CCraftsmanshipraftsmanship
Above: John
Greenaway and, right,
a bronze fitting from
Classic MarineCB ARCHIVES84 CLASSIC BOAT APRIL 2016Edited by Steffan Meyric Hughes: +44 (0)207 349 3758
Email: [email protected]ULLAPOOL, SCOTLAND
A bigger AukCLAIROIX, FRANCE
Stitch-and-tape pointuBRITAIN
Classic chandleries change handsUK/USA
Drascombes
head
statesideYard News
C/O ARWEN MARINE
ADRIAN MORGANMore like this at classicboat.co.uk/category/yard-newsThe latest boat from CB columnist Adrian Morgan
(see p33) is a stretched (8ft 9in/2.7m) version of Iain
Oughtred’s popular Auk design in larch planks on
steamed timbers, oak stem and copper riveting. The
aft slat of three that make up the rowing thwart can
be added to allow the owner's young daughters to
row closer to the rowlocks, or removed for adults. The
sprit rig will go in when the owner and family have
gained confidence using it as a rowing boat on its new
home, a big loch in Caithness. Build time was about 250
hours and the price under £4,000. “Far too cheap, but
they used to knock out boats like this two a penny. I
am happy to try to match an equivalent plastic boat,
albeit one that takes an hour to extrude,” said Adrian.
“The price would be higher for a concours finish. I
believe in a good, strong boat, not a grand piano.”Small boat maestro François Vivier has a lifelong association
with the workboats of the Breton coast where he lives, but
he has long dreamed of designing a Mediterranean ‘pointu’
or ‘barquette’ for home build. These double-ended fishing
boats are emblems of the Mediterranean coast and are
seen in their thousands to this day. This one had to be
traditional in appearance but buildable by an amateur with
only a garage for space. The length and beam of 5m and
1.75m (16ft 5in and 5ft 8in) are authentic for this sort of
craft. The unusual construction is carvel stitch-and-tape
ply, 10 planks a side, on a plywood ‘eggbox’ (interlocking
skeleton of bulkheads and longitudinals – very strong!). The
rig is a standing lateen main with jib, but the boat can take
the trickier ‘Catalan’ dipping lateen (no jib). The first boat,
Hasta Cipango, has now been launched by Arwen Marine
and so far has reportedly handled well at sea.Two of Britain’s best-loved traditional chandleries recently changed hands in
unrelated sales. Traditional Boat Supplies was bought by Bristol-based
boatbuilder Mark Rolt, and Classic Marine was bought by Suffolk Yacht
Harbour (SYH). See p48 to learn more about SYH boss Jonathan Dyke.
Both John Greenaway (Traditional Boat Supplies or just ‘TBS’) and Moray
MacPhail (Classic Marine) were regulars on our feature stands at the London
Boat Show, holding tools and techniques demonstrations for stand visitors.
John, in his late 70s, is retiring, no doubt to continue living by his mantra- “independence... tis ‘andsome”. John would like to thank CB readers and
friends for “the most wonderful 20 years of my life” while running TBS, and is
delighted to have found a new proprietor of the caliber of Mark Rolt, who will
run the business from his Bristol yard. More from Mark soon no doubt, once
he has got his feet properly under the table. Moray, meanwhile, continues
to trade in his capacity as a metal worker under the new name of Bronzework
Marine. His new website is bronzeworkmarine.co.uk. SYH is at syharbour.co.uk.
Churchouse Boats
has appointed a
North American
agent for its famous
Drascombe range of
daysailers: Eric Datry,
a lifelong Drascombe
sailor. North American
enquiries should now
be directed to Eric on
001 404 931 2698 or
eric.drascombe@
gmail.com.
Meanwhile,
progress to return the
very first wooden
lugger Katharine Mary
to good condition for
display at the 2017
London Boat Show is
steady. She was
recently bought by
Lauren and Hannah
Harwood (daughters
of Simon and Sharon
Harwood, owners of
Churchouse Boats).