Here’s something you don’t see every day. A dog in a skin on frame boat. He’s a fine looking salty dog for sure. The boat is this 16′ Snowshoe airolite canoe I built over 3 years ago now. She’s still on her first skin and has been used quite a lot and probably even more now that Jasper seems to enjoy it. Just goes to show the smaller the boat the bigger the adventure.

Jasper is keeping a good weather eye out like every good sea dog should and I’m sure he and his owners are continuing to enjoy their Roeboat through the fine late Autumn weather we’re experiencing here in Ireland.

If you would like you’re own custom built boat no matter how big or small please don’t hesitate to contact me, Tiernan, at +353 86 158 6937 or you can email me or use the contact page if you wish. No I don’t sell salty sea dogs.

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

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Well the new mahogany (Sapele) sheer-strake is now on the boat and the transom is fitted and fastened in place. The sheer line has yet to be finalised. The original builder had the sheer flat so the his young son could get in and out of the boat easily. The owner is hoping to use the boat as an ersatz tender to his big boat and would like the sheer to have a bit more spring. We’ll decide on a final line later.

If you’d like to have your own wooden boat built, restored or repair please give me, Tiernan, a call at +353 86 1586937 or contact me here or by email.

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

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The 6′ punt now has a few new frames steamed into place and the real demolition can start. I’ve taken the gunnel and transom off in the photo above. The transom was made up of at least nine different parts of various ages so it was an easy decision to replace it. The sheerstrake literally crumbled away and I was able to peel the gunnel off quite easily.

Here’s the new mahogany transom being dry fitted. I’ve added a doubler inside to take the fastenings for the plank ends. The originals are in pretty bad shape. It will add a little extra weight but the extra strength it will impart will far outweigh this.

That’s all for now.

If you are interested in having your own boat restored, repaired or newly built why not give Tiernan a call at +353 86 158 6937 or send an email to Roeboats

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

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The client wanted to retain as much of the original material of the boat as possible, however one of the planks was badly split. A 4′ split in a 6′ plank is just too much damage to save. So I replaced the original spruce plank with a new Lawson Cypress one. The new one will be less prone to splitting than the original and in the future will be easily discerned as a repair.

Progress is going well on the 6′ Tender I’m restoring at the moment. After raking out decades of hardened paint and putty from the gaping seams I had to reseal them with a flexible caulk/adhesive. There was no way that the joints would have resealed by themselves after so much compression set ( where the wood fibres are squashed beyond their ability to re-inflate when immersed in water) so the sealer will hopefully make the boat water tight once more.

Also the keel was in very bad shape, having be repaired many times and being made up of numerous different pieces from numerous different eras. So I made a new one which is awaiting final shaping in the photo above.

If you have your own boat that needs a sympathetic restoration/conservation, repair or a new build please don’t hesitate to contact me, Tiernan at +353 86 1586937 or use the contact page.

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

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The latest project here at Roeboats is the smallest real boat I’ve worked on so far. It’s just barely 6 feet long. She was built in the mid 1930s by a father for his son to learn to row in. Pretty cool Dad.

As you might expect for a boat of this age, we’re guessing she’ll be 80 next year, she’s in bad shape after years and years of use as a tender to a larger yacht. Her spruce planking is showing it’s age and there are a few splits in the after sections where the grain is not parallel to the edges due to the curve of the planks.

The work I’m going to do is stabilise the shape, strengthen the structure and fit a new transom, keel and sheerstrakes; these are made up of various pieces of different vintages. I’m hoping to keep as much of the original fabric and wear marks (patina) so the resulting boat will look like an 80 year old boat and be usable as a tender.

If you have your own boat that needs a sympathetic restoration/conservation, repair or a new build please don’t hesitate to contact me, Tiernan at +353 86 1586937 or use the contact page.

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

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Here is a very rare sight on the pages of this blog a picture of yours truly. You may be forgiven dear reader in assuming that the boats here at Roeboats are built by invisible boatbuilders. Well my wife was good enough to catch me at work albeit on the woodwork of a fiberglass boat. The other boat in the picture is a rather lovely row boat that is based on the pilot boats of Cape Town, South Africa. Built in Cork over twenty years ago she’s in for some tlc and a lick of varnish.

If you’d like to have your own boat repaired or built why not give me a call +353 86 158 6937 or +353 2838973. alternatively you can drop me an email.

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

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I did say in the last post that I would share some photos of a few details in Spraoi the 16′ experimental sea-boat I launched recently. I’ve decided to call the design a Willi-WAW like the wind as it can get fairly gusty around here but also it references this cool wooden foiling trimaran built in the 70’s that was cruised around the Pacific.

The photos above show what I’ve given the catchy name of articulated coamings. In many small boats a coaming is built around the edge of the cockpit to give better back support and to keep splashes out of the boat. They’re great at this job but when you have to hike out over the edge the top of the coaming painfully sticks into your legs. These articulated coamings flip flat and provide a nice wide seat when hiking out. Because of the curves involved they are actually held very securely when folded flat and are loose when upright.

Being loose allows them to move with the sitters back improving comfort and allows them to be slid aft to allow a gap for the oars.

The oars are held in Keips ( scandanavian oarlocks) which slot into the gunnels. I couldn’t have fixed oarlocks or pads for removable ones as they would interfere with the coamings. So I came up with the easily slotted in keips. Once in they don’t pop out when rowing. Lift them up at the back and out the slide. I’ve already thought of a better solution so I’ll make the change during the winter. In fact pretty much everything is liable to change which is on of the reasons that pieces of the boat are quite rudimentarily made.

And speaking of oars I should have thought out where to stow them a little better but I’ve decided to put them on the cockpit sole. I made a little rest for them so that they wouldn’t slip under foot. I can use them as a foot brace when heeled over. This bracket is just lashed in place and flips up to become the foot stretcher when I’m rowing.

Oh yeah and here’s two photos of the boat with the sail up. With and without the mast raked. I’m still getting a feel for where best to place the sail. I’ll hopefully post about handling the Crab Claw rig in the future.

If you would like to discuss having your own wooden boat built, repaired or restored please don’t hesitate to contact me, Tiernan Roe, at +353 28 38973 or +353 86 1586937.

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

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Finally it was launch day with just a week before the Baltimore Wooden Boat Festival (report to follow) I needed to get Spraoi (pronounced Spree) on the water so that she had time to take up ( For the planks to swell and tighten up). Of course it rained for the hour or two around high tide that I was launching the boat so the photos are a little overcast.

I didn’t get to go sailing that  first day but you can see how the sail might look by the outline of the boom and mast. I’ve found so far that having the mast raked back is better both going upwind and downwind. I’ve rigged it so I can adjust the mast rake as I’m sailing but after some testing it appears better raked back. Except it brings the boom lower than I would have liked. It’ll do just fine for a sail this season but I’m going to switch to a yawl rig of some sort for next year. Crab Claw Yawl? who knows. The sail performs very well for a flat piece of tarpaulin, you do need to put some shape in the sail with the topping lift in light wind. The experimental centreboard and rudder don’t perform very well so they’re being changed. I’mgoing to try a no pin centreboard with a NACA profile next. I’ll hopefully get to try it this week.

I’ve lots of results coming in on the various experimental parts of the boat. I’ll be detailing these and some of the finished boat over the coming posts and hopefully lots and lots of sailing reports. My crew and I are planning a raid on the Baltimore Pirate Festival in couple of weeks and frightening the bejaysus out of them and the Jester Challenge with our canon.

If you would like to discuss having your own wooden boat built, repaired or restored please don’t hesitate to contact me, Tiernan Roe, at +353 28 38973 or +353 86 1586937.

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

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Finally she’s out of the workshop and in the full glare of the sun. The next few days were spent sorting out the rig and making sure the tenon in the mast fitted in the mast step. As you can see I’ve fitted the articulating coaming/splashboards in place the are simple lashed on and the forward and aft ones slide fore and aft to allow for two rowing positions. They will also fold flat when you want to hike out on the gunnel. They’re mighty goo back support too. As you can see I wasn’t joking about using up left over paint from painting the windows of my house.

I still have to do the name, well actually I had already done it but I wasn’t happy, so I’m doing it again. The double rubbing bands are soft spruce so shouldn’t mark anything I may come up against, will save the most vulnerable bits of the paintwork and will be easily and cheaply replaced. I’ll do a posting of the details of the boat once I have them finessed.

It’s the Baltimore Wooden Boat festival this weekend so if you’re around I be delighted to have a chat about your boat project or building your next boat. If you can’t make give me a call next week +353 28 38973 or mobile +353 86 158 6937.

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

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As you can see the painting is mostly finished and it’s time to roll the boat over again. It’s a lot easier going this way than the other. Oh yeah that anti-foul is supposed to be off white but hey the grey actually looks better. I used a very complicated and exhaustive method to chose the colour, I looked through the half empty tins that where taking up shelf space, added two together to make enough and this is what I got. Lucky it wasn’t green and brown that I had left over.

Half way there I get  a little nervous at this stage as it wouldn’t be pretty if I dropped her. The white patch near the bow is for the name. This way I won’t have to repaint the name every time I redo the hull. I’m feeling smarter than the average bear today.

There you go, job done. Now “all” I have to do is fit out the interior rigging, the articulated coamings, cleats, mast partners, centreboard….. and lots and lots of little jobs that add up to the whole boat. I know I’m getting very close to finishing a boat when the to do list gets longer and longer.

If you would like to discuss having your own wooden boat built, repaired or restored please don’t hesitate to contact me, Tiernan Roe, at +353 28 38973 or +353 86 1586937.

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

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