Wooden Boat Festival, Hobart

[rufustr]

Binalong Bay?

http://www.sweetwatervillas.com.au/pic_st_helens/bay_of_fires_01.jpg

Ten kilometres north east of St Helens, as the crow flies, is the coastal resort of Binalong Bay. Formerly just a retirement village, Binalong Bay has become a popular holiday venue for surf lovers and people who enjoy ocean fishing.
Binalong Bay also borders some of the most beautiful and diverse coastal reserves in Tasmania, notably the Humbug Point Recreation Area, the Bay of Fires Coastal Reserve, with its adjacent extensive lagoons, and, further north, the native heathlands of The Gardens.

[shamus]

Rick,
If you really like both Hobart & Launceston, Oatlands would suit you- you could join the yacht club, and sail on Lake Dulverton. Hobart & Launceston both in easy reach.

[RFNK]

Shamus, that's not very nice! What did I say to deserve that? :confused: By the way, you'll be pleased to know that I really hate `period costume' along with Morris dancing! Rick

http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/rr69/rfnk/Lake_Dulverton.jpg

[shamus]

Lake Dulverton used to be over 200 hectares. While it was never very deep, they used to have power boat races and sailing on it. The yacht club building is about half a mile from your photo- now looks out over a sort of clay pan. It hasn't had any water in it for years- even the water you see in that photo comes through a pipeline to remind us that there used to be a lake there.

[rufustr]

I looked on Google Earth and there ain't no water there.:confused:

[RFNK]

No, Oatlands is definitely not the place for us! Well done Peter, Cygnet is so close it's almost spot on. Anywhere in that area with water access or close to it would do it. Shamus, if we could afford water access in Hobart, that would be the choice ... good grief, we just put a stone dog we picked up in Vietnam outside our back door and now our real dog's barking at it .... anyway, you guys in Hobart know you're pretty lucky but I wonder if you know just HOW lucky!! Rick

[PeterSibley]

I'd have been down there years ago if my dearly beloved could handle temperatures less than 20 C without a fleecy jacket !

[rufustr]

Well my Management is making plans and really pushing the issue.

I suffer a bit of the black dog and wonder how I would cope with the short and overcast days in winter.

I don't want water frontage, but I would want to be near the water and have water views.

[RFNK]

Our friends from Maine etc. might be a little bemused by comments about the cold in Southern Tasmania but it's a real issue for SWMBO too - and she was born in New York! Hmm, maybe a warmer place, such as Launceston? No, anyway, it won't be for a few years yet. Port Stephens is great but Southern Tasmania has just so many options for sailing as well as walking etc. And some quite nice wood ... The locals are a bit of a worry, always complaining about that lot from Launceston ... Rick

[py]

rufustr I know of a couple of acres on the market at Deep Bay. Just back from the water, elevated, 270 degree water views (the remainder is mountains). Great anchorage, fantastic sailing grounds. 10 mins from Cygnet. I should put in a disclaimer about no personal connection etc, but that would be lying;)

[bloggs68]

My vote goes to Kettering. I have a lovely view of little oyster cove and Bruny Island from the workshop. 20 muntes to the big smoke (Hobart) and much warmer than the Huon valley - particularly in winter.

AD

[Duncan Gibbs]

Andrew, Am I reading Shamus's post correctly: You have a Swallow Boats Bay Raider?

[shamus]

Most of what I write should be taken with a tiny grain of salt!
I think AD has the licence to build them in Oz. They are a pretty special boat, by the look of the video I watched.
I'm getting a bit old for raiding. I could lend you a whilly boat, but I don't think it's quite big enough really, to do the job.

[bloggs68]

Andrew, Am I reading Shamus's post correctly: You have a Swallow Boats Bay Raider?

G'day Duncan,

I wish I had one already.

Shamus is right - we were recently appointed the sole builders in oz for the Swallow boat range. We'll be starting a Storm 15 early April for a local bloke and a BayRaider after that. Latest CB mag has a good write up on the BR. I reckon the BR is going to be a lot of fun.

regards,

AD

[bloggs68]

I've watched the Swallow video too , and yes , they look pretty good.
AD , would you consider them a wooden boat ?.
Would they qualify for "the wooden boat festival".
Regards Rob J. who is about to go out sailing on the big Couta boat , the Rosebud.

Of course they are a wooden boat!!!!!!!!!!!!!! no less than a mirror dinghy or a Hartley 16/18 or one of Iain Oughtred's lovely designs. The fact is that epoxy ply boat building has been around for years and will continue to be really popular for boat amateur and pro construction.

Unfortunately, we just don't have the timber resources available to continue to build carvel or clinker boats in the quantities that used to be made. There would only be a handful of traditional clinker/carvel boats built in oz every year.

I'd much rather build traditionally - the swish of a sharp plane and the smell of a bit of huon beats working in gloves and a respirator for hours on end. But these style of boats do utilise some beautiful trim timbers which allows us to "timberise" them and "spin" out the resource a bit more.

One of the wooden boats at the last festival was made from strip planked cedar with at least 1600 gsm of glass on the outside and glass on the inside. Is she a timber boat? I reckon yes but a modern timber composite one (she was one of the Hess cutters)

It is a good question though Rob but it normally engenders some interesting responses from the various camps. Asking on this forum is akin to tossing a grenade into a room and watching what happens!!!

regards,

AD

[PeterSibley]

My vote goes to Kettering. I have a lovely view of little oyster cove and Bruny Island from the workshop. 20 muntes to the big smoke (Hobart) and much warmer than the Huon valley - particularly in winter.

AD

Noted !:)

[RFNK]

Sounds lovely! Trace and I took Pipsqueak out yesterday too for a last sail (sniff) before we head back to this:

http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/rr69/rfnk/HaNoijam.jpg

The day was perfect. Nice easterly blowing, water all ti-tree stained and foamy from the Myall and Karuah Rivers, jib poled out for a smooth sunset run home from Nelson Bay to Lemon Tree. Fresh cucumber, basil and mayo on rye along the way. Rick

[RFNK]

It's the dyke road in Ha Noi, near Long Bien Bridge. There's at least one really interesting, big boatyard in Vung Tau where they build wooden fishing boats using traditional construction. Rick

[PeterSibley]

Gentlepeople .....at the festival there was a display of a longboat .It was going to sail in the wake of Captain Bligh , Tonga to Timor .I had the web address and was going to follow it but that bit of paper had dematerialised ! Can anyone put up a link ? It looked very interesting .

[rufustr]

Here you go Peter.

http://www.bountyboat.com/

My pics from the show.

http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo39/rufustr/WOODENBOATFESTIVALTRIP2009096.jpg

http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo39/rufustr/WOODENBOATFESTIVALTRIP2009093.jpg

http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo39/rufustr/WOODENBOATFESTIVALTRIP2009094.jpg

http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo39/rufustr/WOODENBOATFESTIVALTRIP2009097.jpg

[PeterSibley]

Thanks Rufus !! Goodnya !:):) I should have photographed it to rather than trust my collection of flyers .:rolleyes:

[bloggs68]

Unfortunately not. I'm kicking myself for not taking any though; I didn't want to seem too much of a stickybeak. The guy who owns the boat is in your area though, he loves traditional boats and he's a great guy. I'm sure if you were to approach him he'd be happy to show you around.

By the way, I saw this boat in Launceston last week. Of course there are plenty of boats that look a bit like this but, apart from the rudder configuration, it looks like a stretched Twister. Do any of you know the boat or what it is? It was in a sealed off section of the marina so I couldn't get close.

http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/rr69/rfnk/StretchedTwister.jpg

Rick

As suspected it was a Holman design - a North sea 24 (timber version of the Rustler 31?). Beautifully built huon hull by a chap who did his time with Jock Muir. Current owner has rescued her and is doing a great job of doing her up. Boat name is "Ataman" and was built in the late 60's. She had a stack of plaques on the bulkhead showing some of her racing history including several Melbourne to Devonport races.

AD

[RFNK]

Thanks Andrew! Thought she looked very nice! How was the `festival' in Launceston? Rick

[shamus]

I think some of you fellas are holding out- there must be more photos out there.
Here's a few more I thought were worthwhile.
Two boats built by Jeff Clist now aged 80.
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd277/shamus1955/woodenboatfestival2009096.jpg
The very nice steam launch commuter:
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd277/shamus1955/woodenboatfestival2009097.jpg
Kids havin fun:
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd277/shamus1955/woodenboatfestival2009123.jpg
Just nice:
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd277/shamus1955/woodenboatfestival2009140.jpg
Elusive kid playing in Couta boat:
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd277/shamus1955/woodenboatfestival2009146.jpg
One kind of bowsprit:
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd277/shamus1955/woodenboatfestival2009145.jpg

[shamus]

Ol' buggers shooting the breeze:
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd277/shamus1955/woodenboatfestival2009148.jpg
Philip L Rhodes "Saona"
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd277/shamus1955/woodenboatfestival2009150.jpg
Saona doghouse:
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd277/shamus1955/woodenboatfestival2009151.jpg

[Duncan Gibbs]

Two years' time! ;)

[py]

Hey RFNK-caught the Top Gear guys last monday, doing a motorbike trip 1000 miles up the vietnam coast. Looked fantastic. Taking away all the Top gear hyperbole, what do you think of it as a holiday plan for a reasonably adventurous family? And would a 15yo without a driving licence at home get away with riding on the road over there? Would we need to hire a guide, to find places to stay and lead the way, or could we just follow our noses? Any thoughts/advice?

[RFNK]

Well, the roads are chaotic and hazardous but generally the traffic is slow. I'd have to say there are plenty of Vietnamese 15 year olds riding unlicensed in VN but I wouldn't let mine do it. You could have a great time riding bikes through VN but you should get advice on your planned route as some would be much better than others. You shouldn't need a guide. VN is friendly and cheap but there isn't really much English spoken ouside main centres and it can be difficult to find the way through some larger towns. A guide would be good but you'd have to make sure that he rides at your pace, stays where you want to stay etc. I like the coast - nearly all of it but the coast is not easy to travel along in the far south. I like the mountains. If you're starting in HCMC, take the coast road to Nha Trang and continue via the coast to Da Nang and Hue. Then head west and explore the northern mountains. Although this means you miss Ha Long, the coast around Ha Long, especially around Hai Phong and the roads from that area into Ha Noi are hectic and dangerous. On the other hand, if you must go to Ha Long, the road north from HL City is okay and you could go up into Lang Son from there, which is very pretty. It would be a good idea to check your planned route with the bike rental place to ensure you don't wander into any sensitive areas - there are still some, especially around the Cambodian and Laotian borders. I'd be happy to look at your itinerary if you go ahead with this. By the way, HCMC has difficult traffic - not as congested as Ha Noi but faster, less forgiving and HCMC is really big. Not a great place to commence a bike journey from. You might want to consider picking bikes up from another centre or having them transported out of HCMC; or simply having a guide get you out of the city. Rick

[PeterSibley]

Saona doghouse:
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd277/shamus1955/woodenboatfestival2009151.jpg

I was pretty interested in that wheelhouse ,it looked good ,if a little unusual ....it surely would provide wonderful protection from the elements .

[py]

Thanks Rick-sounds like its defeinitely an idea to pursue-we visited Thailand 18 months ago, mostly Chang Mai and surrounds. Just my wife and I, sans kids that time, and stayed in a B&B run by an american guy with a Thai wife, and a BMW 1100 available as part of the package. The beemer was a bit out of place amongst the scooters and step thru's, but we had a blast. So I guess we are looking at taking that approach a step further. We're also particularly interested in vietnam cos my wife has a vietnamese brother and sister. Might get back in touch when we have developed the idea a little more.

[PeterSibley]

Thanks Rick-sounds like its defeinitely an idea to pursue-we visited Thailand 18 months ago, mostly Chang Mai and surrounds. Just my wife and I, sans kids that time, and stayed in a B&B run by an american guy with a Thai wife, and a BMW 1100 available as part of the package. The beemer was a bit out of place amongst the scooters and step thru's, but we had a blast. So I guess we are looking at taking that approach a step further. We're also particularly interested in vietnam cos my wife has a vietnamese brother and sister. Might get back in touch when we have developed the idea a little more.

py ,you might find this site useful ...

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=380962&highlight=Vietnam

Lot's of other stuff here if you use the search function.It's a VERY good motorcycle touring site .

[RFNK]

Does look good but Minsks are like VW Beetles - everyone thinks they're good ol' reliable things until they take one on a trip ... If you do hire bikes in VN, get a Honda Wave, Honda Dream, Yamaha Nouvo or something like that which, although they're pretty gutless, will get you anywhere you want to go, won't use any oil etc., won't ever break down and you'll be able to get tyres, repairs etc. absolutely anywhere in VN as these bikes are just everywhere. Some hire companies have bigger bikes, which are certainly nice on the mountainous roads but can be a real hassle if you need parts - throttle cables, tyres, spark plugs etc. Personally, I'd recommend anything Japanese and try to get something with a front disc brake. Rick

[PeterSibley]

I wasn't actually recommending the bike choice as much as the AVRider site Rick .

[RFNK]

Yes Peter, I think it's a really good site too! Rick