Why?

This blog has been set up to record and tell the story of the building of my new boat, a 8m (26foot) Norwalk Island Sharpie.

In 2009, my wife Kate Burns bought me plans to the boat for 39th birthday. In 2010 the timber was ordered. She gives good present!

Kate helming Fresh Aires

As a matter of history my first boat was a Heron with an unusual fully battened mainsail, it was a pig of a boat, the weatherhelm scarred me for life. I flinch any sign of an unbalanced rig, hence my second choice in boat.

The first boat, an ill tempered Heron with an oversized mainsail

At the age of 18 I bumped into Duckflat Wooden Boats at the Mt Barker show. David Wilson’s “Ethel”canoe yawl was on display, and I fell in love with this gorgeous Victorian whimsical boat. After bugging Robert Ayliffe for a year and being turned away twice, I convinced him to let me build an Iain Oughtred Whilly Boat.

Erika the Whilly Boat

Erika took 18 months to complete, she was the first boat to come out of Duck Flat’s Flinders Street premises. She is a very fast little (14’6″) boat, the original lug rig was modified by Michael Storer to a yawl, and carries quite a bit more sail than originally drawn. I have had her planing twice, back when I was fearless. Rooster tails out of the centre board case!

The real beauty of Erika is her rig, that little mizzen sail does three very neat tricks; balancing out the rig in all conditions (absolute dream), holding the nose to wind when you want to put sailing ‘on hold’ (reef, lunch, read, rest, tea), and to make graceful arrivals and departures under mizzen alone. The mizzen does a wonderful job of nudging Erika along when you want gentility.

20 years on from building Erika, and facing the new boat, I decided I had better do some maintenance on her. She is well used, but not mistreated, and does not look her age, which says everything for the epoxy ply building method. With that completed (took six months!) I can begin on the new boat.

There has been another boat in my life.

Fresh Aires on the Murray River

I had been seduced by a 28′ gaff cutter “Fresh Aires” designed by David Payne when I was in my late 20s.  She was built at Goolwa at the Armfield slipway by Brian Read. She is a traditional small yacht with a modern hull.

I spent days and nights on board in her cosy skylit cabin, and sailing through all seasons. Fresh Aires played a key part in my courtship with Kate, and when it came to buying our first real-estate, the money from her (the boat’s) sale helped with the deposit.

Fresh Aires in now in Sydney, cutting up the harbour.

I have been involved with many other boats, in both construction and sailing, I definitely have a boat fetish, I can trace it back to a well thumbed ‘Scuffy the Tugboat’ Golden Book.

Scuffy the Tug Boat

There is also influence from my dad, John who at 16, built an 18 foot Hartley cabin cruiser to show his dad how capable he was. He was certainly capable, it was a boat loved for many years up until he sold it to build a house with my mum, Marilyn.

Tamiko the 18′ Hartley loaded with with family, Dad is the little guy in the hatch.

Considering boats, there is something supremely elegant about how form follows function, the prettiest boats are often the most effective. They are little cradles that carry their crew through calm and storm. To sail is to be a tight rope walker, you ‘feel’ when it is working, you hold it all in balance.

Above all, there is the silence.