I spent the weekend at Debordieu Island, SC and took in the Georgetown Wooden Boat Show. The weather was perfect for the beach and the boat show was REALLY fun. There were lots of boats of all sizes, some new and some restorations. One of the most interesting was a restored 1878 Canadian canoe built of two thin 90 degree solid wood bent laminations. It was decked fore and aft and had brass fittings. The lines were really nice. It was a comercially produced canoe and the laminated wood construction was pretty revolutionaly for the times. According to the display materials, only three remain in existence, the other two of which are in Canadaian museums.
There was also a timed boat building competition. Twelve teams of two builders were given identical materials and plans for a simple plywood rowboat. The finished boat had to stay afloat long enough to be rowed twice across the river and back. The winning team completed their boat in a little under two hours and it passed the river test. I'll tell you, there was some fierce boatbuilding going on. I'm surprised someone didn't lose some fingers or toes. Saws and routers were left on the ground, stumbled over and kicked out of the way; and the Miter saw "techniques" were downright scary. But the whole thing was a lot of fun and nobody got hurt.
Unfortunately, I left my camera behind so I didn't get any pictures.
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