Ive spent the last few days learning to loft... in the loft. Rather than tie up 50 sq ft of floor space while I learn slowly and painfully (on the knees) to loft full size I put up a board and tried it 1/4 scale. Im glad I did. Making mistakes has never been so comfortable. Ive been using Roger Koanycias book on lofting as my guide. Ill do a thorough review when Ive finished building the boat - the proof of the lofting, after all, is in the floating. However of all the books Ive tried to read about lofting this is the clearest and best illustrated. Rather than take you through the process one painful step at a time Ill post a short video. It was actually much more enjoyable than it looks.
The 35th Annual Wooden Boat Festival at Port Townsend was, in a word, magnificent! I have been attending this festival for many years now. It was two years ago when I met Barrett Faneuf here, she invited my wife and I out for a sail aboard her Navigator "Yuko", and the rest is history. The festival seems to get a little bigger and a little better with each passing year, but this years festival took a quantum leap for me. Not only was it my first time as an exhibitor, but I had the honor of meeting people such as John Welsford, Howard Rice, Josh Colvin (editor of Small Craft Advisor magazine), Sam Devlin, and a surprising number of people currently building Welsfords designs.
But more on that later.
There is no way to compress all four days of the festival into one blog entry. Its going to take several. Lets start with the pre-festival setup.
Ellie, of course, wanted to look her best, so I spent the weekend prior to the festival getting her in "ship shape". I touched up the few scratches she had picked up from the barnacle encrusted rocky beach at Sucia, cleaned off the bits of dried seaweed from her most recent outing to a TSCA messabout at Bowman Bay and gave her mahogany seats a fresh coat of Seafin oil. We even bought her a pretty little bouquet of flowers for the show. Ellie is a tomboy, but she didnt seem to mind.
Thursday, the busy setup day before the start of the festival, finally arrived. We set out early because we had to tackle a bit of Seattles morning rush hour traffic, take a Washington State ferry, and cross a major drawbridge just to get there, then set up the boat, launch her at Boat Haven marina, travel over to Port Hudson marina, and report in all before noon.
Here is Ellie, gleaming aboard the Edmonds-Kingston Ferry.
For those of you not from around here, the Washington State Ferry system has the largest passenger and automobile ferry fleet in the U.S. and the third largest in the world based on number of vehicles carried - about 11 million vehicles per year.
After the ferry crossing, and wait for the Hood Canal bridge to close, we finally arrived at Boat Haven marina. At the boat launch was Peter Van Sickle with his Welsford Penguin "Tenacious". Peter, who trailered over from Idaho, completed his Penguin about two months ago. After launching our boats we headed for the festival at Port Hudson. Here I am admiring "Tenacious".
Upon arriving at Port Hudson, we were instructed to contact the Harbormaster on VHF radio for our slip assignments. Squeezing a couple hundred boats into Port Hudson in an orderly fashion is no easy task. More like a gigantic game of Tetris. Harbormaster Dan Evans of the schooner Adventuress did a remarkable job. What I didnt know was that they place all the larger yachts first. Because we arrived fairly early we were forced to sail under beautiful, near perfect conditions for several hours while awaiting our turn to enter the harbor. Feel sorry for us? Dont!
At last it was our turn to enter and we tied up at our assigned spot.
Here is a panorama of all of us shoehorned in snug and cozy like. Well done harbormaster!
At this point I had to make a quick side trip to check into our hotel, then hurry back for the reception. We were treated to a thank-you reception, complimentary drink, music and dancing at Bar Harbor (a large tent on the Western edge of the Festival where they serve beer, wine and have live music all day) that went on until after midnight.
Next up: The Festival begins. A momentous sail with John and much more. Stay tuned!
The Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival seems to have a different atmosphere each day.
Fridays are my favorite day. Friday seems to bring in more of the amateur boatbuilders, eager to attend the festival as early as possible in order to beat the weekend crowds and get more one-on-one time with the exhibitors. I really enjoy the relaxed atmosphere on Friday. I made this video clip to give you an idea of what I mean.
Saturday is the busiest day, drawing people from all walks of life, with the full spectrum of interests. Sunday, the final day of the festival, seems to bring in many of the locals whose friendliness knows no bounds. It gradually builds in anticipation of the spectacular grand sail-by, cheered by thousands of spectators along the shore, immediately followed by thousands of fond farewells.
On Friday I alternated between answering questions on Ellie and sneaking away to look at the other boats while waiting with great anticipation for John Welsfords talk at 12:30.
Having already taken a peek at Peters Penguin "Tenatious" at the boat launch, I figured this was a great time to go see the other Welsford boats at the festival: A Scamp and a Walkabout.
First up was Scamp. I will be writing much more about Scamp in the future.
And nearby was "Puddles", Rick Thompsons Walkabout. Puddles is built as a coastal rowing boat. She is stretched to 17 10", and has seat rails and removable seats and foot stretchers to allow one or two slide seat rowers. She was launched in May 2010. Her home waters are San Francisco Bay, the Sacramento Delta, and lakes of the Sierra Nevada. The workmanship is impeccable.
I met John Welsford at the Small Craft Advisor tent and spoke with him briefly. He had a very busy day scheduled. Johns talk at 12:30 was about the history of recreational boating. The talk was fantastic.
There was an "Under 26 wooden sailboat race" scheduled from 2:30 to 4:00, with a skippers meeting at 1:00 to go over the details. I missed the skippers meeting because I was at Johns talk. No matter - Im not a racer (Ive never raced in my life) but I got this crazy idea to invite John for a sail just to watch the race. To me, dodging the racers is much more fun than racing with them. So after his talk, I invited John out for a sail, and much to my utter delight, he accepted! In the last few days, John had survived traveling halfway around the world in coach, gave three talks, and met hundreds of people. I couldnt tell for sure behind that beard, but I suspect John was ready for a little sailing vacation from his vacation!
So off we went to dodge the racers! As soon as we left Port Hudson marina, I turned the tiller over to John.
I asked John how many Navigators hed sailed. He said hed sailed twelve.
I ask how "Ellie" compared. He said they all sailed very much the same, but had subtle differences.
I then asked John to let me know if he sees anything that needed to be adjusted or changed.
"Youre going to want to move your jib fairlead aft about a handspan and a half.", he said. [note: this would put the jib fairlead right at bulkhead 4]
"Really?", I said, puzzled. "Oh, is that because I shifted the jib higher up when I added the furler and turnbuckle?
John said "You see that curvature you have along the foot of the jib?"
John studied the jib for a few moments, then said, "Take the jib sheet out of that fairlead and lead it right back here to this camcleat."
I did as John instructed and looked at the jib. It now had a nice even airfoil shape along its entire length.
"Thats better", said John "You could still use the other fairlead location for light air if you like, but moving it a handspan and a half aft looks just right."
John tacked and passed just astern of a gaff sloop that looked several feet longer than Ellie.
"Do you normally sit back there?" asked John
"Yes", I said
"Here, take hold of the tiller"
I took hold.
"Now let go the tiller. What do you see?"
I let go and the tiller moved slowly to port.
"A slight weather helm", I said, taking the tiller again.
"Right. Now shift your weight forward, all the way up here and let go the tiller."
The tiller moved slowly to starboard this time.
"These boats are quite sensitive to crew weight. The boat will sail its fastest when properly balanced. Youre a big guy so you are going to want a tiller extension so you can sit up here near the center."
I gave John the helm again, and sat further forward.
We sailed for several more minutes. John tacked occasionally while I daydreamed, soaked in the sunshine, and gazed at the variety of other beautiful boats in the race.
Meanwhile, Ellie seemed to be sailing faster than usual.
John tacked again, this time just ahead of a familiar gaff sloop.
"You see that?", said John, "Earlier we passed astern of that boat. This time we passed ahead of him."
I didnt realize it, but John had joined the race. Not only that, but with two expert adjustments and his experienced helmsmanship, John was overtaking a boat that had an advantage in length over us. Remarkable!
Thanks, John, for generously sharing your time and wisdom with me.
After our sail, John and his lovely wife Denny met with our local TSCA group at Bar Harbor.
Next up: Saturday - the busiest day of the festival. The boats, the events, the maritime center, and much more. Stay tuned!
When we built punk rafts and floated several big rivers, we powered the rafts with canoe paddles and our own arms. Though the big innertubes that floated the rafts provided so much flotation, they drew no more than a few inches of water, it was still like pushing a truck. After a long day of avoiding Swirlies (eddies) and River Sharks (snags), we were exhausted.
Since the raft had no keel or centerboard, it had nothing to provide lateral stability. So when we were going forward, we had to synchronize our rowing or else wed be zigging and zagging all over the water, which we did plenty of anyway.
As an aside, having no keel did have one advantage: We could rotate on a dime. So for example, avoiding an object in the water dead ahead, the Caller might call, "Okay, give me one easy backward stroke," while paddling forward herself to pivot the raft toward the hazard. Then shed call, "Okay, now give me three strong backward strokes," to put the raft out of the way of the snag. Facing the hazard forward thusly, we could always push off if we hadnt rowed fast or strong enough.
In short, it was a big pain. And exhausting if we had to row any distance, for instance in still water.
The plans for the shantyboat have long skegs (sorta like double keels) that run the length of the bottom of the hull. This gives the boat lateral stability when it is powered and keeps it from skipping all over the water when the boat is turned.
While it really didnt seem like a big deal to make and install the skegs on the finished hull, it turned out to be a bit of a long process. Heres why:
The skegs had to be made out of a rot resistant wood that turned out to be hard to find in the lengths I needed.
I ended up having to splice board together to make adequate lengths.
They had to be bolted through the beautiful hull Id just finished making watertight, and I was scared.
I screwed up several times and had to redo stuff.
I had inadequate tools for some of this work.
It sounds like Im making excuses, but it feels more like: "Haha, look how dumb I am, yet I still got it done."
The plans called for any of a variety of woods, none of which the local lumber yard had in anything approaching the lengths I needed. White Oak, Yellow Cedar, Port Orford Cedar, a few other ones that are found on the East Coast. Ideally, I was looking for 16 foot lengths. But these are increasingly rare hardwoods that simply dont come in those lengths.
I found a specialty hardwood vendor only a half hour away. They had the Port Orford Cedar and what they called Alaskan Yellow Cedar. Neither of these are actually cedar, but are cypress. For you botany nerds, Port Orford cedar is officially known as Lawson cedar or Chamaecyparis lawsoniana. Alaskan yellow cedar is Cupressus nootkatensis.
Of those, the longest they had was 14 foot lengths. A conversation with the hardwood dealer goes like this:
"Can you get either of these trees in sixteen foot lengths?"
"We get what we get."
"I mean do you ever get 16 foot lengths? Can you order that length?"
"We get what they bring us."
O-kay. That didnt sound too hopeful. I knew if I had to, I could splice a longer length together. There was lots of frantic maths at the lumberyard trying to see what lengths gave me the most efficient use of wood. While still expensive, the Port Orford cedar was half the price of yellow cedar, so that decided it.
This was expensive wood, so I wanted to make sure I got the best use out of it. I had to use the cedar for the bottom skegs, the fore skegs, the trim boards along the bottom side, and the edge boards all around the top edge. So I created a cut plan so that every bit of the wood was put to use.
Then I spent days cutting and ripping and making lots of sawdust, sure that every cut I made was going to render this expensive piece of wood unusable.
Next well talk about the splice that turned four shorter pieces of wood into two long 16 foot skegs.
Mid-day Sunday, the final day of the Festival; only a few hours left until the Grand Sailby.
The Grand Sailby is the parade of boats that marks the end of the Festival. All of the boats depart the festival beginning at about 2:00 and join the 90 minute long parade just offshore of the festival grounds. They are joined by boats from Boat Haven marina and by many dozens of spectator boats. Hundreds of spectators line the shores, the breakwater, and the Maritime Center to cheer the boats. The Festival gatekeepers abandon their posts, allowing many friendly Port Townsend locals to join the fray. The Sailby is followed by hundreds of fond Farewells. Boats ranging from dinghys and kayaks to schooners and square riggers, tugboats, steam powered vessels, motorboats, all manor of sailing craft, and everything in between are suddenly everywhere. Its quite a sight to see.
I took a break and headed over to the Small Craft Advisor Magazine tent to see what was up. Several of us chatted for a while and it was then when we came up with the idea which was later dubbed the "Rugby Scrum". The plan was to try to get all four Welsford boats, and a photographer from Small Craft Advisor Magazine, close together during the Sailby for a photo op. Maybe, with a bit of luck, the photo would be good enough to make the pages of the magazine. Now that would be awesome!
The plan was to meet around Scamp, piloted by Howard Rice, John Welsford and Johns wife Denny.
A few hours later, off we all went! As we left Port Hudson, we could see the Sailby beginning to form off in the distance.
Soon we were in the middle of it, surrounded by boats.
Now we just need to find Scamp. A bit like finding a needle in a haystack! Oh, hey! Theres Mike in Jean Alden. Hi Mike!
Then I spotted her. Scamp! There she is near the shore entertaining a huge crowd of spectators! Head thataway!
And there is Ricks Walkabout "Puddles" headed toward Scamp, rowing faster than I can sail!
And Tenacious? She should be easy to spot. There she is, headed towards Scamp from the SouthEast!
We all converged on Scamp, circled around one another several times, and then lined up for the family photo. I heard a cheer come from the spectators on the beach, but I dont know if they were cheering us or something else.
We did it! Will it make the magazine? Only time will tell.
Nearly close enough to shake hands, we all shouted fond farewells, and just like that, the 35th Annual Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival, the best one ever, was over.
A couple of months ago I posted this short Youtube clip about a fellow that exercised poor judgement in their approach to kayak packing. Well, after seeing a photo on Lees blog, apparently they are in good company. Head over to the link for the second instalment in the developing series of how not to pack your boat.
Dawn, Saturday, the busiest day of the Festival, had arrived. I spent most of the day aboard Ellie, answering questions, but occasionally sneaking off to watch presentations and view the other boats.
The Main Attraction today, for us Welsford fans anyway, was Scamp. Howard Rice did an amazing talk. I wish I could have recorded it. The adventures Howard had taken aboard small boats are jaw dropping. He has gone around Cape Horn, both ways, in a sailing canoe, which ranks as one of the most epic journeys ever undertaken in a small boat. No, hes not crazy. Just the opposite. He trains Navy Seals in small boat handling. Small Craft Advisor magazine did a series of interviews with Howard in issues 58 through 63. In his presentation, Howard talked about his past and about the tests he had done aboard Scamp. Howard was having a microcruiser designed for him by a French designer, but replaced it with Scamp hull #3.
John Welsford did another outstanding talk later that day entitled "The Designers Role: More Than Just Drawing". This time I brought my camera and recorded the talk. Unfortunately the room was packed. My seat was near the back of the room, too far away to make a video, and the audio is not the greatest quality either. But if you crank up the volume, it is well worth listening to. John talks about the Designers role, which is turning your dreams into reality, and about how he designed Scamp to fulfill the specified design criteria.
I missed the majestic Schooner Cup races this year. I was at Johns talk instead. There are so many things to see and do at the festival that its impossible to see them all. Here is a little bit of the race.
Ive been toying with the idea of building a cedar-stripped kayak or canoe. I know next to nothing about kayaks, but the cedar strip kayaks at the festival are just so beautiful, and they look like they would be a lot of fun to build. I went to Joe Greenleys Cedar Strip Canoe & Kayak building demonstration. I went away from the presentation thinking they didnt look too difficult. A typical kayak uses a quarter mile of cedar strips!
The musical entertainment at the festival is fun. There is live music at Bar Harbor all day long. Here is a sample from "The Whateverly Brothers". Many people play their instruments on their boats and they are quite good and a lot of fun to listen to.
These boats are replicas of the longboats that Capt Vancouver used to explore Puget Sound in 1792. Every year I kick myself for not signing up early enough to go out for a rowing and sailing tour aboard them. Next year for sure!
Remember Captain Kirk Gresham, inventor of the home-made roller furler?
Heres his latest contraption he built for his Devlin cutter Eider. It keeps his full-keeled Eider comfortably upright on the beach while the tide is out. They say the tide waits for no man. Well, Kirk waits for no tide!
Here are a few more photos that I took of a few of the boats. This is a tiny, tiny fraction of the boats at the festival, which number in the hundreds. I really wish the festival was a week long instead of only three days!
