In traditional boatbuilding copper nails and roves (washers) are used to make rivets, in order to fix the overlapping planks in clinker planking, and as fixings for the various parts of the structure of a boat. Before copper, iron nails were used, and the ‘clink, clink’ of iron nails being hammered home is said the to be the origin of the term clinker.

A copper nail is hammered through a pre-drilled hole, and a rove then hammered over it, using a rove punch, which has a hole drilled in its end to accommodate the nail. To prevent the nail being pushed backward, a metal ‘dolly’ is held against the head of the nail – this is generally a two-person job! Once the rove/washer is tight against the inside surface, the excess nail is snipped off just above the top of the rove. The ball end of a ball-pein hammer is then used to mushroom the end of the nail, over the rove/washer, thus forming a rivet. Again, a dolly is used to ensure that the head of the nail stays tight to the outside surface. The dolly has to be of sufficient weight to counteract the force of the hammer during roving (clenching down the washer) and peining over the nail.

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I have made myself a roving kit, using various sized pieces of mild steel. There are two roving punches, the central holes are sized for the two different diameters of nails I will be using. (I plan to ‘countersink the bored punch holes, to match the shape of the washers to be used.).

The dolly has to be of sufficient weight to counteract the force of the hammer during roving and peining over the nail.

Standard size copper nails are still available from a few suppliers. However, one cannot readily obtain the longer thicker nails required for the heavier fixings required to make the stem and fit the transom knee. So, I made a former and, using some 5mm copper rod, produced some home-made copper nails.

There’s a real joy to be found in making your own tools. Even when I have made the tool required to create a nice smooth crown to the rivet, I will have made this set for less than half the £120 retail price of a new set of roving tools.

Encircled by a branch of the river Brit, the Sawmill is a peaceful retreat … a bolt hole. The front door, with its heavy wooden bolt, is reached by a wooden bridge, and the cottage is flanked on one side by a tall stone wall that has perfect perches for the local kingfishers, and on the other by the the river bank, verdant green with ferns. Above the downstream corner of the mill, a tall tree casts dappled light on the velux windows above the bed on the mezzanine floor – the blinds are kept only partly closed, to enjoy the morning sun filtering through the leaves above. The ceiling here is so low, that even though Sylvia has to stoop, she sometimes bangs her head on the beams. The road from Bridport runs nearby, yet the sound of the traffic seems distant, trumped as it were by birdsong, and the chuckling of the stream.

Followers of this blog will recall that, last October, we visited the Sawmill, this tiny cottage in Beaminster. I had heard about it after contacting Judy Sorum Brown, the author of the inspirational poem “Wooden Boats.” Well, last week, we visited the sawmill again, and explored a bit more of the local area and the Jurassic coast in particular. Although some pubs seem to have given up the struggle with Covid, we nevertheless found some super places to eat … and drink.

We also got in contact with Judy, and had a Zoom call to share our news, together with Keith and Jill, the Sawmill’s owners. Judy in Michigan, and us in Dorset … we had a great chat. The conversation turned to lost loved ones and to family sayings, and Judy shared with us one of her recent poems, that distils thoughts, memories and emotions so beautifully:

Immortality

If there’s immortality
It’s in remembering—
The way he told me how
His dad insisted that he
Double tie his shoes.  
No tripping. So I do too. 
The way she quotes my mother
Whom she never knew:
“That will not do.”
The way we laugh
Recalling the one friend:
“Show up. Do your best. And leave.”
Sometimes it’s someone
That we knew: the parent
Of a friend: “Just do the job 
In front of you.”
But much more often
We are a bucket brigade
Passing along 
The wisdom
Of those we never met
(At least in how we think
Of meeting). 
Maybe that’s how 
They come to be immortal—
Living beyond time—
Our saying makes them so,
Our scattering their words
Into a timeless stream,
Where they float forevermore.  
     Judy Brown, May 7, 2021 

Lyme Regis, is a favourite spot, with a superb restaurant (our third visit in recent years), the Cob …

… and the Lyme Regis Boat Building Academy:

Now to explain why the title of this blog refers to the plural – Sawmills. I have been liaising with Tris Stone at Stones Marine Timber, to sort out wood for the planking and transom. Tris has been really helpful and, after a fair bit of discussion and advice, I am almost ready to put in my order: Sitka Spruce for the planking; Mahogany for the sheer strake (top plank) and transom; and oak for the timbers (ribs). Sylvia is relieved that we are not getting a load of 20ft lengths of Spruce that would have needed to be stored in the house as the garage is too short!

And Stems? Well, of course, there’s only one required. After a couple of part days in Docs Den, I have got the jigsaw pieces to fit together nicely. It was tricky, and I was glad to have at hand this Record 311 shoulder plane.

It bears the signs of age, and injury. Its previous owner had dropped it and, being cast iron, it had cracked. Mike had got it repaired, by having the fractured ends braised.

It reminds me of a lovely man, who was a patient of mine for many years, and who generously gave me some of his shipwrighting tools when he heard I was doing the boat building course at IBTC. The repair speaks of the value he gave to this tool – and no doubt all of his tools. Tools that would have been collected during his apprenticeship, from meagre wages, and used for decades as he worked as a master craftsman at local yards including Vosper Thorneycroft.

Seems to me that there’s immortality too in well-loved, well-used tools, passed on for another to treasure and use!

Now, I have to make some long copper nails; drill the holes with some extra long 5mm drill bits I have bought; and fix it all together with Sikaflex (sealant/bedding/glue) and the roved nails.

As the Chinese proverb goes: “a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.” It’s great to be making the first steps at last.

A consultant colleague recently did me a favour. To express my gratitude to Steve, I gave him a bottle of wine and turned a bottle coaster to go with it.

I decided that we could do with a small garden shed to house garden tools. So, here is the result of my efforts, which involved stripping down several pallets to provide most of the wood I used (apart from the front and roof). After producing about 30 shiplap planks from the pallet wood, for the back and sides, it was a joy to cheat with TGV planks for the rest! I have put a 25mm hole in one of the sides, ready for a bird box to sit inside the shed – fingers crossed for a blue tits nest next year!

I know … I have lofted this dinghy before! Well, almost.

Having bought the Paul Gartside 10ft clinker dinghy plans, I lofted her on the garage floor last year. Then, there came a pause, initially, because I had some projects to do for friends; and then I rather lost confidence, having heard that the students at IBTC had run into some problems with the lofting/design.

Anyway, during a visit to the college a few months ago now, I realised that the issue they had had was a misunderstanding of one of the comments in the plans. Armed with that information, I felt confident in the design, and set about lofting the dinghy once more. Of course, doing it a second time around, I found that I was able to do a better job this time.

With the lofting completed, it was time to make some moulds. The five moulds represent a cross-section of the boat at intervals from bow to stern, and for a framework against which to plank the dinghy.

I have also made the strong-back, the trestled T-bar structure that the boat is built upon.

So, at last, it’s time to start the build.

Today, I cut the templates out of the Mylar and used them to cut the pieces for the stem:

Now, I need to clean up the opposing edges – which is tricky where a bench plane cannot be used – to get as near-perfect a fit as I can. Careful Stuart!!

A succession of Atlantic low pressure systems have brought storms and gales, rain and hail, thunder and lightning.

Thankfully, we have weathered the storms, though a few acers in our garden have suffered severe wind burn – the worst in recent years – their leaves dried and crisped at the edges. I hope they survive.

At long last, we have a high pressure system, and yesterday we were able to enjoy taking breakfast in the garden, and to enjoy the radiant warmth of the sun.

The swifts have arrived – perhaps not in the numbers we have seen in recent years, but their aerodynamic, crescent-shaped wings, and their screaming cries are a welcome harbinger of summer. House martins too, a welcome sight as they skim through the air above us in their search for insects aloft. And … a single aircraft vapour trail … a still-infrequent sight as the pandemic grumbles on.

As we sat, we watched young sparrows fledging from their nest in the eaves of our house, their parents cajoling the last one or two from the nest, and then feeding their fledgling young, who fluttered their wings in expectation of food.

In one of our trees, newly-hatched great tits – probably from the conifer hedge beyond our back fence – were being fed by their parents. Again, their wings fluttered frantically, as they called for food.

On the lawn, several starling chicks squabbled and fought to get the mealworms we had put out for them, as yet still more came, their parents’ fixed-wing gliding-in so reminiscent of German Skukas attacking their targets below.

A loud “caw” rang out, as a a crow passed overhead, but, the loudest song of all came from a cock wren, stridently calling for a mate, to inspect the nest he had made in our gazebo. Funny, how such a small bird can make the most noise – not at all reminiscent of Sylvia’s calls for this or that!

The last year has, too, been a succession of lows. How lovely then, to feel the elation brought by warmer weather, blue skies and sun, and the sounds and sights of nature around us!

I hope we have some more highs to come!

This morning, as I opened the door to Docs Den, the workshop was filled with the resinous smell of freshly cut pine … wonderful!

Last week, I decided to make some saw horses/trestles. I will need them for the boat building, and possibly the renewal of Buccaneer’s centre plate pivot pin. So, I bought some PAR (Planed All Round) softwood to make a couple of pairs.

Today, after a couple of days’ work, I only needed to cut the legs to the lines I had marked last evening in order to get them all level and flat to the floor.

The design is traditional – they’re very similar to the ones my Dad had. No doubt, he had made them, and I have fond memories of he and I using them. They become a little rickety after fifty years or more use, and I seem to remember that they got thrown out after he died, when we were clearing the double garage, … and the three sheds … and the greenhouse … and the additional metal garage in the garden!

I shall give them a protective coat of water-based varnish. They should outlast me.

One of the additional tasks one can do at IBTC Portsmouth on the joinery course if you have time, is to make a Dorade box. I had got as far as cutting and fitting the dovetails for the box sides, when we moved on to the boatbuilding course. The pieces have been sitting on my workbench for several months, while I have wondered how to make it into something more useful than a baffle ventilator box for a yacht I don’t have – I know, I could make the Dorade box and then build a yacht to fit, but that ain’t likely to happen!

So, here it is: a treasure chest, memory box, jewellery box, or what you will.

It is made out of mahogany, and when the light is right, the grain contains lovely copper-coloured highlights. There’s a secret compartment too, just for a bit of fun!!

We have kept Buccaneer on a pontoon mooring at Fareham Creek for the last year. Although we have had a few short sails, there is limited scope for different outings. So, I have decided to move her to Chichester harbour.

Three weeks ago, on a pleasant Tuesday afternoon, I got her out and onto the trailer with the help of a friend, Gavin. While getting her ready a paddle boarder came up by my berth, clearly very confident, as he was in ordinary clothes! So it was, that I met and had a super chat with Simon Payne, a local Consultant Vascular Surgeon, who lives nearby, and regularly gets out on the water, on his SUP (Stand Up Paddleboard).

She doesn’t weigh a tonne, but she does weigh half a tonne, so I was very glad for Gavin’s help. There are a lot of ropes on a gaffer, and it takes (me, at least) a while to get everything secured. Eventually, we were “ready to roll.”

The anti-foul has coped fairly well with her drying out twice a day on the mud. There were a few barnacles and a coat of muddy slime. After jet washing, there remained some residual fouling of the lower part of the undersides. This would probably have come off with a good scrubbing, but I managed to arrange for the multiple layers of old antifouling paint to be removed, down to the gel coat, by Paul, who runs a company called Symblast. I had expected to need to do this once I had trailed her round to Thornham Marina in Emsworth, but Paul was doing a job in Gosport this week, so he fitted her in that Thursday.

The removal of the old anti-foul paint left/created a fair amount of pitting to the surface of the gelcoat. I decided that, rather than fill these myself and have a go with paint/epoxy, I would get Paul (Symblast) to prep the undersides and apply a couple of coats of epoxy and (might as well, while they’re there) put on a couple of coats of anti-foul.

With her upturned, I took a good look at the pivot pin for the centre plate. Not-surprisingly, there has been significant wear of this pin, and it’s time to replace it. After managing to pass a message her now-retired builder, Greg Dalrymple, he rang me and we had a good catch up and also discussed the best way to replace the pin (the original was galvanised steel but A316 Stainless steel would be an option).

In the meantime, while I wait to get her back with her “new” bottom, I have varnished the mast and bowsprit, and I am looking forward to completing the refurbishments so I can get her in the water. I have booked a pontoon berth in Emsworth, and hope that there will be some good sailing to be had in the huge and sheltered Chichester Harbour area, where there are lot of interesting nooks and crannies to explore.

One of my partners from my old Practice – from which I retired 2 yrs ago – retired a couple of weeks ago. We went for a socially distanced (!) walk along the beach, to catch up and discuss the changes that retirement brings, and how it takes us all some time to put things behind us and start a new chapter.

I wanted to give her a retirement present. Rather, to make her a retirement present. So, here is it is:

Happily, Sabine was very pleased with it. Remember Sabine, it’s got to be used!

It’s great to complete a project, and I ‘finished’ a couple of items this week.

First off, a wine/port bottle coaster for a friend who wanted a memento of his tour in Afghanistan, as part of Operation Herrick. Here, the ‘finish’ is Hampshire Sheen – a crystalline wax, that gives a superb shine.

The second, an oak box, with a mahogany drawer pull.

Here, the ‘finish’ is several coats of shellac, cut back with 0000 wire wool, and then National Trust Furniture Polish, applied with the wire wool, and buffed to a satin sheen.

I obtained some vintage tools this week, that had belonged to a shipwright/joiner. There are some real gems, that I will enjoy putting to good use:

I love spokeshaves, and have a collection of vintage Record, Stanley and wooden spokeshaves. They are very useful tools and I used a spokeshave to do the round-overs on the lid and base of the oak box, and to shape the drawer pull.
Spokeshaves are a great starter tool to introduce young children to using hand tools – I very much look forward to being able to teach my grandson (and granddaughter in due course) to use a spokeshave, when Covid rules allow.

In the collection were several wooden planes:

The more complex wooden planes in particular were the high end tools of the trade, and were prized possessions of the craftsmen of the time. Many such tools are – like these – stamped with the name of the owner. The quality of the workmanship, produced with these ‘old fashioned’ tools could be superb, matching or exceeding that from modern machinery.

The quality of the steel used in vintage, especially pre-WW2, tools exceeds much of that later produced, though a renaissance in tool making in recent years has resulted in high quality steel being used in the more upmarket brands. It’s a shame that standards slipped in the mid 20th century.

A good example of the changing quality of steel, is the mass production of hardened steel saws, that cannot be readily sharpened, creating the modern day practice of throwing away a saw when blunt. In contrast, the preceding vintage saws are often made of high quality steel, and are well-worth refurbishing and sharpening.

Amongst the collection of tools I picked up this week were a few such saws:

The seller of these tools, which had belonged to his father and grandfather, was keen that they be passed on to someone who will value and use them, which I will certainly do. And I have promised him that I will donate to IBTC any which are surplus to my requirements, for the use of the students there.

In the meantime, I shall enjoy doing a bit of research on these tools and giving them a refurb. I have bought a couple of new triangular saw files, and will have a go at sharpening these saws for use.