Just sit back, relax and enjoy a few videos of sailing canoes. The first is a simple treat for the eyes and ears. I love these small boats and I love this classic accordion music. The second is a commentary by the designer of the Artemis sailing canoe, Axel Schmid. I find his English almost as soothing as the accordion music. He gives a wonderful brief history of the sailing canoe and a fascinating description of the design process leading to his Artemis. Lastly, allow me to present the work of John Floutier, a British builder who has recreated the classic Rushton Princess, a sailing canoe from the 1880s. He built this from plans drawn up from an original Rushton Princess in the Adirondack Museum. The Rushton Princess is a wooden craft of exquisite beauty. And as Axel says in his video, “There is no excuse to build an ugly boat.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNx3e86e6nI&t=89s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUFDYPijiOo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-TNI19FkOg
All those sailing canoes are a far cry from my current Pungo 120 plastic kayak with my homemade sailing rig. But my kayak is comfortable, stable and sails surprisingly well. I have a decent sprayskirt so I can handle a rough Chesapeake Bay. Still, I’d like to upgrade. I have the plans for Ian Oughtred’s MacGregor sailing canoe and have been studying them for years. Maybe it’s time.
TTG
We just returned home from the Port Townsend, WA Wooden Boat Show. You would love it! Three days of walking the docks, talking to owners and being invited to see some very fabulous “fancy” wooden boats as well as many small sailing vessels fitted out with oars rather than a motor or engine. A good time for anyone who loves “messing around in boats.”
Laura,
Some* pics: https://woodenboat.org/boats/
*like 150 or so…
Mark Logan,
That’s a nice compilation. Thanks
TTG, Laura,
We went to this one too but couldn’t stay around near long enough to see it all. What stuck in my memory most was “Liz”. I know a wee bit about spar varnish and that guy has to have done close to a dozen coats. Carefully, lovingly, steel wooling between each one. There is not one drip or ripple in that finish, and I looked.
It strangely left me feeling conflicted. I agree there is no excuse to make an ugly boat,,,but is there one for making a boat too beautiful to use??
Mark Logan,
Here’s a story about Nick Offerman, the actor and skilled woodworker. Years ago he built a wood strip canoe he named Lucky Boy. He gave it a beautiful epoxy and varnish finish. Not that long ago he took a paddle down a rocky river and scraped the hell out of the finish. It didn’t phase him. He knew how to repair it. He knew that his canoe was meant to be paddled and that it would get banged up in the process. Boat owners I know feel the same way, most notably wooden boat owners. Some are happy with a working boat finish and that’s perfectly fine. Others who create a flawless varnish finish know that repairs will have to be made from general wear and tear and the occasional major damage. Repairing that damage and maintaining that finish is an enjoyable part of boat ownership… even if you do wince when you hear that rock scrape along your hull.
Here’s a couple of the videos of Nick Offerman building his canoe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8cEZmOChug
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJWf_1TgiGo
Yes, a labor of love. It can be a thing.
I didn’t put a piano finish on my I-14, not by longshot, but I definitely looked forward to the hour or two after dinner each night dedicated to working on it. Had it ever needed a major repair I would not have viewed that as a “problem”. Not really, anyway.
Mark Logan,
An I-14, I’m impressed. Did you build it from plans or did you restore and maintain her? That design has quite a history. I remember walrus mentioning he built a sophisticated racing class dingy, but I can’t remember the design.
https://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/250935/14s-Forever
TTG,
Partially from plans. When Paul Bieker moved on from his #3 design (up to #6 at the moment, I believe) he gave away several sets of forms for the cedar strip #3 version to the local fleet, which simplified the process greatly. Cold molded substrate with cedar strip planking, a lot like Nick was doing in his video.
The high performance world has moved beyond wood though, but up until carbon it was still the lightest.
“Wood. If we didn’t have it we would’ve had to invent it”. -Another local designer, Robert Perry.
Some of Bob’s designs. http://www.perryboat.com/
Laura Wilson,
I’ve often read about that show, but have never been. There’s another wooden boat show at Mystic Seaport in Connecticut that i read about every year, but I’ve never been to that one either.
While down at Camp Peary, I spent a lot of time at the Mariners Museum in Newport News among their small boat collection. It was an auditorium-size building chock full of wooden boats. I thoroughly enjoyed that.
It was great and the stories behind all of those boats in Mark’s position are quite interesting. I think I read about one-third before giving up for the evening…so much craftsmanship and so many dreams!
oops…Mark Logan’s posting.
TTG,
That canoe is definitely the cats meow. Especially when you bring the fish aboard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LybidL4FRaY
Fred,
I see those are Lake Ontario catfish. Way bigger than what I was familiar with further inland. We called them bullheads and were never thrilled with hooking them. Around here, I never did any fishing from my kayak. I was thinking about going after our snakeheads, but they fight like tuna until you bash their heads in. Good way to capsize in a kayak, but it’s been done.
Hornpout we called them in northern New England. Small but tasty with eggs for breakfast after fishing for them with cane pole all night.
TTG,
I’ve been watching the snook and tarpon take that baitfish off my dock these last 3 mornings. Full moon last night too. Fine thing at 4am when the dog decides he needs to go out.
One of the infants has just been out and has identified a hazard I’d never thought of before. Buoys.
When the tide comes in very strong it pushes the buoys under the water. When it’s choppy the submerged buoy can’t be seen. Wouldn’t have worried me in my old heavy wooden boat but I suppose it could damage fibre glass or thin ply. Also could be tricky if a drop keel got snagged in the chain. Or an outboard, come to think of it.
This sailing caper can be risky, TTG, so many ways. I suspect that’s one of the reasons you like it.