Longboat Chronicles

On 14 Jan, several dory boards were moved from the mill building to the boat shop where they were cut to size for a steam box. It will be necessary to steam our longboat planks in order to bend them to the shape of the frames. The steam box is about 17” wide, 12” deep and approximately 25’ long, and will accommodate two boards at a time. On 17 Jan, we moved the lumber for the keel, stem, transom, stern post and timbers into the boat shop. One thing that we have learned to date about building wooden boats is that everything is heavy - “light” was apparently not a word in the lexicon of boat builders! Leaping ahead to 22 Jan, work started on the first keel. Bill and Milford Buchanan, our project supervisor, struck a chalk line and using a combination of power tools (not exactly authentic tools of past builders, but effective and efficient), hand tools and keen eyes, started the exacting work of squaring the keel. Work continued over several days as, at this point, we’re only working part-time on the project. By the next diary entry, the keel should be laid. The piece of oak for the keel measures approximately 6” by 3 ½” and 19’ long.

Shelburne, 27 January 2008
Longboat Diary Entry Number 1

This diary will use 12 Jan 08 as the “official” start date for construction of the two longboats. This is somewhat artificial since a lot of planning, logistical work and general preparation preceded that date. Nevertheless, everything needs an official start point and 12 January is as good as any. Over the next several months, I will keep you abreast of the progress of the longboat construction. As well, I will look back at what we did before 12 Jan 08, I will add some historical perspective to the boats and I will introduce some of the builders. In all, it should be a fun journey - there is a lot to do and, for most of us, a lot to learn. I hope you stay tuned…..

So on 12 Jan, after much preparation - more on this in time - Bill Cox, our expert on building wooden boats, started drawing the lines for our longboats on paper laid out on the floor of the “mill building”. This building is one of several buildings once used in the construction of wooden boats at the former Cox Shipyard - more on this at a later date. We are very grateful to Ken Fisher of Rodney, Ontario and a member of 1812 Crown Forces North America, who supplied the plans for the boats. The initial picture on the longboats web page is a quick glimpse of a section of “our” longboat plans.

Shelburne, 26 February 2008
Longboat Diary Entry Number 2

First of all, let me apologize to you readers - I hope we have at least a few of you - for the long time since my last entry. I blame it on the snow, the myriad other responsibilities concerning the Loyalist Landing 2008 project and the need to finalize our Society’s 2007 year-end reports to Joint Stocks. Not great excuses, but better than saying that I have had writer’s cramp……

Regardless of my pace of life, the longboat project is moving along well on a number of fronts. The keel and the numerous other attachments - the stern post, the yoke and the stem - are all now together in one piece, the product of fine craftsmanship and modern glues and fasteners. The stem was attached to the keel this past Monday with epoxy glue and 5” stainless steel bolts. As a wisened ol’ tar might say, “she ain’t gonna come apart, matey!”

This week, the keel assembly will be put in place in the boat shop where the construction will take place. The photo to the right shows this location. The boat will sit under the beam in the centre of the photo. The workers in the photo are adding braces to the beam to help steady it. Supports from this beam will help steady the frames of the longboats as the craft takes shape.

Wondering about the nautical flags, boats and other paraphernalia in the photo? The boat shop is an operational museum - open May to Oct - and the artefacts are part of the permanent displays in the building. Workers and visitors interested in the progress of the longboats are reminded daily of the rich heritage of wooden boat building in the Shelburne area.

For those of you who will recall from my last entry that I optimistically thought the keel would be laid in the week following that report, do not think that we have fallen behind in the project. I simply underestimated the amount of work required before the keel could be laid - I have a lot to learn about building longboats, too, you know.

There were many details to be completed and most of these depended on the lines being drawn by Bill Cox. It’s a privilege to watch Bill ply his extensive boat building skills on this project - I will write more about Bill’s life-long association with wooden boat building in future diary entries. Bill transfers the measurements to patterns and these are used to trace the necessary component - it is exacting work and he expects nothing less than perfection! Milford Buchanan, the work crew supervisor, interprets Bill’s instructions and with steady hand and keen eye completes the necessary task - hand planes, chisels and draw knives are the order of the day - to shape the wood into a piece of the longboat.

Work continues in earnest elsewhere on the project. The stove and boiler are in place in the boat yard parking lot and we have only to join the hoses to our steam box to be ready to steam our wood. One can only hope that the weather is a bit warmer when we do the steaming. The pine planks have been planed to ¾”, the timbers have been cut and planed, also to ¾”, and several of the frames have been finished. The timbers are oak, the frames are spruce. The longest plank is about 26’ long. In my previous entry, I promised to add some historical perspective to the longboat project. Readers already know that we selected as a model for our longboats the launch of the Bounty, of the mutiny fame. What is the connection to Shelburne, you ask? Well, none directly except that the Bounty’s longboat would have been similar to all such boats of that kind during that period of history. We are therefore constructing a period-correct vessel and are satisfied that similar boats would have been used in the Loyalist landing in Shelburne on May 4^th,1783. What are the other connections to Shelburne? More on that next time…. Until then, I remain

Your loyal scribe, Jim Mahaney

Shelburne, 16 March 2008
Longboat Diary Entry Number 3

The excitement about the longboats is growing and the construction activity is increasing daily. More and more volunteers are showing up to lend a hand and visitors of all ages are dropping in to ask questions and observe close hand the building of a long boat. The frames are now all in place and this past week we attached all of the timbers. This was certainly teamwork at its best.

The timbers were steamed in our steam box for at least half an hour or until we could bend them without breaking. Then it was a bit of a race getting them in place, clamping them one ribbon at a time, “breaking” them at each ribbon to ensure a perfect fit and then screwing the timbers in place. One person - Milford Buchanan (shown in the picture at left) - sat in the boat to keep the timbers against the “hog” and in position on the ribbons while a team on each side did the clamping and screwing.

The gentleman clamping one of the timbers is Curtis Mahaney who is renowned as a master builder of the famed Shelburne dory. Although he has never built a longboat in his boat building career, he is enjoying the challenge and the satisfaction of applying his skills to a new type of wooden boat. His general boat building skills are welcome by the team.

It is a labour of love for them and when you walk into their shop you are treated to the experience of watching two craftsmen at work. They use a combination tools that some people might think are antiques, steady hands, keen eyes and many years of experience. It was amazing to see all of the jigs that they have “invented” over the years to help them produce the products they turn out in their shop. I would recommend a visit to their website http://www.fancyoars-paddles.com if you have an interest in oars, paddles or just fine craftsmanship in general.

Another couple of weeks have passed in the saga of the longboats and despite the continuing bad weather in these parts, good progress has been made on the first longboat. We have fastened the first five rows of planking on both the starboard and larboard sides, starting with the sheer streak and working down toward the keel. She’s looking more and more like a boat every day! There will be 12 streaks on each side when finished, but the remaining seven will be put on after we have turned the boat over. It’s just too cumbersome to put the remaining streaks on with the boat sitting upright - there is only about six inches of clearance between the keel and the floor.

The second picture shows us - with Bill in the forefront - in action putting the third plank on. The shape and size of each plank is determined by Bill using his spiralling batten, rule and immeasurable experience. Once the lines are drawn, the plank is rough cut on the table saw. A mate is then drawn and cut for the opposite side of the boat. By making identical planks, the symmetry of the boat is maintained.

The planks are then planed to the exact size and shape - fine-tuning, really. Special attention is taken to ensure the correct bevel, established by Bill with his trusty bevel gauge, is produced so that there is room for the caulking between the planks. Planing is one job left to the most experienced builders among the team and Curtis Mahaney, shown here, is one of the best at doing this work.

He maintains that a sharp plane is the key to a good job. Lots of practice is key as well! The planks are then fed into our steam box and after the appropriate period of steaming they are removed, hurried into the boat shop and put in place with a combination of clamps and wedges to ensure they are perfectly positioned. Once we are satisfied that we have achieved perfection, holes are drilled through the plank and into the timbers to receive the screws. Stainless steel screws are then used to secure each plank. It takes some 65-95 screws for each plank depending on the width of each one.

After we finished attaching the five rows of planking, the top part of the frames have been removed, the tops of the timbers have been sawn flush, the location of the seat risers and the seats have been determined, and, the hull has been sanded and “pentoxed” . This next picture shows what “she” looked like at close of business on Friday, 28 March 2008. Work will continue on the inside of the boat next week.

In closing, readers will recall that our longboat is off a plan for the Bounty’s launch, the one sailed by Capt Bligh to Timor after the mutiny. Yesterday, while flipping through our myriad TV channels, I noticed that “The Mutiny of the Bounty” - the 1980’s version was playing on Bravo. My wife and I could not resist watching it. While the movie is entertaining in its own right, I personally spent most of the time checking out the launch whenever it was in the viewing area. That’s what ours will look like.

Your loyal scribe,
Jim Mahaney

Over a period of a few months in 2008, local craftsmen and numerous volunteers recreated two 23-foot boats from plans of the launch carried by HMS Bounty of "Mutiny on the Bounty" fame. More correctly, the Bounty was the HMAV or His Majesty's Armed Vessel Bounty.

In April 1789, Captain William Bligh with 18 loyal crew were cast adrift in the Bounty's launch. They sailed and rowed a seemingly impossible voyage of 3,618 nautical miles (6,701 km) to Timor after Master's Mate Fletcher Christian and a third of the crew mutinied and took control of the ship. In this remarkable act of seamanship and having only a sextant and a pocket watch but no charts or compass for navigation, Bligh succeeded in reaching Timor after a 47-day voyage, and with the only casualty being one crewman killed on the island of Tofua by hostile natives although a number succumbed to disease after their arrival.