While waiting for my new thicknesser machine, I decided to take the plunge and order another machine – a new band saw. I need a decent one for my boatbuilding anyway.

Half the fun with these purchases is the time spent researching the different machines, comparing their specs, looking at You Tube videos, and reading the reviews. Having made my choice, and found the best price, I rang to make an order. I was very surprised to be told: “Yes, we have it in stock, and can deliver the day after tomorrow.”

With some difficulty – it weighs 230kg – we managed to move it from the drive to Docs Den. Within an hour or so, I had it unpacked, set up, and had fitted a blade.

Over the last two or three days, I have been using it to prepare the stock for the desk project. Wow, it cuts through 4 inch thick oak like a knife through butter!

I now have all the frame components cut close to size, and have used my jointer and smoother planes to get them ‘faced and edged’. I’m ready to get them to the final dimensions in the thicknesser now, but that’s not due to arrive for a fortnight.

Rather than wait, I will probably resaw the wood on the bandsaw, and hand plane to the required thickness, in the traditional way. It’s good exercise, and I love to see thin shavings curl from the plane and to feel the smoothness of the planed surface.

A year ago, when starting out at IBTC, I found it so hard not to over-correct. Now, it seems altogether easier and more natural. I use my ‘winding sticks’ to check for twist/wind, take a few strokes with the plane, and then reassess.

As the sawn surface is planed, the grain becomes clearer, and I love to see the medullary rays appear, so prominent in oak.

Cross-cutting the planks has also been done by hand. I have had a go at sharpening one of my Dad’s old panel saws, which went better than I expected. It’s a useful skill, rarely used in these days of throwaway saws, so I will keep practising.

The shavings have been deposited on one of the garden beds. The garden is almost fully weeded now, and bark chippings are on the way to mulch and suppress further weed growth. Blackbirds love rootling though the bark for insects – it’s amazing how far they can throw chips of bark across the lawn in the process!

I have great respect for all who are working on the front line in healthcare and social care, and admiration for all who are contributing to the national effort. One of IBTC’s ex-students and her co-workers is making ventilators instead of boats – how’s that for transferable skills!

We celebrated our 35th Wedding Anniversary in lockdown, and this is our first Easter on our own. Still, we are all well, and I hope you all are too. All the best!

I am pleased to be able to report the successful completion of my first major home woodworking project: my new workbench.

The finishing stages went hand-in-hand with a major tidy up/reorganisation of Docs Den – the first week of the ‘lockdown’ went very quickly as a result.

There is still some reorganisation to do in the rest of the workshop – an extension would be good – but it’s exciting to be ‘ready to go.’

I have at least one project to get on with: a small desk for Sylvia. The wood is here, but I could really do with a thicknesses machine. One is on order but may take a few weeks to be delivered. I wish I had ordered it earlier!

Ah well, at least the garden is getting a lot of attention. I must get the beds cleared of weeds before new growth makes them impenetrable. I enjoy the flowers, trees and shrubs, but not the weeding. At least, with the longer days and some very welcome sun, the shrubs are covered in buds, and our fruit trees are in blossom.

Here’s hoping for the easing of restrictions, a glorious summer, and the end of this pandemic. And I hope that you are all keeping well and safe.

Tooltique is a small family business, selling refurbished traditional hand tools.
Their advantage over eBay, is that their wares are sold fully refurbished and sharpened – ready for use by those who appreciate fine tools for quality work. I regularly recommend them to fellow students.

Today, I received the following message from Tooltique:

Self Isolation And How Hobbies Can Help

March 18, 2020 by Tooltique

Those who already have hobbies will undoubtedly have more to keep their minds occupied and bodies active through what looks to be a torrid time ahead with the COVID-19 outbreak. I know that we are grateful to have a large workshop and plenty to do during this time. 

After the initial preparations are made, there are going to be a considerable amount of people out there that will refrain from their usual activities, due to social distancing or self isolation.

 All active people are going to need something meaningful to do with their time which can be done alone, creating space around the family.      

Many are active online but it’s very easy to become overwhelmed with negative information which causes anxiety and will undoubtedly cause considerable affects on people’s mental health. It doesn’t have to be like this, if you use the internet to learn new skills, people like Paul Sellers amongst others are a really good start. Expand your searches via YouTube and you will be amazed how encouraging others are with sharing their knowledge. If you lack space explore things like leather working, woodcarving, model making, etc. 

There have many been people who have started their woodworking hobbies in few past years and believe me they will all be glad they took these first steps. It’s probably a time to practice things like saw sharpening, you only need a junk saw and it can engross you for days, especially with working on the set up, making a saw vice and understanding how the tooth geometry helps with different woods, etc.   

In this busy world many will have never considered home based hobbies such as woodworking , but it’s certainly has additional benefits as your confidence grows, especially around the home. Over the next couple of weeks we will try to keep the blog updated as much as possible with interesting ideas and tips to help keep everyone’s spirits up.

We wish all our customers well and hope they can keep on creating nice things. 

I have highlighted in bold, the section that caught my eye. I am certainly not belittling the situation, or the concerns and fears that abound. However, there is too much hysteria and melodramatic pronouncements that can all too readily sap the morale of readers/recipients.

A sense of perspective is needed here: sure, there will be many sad premature deaths, but the majority of us will survive this crisis. And, there is a lot we can do to mitigate the risk to ourselves and our loved ones.

What is most important is that we all do what we can to support each other – practically, emotionally and spiritually. Humour, positivity, kind conversation, good wishes, and expressions of love will do a great deal to help those that are concerned/fearful – far more than negativity and talk of doom and misery.

We are going to see the worst of human nature, not least stock-piling and flouting of public health advice. But, we may also see the best: encouragement, practical support, phone calls to family and friends, and help for vulnerable neighbours.

Yes indeed, “… it’s very easy to become overwhelmed with negative information which causes anxiety and will undoubtedly cause considerable affects on people’s mental health. It doesn’t have to be like this… “

Keep safe and let’s look forward to getting to the other side of this crisis.

After another week at Boathouse 4, we have fitted a few more planks – a total of seven fully fitted now, and the eighth almost ready for roving.

At close of play on Friday, she looked like this:

I have learnt such a lot: tips on how to get good results, and on how to fix problems and mistakes!

The current Corona virus pandemic has led to the attractions and historic dockyard itself being closed to the public. It has been quiet in the College as a result. Indeed, the College is set to close after next week, due to the public health advice.

Chatting to one of the security guards, on Friday, I was warned that the Portsmouth Base Commander could shut the base to non-MoD staff without notice. I decided to bring my tools home, just in case that happened before Monday.

Reflecting on the situation yesterday, I made the decision to stop going in to the College until the situation changes. The need for us all to exercise ‘social distancing’ is being made very clear, and for the benefit of the family, and everyone else, I will stay at home except for essential outings.

My bench is nearly finished, and I hope to start to fit the vice today. There’s a lot to get ready for my boat building project, and lots of jobs to do at home … the gardening is never-ending!!

I would like to finish planking the dinghy with Bob, when the College re-opens. Maybe we can fit the last three sets of planks with another week together … wishful thinking, I know!

To all my followers/blog readers, I give my very best wishes and hopes that you remain well and avoid Covid 19.

I returned to Boathouse 4 on 5th of March, slightly earlier than planned, and have been working with Bob Forsyth to plank up the Paul Gartside dinghy which I am planning to build this year.

Progress has been slower than hoped, for a few reasons. Firstly, because we spent a lot of time and effort to get our first set of planks fully symmetrical. This is in order to “book match” successive planks.

Book Matching is the process of spiling a plank for one side of the boat and then splitting the resulting plank in two, creating a plank for each side. It requires that the sides remain the same, so that the planks are a perfect match.

Another reason for our slower-than-expected progress is the planks splitting at their hood (forward) ends. The unkindest cut of all was when one of the planks that had been fitted by BB15’s students split when our first set of planks was being fitted. Thank goodness for PU Glue!

As a result of this tendency to split, we have decided to give the hood ends a bit of heat to create a bit of “give.” We had not expected to need to steam them, but if steaming reduces splits it will be worth the extra effort.

Finally, I have never been known for speedy working!

Anyway, after seven days, we have fitted only four planks, rather than the two per day we were aiming for. That said, I am sure I/we will get “in the groove” and speed up – our aim is now to finish the remaining 10 planks in the coming week. It has been great to be working with Bob, who has over 50 years’ experience of boatbuilding and a love of clinker builds. I’m getting a real Master Class with lots of tips and suggestions for my own upcoming build.

Fingers crossed that we can catch up with our goal of two planks a day. In the meantime I am now officially a Boathouse 4 Volunteer, and for the next week (at least!!) I can be found there, learning from Bob and getting valuable practice and experience.

Meanwhile, back in my workshop at home – ‘Docs Den’ – I have been making a new workbench for my upcoming joinery projects. Made of three sheets of 18mm birch plywood, this Paul Sellers design is really solid and very heavy. Today, I fixed the aprons to the the leg frames and glued the laminated bench-top to the front apron. I am looking forward to getting the tool well and vice fitted. Then, there are some other extras to add, including a drawer and castors.

Well, that’s it: Friday was the last day of my one year boatbuilding course at the International Boatbuilding Training College in Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard.

The last few days were spent on fettling and making tools for clinker planking, which will be used at the College (see below), and later at home. My gripes are all ready to go, and I have made a small steam box to steam the hood (forward) ends of clinker planks.

On Thursday, we has a masterclass from Bob, our Senior Instructor, on how to ‘pay’ caulking seams with hot pitch.

Thursday is, by tradition, Thirsty Thursday. With an end of term mood in the air, we loaded up a car with two dustbins full of scrap wood and headed to the Hot Walls area of old Portsmouth, just next to the Round Tower. A few drinks at the nearby Still and West, and a bite to eat, and we took our firewood onto the shingle beach outside the Hot Walls, and had a bonfire … and some more to drink! It was a lovely way to mark the end of our time at IBTC Portsmouth.

We had a tour of the RN Museum workshop on Friday afternoon. Here, there are teams of riggers, shipwrights and conservators working on HMS Warrior, HMS Victory and the other parts of the RN museum’s collection.

Amongst many interesting pieces, the most fascinating for me was a section of Victory’s mizen mast, removed after the battle of Trafalgar.

Sadly, HMS Victory is slowly being munched away by death watch beetle. Here are a couple of photos of the results:

Victory’s rigging also needs regular maintenance and replacement.

When I spotted this mug sitting nearby a shipwright’s bench, I was reminded that have been advising patients for over thirty years – and not just patients, I might add!

In my experience, advice is rarely followed when sought, and almost never welcomed, let alone followed, when offered without request!

Clearly the shipwright has learnt this too, and has a healthy, if cynical, view on the matter.

I have not quite cast off from IBTC. In a fortnight’s time, I am going to spend two or three weeks completing the planking on the 10ft Paul Gartside dinghy that the next group of students have already lofted, set up and started to plank up … the very same dinghy that I have decided to build myself at home. I will be working with Bob Forsyth, and it’s the chance of us working together, and my having a masterclass in dinghy planking along the way, that made me decide to do this. I am looking forward to using the gripes and steam box I have made, and will let you know how it goes.

The exam week went OK – I think. I know I’ve made some errors, but overall they seemed to go OK. Between exams, we caught up on some odd jobs, and have been finishing things off in our last two weeks.

One of the group has erected a mockup of a large boat’s hull, for caulking practice.

Work on the Deck Boat is about done. Rowlocks have been fitted and all the knees have been fitted now.

I have finished my decking exercise:

My test oar has had many coats of varnish, and I have now added the leather and copper bands to both Practice and Test oar:

During this week, I have also been making Gripes in readiness for making my own clinker dinghy. They hold the new plank in place for fitting and fixing. Here are some of the wedged gripes, complete with leather protective pad:

There’s just two more days to go … ahh!

It all feels rather odd. The year has gone so quickly. But I have learned so much and dare to feel the I can now build a clinker dinghy on my own – though I am glad to have the offer of a helping hand and advice from a couple of the instructors!!

On the 14th of January, we had a two day sojourn at the Solent University, for our module on composites. Fibreglass/GRP is just the tip of the iceberg as far as composites are concerned, with differing resins and different materials, such as carbon fibre, kevlar etc. Some testing mathematics too, but it gave us an insight into an aspect of boatbuilding that is a world apart from the traditional skills we have been learning. We learnt about tank testing for initial stability and had a tour of the facilities, including their test tank, 3D printers, and the state of the art bridge and engine room simulators where, I’m ashamed to say that (in a brief period of inattention) I crashed our simulator tug on Southsea Beach! Happily, there was no real harm done.

On the 16th, we started our City & Guilds exam oar. We have all made an oar as a practice piece a few months ago, and took about two and a half weeks to complete it. This time we had just six days to do the test piece. It went really well, and we all felt a great sense of achievement, halving the time to make this second spoon oar.

On the 21st, we were given a treat: a ride on Motor Gun Boat (MGB) 81.

Motor Gun Boat (MGB) 81 was commissioned and accepted on the 11th July 1942; she first worked up at HMS Bee, the Coastal Forces base at Weymouth, and in August 1942 joined the 8th MGB Flotilla at Dartmouth.  Over the next year MGB 81 was involved in six actions.

An official order dated 26th August 1943 redesignated MBG 81 as MTB 416.  The 8th MGB Flotilla itself was also renumbered the 1st MTB Flotilla.  Although the boat was reclassified as a torpedo boat, we have no specific evidence of her ever having carried torpedoes.  However, her first recorded action as an MTB was on the 21/22 April 1944 in Lyme Bay, when three groups of E-boats were plotted in the area.  The MTBs were vectored on to the five enemy craft and engaged two at close range, and MTB 416 suffered action damage.

She was back in service for the Normandy landings and was involved from the 6th to the 30th June.  A few days after D-Day, the flotilla transferred from Dartmouth to HMS Hornet at Gosport.  Overnight on the 23/24 June 1944, MTB 416 was involved in an attack on a German convoy leaving Cherbourg.  Although MTB 416 was only backing up the operation, one of her crew was killed.

She was paid off in April 1945, after which little is known of MGB 81. However, in 1958, she was arrested by Customs officers at Shoreham whilst on a smuggling operation!

From June 2017 to November 2018 MGB 81 underwent a major structural rebuild and internal refit, and was equipped with three new engines.  This work was paid for by the Chancellor using LIBOR funds.

Our work on fitting out DB (Deck Boat) 1 continues. I have fitted the last of the ten thwart knees, and had a great time on Friday shaping the transom.

One of the exercises we have to do, if we can, is to make a deck structure, laid with planks (not teak, as far too expensive). It’s an exercise that we can work on in stages through the course. This week, I managed to get the planks cut and fitted, and the seams caulked with mastic.

This coming week, we have our City & Guilds and College Diploma exams, but I will have some time this week and the following two weeks to complete the deck exercise and any other outstanding work, such as completing the fitting out of DB1.

I returned to college on Monday, after a really good break. We’re supposed to finish the small boatbuilding module this week, so have all been pushing on, hoping to complete the fitting out of Deck Boat 1.

When I finished for the holiday, the three thwarts were fitted, and I was about to fit the side benches with that tricky stepped scarf-like joint.

After two weeks away to mull things over, I was clear in my mind how I would tackle the job. I started to work.

“I didn’t think we were going to have a stepped joint … we can do without it” said one instructor. “You could mitre the inner corner” enjoined another, who added: “it would be good to put a thumbnail rounding on the edges of these thwarts,” and then showed me how the thumbnail is done.

And we’re short of instructors!!!

Using a router, I nervously cut out the joint on the thwarts. Finishing off with a chisel, I then planed the bevel on the side bench.

I measured and marked out, then checked and re-checked. Had I got this right? With heart in mouth, I cut each mitre in turn. Relief, then jubilation as, with just a few ‘relief’ saw cuts, the joints came together tightly.

Bob’s advice had been both good and timely: the mitre to the inside corner of the joint, and the thumbnail rounding, have made all the different to the final result.

With the side benches fitting nicely, I glued up the joints with thickened epoxy resin. ‘Butt’ blocks cross the underside of the joints to give extra strength and support.

To strengthen the gunwale of the boat, including against side impact, thwart knees are being fitted.

Here are the two thwart knees I am making for the centre thwart. On Monday, I aim to finish them, fit them with roved copper nails ,and trim the tops level with the gunwale.

Some of these knees will be covering my carefully-made joints, leaving only that mitred section visible. Ah well, if invisible to others, at least I have the satisfaction of knowing that they’re a good fit!

Well, we haven’t managed to finish the fitting out of DB1 but, before the course ends in just six weeks, we do have some spare days left to finish off various projects. It would be great to complete this project.

I’ll keep you posted.

Apologies for not updating you earlier. I have been slacking it seems – though not at the college! Time for an update, and there’s a lot to cover.

The five of us have been working together to get DB1 (Deck Boat 1) planked up and fitted out.

With her planking completed, we could take out most of her moulds, and fit in the timbers (ribs). These were bent into place by steaming them.

Once we had most of the timbers in, the last moulds could be removed. Suddenly she looked very roomy.

More steam bent timbers were fitted, and fixed in place with roved copper nails.

She is so beamy that there is a lot of weight way out from the keel. With time there is bound to be a little sagging as a result, but to stiffen her up and reduce this, “floors” were then added. Floors are not what you stand on, they are reinforcements to the lower part of the hull.

Risers next – these strips of wood are fitted inside the boat (more steaming), fixed to the ribs, and will support the thwarts (seats). While I fitted these, the others worked on fitting the gunwales (inwhales, as the Cornish say) inside the top edge of the hull, and rubbing strips on the outside of the top edge (sheer).

Strengthening brackets (quarter knees at the stern, and breast hook at the bow) are now in place (James, Richard and Mark), the bottom boards are in (Tom). I have fitted the three thwarts.

The aft thwart (at the back of the boat) is wider than the others. I have christened it ‘the Duchess’s seat’!

It is a little unfortunate that the forward thwart slopes downwards aft, so that the person sitting on it, facing towards the stern will – whether rowing or passenger – feel they are tipping forwards a little. I am reminded of a ploy sometimes employed by the previous generation of GPs to mine (!): an inch would be cut off the front two legs of the patient’s chair, which helped to discourage then from sitting back and taking overlong to discuss their problems – especially useful on a Friday afternoon apparently So, I have christened this thwart ‘the Patient’s seat’!

I have started making side benches to run between the middle thwart and the ‘Duchess’s seat.’ The above photo shows the stage I had reached at close of play yesterday: the bench has been fitted to sit against the ribs, with a small gap between it and the planks. I now need to make the joints between the bench and the thwarts.

These are going to be a challenge, not only to make the joints themselves fit well, but to get it all to fit into the curved inner line of the hull and ribs.

Yesterday was our last day before a two week Christmas break, so I have some time to mull this over (and improve my drawings)!

It is really good to see the progress we have made in the last few weeks, working together on this little boat. But, the highlights of this week are – as they should be – family times. On Tuesday, we attended James’ Wings Parade at RNAS Culdrose.

And, today is my birthday: we’ve had a lovely time, with Siobhan, David and our gorgeous grandchildren.

With Christmas just a few days away, I wish you all health and happiness for the festive season and 2020.