Comments for A Shipwright in Training

Comment on Roann relaunched! by The Loftsman

The Loftsman — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:28:29 +0000

Well done, she looks the part, and if it looks right it usually is right.

Comment on Plankity plank plank by The Loftsman

The Loftsman — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:04:44 +0000

The person that never made any mistakes, never done any work!
Hope you got fixed up, as i am sure you did.

Comment on The Tom Factor by Tom

Tom — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:02:53 +0000

Hey there,
the Whitehall ended up being finished by the class after mine. It was a shame that we didn’t get to finish it, but the 6 metre project just took over, and people really lost steam on this boat. You can see photos of her being launched here: http://www.iyrs.org/EducationalPrograms/InsideIYRSBlog/tabid/552/EntryId/94/Launch-Day.aspx
She really came out nicely.

Comment on What’s wrong with Madcap? by The Loftsman

The Loftsman — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:54:58 +0000

Hi,
They dont make em like they used too, eh, quality craftsmen.

Comment on The Tom Factor by The Loftsman

The Loftsman — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:41:43 +0000

Hi,
Take it from me that the offset book/table is your bible when lofting and it should be corrected and updated if required.
Great read, and using the tom factor you should be timeserved by now?

Comment on Taking lines off the Whitehall by Tom

Tom — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 23:45:45 +0000

Hi Arnis,
Thank you for your note about getting training for building a Whitehall row boat. The shop that I trained at has a 2 year program in boat building, but I think that might be a little more time and money than you are looking to spend. I don’t have my own shop, I work in shops owned by other people.

My advice would be to

1) get a couple of good books on boat building and use them to guide you as you build your boat. Some good books that people I know use are:
- Building the Herreshoff Dinghy, by Barry Thomas
- Building Small Boats, by Greg Rossel
- Boatbuilding, by Howard Chapelle
- Boatbuilding Manual, by Robert Steward
- Lofting, by Alan Vaitsis

2) when you get stuck, see if you can find someone in your area who has built boats to come over and give you advice about how to fix the problem.

The primary difference between home builders and professional builders is that the professionals know how to do things quicker and with less waste. Home builders can make a boat that’s just as good as a pro, but it will take a lot longer and may result in a number of parts that are made twice as you learn by making mistakes.

A Whitehall is a beautiful boat, but it’s going to be challenging. The lower planks have a lot of twist to them, so they’re tricky to fit. Feel free to write with any questions, and I’ll do my best to help out.

Comment on Taking lines off the Whitehall by Arnis Zhagata

Arnis Zhagata — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 16:23:04 +0000

Dear Sirs,

I am from Latvia. We are going to build wooden boat a copy of famous Whitehall of wooden planks ultimate close to original technology. We are experienced woodworkers but never built any boat. Therefore we would like have training at your workshop. Is it possible? What are conditions?

Thanks,

Best regards,

Arnis Zhagata

Comment on Roann relaunched! by Tom

Tom — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 01:03:58 +0000

Thanks Andrew. There’s Many positive things about the work, not the least of which is knowing exactly what you’ve done at the end of the day.

Comment on Roann relaunched! by Andrew Catuccio

Andrew Catuccio — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:04:25 +0000

What a wonderful story! I’m a psychologist who always wanted to be a shipbuilder. (We all do you know.) You have communicated the essentially emotional part of the appreciation of a good boat- complete with dog’s feet. What a piece of work and art.

Comment on Woah… busy week! by Tom

Tom — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 23:38:52 +0000

Thanks Joe, glad you’re enjoying the blog. It was fun to write, and so far, when I look over it again I’m not too appalled.