It seems as though I can’t confine myself to one boat a week, and this week is no different.
And, in truth, I have a hard time restricting myself to merely two or three boats a week. This is part of what makes our wooden boat world so wonderful — so many boats, so many people, so many stories….
And the fact that so many people read this flog every week. Please pull me up short when I stray. And you might argue with this first selection. But that’s OK.
After next week’s posting, I’ll be off to IBEX, the world’s trade show for boatbuilders (www.IBEXShow.com). I’ll still post on Tuesday that week. The best news is that we’ll have the winning wooden design from our Design Challenge #1 in our booth there (#1801; Professional BoatBuilder). But I can’t say which design that is — that’ll be announced in this week’s online session, and in WoodenBoat’s Nov/Dec issue. If you’d like to take part in the online discussion, registration is free, and here:
https://proboat.ilinc.com/perl/ilinc/lms/register.pl?activity_id=bjrrbhc&user_id=
It will be at noon (Eastern US Time), Thursday, October 1st. If you can’t attend at that time, you can view/listen to it in replay for the next month.
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Off to this week’s…
This first one has always fascinated me, and it was fun to read a recent posting. It is here:
http://autospeed.com/cms/A_111312/article.html
It’s called the Flying Boat. It’s also called the Spruce Goose — Howard Hughes’ grand WWII endeavor.
Spruce Goose. I call it a boat because it was called a boat. And more...
The Spruce Goose
Not just the largest aircraft made of wood, but also with incredible underskin technology
Courtesy ASME*
This is the intro: ”In July 1942, the world was at war. America had just lost 800,000 tons of her supply ships to German U-boats. Henry Kaiser, famed industrialist and builder of “Liberty” ships, proposed a fleet of flying transports to safely move troops and materiel across the Atlantic. Kaiser approached Howard Hughes with his idea. Together they formed the Hughes Kaiser Corporation and obtained an $18,000,000 government contract to construct three flying boats.
Hughes and his team of skilled engineers designed a single hull flying boat capable of carrying 750 troops. The plans called for eight 3,000 horsepower engines, a mammoth fuel storage and supply system, and wings 20 feet longer than a football field. The aircraft was dubbed the HK-1, standing for the Hughes Kaiser design number 1.”
The story continues, and it’s a fascinating one. Please check on the link above and read it. And comment below if you’d like to. I’m by no means a war buff, but I do appreciate advanced engineering in its many forms. The fact that she flew/boated only once adds to her legend.
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I try not to cover boatbuilding projects until seatrials are concluded. But this one is so good.
There are a couple of people who are working on entry-level boats that families can build and sail/row/power in mere days, and this is one of the hearts and goals of our mission at WoodenBoat.
This one — the Microskiff, an Eric McNicoll design — is ALMOST ready. Follow along the great sequence (You may want to start at his oldest post and how he chose this design. Go to June 2009):
Microskiff
http://microskiff.blogspot.com/
And congratulations to Bistros not only for his boatbuilding skills, but for his blogging as well.
Once the design is sea-trialled and Eric signs off on it and plans and kits are available, I’ll update you. I LOVE this approach.
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Please join us in our new Directory of Boat Plans & Kits: www.woodenboat.com/boatplansand kits. It’s becoming a fascinating place as more designers post their designs. (It is free to post YOUR design: Just follow the FAQ on the left-hand side.)
That’s it for this week. Let’s all wooden boat on. My best wishes to you, and please feel encouraged to post comments below. Thanks, Carl
