Readers Recommend

One of the nice things about the extended solstice holiday is that people have nothing better to do than send me links.
Julia Rooke sent a great link to a short BBC clip about Bill Colley, the last builder of wooden fine shells. He 'tortures' ply into shape to create boats that are both fast and beautiful - Julia recalls winning her first pot in a Colley coxed four. Unfortunately, they are not competitive against all the fancy plastic stuff and things of wonder though they are, they are not very practical for everyday cruising. So he sits outside his boatshed at Richmond, chatting to his mates, waiting for some fitness fanatic who values style above mere function to come by and order one.

Gig rowers Loo and Roo Lynton-Evans have been to Clovelly and sent me a picture of the Clovelly Scull that hangs in the building at the top of the path down to the village. Still no word as to whether this clever offshore rowing boat might go into production. Let's hope that the improving economy might boost demand.
And Stuart Sutherland pointed out a link to the interesting Sinne 610 expedition rowing boat from Finland.
It has lots of decked area to store all the stuff you need for weeks touring Finland's amazing lakes. One bit of deck comes off to form a table - very ingenious. It even has a pair of wheels that instantly mount onto stub axles for easy portages.