Stuff

Boats
I've always been interested in boats.
My Dad owned a small wooden sailing boat called 'Soma' from the late 1960's. They spent their holidays sailing around the Devon coastline until a few years after I was born, when my dad and uncle bought the shell of a sailing sloop and fitted her out in a farmers field.

'The Elizabethan Lady' was where nearly every holiday was spent up until the mid eighties.
While my friends were flying to Spain and lying on the beach, I was learning how to hold my stomach down in force eight gales. We explored the Devon coast and sailed as far afield as St. Malo and Cherbourg, taking in Guernsey and Alderney along the way.

It was at times incredibly boring, being stuck on a thirty-odd foot boat in the middle of the English channel isn't terribly exciting for a young boy.
Sometimes though, it was magical. Standing at the tiller with the sails tight, hull slicing through the waves. You could feel the energy, the sheer power thrumming through the boat, through you.

It was bound to have an effect on me. So ever since, i've thought about boats. Big boats, small boats, sailing boats, house boats, everything.


In 2002, I tried to build my first boat. It was essentially, a wardrobe with a curved bottom, very badly put together with large gaps where the plywood joined. Before I could think about using it, we were forced to abandon it (and our house).

It was a few years later I got the itch again. We'd moved to Bath, a city with a large canal and river running straight through its centre. I'd always been half heartedly dreaming about it, browsing sites like duckworksmagazine.com and I finally decided to go for it. I bought nearly all the materials and started. After building the boxy stern, I realized I didn't have the money to finish. A dilemma - did I leave it until I had more money (taking up a huge amount of space in our small maisonette) or stop? I stopped. Luckily my wife wanted some planters for the balcony, so thats what I turned the boat into.

Six months later, I had a little money and still had some wood lying around. The itch was still there. I scratched. I bought some more wood and made a small boat I named 'No Worries'. I launched her in 2008.

It was fun, but I never really used her like I wanted to. Dreams of floating down the canal on a summer evening turned into thoughts about having to drag the boat to the canal on its improvised truck (a sight that turned heads every time - you don't see many boats being towed by hand through the center of a city), not to mention having to take it down, then back up a few flights of stairs.
My mother in law was trying to clear up her allotment. We needed some space. After a days worth of digging, she got a nice strong sunken planter and I was boatless.

Which brings us to now. March 2009. Itch Scratched. I've just finished a kayak/canoe made from some metal and plastic poles I had lying around, a roll of duck tape and a large tarpaulin.
Its very wobbly and not very strong.
I can pick it up with one hand.
I could jog with it over to the canal (5 minutes maybe).
I could paddle down the canal on a summers evening.......
Time will tell.
Sunday 15th March 2009 7.30am