www.talesfromtheboatshed.com

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.

It has been a busy time in Docs Den, and I have at last completed the Navy Sword display case for a friend. It’s not perfect but, as one of my boatbuilding tutors Bob Forsyth says, “We seek perfection, but accept what God gives us.”

Certainly, varnishing is not my strongest suit, but I am improving, which is the most important thing – well that’s what I tell myself! The aim is to get it looking – to quote another tutor – Barnaby Sheppard, “like a sucked lozenge.”

Just over a week ago, I did a two day woodturning course at the Wood Turning Shop, learning from Les Thorne how to do spindle work and bowls. Going back to basics, I learnt a lot about basic tool handling techniques, and now understand why the gouges kept digging in – not that I am never going to get ” catch” again … I just hope they’ll be a lot less frequent! Over the two days, we made a bud vase, a bowl and a lidded box:

Woodturning, like so many crafts, requires practice, practice, and then some more … practice. So, I have been working away at my dad’s old lathe, turning out (pun intended) some pieces, and trying to embed the learning.

Here are a few pieces from the last week:

Of course, the other thing required – in addition to lots of practice – is some more tools! Today is my birthday, and I have been given a new spindle gouge by Siobhan and David, which I look forward to using. Darryl and Libby gave me a super picture of our dayboat, and Sylvia continued the Gin theme.

First prize, for the stand-out birthday card of the year, goes to my brother, Darryl, who always excels at lowering the tone:

Well, I hope that made you smile as well as groan! And, I hope that, in these sad and difficult times, you can find things to smile and laugh about, and that things turn out well for all of us in 2021.

Last night, we heard an owl nearby, its soft hooting call was repeated over and over. Looking for company, perhaps.

I was transported by that haunting call to when, aged nine, I had to learn this poem, and recite it in our junior school class.

When Icles Hang by the Wall

When icicles hang by the wall,
And Dick the shepherd blows his nail,
And Tom bears logs into the hall,
And milk comes frozen home in pail,
When blood is nipp’d and ways be foul,
Then nightly sings the staring owl,
Tu-whit;
Tu-who, a merry note,
While greasy Joan doth keel the pot. 

When all aloud the wind doth blow,
And coughing drowns the parson’s saw,
And birds sit brooding in the snow,
And Marian’s nose looks red and raw,
When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl,
Then nightly sings the staring owl,
Tu-whit;
Tu-who, a merry note,
While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.

From Love’s Labour’s Lost, Act V, Scene II, W Shakespeare.

Of course, back then, I little new any love of poetry, though the imagery certainly appealed!. But this, and Shelley’s Ozymandias which we also learnt by wrote, hold special memories and significance – and were the germ of my great fondness of poetry.

I recently completed and handed over a project to my woodturning mentor, Richard.

His father had been a very loyal and enthusiastic supporter of Gosport Borough Football Club. From the age of four, Richard accompanied his dad to home and away matches. He still attends matches, and sits in the seat that his father sat in for many years, from where he would swing his football rattle, ring his bell at cup matches, and cheer on the team with shouts of “Come on my lovelies!”

Richard had told me this story, and of how his dad, who had been injured in the war, would discharge himself from his rehab ward at Stoke Mandeville, in order to attend matches, and re-admit himself afterwards.

As he showed me the cup match bell, and the rattles he and his dad would use, an idea popped into my head: to make Richard a display case for the rattles that he and his dad used.

I had already started making a Navy Sword display case – a commissioned project for a friend. Unfortunately, I had a glue freeze during the making of this case, and ended up breaking one of the sides of the case. There had already been some minor mistakes, which were fixable, but this was the last straw. As I put the remaining pieces to one side, I decided they could be re-purposed for Richard’s case – a surprise gift

With the aid of his daughter, and without his knowledge, I got the dimensions of the rattles and set to work.

The wood is yellow cedar. It is relatively difficult to work, because the grain is so irregular, and tear outs happen very readily. However it smells lovely, and does look attractive.

Here are some pictures of the finished result, and of Richard with his surprise gift.

I am now making that Navy Sword display case, which is going well so far – at least the joints are not too tight this time!

In remembrance of those lost at sea in wartime … and of those who loved the sea and are no longer with us:

IN WATERS DEEP

In ocean wastes no poppies blow,
No crosses stand in ordered row,
Their young hearts sleep… beneath the wave…
The spirited, the good, the brave,
But stars a constant vigil keep,
For them who lie beneath the deep.

‘Tis true you cannot kneel in prayer
On certain spot and think. “He’s there.”
But you can to the ocean go…
See whitecaps marching row on row;
Know one for him will always ride…
In and out… with every tide.

And when your span of life is passed,
He’ll meet you at the “Captain’s Mast.”
And they who mourn on distant shore
For sailors who’ll come home no more,
Can dry their tears and pray for these
Who rest beneath the heaving seas…

For stars that shine and winds that blow
And whitecaps marching row on row.
And they can never lonely be
For when they lived… they chose the sea…

Eileen Mahoney

Two and a half years ago, I was off work, having hit the buffers … burnt out.  A colleague, Sarah, knowing about my fondness of poetry, had recommended the book “The Poetry of Presence.”  

The book arrived on the eve of a visit I had arranged to attend an Open Day at the IBTC. That evening, as I picked up the book, it fell open at Judy Brown’s poem ‘Wooden Boats’ 

WOODEN BOATS

I have a brother who builds wooden boats,
Who knows precisely how a board
Can bend or turn, steamed just exactly
Soft enough so he, with help of friends,
Can shape it to the hull.

The knowledge lies as much
Within his sure hands on the plane
As in his head;
It lies in love of wood and grain,
A rough hand resting on the satin
Of the finished deck.

Is there within us each
Such artistry forgotten
In the cruder tasks
The world requires of us,
The faster modern work
That we have
Turned our life to do?

Could we return to more of craft
Within our lives,
And feel the way the grain of wood runs true,
By letting our hands linger
On the product of our artistry?
Could we recall what we have known
But have forgotten,
The gifts within ourselves,
Each other too,
And thus transform a world
As he and friends do,
Shaping steaming oak boards
Upon the hulls of wooden boats?

That poem … that timing, struck a chord in me.  It resonated with all that I envisaged in the art and skill of boatbuilding, working with wood, and developing skills to use hand tools.   The Open Day affirmed my decision, to make a change in my life that I had previously seen as an option after retirement, but now one that I should take as soon as practicable.

I contacted Judy, asking if I could use her poem in my Blog, and she kindly agreed.  We exchanged a few emails and in one of those she told me that she and her husband were visiting England, and would be staying in a place that they had been visiting each year for several years: The Sawmill in Beaminster.  Looking up the details, I could see why visiting this tiny quaint little property had become an annual treat.  I made a note that we should visit when we had the opportunity.

Having finished the course this February, I set to, with various woodworking projects, and Sylvia started working from home due to the ‘The Lockdown.’  This period became for us, as with many others, a time of loss of social contact … a loss of human touch; and too, a time for reflection, and taking stock.  

Sylvia was weighing up the pros and cons of returning to work in the office, or of finishing work altogether.  One day, as she was struggling with this dilemma, I reminded her that when I was off work, she had told our financial advisor in 2018 that there was no point retiring with me, because I would be doing a full-time boatbuilding course.  

“Yes, that’s right,” she replied. After a pause, I asked: “And now?”  

That question “And now?” seemed to unlock the tangle of emotions and practical considerations.  Sylvia handed in her notice a few days later.

Last week we managed, at last, to get away for a week’s break at The Sawmill.  

Having settled in, I sent an email to Judy, to tell her we were there, and she was thrilled.  After an exchange of emails, I suggested a Zoom meeting so that we could ‘meet’ for the first time, and so that I could show her around the cottage. Judy readily agreed.  

So it was, that on Friday, we had a virtual meeting, and shared news and stories.   Judy read us a poem she had written about a walk to nearby Netherbury, and we told her how, only that very morning, we had visited the place she described in this poem:

AND IT TURNED OUT LIKE THIS

All those poems

written when

I didn’t know

how it would

all turn out – 

written from 

my fear and

my anxiety.

And it turned out like this – a day

in England

hiking hills,

the brilliant sun 

carving sharp shadows

underneath the trees, 

the church bell ringing, 

and a picnic

in the

shelter of a 

vast old tree,

its trunk serving as

back rest as we

eat our cheese and apple.

It all turned out 

like this.

Judy went on to ask: “What about you, Sylvia? Are you working?”  We recounted the story.  That question “And now?” sparked a long discussion about questions that challenge us, and which set me thinking.  

So here is my reflection, and a poem that I would like to dedicate and give to Judy, to reciprocate and thank her for her work’s impact upon my life: 

INERTIA

Back then,

You could not take that step,

Because …

And now ..?