Georgetown Wooden Boat Show

Georgetown Wooden Boat Show takes place on Front Street, in the waterside tourist area of the very quaint Georgetown, South Carolina. We exhibited the Paper Jet there in 2009 and won the Special Award because of the innovative features of the new design that hadnt been seen in those parts before. Our very modern little yellow boat stood out in the midst of traditional wooden craft.

Paper Jet set up and waiting for the 2009 show to open.

We are going to be there again this year and we will have company. Two local Paper Jet builders will have their boats on the show also. This is a great opportunity for those who are interested in building this design to see the boats in the flesh, look at the details and discuss the building process. Or just to come along and look at what has proven to be a very eye-catching and interesting design. It never fails to draw crowds wherever we show it. The PJ is very different from any other boats that are normally seen on wooden boat shows.

At the time of our last appearance in Georgetown the Paper Jet sail numbers had just reached 35. Now we are at more than twice that number, with numbers 77 & 78 supplied in the past few weeks. We now have 13 PJs on the water or being built on the US East Coast and those numbers will continue to grow.

Kits are now available through our office, cut for us by Chesapeake Light Craft (CLC) in Annapolis MD. Dont try to order from them, they will not sell it to you. You must order from us, via our USA plywood kits page . CLC have cut 6 kits for this design in the past year and delivered very high quality along with excellent service. You can order just the plans to build with your own materials or you can order a plywood kit that has all plywood components accurately cut on a CNC machine, packaged and shipped to your door ready for you to start building. You can also order a kit of epoxy, fibreglass and consumables needed to build the PJ.

Our East Coast PJ numbers are now growing to where we can start arranging regattas. We have a tentative arrangement in place to hold the first Paper Jet East Coast Championships in 2014, as part of the WOOD Regatta on Charleston Harbor. With enough support, that can become an annual event.

To see more about this and our other designs, please visit http://dixdesign.com/ and please also come visit us at the Georgetown Wooden Boat Show if you are in that area.

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A Madcap Boat Scavenging Journey

Kai and I took a mad motorcycle trip up the Sacramento Delta to check out a couple of "pontoon boats."  They turned out to not only not be pontoon boats, but much longer than we were told and barely afloat.

The first was a fiberglass houseboat around 35 feet or so, much too large, and much too... not what were looking for whatsoever.  The best thing that could be said for it, was that at least it was floating pretty high and.. not quite dry as it had lots of water sloshing around in its hull.  It was probably a 70s era houseboat, fiberglass hull, fiberglass cabin, ugly aluminum windows, rotting deck, and rusty inboard engine.  They offered to give that one to me free.  Uh.. thanks?

The second boat, and the reason we went up there, was an alleged pontoon boat that could easily be shortened, we were told.  Instead, it had a steal twin hull, something like triangular Vs that went down in the water, vaguely pontoon stylee.  Some of the bulkheads below the waterline had been filled inexpertly with foam. Unfortunately, these werent pontoons and the boat sat inches off the water and listed to the port side.  I couldnt see exactly how the hull was configured, but it looked like it was a steel hull with twin-Vs that couldnt have offered much displacement.  It was also filled with a lot of rusty water.



We guessed at the cross-sectional area of these "pontoons" was something like 249 sq in (compared to a round pontoon of the same width at 452 sq in).  We take the cross-sectional area of the "pontoon" times the length to get the displacement at 60.5 cu ft.  Times the weight of water to get the buoyancy at 3776 lb - plus youd have to subtract the weight of that enormously heavy steel hull.  For comparison, a similarly sized round pontoon would provide 6855 lb of flotation.  No wonder the boat was barely out of the water.

The one thing it had going for it is that it had a trailer. Still, though, I think well take a pass on these.  Chicken John, a friend who is no stranger to building with scavenged boats, says these sad houseboats are as common as dirt.  Or as he put it, "You can get that kind of stuff forever for free. Finding clean pontoons, steel or fiberglass is rare for free. They are worth $1,000 each. Steel is better, I say. Aluminum is swank, but there is always the possibility of theft, and they sell for like $2,000 a pop."

The guy who showed us around was a grizzled old fella who lived in a floating house in the marina and was heavily up-selling these boats.  "You can easily cut this down, make it the size you want, and wham!  There you go."  And "Just needs a little TLC and you got a beautiful boat."  He set my teeth on edge with a few borderline racist comments. The topper was when he tossed his filtered cigarette butt into the water.  Maybe Im stupidly naive, but uh, doesnt he live on these waters?

However, the trip was not wasted as I learned to ask better questions when Im on the phone with potential boat sellers.  "When you say pontoon, what do you mean?"  And "By 20 foot, do you mean actually 35 foot?"  Things like that. 

And Kai and I enjoyed the trip.  We loved the idyllic little towns along the delta, such as Walnut Grove and Islandton, where people were ridiculously friendly and helpful and seemingly lonely.  We had beers at Giustis Place and then sat out on the deck watching the fishermen and the migrating ducks.

In the meantime, if we cant find a pontoon boat base, well look into building our own hull using the fiberglass over plywood method.

Are we ready to tackle the craziness of being DIY boat builders?  I mean building everything above the deck just felt like being a carpenter, which Im comfortable with.  But building a boat?  Like, a real boat hull?  That part that floats in the water?  That feels crazy.

We took a very brief tour of a foreclosed boatyard.  Apparently, according to two different lonely men, the previous owner Bee owed lots of back rent and lost the boatyard.  Lots of tantalizing loot in the yard that wants to be turned into our shanty boat.

As we talked to the "caretaker" (read: a guy who lives in his RV in the yard), his tiny tiny guard dog Jezebel was vigorously attempting to eat my pants cuff and my boot.  He asked the usual questions, You from around here?  Where you from?  What you want a pontoon boat for? As we rode the motorcycle around the yard, we were in constant danger of either having our ankles chewed off or flattening poor ferocious Jezebel. Kai lifted her feet up on the hard bags out of range, and only risked dying of laughter, while my feet were thoroughly hazarded by Jezebel.

After listening to this lonely man for a while, we were taking our leave of Jezebel and the caretaker when he yelled.  "Hey, stop!  I got one more question."  I slowed the bike so Jezebel could attempt to noisily eat my boots again.  "Santa Cruz," he said, "Is it pretty much the same, or has it gotten worse?"  I pondered the many possible meanings and responses to that for a moment.

"Pretty much the same," I said.  "Its pretty much the same."

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Crystal River Boat Builders

Remember those boat builders in Florida who are building an American Civil War scow using period tools? Theyve turned the hull over and finished the planking.

The scale of this vessel is impressive. You can see, its difficult to get the whole boat framed in a single shot. Not hard to imagine it full of precious cargo, trying to run a blockade.

Quite a formidable boat!

You can follow the Crystal River Boat Builders on Facebook.

The Captains view.

USS WARTAPPO: Length 36ft. Beam 12ft.






Dave Lucas was there for the boat turning and gives us this "action packed" video:

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Port Townsend Pocket Yachters Boat Show

Theres a new boat show in Port Townsend, Washington: Pocket Yacht Palooza.



Port Townsend’s Northwest Maritime Center will be the site of the first annual Pocket Yacht Palooza, a one-day boat show organized by the Port Townsend Pocket Yachters club to celebrate traditional small rowing and sailing boats.









The show, free to the public, is scheduled for Saturday, May 19, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.





Pocket Yacht Palooza will feature boats belonging to several Puget Sound area groups, including the Port Townsend Pocket Yachters and the Puget Sound chapter of the Traditional Small Craft Association. Boats from the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding and the Northwest Maritime Center’s boatshop will also be displayed.


Organizers are appealing to owners of small rowing or sailing craft in the 10-foot to 23-foot range to participate in the event and everyone interested is invited to participate. Newcomers are more than welcome.
And, if you are in the process of building or restoring your small craft, theyre interested in that too.








“We’re eager to celebrate a wide variety of smaller boats, whether built of wood or fiberglass and we know there are hundreds of interesting trailerable boats on the Olympic Peninsula, so we’d like to hear from owners who might be willing to display their small craft during the Pocket Yacht Palooza.” says my friend, Marty Loken.

No entry fees will be charged, Marty tells me.

“This is not one of those judged shows where people need to worry about whether their boat is in perfect condition.” The main goal, he said, is to display a variety of interesting designs and appreciate the different ways in which designers and builders have produced smaller watercraft that are functional, seaworthy and suited for surprisingly lengthy cruises.






“Most of us appreciate the famous quote of Larry and Lin Pardey, a couple who circumnavigated twice aboard a pocket cruiser. Go Small, Go Simple, Go Now.”




The Pocket Yacht Palooza is co-sponsored by the Small Craft Skills Academy, a four-day program that begins May 20 at the Northwest Maritime Museum. The Skills Academy is being organized by small-craft adventurer Howard Rice, who will speak the same Saturday evening, May 19, 7 p.m. at the Northwest Maritime Center, describing his harrowing rounding of Cape Horn—both directions—in a small Klepper sailing canoe. The public is invited to attend. Admission will be $7.00 per person. Sponsored by the Northwest Maritime Museum and Small Craft Advisor Magazine.


The Port Townsend Pocket Yachters are great folks. I guarantee you will enjoy this show - the weather is always sunny in Port Townsend!

The address for the Northwest Maritime Center and location of the Pocket Yacht Palooza is:
431 Water St, Port Townsend, WA 98368





Those who are interested in bringing a boat to display in the water or on a trailer should contact organizer Marty Loken: Marty@islandboatshop.com

There goes Marty now...

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Boat of the week 9

Shell never float.

Seen at the Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building in Port Townsend.

A boat in two halves. This is the jig that students use to practise their skills in carvel and clinker (lapstrake given that its in the US) construction.
It emphasises the differences in the two techniques extremely well. The carvel side has stringers to which the frames are then bent (left of picture). On the clinker side the planks are shaped around the forms and the the ribs bent in afterwards (right of picture).
Ive never done this so I speak out of ignorance and conjecture but...
With traditional carvel construction the outside of the hull seems to be two steps removed from the lofted shape. The stringers are bent around the moulds (one step) then the frames are bent around the stringers (two steps). Then the planking is bent around this. And must then be faired. Its a lot of work to get a smooth hull!
In a clinker boat the planking touches the moulds. The picture one the left shows a mould on the right of frame but this is a bit deceptive. In a real boat build the mould is unlikely to be left in during planking. Though it would keep the shape of the shape of the boat and they could be removed one by one as the boat is timbered out (frames or ribs installed).
All that aside what really appeals to me about clinker is the structural redundancy (is that a term?) of it. All those (over)laps create a stiff, strong hull. Add in the ribs and the whole shape is tied together in an almost monocoque structure. The carvel side of this hull looks like its clinging on by its threaded fastenings, its planks barely acquainted.
I was lucky enough to be in Port Townsend on a Sunday when the shop was quiet and spent nearly two hours poring over the boats at the Northwest School but every time I saw something in a finished build I came back to the building jig to see how it was done.
What a great place to go to school.

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Coupeville Art of the Boat

Claire Acord is a Whidbey Island (Washington State) marine artist and watercolorist, painting mostly traditional sailing craft. She was the 2012 Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival Artist, which has inspired her to initiate a boat event on Whidbey Island. Claire welcomes you to join her for a live update and conversation on the plans for Coupeville’s first celebration honoring the Art of the Boat…an exciting new event planned for September 14, 2013, in Coupeville, Whidbey Island, Washington. Its all about art, music, children’s events, food, literature and real boats! Learn more on the new website for the Coupeville Art of the Boat.

If youre in the neighborhood, you can meet Claire in person, during her show, this Saturday, the 13th, at Ryan and Friends Fine Art on the corner of  9th & Center, Coupeville, Washington.

There is a nice interview with Claire Acord in the Whidbey Life Magazine.

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Boat Construction Using an Existing Design

Boats can be and are regularly built using an existing design. This is a cost effective way to obtain plans for a proven boat. Click here for an example project. To build a boat from one of our existing plan sets a royalty must be paid. Please contact us for a quote.

In many cases existing plans are modified or updated. For example a classic sailing yacht originally designed and built using carvel planking will often be re-engineered and updated for cold molded epoxy construction. Another common example may be modifying an interior arrangement to suit ones particular needs. Please contact us for further information.

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Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival 2012 pre festival setup

The 36th annual Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival was magnificent.  Port Townsends Wooden Boat Festival is the most education-packed and inspiring wooden boat event in the world. Featuring more than 300 wooden vessels, dozens of indoor and outdoor presentations and demonstrations, a whos who of wooden boat experts and thousands of wooden boat enthusiasts, theres something to do, someone to meet, or a boat to board at every turn. Expanded a little each year, the festival honors its traditions while inviting energetic debate and demonstration about the latest innovations in boatbuilding, equipment, skills, and adventures.

On Thursday, the busy setup day before Fridays start of the festival, I met Jay Thorpe and family with their lovely Pathfinder Gunvor at the boat launch at Boat Haven marina. Jay brought Gunvor up from Klamath Falls, Oregon, where he sails her on Klamath lake.

After launching, we sailed together for a few hours while awaiting our turn to enter the festival marina. The idyllic sailing conditions gave me a perfect opportunity to capture how majestic she looks under sail.

After we eventually tied up at our assigned slips, I ran into "Doryman" Mike Bogoger and we took a closer look at Gunvor.

Jay Thorpe and "Doryman" Mike Bogoger discussing Gunvor

Jay let me climb aboard. Very roomy

 Next up:  The festival begins

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Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival 2012 day 2

Saturday, the busiest day of the Festival.


I headed over to sign up for a rowing/sailing trip aboard the longboats. These longboats are replicas of the longboats used by Captain George Vancouver to explore the Puget Sound region in 1792. Ive been wanting to take a tour on them for years, but havent been able to until now because they were either full or there were too many other things to see and do. There are so many things to do at the festival there is no way to do them all.

These 26 replica longboats are used by the Northwest Maritime Center School Programs. They are each equipped with 8 rowing stations and 3 dipping lug sails.  They are used to teach youth teambuilding, problem solving, and maritime skills.  Teenagers attend intensive 2-5 day programs of discovery and exploration where they learn to row, sail, learn navigation, compass use, knots, marine biology, history and more.  They are also used in the Pacific Challenge.

Fortunately, we had several of these teenage students aboard to help us learn to row in sync and teach us how to tack the three sails on our dipping lug rig.

The first lesson we learned was "Crab!".  "Crab!" is what you yell out when the rowers get out of sync and get their oars all tangled up, which usually brings all four rowers on that side to a halt.

To prevent Crabs, one rower is designated as the pace setter.  From the rowers point of view, its the rower on their right and all the way up front. The rowers are all facing aft of course, so that would make him the aft-most port-side rower.  Anyway, the rower to his immediate left is supposed to row in sync with him.  The rest of the rowers are all supposed to keep in sync with the rower seated immediately in front of them.  Sounds simple, right?  We had lots of Crabs.  All it takes to create a Crab is for one rower to lose focus for a second or two.

Tacking the dipping lug rig involved a complex sequence of  tacking the halyard, the sail tack, tacking the sheets, lowering the sail and dipping the yard, that I still dont fully understand.  It was unlike anything Id ever done before and required about 3 or 4 people on each sail.  I loved it!  I wish I were a teenager so I could sign up for these programs.  I also have a new found respect for the crew of these longboats. After only a half hour of rowing, my hands were numb and my back started to ache.  Vancouvers explorers often rowed for hours upon hours exploring and charting the miles of coastlines here.  Heres a bit of video.  Its not very good.  These are working boats.  Youre always rowing or sailing, or trying to stay out of the way of other boats.  There is very little opportunity for filming.

More to come.

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Wind and Oar Boat School

The Wind and Oar Boat School in Portland, Oregon is building their second St Ayles Skiff.





Peter Crim, school founder, sent me an update on the activities at the newest, non-profit boat building school in the Pacific Northwest. Hes pretty excited to be building the second St Ayles Skiff on the west coast of the US and also the second for the Wind and Oar Boat School.

The first boat for the school was a St Ayles, built by a team of women and named Rosie. Now Rosie will have some competition. Friendly community competition is what the St Ayles Skiff is all about!

Weve been following the Scottish Coastal Rowing Project for about two years now. Quite frankly, Ive lost track of how many of these fine rowing boats from the board of Iain Oughtred have been built. The fever (yes, I believe we could call more than forty boats in two years, a fever...) has spread around the world. You may remember that I had the pleasure of crewing on one and it was apparent right away why the boat is so popular.


Laying in the shear plank.........

...Toasting the whiskey plank.........



 WoodenBoat has come out in support with their Boatbuilding and Rowing Challenge. There will be a North American Championship June 28-30, 2013 at the WoodenBoat Show, in Mystic, Connecticut.

...Laying up the keel..........


The  Scottish Coastal Rowing and World Skiff Championships on Loch Broom, Scotland will be held July 8th-14th, 2013 this summer.

Dont you think its time for your community to join the races? All good fun.

Peter Crim will be teaching a new class of boatbuilders this spring, on yet another St Ayles! If you want to get in on the action, please contact him at the Wind and Oar Boat School.

Rosies sister-ship. Isnt she beautiful?

For an excellent account of the St Ayles Skiff in open waters, we have a story of crossing the Firth of Forth, from Elsie Johnston.

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Boat of the week 8

Seen on the hard in Peter Clarkes Boatyard in West Mersea


This little yacht is just out of the water and has had its anti fouling pressure washed. Its a good opportunity to have a look at the details.
She has about 14 strakes per side and a bit of hollow near the transom creating some wine glass shape below the waterline. Other clinker yachts, like the folkboat, seem to avoid this. I imagine its quite hard to plank. The strakes are very narrow to create this hollow.
The transom is a chunky bit of timber and seems to drag slightly if the waterline paint is right. Its got a wonderful grain. If I see the boat again, out of the water, I might put a tape measure to the top plank on the transom - you dont often see boards that wide these days!

I cant quite tell where the planking ends and the keel/deadwood begins. My impression is the that the garboard strake is let in to the rabbet in the keel and that there appears to be a caulked seam.
Im guessing that the lowest seam in the photo above is from the keel to the deadwood. But Ill be happy to be corrected.

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Wooden Boat Festival

I have been trying for years to get to the Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend, WA, but have somehow never managed to put it together. The 2014 event will be the 38th rendition of the annual festival, which grows each year in size and what it offers. It is organised by the Wooden Boat Foundation under the umbrella of the Northwest Maritime Center. In 2014 the  Festival will run from Friday 5th to Sunday 7th September.

This year I am finally going to make it to the Wooden Boat Festival. I expect to be there all three days and will be a speaker as well. I am scheduled to present on the subject "Plywood Boatbuilding Methods" from 10h45 to 11h45 on Friday 5th September, in the Discovery Classroom.

The Wooden Boat Festival boasts over 300 boats on display, some in the water and others on land. There are also about 150 presentations and demos, covering a wide range of subjects about every imaginable subject either directly or indirectly related to wooden boats.

Poster for 2014 Wooden Boat Festival

There are many wooden boats of my design in the Pacific Northwest. If you have built one of our wooden boats in the area or know someone who has, it would be great to get a bunch of those boats to the show to exhibit. I always enjoy seeing the completed boats, meeting the owners and chatting to them about building and sailing their boats. Owners generally enjoy meeting other builders and swapping ideas and experiences. This can be a great occasion to do just that. I cant arrange for the boats to be exhibited, that must be arranged with the organisers through their website.

Even if you dont have one of our boats to exhibit, I would be pleased to chat at the show. You can catch my presentation at the time and place given above and there will be time to chat afterwards. Closer to the start of the show I hope to be able to pass on info about where to find me at other times as well. Keep tabs on this blog for updates closer to the time.

Paper Jet built by Jim Phoenix, just one of a bunch of them in WA & OR.

Hope to see you there.

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Sucia Small Boat Rendezvous 2014 Day 1

My son Tim and I just got back from one of our favorite annual events - the Sucia Small Boat Rendezvous at Sucia Island State Park.

Like the last two years, we launched at Sandy Point Shores marina. 

The entrance to Sandy Point always makes me a bit apprehensive. The narrow and shallow entrance goes through a blind S-curve, which then opens to a shallow area with a 270 degree exposure to the vast Straight of Georgia.  During an ebb, the tidal current rushes through this S-curve like a river.  At low tide, there is barely enough room for one boat at a time to fit through the entrance.  You have to approach slowly and peek around the corner to see if there are any oncoming boats, then zip through if the coast is clear.

High tide was 8.9ft at 3:18 am
Low tide was -2.4ft at 11:02 am

We launched at 10:00am.  The worst possible time.  Right near the end of a minus tide with a swift outgoing current due to an 11.3 tidal change.

We should be Ok, I figured.  After all, Navigator only draws 6" of water.  In the back of my mind, I wondered if that was still true when fully loaded with two people and a weeks worth of camping gear.

As we approached the entrance, I idled the motor, double checked that the centerboard and rudder were fully up, and cautiously peered around the corner as I slowly crept toward the entrance.

The swift current immediately grabbed Ellie and swept us into the narrow channel. I instantly realized that the current was so strong that there would be no turning back. Id be using the motor to try to stay in the middle of the narrow channel and not much else. I shot a quick glance for oncoming boats, fortunately there were none, thank goodness. The channel looked too narrow for two boats to pass and there was no room to maneuver.  We were going through, no two ways about it.  Along both shorelines we could see about a dozen spectators, waiting to watch the next fool to try and shoot the rapids.  Up ahead the water looked "funny".  Ripply.  Whatd that mean?  Shallow?  Must be shallow.  How shallow?  I glanced over the side.  Gravel!  Crunch!

We were aground in the middle of the narrow channel with a swift current all around us.

Ok, now what?  Think.  Tides going out. We gotta get out of here or well be stuck here for hours, or until the next boat comes along and hits us.  Should I get out and push her off?  Probably a real bad idea.  The strong current would most likely rip the boat from my hands.

I looked over the stern.  The prop was still above ground.  "Ok, Tim, were gonna try and back our way out of this.  Hope it works".

I turned the motor around and gave it half throttle.  Nothing.  Gave it full throttle.  Our mighty 2hp outboard was giving it everything it had, but still nothing.  Still stuck.

"Tim, lets try shifting our weight around".  Ellie slowly started to move, then broke free!  We backed a safe distance away from the gravel bar and took a couple minutes to regain our composure and assess the situation.

Looking more closely at the water, we could see that it was shallow and ripply on the right, but on the left, closer to the opposite shore, it was clearly deeper.  But then it shot directly into a rocky breakwater.  "I think we can make it, Tim.  Well have to hug the left shore, then quickly zip over to the right at the last second to clear the rocks, then were home free".  Tim agreed, it looked doable.

So we checked again for oncoming boats, then cranked up the Honda to half throttle (full speed for Ellie) and rocketed through the channel.

Whew.  Made it!  Next time, we vowed, well pay closer attention to the tides.




After that ordeal, we were rewarded with many hours of  absolutely perfect sailing conditions.  We saw lots of dolphins.  One surfaced less than 20 from the boat.

We arrived at Sucia and set up camp.  This was our first opportunity to try out my new Anchor Buddy - a Fathers Day gift from my daughter Heather.  Thanks, Heather!  It works great.

Thats Cameron Im talking to.  Cameron and his son take a month off every summer and stop by Sucia for the rendezvous.  They sail a beautiful Wayfarer.

Jamie Orr, organizer of the event, always brings along a set of bagpipes, which he uses to greet arrivals, wish them farewell, or summon the group to various get-togethers like wine and cheese night, campfire gatherings, and the around the island race.  Boaters all around the island applaud using their horns.  In this video clip is Bob Ennenberg (Scram Pram "Duck"), Jamie Orr (Chebacco "Wayward Lass"), Paul Miller (Benford Friendship sloop "Friendship") and Dan Rogers (Balboa 16 "Ladybug").  Dan is organizing an 8-day Movable Messabout in Eastern Washington and Idaho that I am looking forward to attending.

Here, Jamie is summoning the group to celebrate the 11th anniversary of this Rendezvous, with a fine bottle of single malt scotch.

There is so much more to write about, but it is getting late.  I will write some more soon.  In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this most beautiful sunset.

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