Building the Rogue River Special

Hi all--

Cricket and I are teaching a class at the historic Lowell's Boat Shop in Amesbury, Massachusetts, birthplace of the dory, November 11-16. We'll be building Jerry Briggs's legendary Rogue River Special, and one lucky student will take it home for the cost of materials.…

Hi all,

Cricket and I are excited to announce a course this November at Lowell's Boat Shop in Amesbury, Massachusetts, the oldest working boat shop in the country and the birthplace of the ocean dory. We'll be building one or two McKenzies depending on class size, over the course of two adjacent three-day weekends. If anyone here is wanting to build a drift boat but are feeling too timid or don't feel they have the requisite skills, this is a wonderful opportunity in a truly amazing…

I am excited to offer the McKenzie boat class again at WoodenBoat School in Maine this July. It's perfect for someone who really wants to build one but doesn't know how or where to start, or is intimidated by the array of skill sets necessary to do the job.

We will build the Hindman 16' Double-ender with transom.

We will start by lofting the boat from a table of offsets, correcting, customizing or idealizing as we go. We'll build all the frames, transom and a rolling-bevel…

Most of you folks here aren't in the market for class, but for those of you that are, I just posted my winter offerings. If you want to build a boat, shape an oar, cast custom bronze boat hardware--but don't have the nerve to start out on your own, this might be just the ticket.…

We should probably be arrested for doing this but we did it:

http://fretwaterlines.blogspot.com/2016/08/rogue-waves-and-knavish-rocks.html

Andy Hutchinson and I just got back for a 3-week manic build of two dories in New Zealand. Here is the essence in a blog post:

Fretwater / High Desert flash-build…

I finished off the Nevills replica today. Big fun. Details on the blog.

Fretwaterlines

Five below zero in Arizona tonight. Brr.…

Howdy all,

I am trying to catch up with my boating blog after a ridiculous river season. I just put up some shots of our new aluminum/wood hybrid boat (what?!?!), the Betty Boop's return to Grand Canyon, and a few other shots from along the way.

AlumiWoodie

Betty…

In spite of a fair amount of lame oarsmanship by her captain, the Julius once again survived Grand Canyon upright. Roger Fletcher, Andy Hutchinson, Dan Dierker and other friends conspired to build her ten years ago, and this is her fourth trip through Grand Canyon. To date she has not been knocked over or ge-busted. Pretty cool little boat in spite of the damned eight-foot oars and short rowing compartment. Of particular horror is my truly lame run in Bedrock--I thought for sure we were…

Another chapter of Martin Litton's early dory history manages to live on:

Moqui Steps…

Here is a video of us knocking together a McKenzie last Friday night. I wish the GoPro had not run out. This is a time-lapse of the first 80 minutes:

Building the Blacktail

After a quarter century in the desert sun, rain and snow, the Betty Boop is back on the river. And after eight or so years including a few harsh winters, Julius is afloat again as well with a new floor and reconditioned decks. What fun--here is a post about their re-launch:

Betty and…

For those who want to watch me battling the rotted remains of the Betty Boop, the blog is going again. Big fun in the boatshop.

http://fretwaterlines.blogspot.com/

 …

Well, I finished off the San Juan punt yesterday and sent it off to Utah with its new owner. As my friend Lora says, for such an ugly boat its really nice looking.

more at

www.fretwaterlines.blogspot.com…

I ripped open the Betty Boop / Great Thumb today to se just how bad our little rot problem is. I don't feel so good.

http://fretwaterlines.blogspot.com

Here is a summary of the first incarnation of the Betty Boop

http://fretwaterlines.blogspot.com/

Boop Oop a Doop

I just updated my blog to include many boating adventures from the last four months. Some of you may enjoy the pictures:

fretwaterlines.blogspot.com

The last big one of the trip, Lava Falls. 16,000 cfs, running the left side run. The private group just behind us flipped five out of eight attempting the same run. Don't be too far right!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JagH1FqPdU

There are a few more videos on my blog:

 …