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LINKS TO MY FRIENDS AND OTHER INTERESTING
PLACES
My list of links includes my agents for plans and book
sales in The USA and Australia, both Ross in Brisbane
and Chuck in Texas are experienced boatbuilders with a
passion for small craft, people who use the boats
themselves whenever they can, and who enjoy helping and
advising the people who build my boats. The
list of links also includes friends with similar interests
to us, suppliers some of whom have products that are useful
to boatbuilders, and some who have products that
are just useful. |
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A fascinating story of a charming boat, Something About Navigator explores the development, building and sailing of one of John Welsford's most loved designs. The Navigator has become an incredibly popular boat, with over 600 plan sets sold at last count. Robert Ditterich uses a narrative style to pin down the charm at the root of this popularity, while also extensively illustrating the processes involved in building one, fitting it out and using it. The Navigator 'in the wild' is represented by illustrated essays from experienced Navigator sailors and builders. The romance of small open boat sailing, and the freedom felt, even just in dreaming about one, will make this book appealing to owners or aspiring owner/builders of many wooden boats available to-day.
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| For those interested
in JW designs, the building, the boating, the materials
they are built from, the cruises and the designs themselves
there is a Yahoo Group dedicated to the Designers and
the Designs at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jwbuilders/
It's active and filtered
to ensure that Spam doesn't get through. Come on over
for a chat.
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SOURCES OF
PLANS
AND KITSETS |
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Chuck
Leinweber of Duckworksmagazine Is my agent for
boat plans, books and other products yet to come within
the USA. He has an excellent magazine devoted to
and largely written by small craft enthusiasts who are
into building their own boats. A great place to
find out what is going on in the world of home boatbuilding,
he has a very good range of boat building supplies such
as cheap paintbrushes and sailcloth and his range
will grow as time goes on.
Visit him when you are at a loose end, but warn your
wife that you will need meals brought to the computer
as you are likely to be in there reading for quite a while. |
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Duck
Flat Wooden Boats in Adelaide South Australia,
is a top spot for builders of small wooden boats, expert
builders, enthusiastic sailors, knowledgeable and capable.
Ted and the crew there have plans ( including a full stock
of my plans range ) and do a lot of mail order work so
are able to have your order in the mail pronto. They do
plans like I said, but can also do frame sets, part and
complete kits and boats from bare hull to complete ready
for the big day.
They also stock fittings, fastenings, wood, and advice.
If you are buying the other stuff from them there is no
charge for the advice, but it can be worth more than all
the other stuff put together! - Good people, good service.
Duck
Flat Wooden Boats
25 Secker Rd
Mt Barker
S A 5251
Phone ( 61) 08 8391 3988
Email info@duckflatwoodenboats.com |
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Fyne
Boat Kits are situated on the shores of historic
Lake Windermere in Englands Lake District. In fact they
occupy a building that was once used by a “Mr Walker”
to do boat repairs and it is thought that this was the
model for “ Mr Walkers Boatshed” in the Swallows
and Amazons stories.
As the name suggests the company produces boat kitsets,
but are also distributors for John Welsford Small Craft
Designs plans in UK and Western Europe and will soon be
producing several of my designs in kit form.
Of interest to locals are the boatbuilding classes, and
further afield the mail order service that supplies materials
and fittings for small craft builders. Check them out
here.
http://www.fyneboatkits.com/
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| We have sold quite a few plans into
South Africa over the years, enough to show that there
is a strong interest in building small boats, and in cruising
them both coastal and on inland waterways and lakes. But
South Africa is a very long way from New Zealand, and
with a lot happening in other markets finding representation
for our customers in the Rainbow Nation was something
we’d not done anything about. Until very recently
that is!
Roy Mc Bride is a very keen sailer, builds boats both
finished and hulls for home completion, has a specialised
wood supply yard that has plywoods, solid woods of many
species, and many of the essentials of home boatbuilding
plus produces precut kits from frame sets to complete
kitset boats. CKD in fact refers to the old car manufacturing
system where a car builder would send a full set of components
“Completely Knocked Down”) for local assembly
and that what the CKD in his company name refers to.
CKD Boats
sells plans, JW Small Craft Design ones among them of
course, plus the kits, frame sets and materials. Roy is
a very experienced builder and pleased to be helpful when
a home builder gets stuck The company has our plans in
stock so can save you the long shipping delays and fights
with customs that are inherent in ordering from overseas,
and all in all, we are very pleased to have Roy and his
team on board as part of our Family.
Check them out at:
http://www.ckdboats.com/
Roy Mc Bride, CKD Boats
Unit L, 29 Gray Street,
Paarden Eiland, Cape Town
Tel/Fax: +27 21 510 7206
Email: janet@ckdboats.com
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I’m happy to welcome aboard a recommended builder for the west coast of the United States.
Located in Portland, Oregon, David Graybeal at Harbor Woodworks has done custom woodworking for over 30 years. Over the last several years he’s focused on small plywood boats, building – on his own, or with others - everything from Jacques Mertens designed D5’s and Routh Puddle Duck Racers to a Michael Storer designed Goat Island Skiff and a Bolger Long Light Dory. He has also built components for several larger new and existing boats. In addition, HWW has fabricated and installed complete interiors on two larger boats that were being refurbished.
He can build you anything from a complete Welsford boat to a parts kit or frame kit. He can ship throughout the western U.S. and beyond. He also enjoys building – for any boat - components like spars, foils, tillers, and such. You can reach him via email - harbordavid@yahoo.com, or by phone – 503-860-3160.
To see a sampling of his work, please see his website:
http://www.harborwoodworking.com/boat.html |
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| Boatbuilder Jim Lowe up in North Carolina , an area
near perfect for playing about in cruising dinghies, is
set up to build JW Designs to order. Look for really nice
workmanship, good quality materials and friendly service
here. He will build you anything from a bare planked up
hull ready to take home and finish, to a boat painted
up and complete with trailer, motor, lifejackets and fishing
gear ready to launch and set off on your adventures.
Go and visit his site, and if you like what you see,
give him a shout.
http://www.heritageboats.net/
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CUSTOMERS WHO
ARE BUILDING |
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| Retired Teacher Gerry Lavoi emailed me with some questions
about my Walkabout design. It seemed to me that cruising
the islands and inlets of British Columbia where he lives
was well within the capabilities of both the skipper and
the boat, and that building a project like this would
be a good way to spend the winter. I did not hear much
from him for a while, and then he wrote to tell me that
he had completed the boat, launched her and was carefully
evaluating her abilities and characteristics.
He has a great little
webpage here http://gerryl-walkabout.blogspot.com/
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Enjoy the reading, and do go and check his writings now
and again as there are bound to be adventures over the
summer. |
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| from John Chipper:
If you go to the web site below you will see the detailed
pictorial story of the building of two boats which took
place every Tuesday night over two years. They were very
much community projects in which we all learned a great
deal and made great friends.
Bernie Perano was our tutor. Without him the Plimmerton
Wooden Boat Festival would not have happened and we would
not have had two very sea worthy Navigators.
http://picasaweb.google.com/ClassyNavigator |
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| Wilfrid Vermien in Belgium has a dream. The freedom
of a small cruising boat, out on the seas where its just
the sailor and the sea. He has been getting ready to build
his Navigator,
issues like the building and the building of a model to
explore the project are all covered in this interesting
website. Do have a look and cheer him on.
http://users.skynet.be/modelbouw.wilfried/ |
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| Kent Georgeson worked on his Navigator
for two and a half years. He says: "Launching
something made by my own bare hands cannot compare to
anything I have achieved in my working career."
I guess he thinks it was time well spent.
http://www.georgesons.net/ |
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| Swaggie Uruguay, Luis Nin Esteves
and friend are busy building a Swaggie.
For a good look at how this very big little blue water
voyager goes together plus some tantalising glimpses of
homelife in Uruguay and what looks like an ideal boatbuilding
climate have a look at his site.
http://www.swaggie-uruguay.com.uy/ |
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| "Kotuku", a Navigator,
was built over a period of 9 months, March to November
2004 by Peter Kortens (on the left) and Alaster Stewart.
Both retired and with nothing better to do they embarked
on a project that frequently terrified them, often made
them doubt their abilities to overcome tasks and finally
gave them great pride in having created such a thing of
beauty.
http://home.clear.net.nz/pages/kortens/index.htm |
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| Peter Black is working steadily on his HOUDINI
, and his site is a real credit to him. He has carefully
documented the building process to date including costs
and hours. This is a good place to go to read about not
only the boat and the building but the motives, the ups
and downs, and the "frequently asked questions"
about the whole home boatbuilding thing.
http://www.general.uwa.edu.au/~pblack/
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| Melbournes Mark Paterson (anyone in Australia, especially
within cooee of the Snowy Mountains who is a "Paterson"
will get called " Banjo" after the deservedly
famous Aussie poet) has been building his SWEET
PEA for a while now, and also has shots on
his site from others building the same design. A good
place for Sweet Pea fans or builders to meet and have
a virtual beer together.
http://users.bigpond.net.au/banjos-backyard/
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Barrett Faneuf, of Olympia, Washington on the Pacific
Northwest of the USA is busy. She is building TWO Navigators,
one each for her mother and herself. And these are “practice”
for a 26ft double ended centreboard gaff yawl that I
am drawing for her.
Keep track of her building progress at
http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4288806687
Note that you have to “join” this photo
album site but I have never had any spam or advertising
that I can attribute to them.
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David Perillo is a Navigator
fan. Some owners have completed amazing voyages and have
proven to be incredibly capable but David is head and
shoulders above all of them. The experiences of voyaging
in his two Navigators has made him a real enthusiast of
small boat cruising and he is actively encouraging people
to try getting out there in small boats.
Read the inspiring story about his Fiji Cruise on his
open boat cruising site here.
http://www.openboat.co.nz/
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Aussie Nick Giles lives close to what most of us
would consider Small Boat Paradise, the Hawkesbury River
is a drowned river system just north of Sydney which
has hundreds of miles of inlets and waterways that take
the sailor from almost city waterfront to seriously
lonely coves where the cockatoos and parakeets add colour
to the bluegums overhanging the water.
He's building a Navigator sailing dinghy to access
this wonderful area, watch his progress here
http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/~ngiles/
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Lindsay Fenwick loves his Houdini
to bits. He has added another mast, (I‘ve seen him
with 5 sails up) and he and wife Kylie have cruised the
little boat all over Aucklands Hauraki Gulf. This boat
has proven to be a very effective cruiser, and one that
has plenty of potential for exploration as well as daysailing.
Read about their adventures here.
http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~lindsay/boatstuff.htm
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Murton's Motor Camp & Timbercraft
The nearest camping ground to Wellington city centre -
22km,
ferries - 20km, and airport 40km. Located 1km north of
Porirua - take the Waitangirua exit - 1.2km up the hill
on your left
Handy to: Porirua City Centre, Railway station, Shopping
Centre and Aquatic Centre.
http://www.murtons.co.nz/ |
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Steamboats really capture peoples imagination, even when
very small the hissing of the boiler and the gentle chuffing
as the boat slides along is evocative of a much more peaceful
time. Leather aprons, the smell of high grade coal burning,
oilcans and that wonderful whistle.
Steam engines are still avaialable, go and check this one
out.
Reliable
Steam Engine Co. |
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| David Robertson is another Navigator
owner. We got to know each other pretty well over the
time he was building Wairua and he has an on line magazine
that has a huge amount of information on this and others
of my designs. We ran the site jointly for a while which
means that I contributed a lot of material, he has even
more of his own writing in there and anyone with an interest
in boatbuilding, sailing, maintaining
or cruising small or traditional boats will find a lot
to interest them here.
http://www.woodenboat.net.nz/
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Wooden
Boat Fittings Buying nice traditional
looking fittings for a stylish boat can be frustrating
and expensive, the usual chandlery carries very little
other than stainless steel which does not look right on
a traditional craft so when we come across someone like
Mike here who is producing really nice brass and bronze
ware we like to stand on the rooftops and shout.
Woodenboat Fittings are in Australia and do a good mail
order service so for us Kiwis and Aussies here is a place
where they think as we do . |
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| West
System Epoxys I use several brands,
but have been helped a lot over the years by by Chris Timms
and Colin Palmer the local West System people here in NZ.
They have answered an awful lot of silly questions with
remarkable patience and have helped me with literature and
technical information. I have never had a failure
of any kind with this brand of resin, and I can tell you
that I have pushed the limits pretty hard at times.
An interesting and very useful site. |
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Steam Russell Ward is a steam and old engine
enthusiast. He is also the man who runs the annual
regatta at Whangateau near Omaha on the way from Warkworth
to Leigh north of Auckland New Zealand. His site is
mostly devoted to small steam boats, his wonderful "Romany"
featuring large in the site that he runs but there are lots
of other small steamers in there, and whether you like the
smell of a coal fired boiler or not this site is worthy
of a visit. |
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England has a very active Dinghy
Cruising Association, dedicated to the principles
and practices of cruising in small open boats the members
have accumulated a lot of useful information on camping
in and from cruising dinghies. There are interesting links,
good stories and some discussion on what is a suitable
boat.
If you sail a cruising dinghy you might enjoy becoming
a member of an elite and interesting group that follows
in the footsteps of people such as Frank and Margaret
Dye, Bill
Serjeant and ( from my own area) David
Perillo. |
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| Lake Rotoiti near my home in Rotorua is host each year
to a remarkable parade
of Wooden Boats. Some are residents,
some are trailered in for the event. I have been
honoured to be the judge these last two years and can
assure you that there is an amazing range of boats from
traditional sail, rowing boats and launches to very modern
craft. I think we had something like 80 entries
last February and there is a very good range of photos
on this site. |
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