NEW KEEL YACHT

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 284, 28 August 1935, Page 13

NEW KEEL YACHT

Under Construction at Lyall Bay AMATEUR SHIPWRIGHTS In a prosaic tin shed in a Lyall Bay backyard, three amateur yachtsmen are engaged in a task which any yachtsman will agree is far from prosaic—the construction of a new keel yacht. The partners in this enterprise, Mr. G. Coleman, Mr. F. Coleman, and Mr. J. Scarratt, members of the Evans Bay Tacht Club, have had no previous experience of building such a vessel, but from the workmanlike manlier in which they have set up the keeler’s frames and main timbers it is clear that they know just what they are about. The construction of even so small a ship as this one is no easy task. It calls for a high degree of skill with wood-working tools, Including some which are rarely required iu everyday carpentry. The handling of an adze, for example, is a definite art in itself. The expert with this tool can not only rough out a timber from an unshapod tree-trunk in the shortest possible time, but can also use it for surprisingly delicate work, shaving oft slivers not an eighth of an inch thick. But in the hands of a novice the tool is at first nearly unmanageable. Besides skill with tools, the building of a keeler must have a profound knowledge of the shipwright’s complicated craft There is a right way and a wrong way for the shaping and fastening of every timber. The steaming and bending of the wood is no easy business. The scribing of the planking must be meticulously exact Unlimited patience is one of the first Qualities the amateur builder must possess, and it is a virtue not many folk can boast The undertaking is a big one and requires time; working at week-ends and on holidays from their regular employment the Lyall Bay syndicate do not expect to complete their little ship until some time next year, at the end of about another nine months. When finally she is ready for launching, however, the yacht will measure 25 feet over all. and 21ft. 6in. on the waterline. She will have a beam of eight feet, and a draught of 4ft. 9in. Rigged as a Bermudian cutter —that is with jib, staysail, and triangular maingail—she will have a sail area of about 350 square feet. She will carry on her keel to stiffen her about 28 cwt. of lead.

Designed primarily for cruising, the new keeler will be a very roomy craft. Her lines were laid down by the yachtsmen themselves, using as a guide a design in a yachtipg paper, but modifying the plans to suit themselves, and incorporating several original features. One of these is the design of the raised cabin, which in conjunction with the ship’s square bilges will make the most of her internal economy. At the sumo time, with her easy and fine lines the new yacht should prove a good sailer, and a notable addition to the Evans Bay fleet. There have been few keelers built lately in Wellington, in part because few young yachtsmen can these days afford the money to have a boat built for them, nor have they the time or the necessary skill to build for themselves. But difficult times are an encouragement to the amateur builder, and annually more beginners, encouraged by the success of their friends,, and unable to face the expense of skilled labour, tackle the job of building their own craft. Another small keeler is at present being built at Island Bay, while lighter craft are fairly common. One of the merits of amateur work is that, being attempted purely for the love of the thing, it usually achieves a very high standard, the builders making perfection their Ideal