Author Archives: Tiernan Roe

Slow Progress but progress all the same.

Posted on by

The past week has been slow going. Lots of distractions sick baby, runaway dog and Féile Átha Dá Chab. However I did manage to get the keel and stem fabricated, all the frames made and set up ( more on that later). So I suppose I have been getting stuff done. Uh Oh, I feel a Waldorf and Statler moment coming on

Actually now that I think about it I haven’t done that bad. Except for a rather stupid mistake where I checked a dimension three times and got it wrong three times, nice. It’s very easy to turn 784mm into 748mm. I should have stuck to the axiom that if it looks right it is right and the corollary that if it looks wrong it is wrong. Well the new number 9 frame is just dandy. Anyway here’s a photo of progress so far.

framesetup

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

Home

Assembling Frames

Posted on by

I have been very busy finishing this project and building the boat. Despite this I’ve been able to fabricate the frames and bevel them; now all that remains is to assemble them. I am about halfway through at this stage. The temporary cross beams have to be attached and the excess glue and fingerprints sanded off before they can be set up on the strongback. Here’s a photo.

frames

Behind the doors is my new extension.

And just to keep me organised a list of things to do before setting up the frames.

  1. Finish glueing up frames and bulkheads
  2. Decide location of and plane,cut and attach cross beams,
  3. Scarf up chines, battens, inwales and apron,
  4. Shape, joint, bevel and assemble keel
  5. Build and level strong back

Oh boy that’s a lot of stuff to get done so I’m off.

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

Home

RTE radio covers Roeboats

Posted on by

Quick post to let you know that Roeboats was mentioned on Seascapes Irelands national adio programme covering all thing marine related. You can listen here it’s about 15 minutes into the programme. Hopefully there will be more to follow.

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

Home

Finished Lofting!

Posted on by

Finally finished lofting Ninigret. I had to spend some time finishing up outstanding jobs that I had on as well. With the lofting complete, I now have all the frame and stem bevels, and transom projected so it will be full steam ahead making from now on hopefully. Here’s something of interest, I came across this at Woodenboat; it was their boat of the week. It really appealed to my conceptual sensibilities, I have always been a fan of people like composer John Cage and the Fluxus group. Anyway here’s a picture of an unmanned boat that can “sail” directly into the wind. Quite a technological feat really. I think it looks fantastic maybe we should all be building boats like this.

Windvinder

Windvinder

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

Home

Lofting Ninigret 22′ Dayboat

Posted on by

Well I’ve spent the last few days lofting the lines and construction plan for Ninigret; the 22′ fuel efficient day boat I’m building. It’s been a long time since I did a lot of hand drafting; makes you appreciate the convenience of computer modelling. I would do it on the computer but the old girl isn’t up to running up to date software. Anyway the lofting is going pretty well. I decided to loft to a one quarter scale as it was big enough for details and I could store the finished drawing easily for future reference. I’ll have to loft the stem and body plan full size but that won’t be too difficult either. Here are some photos of work in progress.

lofting

As you can see I’ve used different colours to make the drawing easier to read. Once the frames and stem are lofted I’ll start lifting the bevels and making up the frames. I’ve decided to use Resorcinol glue for the Oak frames as epoxy doesn’t like tanin that much and the dark glue lines won’t be noticed.

lofting2

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

Home

Ningret 22′ Eco friendly motor boat.

Posted on by

You can see Roeboats finished Ninigret here

Roeboats have just been commissioned to build a Ninigret 22′ motor boat designed by John Atkin. I am really looking forward to building this great looking boat. John Atkin really knew his stuff; I’ve been going through the plans and and there is nothing on this boat that that is superfluous; yet it still boasts a large cockpit, two berths and a sea toilet (head). Primarily what attracted me and my client to this boat were its good looks; but it has many other great features. One of these was the fact that the motor is housed in a covered well thus reducing noise and protecting the cockpit from following seas.

Profile drawing from www.atkinboatplans.com

Profile drawing from http://www.atkinboatplans.com

Ninigret rides flat and with her fine entry should have no trouble slicing through choppy waves ensuring a dry and comfortable ride. The 25 to 45 horse power outboard under the hatch at the aft end of the large cockpit drives the boat to speeds from 15 to 25 knots which is plenty fast for heading to your favorite fishing spot or beach. The fact that this boat not only has a large cockpit but two berths and a head is really amazing and a credit to the designers ingenuity and creativity. Being a designer myself I can appreciate the hours and hours of thought and sketching that must have been done to produce such a classic. I’ll be documenting the construction of Ninigret here in the future. Here’s a photo of John Atkin in his own Ninigret built in the 80′

Contact Tiernan Roe on +353 (0)28 38973 to discuss your own Ninigret. We are now delivering worldwide also. So don’t delay order now to guarantee delivery for summer 2015

Dog bowls and storm rations

Posted on by

Normally when I’m sailing on bigger boats I find the best thing to eat out of is a dog bowl. I got this tip from reading Pete Goss’ book Close to the Wind.

Dog Bowl by Keenan Pepper via Flickr

Dog Bowl by Keenan Pepper via Flickr

On my own boat I don’t have to go to these extremes as the motion is not as severe, this can be explained by physics so I’m not going to here. Anyway I usually get some very funny looks from my crew mates when I arrive with my dog bowl so when I saw this bowl on Grass Roots Modern a design blog I follow for my other business. I thought the inner child in me could find a good use for it. In fact it could probably adapted for all kinds of uses on a boat.

Loopa bowl

Loopa bowl

It is a weighted bowl set in gimbals that are all held in a handy ring. Designed for kids; but sloppy adults like me could probably use one. Oh yeah and when it comes to storm rations you can’t beat yogurt and muesli, it’s very healthy and extremely thick and sticky. So stiff and sticky in fact you can turn the bowl upside down and the spoon and contents stay in the bowl. It reminds me of wet concrete but it is a lot tastier.

Why use wood to build boats?

Posted on by
528397904_65ab1263e7

Photo by rick rowland via Flickr Creative Commons

Where lightweight and strength are needed wood is the best material to use.

Wood is stronger than than steel, most fiberglass and aluminium pound for pound.

Wood is stiffer than all fiberglass, kevlar and steel.

Wood absorbs vibrations and this includes sound, so wooden boats are quieter.

Wood does not fatigue with repeated loading,

Wood is a renewable resource and the growing of wood removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Wood is eco friendly in that it can be recycled, fiberglass cannot.

Wood looks good.

Wood allows economical, in both materials and cost, custom production of boats.

Wooden boats require similar maintenance to fiberglass boats. Gel coat is not the wonder material it was thought to be

So why are most boats for sale today made of fiberglass?

There is one reason most boats are built from fiberglass; that is cheap labour.

It requires skilled craftspeople to build a wooden boat, whereas semi-skilled and unskilled operatives with proper supervision can manufacture a fiberglass boat.

Fiberglass is not renewable and non-recyclable,

Fiberglass requires similar maintenance to a wooden boat. Gel coat is not the wonder material it was thought to be.

Update: 2-May-2010

I came across this article by Lawence W. Cheek in the Seattle Times today and he says exactly what I want to, but better.

“We willingly pour the considerable labor and love into building, maintaining and restoring wooden boats because they lead us to participating in something greater than ourselves. I have nothing against fiberglass, but a boat made of synthetic material simply reflects human culture back at us. It is purely a product of technology. A wooden boat is a partnership. It’s not literally a living thing, not quite, but it evinces respect for the life that exists outside the clubby circle of human intelligence.”

Photo by Botheredbybees

Photo by Botheredbybees via Flickr Creative Commons

West Cork Launch Sites. No. 1 Ballydehob

Posted on by

bdhobbridge

Above: Ballydehob’s Iconic 12 Arch Tramway Bridge

I thought that I would do an occasional series on the launch sites and small piers around the West cork coast. Whenever I’m passing near one I usually check them out to see what they’re suitable for. Now I’m going to start photographing them. So that you can get a good idea of how much water there will be I’m going to aim to photograph them around low tide.

It is here.

And Here are some pictures.

ballydehobblogLooking north

As you can see the slip is in good condition and offers at least 5′ at high tide. It is obstructed by mooring lines but these could be moved when launching and retrieving.

bdhobblogLooking east

bdhobblog2Looking West

There is ample space for parking and the area is lit and safe at night. It’s a short 2-3 minute walk to the shop, small hardware shop, launderette, petrol station, restaurants and 7 of the best pubs in Ireland. Click here for information on Ballydehob.

bdchannelThe channel through Ballydehob bay a to Roaringwater bay is marked by bouys and is fairly straight forward. The great thing about Ballydehob is that diesel and petrol are available in the village; this is no longer so in neighboring Schull. Also it is much quieter and picturesque with better shelter than its more famous neighbor. It is restricted in draft and only accessible to smaller craft which is great.

Hope this info. is helpful to some one. And yes I know I should have taken an aerial shot from the bridge. I’ll add that next time.

Restoration of National 18

Posted on by

I bought this National 18 from a friend of mine. Some friend you might say. It was to replace an old plywood wayfarer that had finally disintegrated ( I could push my finger through the bottom.) after more than 30 years or so. As you can see in the pictures it was in pretty rag order.

liamodonovanofficesuite0033All of the decking had delaminated after being left out uncovered for a good few years and the boat needed a full fitting out.

liamodonovanofficesuite0034

Well it was early June and I wanted to go sailing a soon as possible before the summer ended. So I set to and two weeks later it looked like this.

18boatI redecked the boat, recyled some of the seats from the wayfarer and built new ones. They gave me some very funny looks when I bought a plank of iroko that looked like a boomerang but it was perfect for the rubrail at the gunwale. I was able to use the wayfarer rig, which was a little smaller than the National 18; because I would be single handing a lot. Repainted and varnished the whole lot. I filled in the transom hole as I wanted to keep my feet dry. I’ve been using the boat for 3 summers now and it has performed much better than the wyfarer the extra length and beam make it a lot sturdier and roomy. The design is a 1968 Ian Proctor design that replaced the sleek 1930’s Uffa Fox design of the National 18 which is very nice too. I apologise for the quaity of the photos when I took them I hadn’t intended to put them in blog.