Sail and Oar

First up is Myles Quick's Swampscott dory in Auckland New Zealand.

Miles has buildt a Swampscott dory, based on a design by Pete Culler, to enjoy the excellent sailing conditions in Auckland, which lies across a volcanic isthmus separating two harbours. Waitemata Harbour to the east opens on the Hauraki Gulf and the Pacific Ocean. Westward, Manukau Harbour opens to the Tasman Sea.
Miles recently launched his yet unnamed dory, in Waitemata Harbor, for a test sail.

From Miles:
 "Hi Michael,

"I have had a wonderful weekend of sailing, but still no pictures. The truth is that I don’t know how to take photographs when I am sailing alone - I am too busy trying to handle the ropes and tiller."

"The main thing is she sails very sweetly. I have only my current boat for comparison, and that is a Welsford Rogue but how different this boat is! She wallows not at all. I have become accustomed to sailing a snake-like path, with each gust of wind bringing the boat into wind, and me correcting with a great heave on the tiller. That doesn’t happen at all. She is incredibly good-natured and peaceful and just goes where she is pointed. You don’t even notice waves. The sea picked up a little bit on Sunday, but that just made it more enjoyable."

"My list of things I was testing:

1. Centreboard position and size (given that I moved both rear mast and centreboard back and changed the shape and size) seems perfect to me. There is never helm of any kind, and no leeway that I could notice.

2. Tippiness (sorry to use that word again) – none! This is a very stable and forgiving boat – perfect for what I want.

3. Size of rig – perfect for the conditions I experienced (10 knots)

4. Speed – nothing too exceptional, but very pleasing – similar to my current boat, but I think with room for improvement once I get the hang of things.

5. Windward ability – a bit disappointing – perhaps not as good as my current balanced lug. I think I am doing something wrong, because from what I have heard the sprit sail should be quite good. Maybe I am not flattening the sail enough (those ropes are quite heavy on the arm and hands!)

6. Going about – it takes a while, but seems pretty dependable.

7. Jibing – not a problem with the sprit sails, except getting caught up in ropes.

8. Raising and striking the rig at sea – no problem – I had to do this a couple of times because I went through a squally patch. Standing upright and walking about in a bit of sea was no problem at all. I just plucked the masts out, furled the sails and rowed 500m to shore. I am not sure a motor is necessary, because rowing is so easy, but I am sure I will be grateful for the motor-well some time or other.

9. Home-designed tip-up rudder (I copied Pete’s lines though) – this worked fine – after launching I tie a few knots to fix it in the down position. When I retrieve it I tie a knot to fix it in the up position - nothing fancy or complicated at all. The rudder can dismantle, but I leave it on the boat on the trailer.

10. Trailering – the completely flat bottom (with no fixed keel) works exceptionally well for retrieving from a rough sea. You just hitch and crank, and the boat very quickly gets centred by the bow guides (see picture below). There is no way for the paintwork/plywood to get damaged by a wave lifting and dropping the boat."

"All in all Pete Culler was spot on. This is a beautiful little beach-boat and quite different from the wonderful boats by Oughtred and Welsford, which tend to be wider and heavier with much more sail, but she does the job beautifully. For someone (like me) who wants the simplest, lightest, most canoe-like of rough-water boats I just can’t fault her."

"For the remainder of this beautiful New Zealand summer I will be trying to improve my skills, and also tweaking what I can to improve performance. At some stage I am sure I will figure out a way to get some pictures as well, and I will send them on with an update."

That's Miles' first mate, Izzy, getting in the way, as usual.

The winning combination of sails.

The test run.



Great job, Miles! And they say dories don't sail well.......

As a bonus we have progress reports on two Ken Basset Firefly designs nearing completion. Our second feature is Bayard Story's double Firefly under construction in California. His boat is identical to my Finesse, so we've had an extended conversation on the quality of these boats for some time.

I'm pleased to see Bayard making good progress. Keep up the good work, my friend!

More photos of the build can be found here.

We've recently heard from Lorenz Rutz and it seems he is just a few coats of varnish and paint from launching his single rowing station Firefly in Connecticut. This boat is built in the tape and glue method, as light as is practical. Lorenz has done a very commendable job and a few readers have requested his advise on building the Firefly without traditional framing.

Nice job, Lorenz.
I expect we'll see these boats on the water soon.

Meanwhile, back at the Boatyard

This was suppose to be a quiet winter with the focus being the design and build of a Melonseed Skiff. Sorry to say, not much has happened with the 'seed in the last two weeks, but that will be remedied soon.

The next phase is framing the decks which, as you all know, is not glamorous and very time consuming. To see the progress to date, visit Doryman's photos.







So what has Doryman been doing? Taking long naps in front of the fire, no doubt.




I have one word for you: Stone Horse.
Well, that's two words.
One fine boat.

The weather has not been cooperative and snow doesn't help, but work is progressing on the Stone Horse, Belle Starr.


The Sandman has been doing what he does best.


If this isn't the most boring video you have ever seen.......




The bowsprit and boomkin from this boat were made of Black Locust and left untreated. These pieces weathered and checked, but after thirty years were still hard as wood gets. Unfortunately they had "fastening sickness" where they had been mounted to the decks and needed to be replaced. The new sticks have been shaped from an African hardwood named Limbali, which is also very dense. They received a primer coat of paint today.
The Limbali would varnish nicely, but a bright finish on a boomkin is for show boats.

We'll see some photos of those pieces as they are installed on the boat, later this month.





There is some rotten wood where the port cockpit deck meets the main bulkhead, which affected the bulkhead, the deck and the counter-top on the other side.

All the rot has been chiseled and chipped out, oh what a mess!
I'll spare you photos - just take my word for it.












The Ken Basset Firefly, Finesse has been a design challenge. She took a new finish nicely but the oarlock outriggers have been another story. This boat came with a retired set of twelve foot Concept II carbon fiber oars rigged for a six foot wide outrigger beam.

These technical oars would be fun and fast, though a bit too much for a man of a certain age.


The marine facilities around here are designed for big boats and the docks float high as a necessity. Approaching such a dock with outriggers that double the beam of the boat is difficult, if not dangerous.


So, Finesse will be "detuned" and employ 8.5 foot long oars. The outriggers slide between hull and inwale, and are removable to make docking and rafting-up easier. Several design mock-ups have gone by the board in an effort to make something that fits all these criteria. The verdict is, the oarlock stanchions you see in this photo will be adequate, but not pretty and Finesse deserves better.

But for now, let's get this boat on the water!





Remember the story of a Tree, a Storm and an Unfortunate Automobile? How the Evil Insurance Company refused to accept liability?... Well, the story has a Happy Ending.

Doryman is fortunate to have good friends who make personal sacrifices for others.

I'm very happy to tell you that these fine people (you know who you are!) chipped in and paid for a new windshield and the old van is back on the road, somewhat worse for wear
(a bit like its owner).

It's good to know you can count on your friends! I'm grateful as a man can be.