Category Archives: Under the Keel….

A rain cover for Myst

As you might imagine, we get a lot of rain in North Vancouver. We usually average two metres of rain per year at the house. I have not put a drain plug into Myst, so a cover is essential. To … Continue reading

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Urban Oarsman sails, rows and tows on the 2022 Barefoot Raid

The 2022 Barefoot Raid started at Rebecca Spit, went around Cortes Island and returned. Myst is an Iain Oughtred designed “Elf” faering that I built for the raid. I started the raid in Myst and finished it in Gwragedd Annwn. … Continue reading

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The Urban Oarsman builds Iain Oughtred’s “Elf” Faering

Building the Herreshoff Pram was fun…but it was not the rowboat for me. Gwragedd Annwn is a little too big for everyday rowing and cruising. At 225lbs stripped weight, she was getting a little hard for me to handle launching … Continue reading

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The launching of “Crwban”

The Hollyburn Sailing Club has seen the launch of many member built boats…Nothing Social Distances you better that building a boat!!! Crwban (pronounced ” Crew-ben”) is the Welsh name for a turtle. Land turtles are not found in Wales, but … Continue reading

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The building and launch of “Crwban” a 10′ Herreshoff Pram.

With the Covid-19 pandemic breaking out, it seemed as if “Social Distancing” by building a boat would be a good idea. I have always admired the Herreshoff Pram design in John Gardner’s “Building Classic Small Craft” book. I thought I … Continue reading

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Captive oarlock anti-clunk method.

While refinishing my “Bolgerized” oars, I decided to use Captive Oarlocks. Captive oarlocks go on the oars and are kept on the oarshaft by the button on the oar leathers. I use the Bolgerized oars with my “Trug” skiffs. One … Continue reading

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Bolgerizing Oars

In his book, “Small Boats”, Phil Bolger, in his essay on rowing, describes how to modify an ordinary mass production oar to make it more pleasant to use. With the current Covid-19 situation, maintaining one’s equipment may be the best … Continue reading

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The Urban Oarsman builds Brenne Clamps.

A long, long time ago I built Phil Bolger’s 11′ Defender design in glued lapstrake planking.  I made some long-reach clamps for the build.  They were pretty crude but they did the job. I used threaded rod and tried to … Continue reading

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The Urban Oarsman rows (and sails!) to the top of Pitt Lake with the Hollyburn Sailing Club 2019 May Long Weekend Paddle.

The Urban Oarsman, and three paddlers leave the rain of Vancouver and paddle & row into the sunshine of Pitt Lake Heather and I arrive at the Grant Narrows boat launch. It is $15 for me to launch Gwragedd Annwn … Continue reading

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Bee’s Wax or Snow Guard on Oar Leathers?

Using scrap pieces of leather, I put a dab of Snow Guard is on the Left and a piece of Bee’s Wax is on the right. Bee’s wax can be pretty expensive…Mountain Equipment Co-Op sells a 60 gram bee’s wax … Continue reading

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