Taisy and Xander - Baby Zollo Shower

Prototype | EcoClipper

Prototype | EcoClipper

Captain JP's log: The traditional dhow builders of Oman

Captain JP's log: The traditional dhow builders of Oman

The last of the seafaring life, at the Boston Fish Pier - The Boston Globe

The last of the seafaring life, at the Boston Fish Pier - The Boston Globe

Dallas Murphy - Rounding the Horn: Being the Story of Williwaws and Windjammers, Drake, Darwin, Murdered Missionaries and Naked Natives — A Deck's-Eye View of Cape Horn.

I just finished - to my regret it had to end - Dallas Murphy's Rounding the Horn: Being the Story of Williwaws and Windjammers, Drake, Darwin, Murdered Missionaries and Naked Natives — A Deck's-Eye View of Cape Horn. I bumped into Murphy at a post-race party in Glen Cove, Long Island. When I described myself as a fan of the genre "men in bad weather" Murphy suggested his own Rounding the Horn. It's a great read. Murphy spent some weeks aboard Pelagic - a Patagonia region sailing tour boat. He weaves together the tale of their own and historic explorations. Missionaries, traders, botanists, fools, and adventurers come alive in Murphy's hands. Together we tour the dramatic and challenging region - landing at Cape Horn, exploring fjords, and the site of massacres, triumphs, rescues, wisdom, and foolishness.
Below NPR's Neil Conan talks with Murphy. 

Cold snap and thaw - February 2020

26' "Cliffy" Lobster boat under construction - The Apprenticeshop

The apprentices at The Apprenticeshop in Rockland, Maine have begun another impressive project.  The Dublin Bay 24 (lwl, 38' loa) mahogany sloop is planked, will soon be decked and work begun on the interior.  So it is time to start something new - a version of a classic 26' local lobster boat.
You will see in the photos below that hand tools play a big part.
What you see here is the keel - the long fore and aft piece to which everything is anchored.  And the stem - the laminated steam bent curved piece that will be the core of the bow.

Rolling and tipping with 3rd Coast Craftsman // Jamestown Disributors

It took a little help from some experienced friends and a few calls into the TotalBoat Support Team, but Chris from Third Coast Craftsman has been both frustrated and exhilarated by his drift boat build. He landed himself with the chance for a pretty topside paint job after he was unhappy with the fiberglassing job he did earlier. Chris used the rolling and tipping method on his bare fiberglass using WetEdge Topside Paint which had no problem adhering to the well-prepared surface with several coats. Learning how to “master” this fussy paint job was another victory for Chris who ended up with a beautiful, pro-looking, two-toned Wet Edge paint job.

This video shares lots of great tips on rolling and tipping topside paint. It’s shared here by someone who explains it clearly because he too was a timid novice who understood how challenging it could be to get a smooth, mirror finish. His slow, thoughtful process helped to ensure success with every important step. Chris took 2-3 hours to prepare each coat before applying the next because he knows that preparation is the single most important part of getting a paint job to look really good. The second trick is figuring out the flow and leveling of your paint, and Chris worked hard to figure out the exact steps amongst so many tricky variables.