# 'The Magic of Wooden Boat Construction'



## Sister Eleff (Nov 28, 2006)

I saw this article in Ireland Afloat Magazine and thought it may be of interest to some:

http://afloat.ie/sail/sailing-class...-blog-–-the-magic-of-wooden-boat-construction


----------



## TOM ALEXANDER (Dec 24, 2008)

Many years ago, in a former life, I raced Fireball class dinghies -- I owned a fibreglass one but the home made wooden ones were ultra competitive -- stiff -- light, and needless to say more often than not beat me. So, thanx, Sister for the post - wood is still good!! (Thumb)(Thumb)


----------



## spongebob (Dec 11, 2007)

Thanks for that Sister Eleff, wooden boat construction has always fascinated me although I never got beyond building a couple of plywood dinghies.
During my apprentiship I used to swoon over the clinker planked naval cutters, dinghies etc built by the shipwrights apprentices and for a time wish I had selected that trade.
Bob


----------



## Hugh Ferguson (Sep 4, 2006)

Here's a couple of web-sites for anyone interested in wooden boats:-
http://www.falmouthworkingboats.com
http://www.restronguetpoint.org.uk/General History.html
Click on "Industry" and scroll down to "Ship Building"


You will see much mention of a famous Cornish boat builder known as Foreman Ferris. I got to know of him as a result of my wife, Joy, who having left school in Falmouth got a summer job, as a deck-hand, in the River Fal pleasure boat, Moyana, which was skippered by Tom Ferris, a grandson of Foreman Ferris. 
Tom was born in 1887 in a cottage down the next cove (Flushing Cove) from where we are living now.

Attached is an old photo of the men who built those famed Falmouth work-boats one of which, the "Florence" built 1895, is still to be seen racing in Falmouth Bay every summer! 
(Their most famous build was the schooner, "Rhoda Mary", which they built and sailed to some port in N.Wales:"they walked all the way back to Cornwall!)


----------



## charles henry (May 18, 2008)

Sister Eleff said:


> I saw this article in Ireland Afloat Magazine and thought it may be of interest to some:
> 
> Once when we were anchored waiting for a berth in Abadan an Indian Dhow anchored close to us and its captain came aboard our vessel bringing his chromoniter (Which he was very proud of) for a time check. He invited me on board his vessel, Completely wooden construction with wooden pegs used instead of nails.
> live animals provided meet and eggs. Toilet facilities were three planks on
> ...


----------



## Hugh Ferguson (Sep 4, 2006)

My neighbour, who is an artist, lived in Arabia and specialised in painting dhows.


----------



## ben27 (Dec 27, 2012)

good day hugh ferguson.sm.today.01:31,#6.re:the magic of wooden boat construction.great paintings.thank you for sharing,regards ben27


----------



## spongebob (Dec 11, 2007)

I remember a replica row boat displayed at the Auckland boat show that was a copy of the old Chesapeake Bay cutters used to swiftly taxi sailing ship's crew to and from the shore. Clinker built and bright finished many planks were fixed by "tree nails", a dowel wedged each end , to provide a total Wooden construction .
A beautiful work of art.

Bob


----------



## nick olass (Apr 30, 2009)

I may be wrong, but I imagine that the people with the necessary knowledge and skills to built wooden boats are becoming much fewer. It's wonderful to watch these artistic craftsmen at work though, sheer class.


----------



## Hugh Ferguson (Sep 4, 2006)

Hugh Ferguson said:


> Here's a couple of web-sites for anyone interested in wooden boats:-
> http://www.falmouthworkingboats.com
> http://www.restronguetpoint.org.uk/General History.html
> Click on "Industry" and scroll down to "Ship Building"
> ...


 The self-sufficiency of those people, compared to present day, was truly remarkable. I knew the grandson of Foreman Ferris, Tom Ferris for the last 17 years of his life and his life had not been much different from his grandfather's.
They survived, virtually entirely, upon their own resources; grow a lot of their own food even to the extent of keeping a cow, Jenny, and a pig! No power tools for the boat-building and having to cut most of the timber required by hand from local sources. 
I well remember Tom always having an eye open for a piece of growing oak timber that might be just right for a "knee" to go between deck and frame: if it was the right shape it would always be perfect for the job in hand because it would be stronger and that is how you would acquire the skills to build a boat, like the Florence, which would still be working 100 or more years later!
Remarkable people indeed and raise eleven kids at the same time!


----------



## Donald McGhee (Apr 5, 2005)

I had the privilege, as a Cadet Force Officer to sail the 17ft clinker built wooden cutters that NZCF units were issued with. They were beautifully constructed and great sea boats. Now superceded by the 'plastic fantastics' which are cheap and nasty shadows of their predecessors.
Reason for replacement? Money! What else my friends, the root of and ongoing reason for all the shoddy rubbish that now masquerades as "progress"!
Timber is a great medium for vessels and will never, from where I sit, be equalled.


----------



## spongebob (Dec 11, 2007)

Donald, those cutters are probably the ones built by dockyard shipwright apprentices as mentioned in my post #3.

Bob


----------



## Donald McGhee (Apr 5, 2005)

spongebob said:


> Donald, those cutters are probably the ones built by dockyard shipwright apprentices as mentioned in my post #3.
> 
> Bob


I believe so Bob, they were beautiful vesels and I would love to own one if ever they came on the market. 
T.S Achilles had one which was stripped right back to bare timber and varnished, what a gorgeous thing! Absolutely criminal to think they are no longer being used and developing maintenance skills for their upkeep amongst young cadets. Mind you there are a lot fewer cadets now, all seems to revolve around a silver screen, mobile phones or any outlet that requires sitting on your ****!
One of the joys of these boats was the sheer pleasure gained by a maintenance programme, putting in the time and effort and seeing them look their best, before regattas etc. gone, sadly, are the days.


----------



## spongebob (Dec 11, 2007)

Donald, today they would find a well built original and take a fibre glass mould from it for mass production.
They have done this to John Brook's Frostbite and Sunburst sailing dinghies, to Herreshoft's H28 and a few more classics but it is perhaps inevitable as Kauri and other suitable timbers become almost unprocurable. Those Navy cutters used to be built with knees fashioned from natural bends from coastal Pohutukawa trees and ribs from the Tanekaha tree to finish up being close to a Steinway grand piano in quality of timber finish.
Still we had wooden frigates and battle ships of the line once but what I have seen of Sherwood Forest you might have a hard job finding enough English Oak to build just a small one.

Bob


----------

