Birth of a Boat Show
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The AshBreezeJournal of the Traditional Small Craft Association Birth of a Boat Show IN THIS ISSUE Making Your Own Hollow Oars – Part 2 WoodenBoat Show Wrap-up The Restoration of Elf VOLUME 35, Number 3 • Fall 2014 • $4.00 The Breeze Ash The Ash Breeze (ISSN 1554-5016) is the quarterly journal of the Traditional Small Craft Association, Inc. It is published at Mariner Media, Inc., 131 West 21st Street, Buena Vista, VA 24416. Communications concerning membership or mailings should be addressed to: PO Box 350, Mystic, CT President’s Message 06355. www.tsca.net I would venture to guess that many Director, Rick Pratt, a boat builder Volume 35, Number 3 of us have dreamed of building and who studied under John Gardner at Editor: working with traditional boats on the Mystic Seaport Museum. We look Andy Wolfe an everyday basis. In our dreams we forward to expanding the educational [email protected] would have a shop with all the tools programs for youth and adding and building materials, eager folks seminars on various boatbuilding Advertising Manager: are there to help, and since we’re techniques. Mike Wick dreaming let’s throw in a paycheck, I became aware of this opportunity [email protected] too. Well, I have to share with you of a lifetime planning the October Editors Emeriti: that I have realized that dream. 2014 Port Aransas plyWooden Boat Richard S. Kolin This spring I was offered theFestival. The first of its kind in Texas, Sam & Marty King position of manager at the Farley the festival is being jointly produced David & Katherine Cockey Boat Works. Located in Port Aransas, by the Texas Chapter of TSCA, Ralph Notaristefano Texas, the Farley Boat Works is a the Port Aransas Museum/Farley Ken Steinmetz working museum associated with the Boat Works and Duckworks online John Stratton Port Aransas Preservation Association magazine and chandlery. See the Dan Drath and the Port Aransas Museum. The article in this issue on page 8. Ned Asplundh Farley Boat Works was originally On another note the TSCA Council established in 1915 to build wooden is still working to balance our budget. The Traditional Small Craft recreational and commercial fishing We are in the process of improving Association, Inc. is a nonprofit, tax- boats. It closed in 1970 and was our process for collecting magazine exempt educational organization reestablished as a nonprofit working advertising fees in a timely manner. that works to preserve and continue museum in 2011. I want to take this opportunity to the living traditions, skills, lore, and legends surrounding working and The mission of the museum is to commend our treasurer, Bill Meier, pleasure watercraft with origins that continue the heritage of Texas Gulf who is very adept at managing predate the marine gasoline engine. Coast boatbuilding by teaching money. He has developed the process We encourage the design, construction, students to build their own boats. we will follow. Although we are doing and use of these boats, and we embrace This is near and dear to my heart. I all we can to cover our expenses, contemporary variants and adaptations was taught to build my first boat at I must put you on notice that the of traditional designs. the Working Waterfront Museum in Council is considering a dues increase TSCA is an enjoyable yet practical Tacoma, Washington, and went on to to ensure our financial viability as an link among users, designers, builders, build several others independently. organization. More information will restorers, historians, government, and I accepted the job offer without come as to if, when and how much maritime institutions. hesitation and put in my paperwork the dues increase will be. ©2014 by The Traditional Small Craft Association, Inc. for early retirement at my corporate Keep dreaming and stay involved, safety job. On June 25, I started work Frank W. Coletta TAB Layout Design: Karen Bowen managing the shop, and it has been President wonderful. I report to the Museum Traditional Small Craft Association The Ash Breeze, Fall 2014 2 2014 WoodenBoat Show and John Gardner Small Craft Workshop by Bill Rutherford A big thanks to A rousing good time was had by all as National Council we indulged in the amazing selection of members David traditional small craft on Australia Beach, Wyman for initial at the Seaport Boathouse dock and in the planning, Andy WoodenBoat Show—going in full swing Wolfe for extra copies all around us. The key to success was of The Ash Breeze joint sponsorship by the TSCA, Mystic and Treasurer Bill Seaport and WoodenBoat magazine. In Meier who managed addition to the Show, WoodenBoat merchandise sales. provided free use of both rowing and Many equally big sail craft at the Seaport Boathouse. thanks to Bob Lister Mystic Seaport graciously provided us and Bill from the space at Australia Beach, floating docks nascent Cape Cod alongside, communications, registration Chapter, Marty Saturday morning row up the Mystic River. and a tent, thank goodness, for shade. Heyman from Long The TSCA coordinated with the Seaport Island, Mike and Karen from Maine, staffers Bill Armitage, Rob Pittaway and WoodenBoat to present workshops local Phil Behney and team for delivery as well as an energetic host of others. throughout the weekend and provided and return of four club dories, the tireless Seaport Executive Secretary Shannon lots of copies of The Ash Breeze.The team of Jim Clark and Andy Strode who McKenzie not only managed all the local John Gardner Chapter staffed the safely entered and exited people from initial communications, she caused our booth, wrangled boats on the beach dories as well as managing the dock. booth to appear and personally staffed and provided four club dories to entice Local Treasurer Karen Rutherford kept the registration table as the cruising passers-by to sample the joy of a well- signing up people as fast as they could whaleship Charles W. Morgan pulled her pulled oar. fill out the forms. Thanks also to booth staff to New Bedford. Left: Mower racing dory launched from Australia Beach. Right: Culler Skiff. continued on page 13 3 The Ash Breeze, Fall 2014 Cape Cod Row by Bill Stirling Walt Henry and Bob Frazee are two new members of the Cape Cod Chapter and they are also members of the Wianno Yacht Club in Osterville, MA. The club is located on the shores of West Bay, right beside the historic Crosby Boatyard; birth place of the Cape Cod Catboat in the mid-1800s. Walt and Bob requested that our CCTSCA members bring their row boats to the club to show the WYC members various styles of boats designed for rowing and give them a chance to try them out and compare them to the small dinghies that they were accustomed to using. It was decided that a weekday evening would be best to avoid their daytime sailing program and hopefully have pleasant conditions for many first time rowers. On July 8th Bob Lister brought his Flap Jack Skiff, Jeremy King brought his sliding seat Merry Wherry, Walt Baron brought his Old Wharf Dory, and I brought two Peapods. One is a Beach Pea and the smaller one is ELF, designed by Capt. Pete Culler in the mid-fifties, I believe, and built by his friend George Kelley of Hyannis in 1979, both of whom were long time TSCA members. Four other CCTSCA members, Don Stucke, Chris Kelley, Liam Henry, and Ken Burnes, helped with the boats and rowers Approximately twelve WYC members attended, and they all took their turn rowing each boat and were delighted at how well they handled. They were able to see how each reacted differently to the wind and waves when they rowed beyond the shelter of the dock and were exposed to the 20+ mph wind. Normally, the wind drops off in the evening...so much for trying to guess the weather. Our hope is that we can get together again soon and have a bit less wind so the WYC members can row out further and get a better feel of each boat. The pictures were taken by Mrs. Henry. The Ash Breeze, Fall 2014 4 5 The Ash Breeze, Fall 2014 Building Hollow Wooden Oars: Part 2 by Jim Swallow a fair amount of material, but with plenty left for the grinding and shaping process. In Part 1 of this series, we chose our wood, cut out the strips, then dadoed, glued, and shaped them into what will become the shafts. We also began to make what will become the spoon-shaped blades. In this section, we will complete the shaping of the spoons—some of it done before and the rest after we have attached the components to the shafts. We will then need to finish These are the two options for the spoon everything well, attach the sleeves, buttons, blades. Above, the body of the blade is As the central lamination of the oar blade, and grips. Finally the oars will be paired made from those extra strips of cypress the shaft gradually tapers to the end of the with the Douglas oarlocks I had been that were made during the first step that blade. The upper part of the shaft is routed looking for over many years that now seem are subsequently cut, laminated together, on each side by a 1" round-over bit, causing to be easily acquired at a reasonable price and the shape in the horizontal axis cut a spine to form as the round-over plunges (see duckworksbbs.com or rowingsport. out on the band saw. Below are the same into the taper.