The Maritime Museum in Portsmouth is where Admiral Nelson’s Flagship, HMS Victory, is berthed. I took a picture of the deadeyes on HMS Victory because dead eyes are very useful on small boats as well…
They’re a great low tech way to deal with standing rigging. They can be complicated, like those on Victory or they can be simple like this system on a Standing Lug whaler also at the museum…
I liked the traveler on the whaler as well…
There were two other pieces of hardware that I also found I might want to duplicate at some point… The jib tack makes bending on the sail fast but what I liked best was the tiller arrangement… This clever system allows for the tiller to be removed quickly.
Next Bilge keels…
Posted in Latest News, Travel
It would be hard, as a sailor, to come to London and not travel to Greenwich, home of the Prime Meridian… The National Maritime Museum at Greenwich covers a large area with a number of hands-on exhibits but I found the Observatory the most interesting… The exhibit on chronometers was fascinating… Really the main reason of this section of the trip was to stand with one foot in the Western Hemisphere and one foot in the Eastern Hemisphere… I only have a photo of the line as I was reluctant to hand my Nikon to a stranger to get a photo. On to Portsmouth!
The Prime Meridian in Greenwich, England
The Royal Observatory
Wind vane on top of the Royal Observatory
The view towards London from Greenwich.
Posted in Latest News, Travel
Voyager Stitch & Glue Kit
Indian Girl Stitch & Glue Kit
(Other Kits Available Soon!)
Kits Include:
- Templates for correct plate shape — this makes assembly much easier
- Planks & Bottom with pre-cut step scarfs — planks and bottom have station lines marked — this makes assembly much easier
- Bulkheads with station numbers
- Mid-section
- Copper wire, screws, inwales and outwales, decks, hatches and hatch hardware, cleat material for sheer clamps & hatches, and fiberglass tape
- 70 plus page manual with photos
Voyager Stitch & Glue Kit: 969.00 USD
Indian Girl Stitch & Glue Kit: 940.00 USD
Posted in Boat Kits, Latest News
My WoodenBoat School September 2007 class built six Voyager stitch and glue canoes and one Indian Girl stitch and glue canoe. The class started Monday morning September 3rd and by Saturday at noon everyone basically had a complete boat ready to sand and paint. They even had enough time to make a great double paddle for their canoe. Everyone did a tremendous job and the level of craftsmanship was very high. They all built boats that will serve them well for years to come and they did it in 5 ½ days!
Posted in Latest News
The kits from Arrowhead Custom Boat and Canoe not only have the scarfs cut for you but have template as well. Why templates? Templates aid with the glue up and help insure that the scarffed plank will match the computer drawn plate.
Step 1
In the photo labeled Step 1 the template cut from inexpensive ¼ plywood has been temporarily nailed to a flat surface and one half of the plank has also been temporarily tacked in place. Note that both the template and plank have station lines marked and that those marks have been aligned.
Step 2
Step 3
In the photo labeled Step 2 the other half of the plank has been placed on the paper with the scarf turned up and in photo Step 3 both scarfs have been coated with both un-thickened epoxy and a slightly thickened epoxy.
Step 4
In Step 4 the other half of the plank has been turn down so the scarfs mate and the squeeze out has been wiped up.
Step 5
Step 6
In Step 5 the plank is temporarily tacked to the surface to keep it from shifting. Note the mark for station 3 on the plank has been aligned with the station 3 mark on the template in photo Step 6.
Step 7
In Step 7 the template has been removed and a 3/4 thick piece of plywood has been screwed down as a clamp.
Now all that is left to do is repeat the process for each of the six planks. When the epoxy has set and the planks are cleaned up each set of planks will be virtual duplications of each other. This means the boat will assemble easier and be a more fair hull.
Templates for the planks and bottom is just one of several added benefits of an Arrowhead Custom Boat and Canoe kit!
Our boatbuilding kits will be available for purchase via this website shortly. Stay tuned for complete details!
Posted in Boat Kits, Latest News
