More from the Home Built Boat Rally

So I was casually carrying Simbo to the beach when someone said: "Are you entering the Biggest Bloke in the Smallest Boat contest?"
Yes.

(Picture by who else but Chris Perkins)

HBBR at the Cotswold Water Park

Riverview45 has posted a rather jolly picture on the HBBR Yahoo! forum, showing me setting out in the newly refurbished Snarleyow at the HBBR meet. Dignity, style and baldness.

HBBR Cotswold Water Park (Tailpiece)

My Chippendale Sprite Snarleyow only made it to Cotswold Water Park by the skin of her varnish. The strip of softwood in the middle of the gunwale had rotted at the ends, so I replaced it and took the opportunity of planing the ends down at bow and stern to make a rather elegant tapered effect. Now I have to put the extra coats of varnish on.

I have never seen a boat carried on an open-top car before. Chris Adeney brought his Selway Fisher Waterman canoe on top of his vintage Morgan. It was a pity he did not bring his Linnet rowing boat as well, as it is towed behind and the whole rig must look very impressive. The boats are even painted the same colour as the car. "That way, you only need one can of paint," Chris says.

HBBR at Cotswold Water Park

Steve and Marg Brown launched their new dinghy at the HBBR meet, a Selway Fisher Petite Brise design called Penny. Despite not being a boat person, Marg did a lot of the finishing and painting, which I think is noble. Here is Steve holding the bow while Tim O'Connor takes the tiller and Graham Neil hops about on the beach.

Also making a first appearence at the event was Peter Nobes's new canoe, a Christine design also by Selway Fisher.

Rowing at HBBR

The Home Built Boat Rally at Cotswold Water Park over the weekend was brilliant - lots of sun on the Saturday and a nice breeze on Sunday for the sailors. The Saturday night barby featured enough meat for the entire Royal Marines (and band).
The O'Connors took their Oughtred Acorn skiff Ardilla out with Tony Waller at stroke, getting a very decent speed up.

And I finally got to row Chris Waite's Octavia, the award-winning two part skiff held together with string. It is lovely, very fast and stable, but she does not keep a straight line very well. Chris says this unexpected trait was responsible for his leading the pack down the river at the HBBR Thames rally earlier this year. He explains that he found it impossible to keep a straight line except under power, so he could never rest on his oars. He is going to install a skeg which should keep her in line in the future.
Here is Octavia artistically arranged on the beach with HBBR sails in the background and Molly Dog in the bow of Iona, keeping watch.