22nd annual WoodenBoat Festival at Mystic Seaport .2

St. Ayles Skiffs and 'Sephira'

Just below the far shoreline are two horizontal dashes, above the green buoy. That's a pair of St. Ayles skiffs having at it.

Here they are again, the nearer skiff is Canada's 'Sea Shadow' and an American boat, the 'William H Shipp' is just passing those pillings. At this point the crews have switched boats, I believe.  'The Joseph Conrad' in the background.

The crews gathered on the docks after racing, with the Apprenticeshop's whaleboat in the foreground.

A boat of a different color, the Sephira is a modified St Ayles. Also called the Musical Ark, she is rigged to be played like a harp and sing to whales. Interesting project, to say the least! 

As I write this the Skiffie Worlds are in full swing in Ullapool, on the northwest coast of Scotland. The St Ayles skiffs are an Iain Oughtred design, lapstrake ply rowing boats, expressly conceived for the Scottish Coastal Rowing Project. The initial idea was for communities to build their boats and compete with other communities. It took off like wildfire. There are now over 50 boats in Scotland and the project has spread to North America, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands. The boats are built from cnc kits which interested groups purchase and the build themselves. For those who would like to dig a little deeper, there's loads of info here.

The sole competitor at the worlds from North America is an entry from the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. But she's not the only St Ayles from the US in Ullapool. Also attending, but not competing, is 'Sephira', aka the Musical Ark. I was informed about this project by Alec Jordan, whose company Jordan Boats supplies the kits in the UK. Alec was in Mystic for the show, and though I'd corresponded with him in the past when writing about the project, we'd never met. I also met Gardner Pickering of Hewes & Company, the kit suppliers for North America.  Alec was very keen for me to write about the Ark, as it was defaying some of the expense involved in traveling to Ullapool with a kickstarter. I'm pleased to say that they reached their goal Friday afternoon but are still open for business into tomorrow if you'd like to get involved. This is an "insanely great" project and must see.
Also must see is Alec's report on the North American St Ayles Championship, the pair of boats pictured above, one from Picton, Ontario and the other from the Renbrook School near Mystic.





I Built It Myself

 Scott Matthews brought his lovely Arctic Tern.

 

This Oughtred design is a bit slimmer and lighter than a Ness, and a bit faster as well.

Phil Bacon lounging in his Caledonia Yawl

Rudder detail

Phil is pleased with the workboat finish, and I agree, better to sail than sand and varnish.

  Leonard  Rollins brought his restored Old town square stern lake canoe.

1940 Johnson power

Big Green dates from 1928 and was a total restoration

Another Oughtred design, this Ness Yawl was built by Walt Kangas

great attention to detail

Tulli

'The Cat'

Piero Biancani built a lovely power catamaran.

 Yet another Oughtred design, this one a Whilly Boat.

 Again we see a sensible workboat finish, this by Aaron Ward who trailed his boat all the way from east Texas.

All photos and text copyright Thomas Armstrong, with the exception of the Musical Ark

Always a favorite of mine at the Festival is the I Built it Myself green. The boats are invariably immaculate and finely detailed. This year seemed to be dominated by Iain Oughtred designs and it's a pleasure to see some of the less built boats such as the Arctic Tern and the Whilly Boat. I've included four Oughtred boats here but there were two or three more. A highlight of this exhibit is the chance to chat with the owner/builders, a pleasure. I'm already curious as to what will show up next year. 

 

originally posted by Thomas Armstrong on 70.8%

AK Ilen Restoration part four: Education and the Future

LIMERICK: The Ilen mainmast at the AK Ilen Wooden Boatbuilding School

LIMERICK: An ILEN School Instructor beside an old Kenmare Punt - thelines of this beautiful boat are being recorded so that new punt can be built at some point in the future

SKIBBEREEN: Work continues on the ILEN - here an ILEN Boatyard Shipwright is creating a template in marine play so that the precise shape can be transferred to a block of hardwood

LIMERICK: An ILEN School Instructor moves rapidly ahead with the construction of a traditional Clare Curach - when all the laths are in place, he will turn the boat over and fit the frame to the gunwhale

SKIBBEREEN: ILEN Shipwrights take a welcome winter break and,in seasonal mood, share a meal in the weeks before Christmas 2011

LIMERICK 2: A trainee ILEN School Instructor plans his next project - great planks of Douglas Fir lie ready behind him for work on the spars and masts of the ILEN

SKIBBEREEN: A Shipwright works inside the timbers of the ILEN's hull - his technical skill and expertise are balanced by the beauty of the form around him

SKIBBEREEN: A Shipwright works on the foot of the ILEN's stem - the early morning light, streaming through the open window, illuminates perfectly what man can do with natural wood

LIMERICK: A young participant in the LIMERICK School absorbed in shaping the end of a lath to fit to the Curach behind him

SKIBBEREEN 6: Shipwrights preparing to fit stanchions on the ILEN's starboard side forward

SKIBBEREEN: A senior ILEN Shipwright giving instructions on how to make a template for a lodging knee

LIMERICK: Seen through a scuttle (a porthole), an ILEN School Instructor checks the internal dimensions of the ILEN's main deckhouse




All photos courtesy the AK Ilen Company

The story of the restoration of the Ilen is not just a story about saving one boat. The Ilen is at the center of the genesis of the AK Ilen Company, but the 'Maritime Adventure' is a living, growing entity, primarily involved in education but also looking broadly ahead to the future with involvement in the marine component of the EU integrated strategy for the Atlantic area. This last will explore the viability of wooden sail powered vessels as a piece of the European coastal economy... more on this later.

The AK Ilen Co. is currently engaged in three major forays.

The Big Boat BuildWorkshops in Baltimore, Cork, see my previous post for an explanation and testimonial.

The AK Ilen Wooden Boat Building School in Limerick. Dr. Martin Kay, a principle of the Co. explained to me how the school works:
"We don't offer programmes, we offer space in which to start the learning adventure. What people do in (the school) is up to them. We help them take stock: we accredit past experience and design pathways forward from vocational to academic achievement. It means that someone who has not succeeded with conventional education can come to us and say "Well I did manage to do that and I found this really interesting." Sometimes people come to us under police guard. Wherever they find themselves is where we start. And we find that their re-engagement in learning is transformational."

And there's a new project on the Aran Island of Inisheer aimed at developing the islanders understanding of their traditional curach and how to build them efficiently. This program will begin in about two months and eventually morph into a local boat building center.

Additionally, last summer the Co. formed a boatbuilding partnership with the Northwest Schoolof Wooden Boat Building. This is essentially an exhange program for instructors. Tim Lee,an instructor at the School was over last summer and will be coming again this year.

Quite recently the Company decided to go into the mobile-classroom-and-workshop business which will work across Munster (initially across Cork, Kerry and Limerick but we shall extend it in time to Waterford, Clare and Tipperary).

I asked Gary MacMahon, Director of the Co. about the formation and function of the Company and he replied on a couple of levels:

"The 'Company' was incorporated so that we could (be) associated at a corporate organizational level within Ireland. At it's most irreducible we follow an educational mission for the purpose of - enquiry and creativity. By way of clearer elaboration: (from a talk given by Gary on the occasion of the opening of the Boat Building School's new facility in Limerick last June).

On this educational floor where we build wooden boats we witness the transformative effect of working with timber. This tangible, creative and awakening education of the heart, gives vitality to all who partake, and enables them to address other aspects of life with energy and confidence.

And we awaken in two ways – the way of knowledge which is cognitive and of the head and the way of intuition which is perennial and of the heart.

We have seen young people come in here, people who have never before had the privilege of engaging with their surroundings in a structured cultural manner, suddenly awaken, with courage and joy as they work with mallet and chisel.

What is happening here works and we hope to maintain and expand it. Next week, master boat builder Timothy Lee comes from the United States, the current home of wooden boat building, to work with us for the summer, as visitor, teacher, external examiner and peer, to keep us in touch with the best there is.

Happiness is endemic to existence. We look forward to working with you to achieve that tumble home, or default position, of prosperity and harmony for life."

Stated goals of the school are to foster the building of character, the taking of personal responsibility, the development of leadership skills and contributing to the community.

Looking abroad and ahead are some exciting developments. Dr. Kay in particular is investing a great deal of energy in developing the AK Ilen Company's international presence and influence on European policy. In expressing to me his vision of how wooden boats can figure in the marine economy as a key component of the EU integrated strategy for the Atlantic area, Dr. Kay wrote:

"Wooden boats driven principally by sail (i.e. with an auxiliary engine) can take part in the exciting new maritime economy and the projects being commissioned. They are ideally suited to servicing off-shore installations and aquaculture platforms. And having a low magnetic signature, they are ideal for carrying scientific projects, surveillance and so on. Wooden sailing boats are sustainable, in the sense that they are constructed from replenishable resources, they have a low carbon footprint and are powered by the wind. Wooden sailing boats are known to add value to the visitor experience - in other words, people like looking at them and will spend time and money coming to see where they are made. Local employment follows both the employment of wooden boats and increased tourism, and is accompanied by investment in coastal infrastructure and more business opportunities in turn. Wooden boats can even add options to coastal economies by providing alternatives for local sea routes where non-time sensitive cargoes are concerned. The arguments are strong but there is, I sense, some resistance to them even though naval specialists will concede that they are now having to consider using sails to power patrolling ships because the costs of diesel are so high.
Voicing those arguments is why I started the Atlantic Wooden Boat Builders & Operators Group. My co-chairmen are the EU Commission (DG MARE) and the former chairman of the EU DORNA Project (preserving the nautical heritage) which concluded last autumn in Spain. His name is Lino Lema and he works for the Galician Maritime Council. DG MARE will now stand back and allow Lino and I to grow the involvement of Boat Builders and Operators from Portugal to Scotland. We shall be presenting the case for including sail power and wooden boats in rotuine coastal operations. We shall present projects promote local boatyard capacity. And I personally will help sail the Auxiliary Ketch ILEN into the ports of Cork, Falmouth, Douarnenez and so on, to bring products and people on their own adventures around our coasts."

Seen as a whole, the various activities of the AK Ilen Company represent a coherent business-oriented team which is delivering a highly innovative programme of education, working at the community, the vocational, the academic and policy levels. Truly, An Irish Maritime Adventure!
Please join me in supporting their ongoing work.

The Team

Br. Anthony Keane
Liam McElligott
Gary Mac Mahon
Eugene Pratt
Paul Murphy
Dr. Martin Kay
Dr. Andrew Hodgers

As I mentioned in the previous post I have been investigating the feasibility of organizing a group from North America to venture over to Baltimore and get in on the action, while there's time left to do it. Gary MacMahon has indicated that the AK Ilen Company would be very receptive to such a group. Any readers who think they might be interested in such an adventure should contact me via e-mail, zekeur at netzero dot net. Could be a great experience. I have no details yet, but would like to test the waters, let me know.

Originally published by Thomas Armstrong in 70.8%

AK Ilen Restoration part three: The work

Hegarty Bros. caulking tools

Gene O’Neill and Fachtna O’Sullivan supervise the AK Ilen into her new home, an old grain store on the banks of the River Ilen.

AK Ilen Hegarty’s Boatyard

Mary Johnny Joe O’Driscoll cleaning frames prior to removal, looking forward towards the bow.

Liam Hegarty removing bronze fastenings to frame No 10

Gary Mac Mahon working on the stem of the AK Ilen

Many hands working together to re attach planking to stem

Cutting stern post tenon AK Ilen Restoration, in the background is a John Hegarty punt with frame moulds and battens in place, ready for framing.

Fitting the A K Ilen stern post

Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh checking bevel angle on oak frame No 19

Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh cutting in a bevel with spokeshave

John Hegarty frame No 16 Port side

Kieran Clancy, a workshop participant, setting up frame No1

Fitting of frame No. 1 to the ketch Ilen

Framing finished, looking aft towards the stern.

Framing Out Ceremony May 2010
Br. Anthony Keane – Forester of Glenstal Abbey, Sir Cosmo Haskard – Falkland Islands Governor-General and Dr. Edward Walsh speaking about his role in the repatriation of the good ship Ilen.

Liam Hegarty Master shipwright holds a branch of an Irish Oak tree to symbolize growth and bring luck to the project and the good ship Ilen.

Looking down and forward into the AK Ilen fitting a mould / template No 21 above on the temporary deck beams used moulds are stored.

Getting clamps ready on the port side for the top sheer plank ( First new plank to be fitted on the Ilen )

After fairing the frames a spiling batten is bent and twisted into position on the hull, it is tacked to the hull adjacent to the plank you plan to fit a new plank against.

The Ilen is now much stronger again as the top of each frame had been fixed between the sheer strake (the top plank) and the beam shelf.

Ilen Bronze casting workshop

Fitting deck beams


Fitting main poop/stern deck beam.

Fitting the Breast Hook, used to strengthen the bow of the Ilen, positioned horizontally across the bow.



Paddy Hegarty and Tim Lee working on the Hanging Knees which will support the main deck mast beams.
Instructor Tim Lee is from the North West School of Wooden Boat Building, Port Townsend Washington USA, has been invited to work on the AK Ilen Project.

Under construction in the AK Ilen Wooden Boatbuilding School – 50’ wooden main mast for the good ship Ilen. This is a composite construction of high grade close grain sitka spruce – sourced in Vancouver Island Canada.
Shipwright in charge – Toby Greystone

courtesy AK Ilen Company

James Mc Laughlin’s finished carved Oak Escutcheon on the Ilen stern.

All photos an captions courtesy Kevin O'Farrell except as noted

The Ilen returned to her birthplace, the river Ilen in 1998 like a spawning salmon. She was deposited on the hard at the Hegarty Boatyard, and remained there for a decade while ownership and funding issues were negotiated. The elements took their toll on her during this time, and when, in April of 2008 she was ferried around to the old, immense corn 'shed' at Hegarty's she was in need of some tlc. A little more than that, really. She is basically being rebuilt from the keel up. The original keel and keelson have been saved, along with a few of her original frames. For the rest she is a reconstruction with new replacing the old. It's a huge project and still underway, though inching closer to completion.
The team leading the restoration are Liam and John Hegerty and Fachtna O’Sullivan, all shipwrights at the Hegeraty Boatyard, one of the last surviving traditional boatyards in Ireland.

Their work is being overseen by the Irish Department of the Marine so the Ilen can work as a Sail training ship. This gets to the heart of this project. Not just a restoration project, but one keenly oriented toward education and preservation, not just of this one boat but taking a wider view to the preservation of traditional boatbuilding and sailing skills, with an eye to the survival and perpetuation of Irish maritime heritage. One innovative way the restoration project is moving forward is through the Big Boat Build Workshops, which both help to fund the restoration and offer public access to folks who wish work on the Ilen, learning boatbuilding skills from the masters at the Hegarty Yard. Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh has been a participant. The editor of 'Traditional Boats of Ireland' has this to say about the workshops:


Big Boat Build - Participant Testimonial
"For more than a year I had promised myself a three-day excursion to Baltimore for the Ilen
workshop, Ireland’s largest wooden boat build. I have followed her progress for some time, on
one occasion spending an afternoon in the company of her one-time skipper, Falkland Islander
Terry Clifton, a wonderful man who, sadly, has since passed away. First stop was the Oldcourt
Inn where I was just in time to receive a bowl of delicious seafood chowder from Anne and to
meet the other workshop volunteers – Michael Ruane from Wexford, Eddie Cleary from
Tipperary, local man and former fisherman Bill Roycroft of Mizen Head, Dublinman Jim Murphy
and Dermot Falvey of Cork.
This motley crew had already begun work earlier in the day, so I had some catching up to do.
No problem. Outside the great venerable grain store housing the skeleton of the Ilen in
Hegarty’s Boatyard, we gathered to hear Brother Anthony describe the particular qualities that
make oak such an indispensable material in boat construction. His lucid talk veered from the
technical to the sacred as he explained oak’s strength and durability, as well as its enduring
position in Irish history and mythology.
Having been introduced to the mysteries of oak, it was then time to begin the work of cutting
and sculpting this hardy material to match the old oak frames of the Ilen. Barely audible
whispers, mutterings and body movements were being exchanged by the three experienced
shipwrights, brothers Liam and John Hegarty, and Fachtna O’Sullivan. Selecting suitable lengths
of beautiful Irish oak from which to cut the individual scantlings and futtocks was a task not to
be rushed. Fachtna disappeared repeatedly into the bowels of the old Ilen at this stage of the
process, emerging each time clutching a handful of bevels and carefully marking each massive
length of virgin timber prior to cutting it on the band saw.
Never was the saying ‘Many hands make light work’ more apt than when applied to the
rebuilding of the good ship Ilen. For there was indeed much heavy work involved in unfastening
and removing her old timbers and replacing them with new ones. What was striking though,
was the good humour of all throughout the work. I had wondered would the presence of
inexperienced men and women unnerve or annoy the shipwrights. As I tip-toed from frame to
frame, at times swaying about unsteadily, there was no rebuke from the sure-footed shipwrights.
Not at all, all three of them displayed admirable patience and good humour, pausing
occasionally to listen to a story or to exchange good-humoured banter. Before I finished up on
the Friday, I was convinced that not only did these shipwrights appreciate our assistance –
however inexpert – they enjoyed too the colour and the banter and energy we brought with us.
All of us novices were grateful too for the chance to contribute to this remarkable project, in
this extraordinary place. By Friday afternoon we had helped to complete two frames and we
were mighty pleased with ourselves. Roll on the next workshop!"
Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh
National Folklore Collection, University College Dublin
Dublin 4

The work continues today, though it's nearing completion.
I have been investigating the feasibility of organizing a group from North America to venture over to Baltimore and get in on the action, while there's time left to do it. Gary MacMahon has indicated that the AK Ilen Company would be very receptive to such a group. Any readers who think they might be interested in such an adventure should contact me via e-mail, zekeur at netzero dot net. Could be a great experience. I have no details yet, but would like to test the waters, let me know.

Next post I'll be looking at the Ak Ilen Company's origin and it's multifaceted educational, cultural and skills preservation outreach. Stay with me.

Huge thanks to Kevin O'Farrell for his beautiful photos and his answers to my questions about the 'build'.

Originally published by Thomas Armstrong in 70.8%