Saturday 3 September 2011

A Thames skiff built by a Dane in Spain

Anders Eliasson built this fabulous 12ft Thames Skiff to Selway Fisher's design in an astonishing four months, launching it last month in a lake near his home in Spain.
But he is a professional woodworker, albeit a maker of guitars for flamenco rather than a boatbuilder. His expertise in guitar construction came in handy when he needed to pull the stem on while the epoxy set.
He used a very simple technique that none of the boatbuilders seem to have acquired - a sort of cats cradle to hold it in. But apparently it is centuries old in the guitar business.
Anders also provided the quote of the year with: "Life is empty without a hull. A hull means dreaming, possibilities."
Anders is now off on holiday to southern Portugal, taking his new skiff for use on nearby waters. He has promised a report.

5 comments:

Adrian Morgan said...

Why is building a simple plywood and epoxy skiff in four months "astonishing"?

Ask Anders if this was indeed astonishingly quick, about right or quite leisurely. Certainly the build quality will be superb.

This is in no way therefore aimed at Anders or the skiff, but to counter the implication that a boat of this kind will take more than four months.

I'd say that four months, even part time, is more than enough. If I were to build a boat like this, professionally, I would need to have it ready in about 20 working days in order to make any money.

It's in the hope that people won't be put off by the suggestion that boats need a huge amount of time to build, and thus be deterred, that I make this comment.

Lovely boat Anders.

Chris Partridge said...

It's astonishing in comparison to my own timescale of three years since purchase of kit and nothing done yet.

Adrian Morgan said...

Ah yes, Chris. Too many toys and no time to play with them. I know the syndrome. We are all overboated... I have the same problem with model gliders. At least they are all built. Some people have boxes of un-built planes like some have unopened books.

Anders Eliasson said...

Thanks for posting the skiff. I dont know if 4 month is astonishing or what it is. I just built it when I felt like.... Nothing theoretical about building time from me. To me its more something therapeutical...

I will be back with the report from Portugal in a few days. It was very nice.

Chris Waite said...

A bit late, but don't tell me -

"The Dane in Spain stays mainly off the plane"

Ghastly how some people's mind's work, isn't it?

Chris W