Category Archives: Schull

Assembling Frames

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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

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RTE radio covers Roeboats

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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

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Lofting Ninigret 22′ Dayboat

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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

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Why use wood to build boats?

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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

Tús maith, leath na h-oibre

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A good start is half the work. Well let’s hope this old saying or seanfhocail holds true. I thought I might start at the beginning and show you some views of where Roeboats is located. We’re located just off the N71 in the leam a mhádra (dog’s leap) valley overlooking Roaringwater bay and the Fastnet_Rock. I’ve been living in this area for almost ten years and as you can see it’s an easy place to stay in.sunnyhouse1

I moved to West cork to build boats but got a little sidetracked and have been making fine wooden funiture for the last ten years instead. Check out my furniture at Tiernan Roe Fine Woodworking, as you can see I’m a big fan of blogs. However I aim to update this blog a lot more frequently.sunnydrive1

Previous to moving to West Cork I worked in Berlin and Dublin as a special effects model maker making tings like rubber armour and 9metre 35′ statues of liberty for the top of Checkpoint Charlie on the old Berlin wall. Which was very interesting and used a lot of the skills needed in boatbuilding like mold making, fibreglass fabrication and some complex wood work; one project recreated the art nouveau interior of Maxim’s restaurant in Paris.

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

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