday so they can be mounted back on the molds."





"We built a scarfing jig for the keelson and we have a rough cut done on the first scarf. Students practiced planing yesterday on a piece of plywood.
The goal is to be planking by next Saturday."








"There's talk of a second women's boat and ADX has offered the location for it. We might start that one in August and with a youth boat build in September at OMSI, we could have a fleet by next June."







"A friend of Kelley Roy's [co-owner of ADX] has a partially finished river dory that's been sitting for many years at another community shop space and that she would like finished. Kelley has offered ADX for the project and there are people interested in working on that so we may make a boat shop of it yet."




Photos courtesy of Jann Lane.





In a recent conversation with Garner Pickering I learned that there are currently five St. Ayles Skiffs being built in the US.
Garner is the Marine Products manager at Hewes & Co., the producers of the boat kits for the entire United States.
Four more kits are on order.

Hewes & Co. are located in Blue Hill, Maine and they have arranged for Brandon Davis at Turn Point Design in Port Townsend, Washington to cut kits for interested parties on the west coast. If you'd like to get in on the action contact Garner Pickering, gardner@hewesco.com.

So far all but one of these boats are in Maine. Each of the boats in Maine is built by high school students although one of the kits on order is for an elementary school! Three St Ayles Skiffs are very close to being finished. Mt. Dessert Island High School, George Stevens Academy and Sumner High School are in a dead heat to be the first St. Ayles to be launched in the United States and are supported by WoodenBoat's BARC program.

We will keep abreast of developments concerning the splash of each new St Ayles in the US.

Stay tuned!
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The St Ayles Project comes to Portland

Here's a homework assignment for you. If you haven't been following the progress of the Scottish Coastal Rowing Project you have a lot to catch up on.

The concept of building the St Ayles skiff as a community effort is best described as an epidemic. If you have the time, please follow the links here and here to see what I mean.







The Scottish Coastal Rowing Project was adopted last year by WoodenBoat magazine with a new west Atlantic project called BARC or "Boat Building and Rowing Challenge".







Now - if you haven't drowned in internet links - behold, the newest St Ayles skiff - built in Portland Oregon!





One third of the globe away from it's birth, this project has incubated into an enthusiastic community project.

Peter Crim is the spark plug for this effort and it was my pleasure last winter to host him and some friends at our local Boathouse Youth Maritime Project to talk about the St. Ayles skiff and community boat building.
















Mary and I visited the St. Ayles Project in Portland last weekend and we were mightily impressed. This project is unique in that it is the first St Ayles built entirely by women. The crew, recruited by Jann Lane is possibly the most enthusiastic group of boatbuilders I have ever encountered.

The pre-cut kits come from Hewes and Company in the US, on contract through Alec Jordan in the UK.
I've never built a boat from a kit cut on a CNC machine but the advantages are obvious. Every piece necessary to build this boat comes precision pre-cut, including wooden clamps, framing molds and plank scarf joints.







The teachers of this build are volunteers trained at the WoodenBoat School. If you want to learn to build a boat, how much better can it get?








I asked Peter how he got to this point and it was an interesting story:

"The idea for a school has developed over a six-year period. It started with a concept for a gap year school where students would live aboard a large sailing vessel for about nine months and they would learn everything from diesel maintenance to marlinspike seamanship, including biology, ecology, literature, ship repair and building a small gig. I did a lot of research on other similar programs but somehow it just didn't seem right at the time and it was probably fortunate that I didn't go there, given subsequent economic developments."

"My long-term goal was to go to the WoodenBoat School in Maine. In June of 2010, I called WB on a Thursday and by Saturday I was on a plane east. The first class was a two week course in small boat repair where we did major fixes on a Beetle Cat, a Herreshoff 12.5 and a Joel White Haven 12.5. I then took one week off and hung around various other classes. It happened to be a week in which Iain Oughtred was in residence so I spent a bit of time with him - a truly amazing and unique person."


"The next class was a design class taught by Graham Byrnes, who had just been awarded a prize for best design in WoodenBoat Magazine's design contest. It was in this class that I met Travis. He told me that he and his girlfriend were moving to Portland." [Travis is a volunteer teacher on this project. ed.]

"By the time I was done, I had become a friend with most of Brooklin, ME and the people at WoodenBoat. The atmosphere they create is transformational and watching week after week of students metamorphose from anxious city folk into a community of like minded maritime aficionados was inspiring."



It is obvious that Peter is interested in re-creating this transformational experience in his hometown. He has partnered with a new design studio, termed ADX, for space to build the St Ayles and the women are hard at work.

Doryman will be anxiously following this project and keep you posted.

I can't express how excited I am about this process and it's intrinsic impact. Anyone who has taught a group of former neophytes to realize their potential as boat builders will understand the satisfaction of witnessing the transformation. Imagine the impact of such community building on a global scale!?



The design space ADX Portland deserves mention. This is a private enterprise that promotes creative individual exploration.

New kids on the block, they have set up shop area for metal shop activities, a wood shop and a digital media station. The focus is on creative construction and teaching with an emphasis on design creativity, coupled with production.
Imagine a shop class for geeks.
There is no hype here. I felt perfectly at ease while visiting ADX. No one tried to sell me anything, yet I bought the whole truck load.




People in the Portland, Oregon area owe it to themselves to visit the old warehouse at 417 SE 11th Avenue.


Please tell them Doryman sent you.

St Ayles Skiff in Portland, Oregon from doryman on Vimeo.

If you are interested in how well these skiffs perform in heavy weather, visit the Scottish Coastal Rowing site for photos of last weekend's Regatta at Anstruther. Racing in force 4-5 winds!
Those skiffs are truly amazing ocean boats.
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Scottish Fisheries Museum, Anstruther Harbour

Found object on U Tube.
The little opaque squares on screen are links, if you can catch them. This is an ambitious video concept that ends before it's over. Intriguing.



You may remember that the Scottish Fisheries Museum is home to the St. Ayles Skiff project. Never been there, but hope to one day. View of the courtyard, at right.

Scottish Coastal Rowing Project

We haven't visited the Scottish Coastal Rowing Project in quite a while. There are several boats being built and even a few finished. The latest to be launched is the Ullapool Syndicate with their Ulla. Take a look at that Viking steering system!

The competition has started already with each team trying to outdo the other in beautiful finish details. If you visit Loch Broom, you will find a list of links on the side bar for several builds of the St. Ayles Skiff in progress. Look for the column labeled "Coastal Rowing".



I especially enjoyed the site called Shetlopedia, where the names of all of the components of the Yole and the Sixareen are defined.








For those who might have questions about the steerboard (starboard) on this boat, as I did, we have an explanation from Topher Dawson, one of the principal builders of Ulla:

"The plans and the prototype [of the St. Ayles Skiff] have a rudder. In boats of this profile with a curved sternpost there are some drawbacks to a stern hung rudder. I don't want to exaggerate the problems but if you have two sets of rudder fittings close together then they lie more or less in a straight line and the rudder will hinge in a predictable manner."

"Unfortunately putting them close together is weak because a lot of the rudder
then overhangs the fittings. If you put the fittings far apart then they tend to
jam at extreme angles of turn because the rudder is hingeing about a straight
line between the fittings, but the axis of the pintles tends to be parallel to
the curved profile of the sternpost."

"As well as this, the gap between the rudder and the sternpost is facing forward
and acts as a mouth for creel ropes and the like. I do not have to point out how
detrimental to a good race it is to trail a creel rope."

"The other drawback is that if the rudder projects below the keel it needs to be
unshipped to launch and recover, which is often when a rudder would be useful,
and to get the below water fitting to engage when the boat is moving with the
waves is tricky. Adrian has a very good patent method of overcoming this which I
am sure he would be glad to show you."

"If the rudder does not project below the keel it may lack area."

"Our solution which may or may not work is the ancient Viking steerboard, as
found on your genuine Viking ships, and some small boats our size as well. It
consists of a special paddle shaped rudder with a nearly vertical shaft mounted
outside the boat about 15% forward of the stern on the starboard (steerboard)
side. A short athwartships tiller fits in a slot in its top and because the
steerboard is narrow and balanced, little effort is needed to steer."

"It is hinged just above the waterline on a projection from the boat with a withy
or other rope, and held by a leather strap to a bracket at the gunwale.
Releasing this allows it to kick up for beaching, so it can be made to go below
the keel. The tiller stays inside the boat and does not sweep the cox's position
like the plan tiller."

Thank you for the input, Topher. I was puzzled by this design, having never seen it before.



Once again, a heartfelt thanks to Chris Perkins for his fine photos and strong sense of community. He is responsible for keeping us all appraised of this project and his efforts deserve applause. The pictures displayed here are all his.

Keep up the good work Chris!

There is more about this project at Rowing for Pleasure and In The Boat Shed.

Here's a video of the prototype St. Ayles Skiff out for mid-winter practice, in open water. Wonderful!



Complements of Jordan Boats
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Scottish Coastal Rowing Project

The Scottish Coastal Rowing Project is underway.

The Scottish Fisheries Museum at Anstruther is supporting this initiative to restart coastal rowing and racing along the Scottish coastline.

The project proposes individuals build the St Ayles Skiff, designed by internationally renowned small boat designer Iain Oughtred. The design provides a mix of tradition, seaworthiness, speed and ease of build.

The St Ayles Skiff is designed to be built by the clinker plywood construction method.

Anyone familiar with Iain's designs will recognize this boat immediately. More of a dory than a skiff, it is an obviously efficient boat.

The St Ayles Skiff is approximately 22 feet long with a beam of 5′8″. Crew will be four rowers and a coxswain.

The kits will be available through Alec Jordan Boats soon and the prototype is going together as we speak. There are photos of the build at Strathkanchris's Little World.

So, the question that comes to mind?

Why should the Scots have all the fun? Why, when there are coastal waters just outside my window just begging for the proper mix of tradition, seaworthiness and speed?

Is anyone for making this a global project?
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