In the meantime I’m in the middle of redesigning the blog/website. So please bear with me, it might get very ugly before I’m finished. Hopefully it’ll be better than ever when I’m done. Here’s a picture of the Hardanger Fartøyvern Senter in the snow.
And yes it was as cool as it looks both literally and figuratively.
Roeboats, Ballydehob, Co. Cork, t:+353 (0)28 38973 m: +353 (0)86 158 69 37 e:roeboats@ymail.com
For those of you who haven’t signed up for the Newsletter you won’t have heard that I have been chosen by the Crafts Council of Ireland to travel to Norway for two weeks on work placement at the Hardanger Boat Museum in Norheimsund south east of Bergen on the shores of the Hardanger Fjord . (It’s the third largest fjord in the world.)
Here’s one of the vessels at the museum the M/Y Faun built in 1916. What a beauty and below is the MS Paddy also from 1916 another good looking boat.
I’ll be involved with all aspects of work at the museum and will be starting at the rope walk which sounds knd of like hard work. There will of course more pictures of my trip and by the time I’m finished you’ll probably be sick of hearing about it. If you wish to contact me over the next two weeks to discuss having you own boat built I will be checking my e-mails but it will be sporadic so don’t be disappointed with a slow reply.
This lovely raised deck 25 foot cruiser was designed by William Hand in the 1920’s. It is part of a series of boats that he designed that ranged from the smallest Zenith (below) all the way to eclipse at 40 feet. All of them featured a raised deck that produces a roomy and strong hull and to my eye anyway good looking boat. It is the quintessential classic cruiser look. You can easily imagine yourself enjoying an exhilarating trip across the bay to a friends cocktail party. This boat is no slouch, the lightly but strongly built hull, slips through the water at a tidy clip and is powered by a miserly 20hp inboard diesel. You shouldn’t think that these boats are just for zipping around the harbour, in their day Hand designed motor boats of this size and smaller have completed quite long cruises. One of these famously was from Long Island to Nova Scotia and long and demanding journey for any boat.
Down below there are all that is needed for you and a companion to cruise in comfort from bay to bay, with two berths, a galley and toilet. The boat as designed featured a canvas awning over the self draining cockpit but for a little more comfort in these northern climes a simple cabin can be built to keep you and your crew dry and cosy on those inclement days and keep the sun off on those glorious summer days that make you drop everything to get out in your boat.
If you would like your own custom built Zenith, a fine sea boat that will give you many years of pleasure and relaxation contact Tiernan Roe at 086 158 6937 or roeboats@ymail.com. Less than you would pay for a similar mass produced ugly plastic boat that will no doubt gobble as much fuel in a day as Zenith might use in a week.
28, 34 and 40 foot versions also available contact Tiernan for more info.
Roeboats, Ballydehob, Co. Cork, t:+353 (0)28 38973 m: +353 (0)86 158 69 37 e:roeboats@ymail.com
I was delighted to be interviewed by Soundings Magazine for the May issue. I was even more delighted when this dropped into my inbox. I wasn’t expecting almost a whole page of coverage that will be read by as many a 155,000 boat enthusiasts all across the United States. Wow I’m almost famous first the radio interview and now this. If you’d like to read the article you can download a PDF here
Don’t forget that Roeboats will be attending the Baltimore Wooden Boat Festival the 28th to 30th of May and I’ll be showing the Ninigret I built last year. I also have a new print brochure for the festival which you can download a PDF here
Roeboats, Ballydehob, Co. Cork, t:+353 (0)28 38973 m: +353 (0)86 158 69 37 e:roeboats@ymail.com
Just to let you know that Roeboats was featured on RTE 1’s ( Ireland’s national radio broadcaster) maritime radio programme Seascapes last Friday the 7th of May. I tried listening to it but hearing my own voice was just too weird. Let me know if I sounded O.K. You can listen to Seascapes here.
Roeboats, Ballydehob, Co. Cork, t:+353 (0)28 38973 m: +353 (0)86 158 69 37 e:roeboats@ymail.com
With this weeks ongoing flying ban over most of Europe I was wondering if people were beginning to contemplate having their own means of travelling from Ireland and Britain to mainland Europe. Something along the lines of the commuter yachts that were used in the USA at the turn of the twentieth century. Something along the lines of the boat below.
Just the thing for popping across to France of England for business and if you’re worried about getting a touch of Mal de mer there are no gyroscopic stabilisers available which greatly reduced roll and pitching.
Courtesy http://www.aldendesign.com
The boat above is“Rosamund” designed by John Alden in 1926 is the quintessential commuter yacht. These yachts were moderately fast motor boats that were quite spartan to begin with but later developed into luxurious yachts. Seven months a year wealthy New York industrialists were able to leave for work in their dressing gowns and have breakfast and dress on the way. With today’s communications technology it would be quite possible to work while underway turning your luxurious yacht into a mobile office. Built to the highest standards by Roeboats there is no reason why a modern or classic commuter yacht wouldn’t make the perfect antidote to air travel which will become more and more expensive and which has proven to be vulnerable to disruptions, think of 9/11 and now volcanic ash.
Or how about a Swedish commuter yacht, this one M/Y Vidar was designed by C. G. Petersson the famed Swedish naval architect, who I’m currently researching. His boats are drop dead gorgeous and of course seaworthy and fuel efficient.
Roeboats, Ballydehob, Co. Cork, t:+353 (0)28 38973 m: +353 (0)86 158 69 37 e:roeboats@ymail.com
Starting a business in the middle of a recession is not easy but people will still want to enjoy the unique unparalleled freedom offered by being captain of your own boat. Yes it has been difficult but I’ve wanted to be a boat builder since I was thirteen when I started maintaining and repairing racing dinghies. After nearly 25 years of learning and honing the skills needed I finally decided to start Roeboats and follow that dream. So far I have been successful and I’m hoping that clients will recognise the value and beauty of the boats that Roeboats build. I’m building boats that were designed during the golden age of yachting and building them using eco-friendly and low maintenance techniques so clients can have beautiful classic boats without the headaches of traditional construction and benefit from their sea-kindly and fuel efficient hull forms.” It all started with the building of an optimist dinghy with my father see the picture below.
Mo Bháidín (My little boat) 1983
To celebrate Roeboats first anniversary in business I’m offering a free tender with every boat ordered over 20’ before the end of April 2010. Launched with the commencement of the building of hull number one a John Atkin designed 22’ eco-friendly fuel efficient powerboat Roeboats have not only survived the recent economic maelstrom but are implementing plans to grow the business in the coming years. I’m currently discussing custom built boat projects, both power and sail, with prospective owners both here in Ireland and abroad. We’ve teamed up with two boat dealerships in Ireland, I’ll be announcing details soon, and I’m also beginning to target the UK and northern Europe. Initial contacts with specialist brokers have been very positive.
Official celebrations are being postponed slightly to coincide with the Baltimore Wooden Boat Festival at the end of May where Roeboats first boat will be making it’s debut where clients can get a chance to see the fine craftsmanship and excellent sea keeping of the Ninigret. So if you’d like to have a look at what Roeboats are up to why not head to Baltimore for the 28-30th. of May
The Roeboats Ninigret 22 :
Order now by calling Tiernan Roe on +353 (0)86 158 69 37 or by using the contact form below.
For more information on why wood is the best boat building material look here
For more photos of the finished boat see here
Roeboats, Ballydehob, Co. Cork, t:+353 (0)28 38973 m: +353 (0)86 158 69 37 e:roeboats@ymail.com
Well the picture book of the building of Shena Christina is done. It arrived in the post today and looks pretty good. Of course all I can see are the bits that I could have done better, but that’s always the way isn’t it. You can have a preview of the book here. The masters of English literature needn’t worry but thankfully there’s lots of pictures. This is for the client to have as a memento of the project. I hope he likes it.
Epilogue: The client contacted me moments after receiving the book in the post, to say how delighted he was with it.
Roeboats, Ballydehob, Co. Cork, t:+353 (0)28 38973 m: +353 (0)86 158 69 37 e:roeboats@ymail.com
I was delighted to see that Roeboats’ recently launched Ninigret was featured in the November issue of The Marine Times. Local journalist Carol Gilbert was kind enough to do a piece about me and Roeboats so it’s great to get some recognition. Hopefully it will lead to some more boat sales. Just as an aside, apparently this is the first Ninigret built in Ireland and I’m sure it won’t be the last. If there are any other journalists who might be interested in doing a piece about Roeboats don’t hesitate to contact me, as I have a few more interesting projects to talk about. I see Carol mentions the J class boats. Well I might not be able to build you one of those just yet, but here’s a much more modest and very competitive smaller sister, the International One Design, I’d build one of these oh yeah.
Roeboats, Ballydehob, Co. Cork, t:+353 (0)28 38973 m: +353 (0)86 158 69 37 e:roeboats@ymail.com
Wooden boat builder, Boat for sale, power, sail, classic, modern, custom, yachts, dinghy, sailboat, motorboat, powerboat, commuter, sea, lake, river, Ireland, Cork, UK, England, Scotland,Wales, Europe Roeboats 