A Few Small Details (Chamberlain 19’ Gunning Dory)

[Bob Smalser]

A turn-of-the-last-century sport boat originally from Massachusetts’ dory builder William Chamberlain, this light dory was designed to safely carry two hunters, dogs and gear to offshore islands in November weather. It’s a lighter version of his double-ended Surf (Rescue) Dory with rig features from his larger Beachcomber racing dory, which was in turn a purpose-built version of working dories dating back to when sawmills first began producing boards economically.

Simple, with a working man’s elegance, the boat is a great family beach cruiser in addition to a sporting boat. I tried to keep my work both true to the latter end of the boat’s period prior to WWII, and also the purpose of the boat. All painted and varnished surfaces were rubbed out to tone down the shine, and all the bronze and brass on the boat will be left to patina naturally. Marsh-grass brown-red hulls and Navy grey interiors were the typical “camouflage” of the era for duck hunting. Being a sport rather than a work boat allows me to tart it up a bit…hopefully without going overboard.

The fitting-out at the end of a project is always incredibly slow and time-consuming….but that fine detail work has always been my favorite part, whether a restoration like this one, or new work.



All major fittings are bronze or marine brass either salvaged from derelict boats of the era…



…or made from scratch.



Tiller yoke and thwart, mainsheet block, sternsheets and stern painter…



…toggle-and-eye fittings on yacht-grade manila would be more period correct than the button snaps I used on my leather work, but I’m not that much of a purist when it comes to function…where you don’t need their strength, toggles require two hands while snaps just one, and when you do need the strength of toggles, elastic cord does a much better job than manila.



A nice Leeds reproduction oil anchor lamp and laminated mast that stow away until you are caught out after dark…you can barely see here that the tiller yoke is cambered slightly to match the camber of the gunwales…



…along with period bearing compass and fog horn…and some tools and spares.



Mainsheet block, swivel and served wire pennant…along with the Center for Woodenboat’s original museum registration number.

Continued…

[Bob Smalser]

Hiking stick, tiller control lines, boat hook and side seats.



Hiking stick stowed beneath the thwart, Wilcox’s smallest winch and handle, Wilcox bilge pump, oar stowage…



…and hinged centerboard trunk cap with Herreshoff jibsheet cleat. It’s hinged at the thwart because I used a larger oak Beachcomber centerboard rather than the light plywood board John Gardner drew in his plans for the boat. One complaint about these as sailers is they are too light, with no carry in troughs…my larger, heavier, lead-weighted board and heavy false bottom seem to have corrected that, although I may add some lead shot bags along side the trunk later for solo sailing, as in 25kts and 3’ seas, the boat points surprisingly well, but it’s impossible to go to windward without a dedicated and energetic bailer.



Centerboard control rod and boat hook…



…the boathook was made to float handle-up and is grooved on the underside to register the location of the hook in the dark.





Oars and oarlocks.



Jibsheet comb, lashed marline side stay, English Cocker Spaniel. Side stays aren’t a usual feature of rigs this small (90sf of sail), but I use them to lengthen the life of the centerboard trunk joints. Lashed marline ILO turnbuckles is real quick to cut in an emergency to free the rig.

Continued…

[Bob Smalser]

Jibsheet comb, wall-knotted fender and leather oar buttons.



Salvaged gooseneck with fabricated bronze mast band…



…that folds to make a neat bundle either for rowing or to stow inside the boat.



The two boom bridles are lashed for more head room…





…and the mast shoulder cleats were built to hold the leathered side stay and jib halyard eyes firmly in place when stepping and unstepping the rig, which can be done safely while afloat with the board down. The mast and boom are hollow Doug Fir…the rig weighing around 30-35lbs.



Busy, but very functional. Oar, bow painter and beach hook and chain stowage, still allowing access to the storage compartment and still providing a seat. The oars slide into those molded leather straps without having to go forward to undo the snaps.



Shucks…this boat even “motorsails”.

[Tyler Howell]

A wonderful adventure Bob.

Thanks for taking us along.
T

[Jay Knoll]

Bob

That is wonderful work! Almost makes me want to break out a varnish brush ......... well I did say almost.

I hope someone is following in your wake to learn your skills and keep the tradition alive

Jay

[John Keeling]

Way to go Bob! Beautiful job. Launched my Merlin Rocket week before last. Hope you have as much fun with your 'workboat' as I'm having with my funboat!

You've already got me thinking of making my next boat a traditional design and the traditional way, no more ply and goop. I just need to move house now so that I have enough space for the next project!

Thanks for sharing your wealth of knowledge, I for one, look forward to, and very much enjoy your posts.

John



http://home.nycap.rr.com/thekeelings/merlinrocket.html

[James Carmichael]

"Tiller yoke and thwart, mainsheet block, sternsheets and stern painter…"

Anybody got a sailing lexicon for this land lubber?

That is a beautiful piece of work, though.

[Jay Knoll]

Here you go!

http://www.andrews.com/kysc/terms.html

Someone once said that sailing is hours of boredom interrupted by moments of sheer terror (not shear, which is yet another term for you to look up)

Have fun

Jay

[Bob Smalser]

"Tiller yoke and thwart, mainsheet block, sternsheets and stern painter…"

Painter=boat-to-dock rope
Block=pulley
Sheet=rope that moves sails side to side.
Halyard=rope that moves sails up and down
Jib=little front sail
Main=big rear sail
Sternsheets=rear seat
Served=wrapped with twine
Mast=vertical stick
Boom=horizontal stick
Beach Hook=A too-small anchor (has to be buried manually)
Bridle=rope that spans something
Gooseneck=mast-to-boom hardware

[John Keeling]

I notice that the list doesn't contain a definition for 'thwart' which is a seat/support arranged across the width of the boat and so named because it thwarts any attempt you may make getting from transom to stem in a dignified manner and without bruised shins.

[Bob Smalser]

Thwart=crossways seat that also usually serves as a critical part of the boat's structure....hence the bent "knees" reinforcing the thwarts that are mortised into the centerbiard trunk. Those connections and the sidestays (wires) on the mast keep the cb trunk from leaking.

Tiller=single point rudder control.

Tiller yoke=double point rudder control.

[Walt Pater]

Hey Bob, how do you post your pictures, sequentially, with text in between? I can't seem to do it by guesstimating.
The boat, by the way, is beautiful.
Thanks, Walt

[Bob Smalser]

I simply type the text using the url code....[img][/img]....where I want the pics.

The url address of each pic on my hosting server goes between the code.

[Glenn Clabo]

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