Here’s where it all starts with every wooden boat. A pile of planks of rough timber that will be painstakingly selected, shaped and finally fitted together to make a beautiful functional boat. I’m not going to tell you what kind of wood I’m using as it’s not usually used for boat building in Ireland but is highly prized by boat builders and temple builders elsewhere.

You’re probably wondering what I’m going to build with this stuff. First up is a 16′ or so open cruising dinghy. Clinker planked for lightness and strength and rigged with initially a crab claw or polynesian lateen rig. I’ll keep that rig if it works out other wise I’m leaning towards a sprit or lug sail yawl.

I’ve been thinking about this boat for quite a while and I started with a half hull model from which I developed a full sized lofting. She’ll have a plank keel which gives plenty of space for fitting the centreboard case. I would have preferred a daggerboard but the high possibility of hitting submerged rocks where I sail meant it would’ve been impractical. The plank keel also means that the boat will stand upright when on a beach and should make moving the boat on rollers around a lot easier. When alone it can be a real pain trying to shift a normal boat around as you have to push and keep it upright.

Here I’m cutting the rebate on the stem before setting it up on the keel. And that’s all you’re getting to see today. This build is a bit of an experiment and should be a test bed for various ideas that I want to try out. So as with all experiments I hope it will be successful.

If you’d like to discuss having your own boat built give me, Tiernan Roe, a ring at +3532838973 or +353861586937 (mobile) or send an email.Alternatively you can contact Roeboats here.

Roeboats, Ballydehob, Co. Cork, t:+353 (0)28 38973 m: +353 (0)86 158 69 37 e:roeboats@ymail.com