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Bill Tillman of Coral Gables, Florida built his Sand Dollar out of 1/4" Plywood. |
Clem Kuhlig made a gold plater out of his Cabin Boy -- and wrote a book about building it. |
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Built by John Almberg, Huntington, N.Y. |
Used as a dinghy on a trip from Florida to Huntington Long Island. It is back home and refitted after a 2,000 mile voyage! |
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Rick Jacks from Rockland Maine built a Cabin Boy over the course of a year. Here we see his steam rig and the plank spiling batten. |
Rick writes: "Building Cabin Boy allows you to experience many of the basics of traditional wooden boat construction in a small package..." |
..."It was a most enjoyable experience but keep in mind that a simple design is not necessarily easy to build..." |
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..."There's a lot going on here in 7 1/2 feet, especially in the bow section...." |
..."I found it necessary to steam bend all longitudinal bow members (planks,inwales,thwart risers and rubrails)..." |
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..."She's a great little boat". |
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Three Friends was launched in October 2017! |
Rick enjoyed the build very much and thinks she's a capable little boat! |
February 2019 - Martyn writes: Dear Pat, Today is the third anniversary of receiving the Cabin Boy plans. Today the actual boat (ARK ARK) entered the water for the first time. My friend Jeff Jones assisted with getting it to the water and he enjoyed a row! I have recorded the various stages of the build. Best wishes, Martyn See the build below! |
ARK ARK |
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The moulds about which the construction would be attached were taken from the lines plan (drawn onto a (former) table tennis table) using the locally sourced timber |
With all the moulds completed it was time to assemble them onto the construction frame |
The frame ready for the moulds |
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The moulds were cut out to allow the keelson to be set into the moulds. |
With the attachment of the chine piece (let into the moulds the shape is coming into view.) |
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Before the planking can start the positions of each plank needs to be determined so that the shape of the plank may be assessed. |
With the plank location marked it was time to learn how to find the shape of the plank; called spiling. |
Some of the tools used in the project. |
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Should any wonder at the name of the boat ARK ARK here is an explanation: When the sound of the timber splitting hit my ears I let out a shout: (f)ARK!!! |
The method for all the planks was the same: Spile, transfer to the timber, cut and shape, place in plastic envelope, attach end of plank to stem (called the hood end) and lead hose into envelope. Steam for 30 mins and then : slowly and gingerly bend plank around the curve. Apply clamps and leave overnight. |
Eventually all the planks were in place and although they were not symmetrical (my need for balance was severely tested with this reality) the hull was in place. Just need to fill that big gap between the sides!! |
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Gap filled! But is it watertight? |
Finally facing the sky; moulds removed and crossspalls inserted to hold the shape while fitting frames, breasthook, quarter and stern knees and thwart (seat)... |
Then removed them all for the next operation! |
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Now is the part that I can relax into; I know painting! The construction was a big big challenge but with quality paint and brushes I settled down to enjoy the process of completion. |
Here we are at the stage when the boat was ready to be taken to the environment for which it was designed; the sea. |
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Bishop John Stead considers the task of blessing a boat! |
My Son Damian and his wife Leigh-Anne blessed me by travelling from Sydney to share in my joy on this day when ARK ARK was revealed to the world |
Finally in the water! Martyn included a presentation with more deatils of the build, which you can see here! |
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Jan, from Prague, Czech Republic has sent these nice shots of his Cabin Boy. |
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