Re: [bolger] Re: What's the book?
On 2/27/07, califwalt <wwiley@...> wrote:
Yes, there is enough data to build from in the book
preference. It is excellent glue, with one major exception. When
working with wet wood or working in the rain, in which case Gorilla
Glue is superior.
the distances between frames. I would use 1/4" lauan if I were to do
it again. Indeed I used 1/4" lauan on my Cartoon 5 double ender as
'my second try' at a lapstrake rowboat, after Spur II. I prefer
Cartoon 5 to Spur II.
http://sports.webshots.com/photo/1373315342051159125FUYhMP
http://sports.webshots.com/photo/1360984211051159125SnIwsx
>Actually, Spur II in in the book Boats with an Open Mind, I think.
> Bruce --
> Your pictures are a wonderful revelation, and your boat is a beauty.
>
> Six questions:
> -- Is the info in "Small Boats" sufficient to build a Spur II?
Yes, there is enough data to build from in the book
> -- Would you still use Gorilla Glue?Now that I have found cheap sources for epoxy, epoxy is my glue of
preference. It is excellent glue, with one major exception. When
working with wet wood or working in the rain, in which case Gorilla
Glue is superior.
> -- Would you still use Bondo?Bondo holds up, but epoxy is better.
> -- Would you still use 1/8" lauan plywood? What kind? Where'd you get it?Home Depot. 1/8" is fine, except it doesn't span 'fair' enough for
the distances between frames. I would use 1/4" lauan if I were to do
it again. Indeed I used 1/4" lauan on my Cartoon 5 double ender as
'my second try' at a lapstrake rowboat, after Spur II. I prefer
Cartoon 5 to Spur II.
http://sports.webshots.com/photo/1373315342051159125FUYhMP
http://sports.webshots.com/photo/1360984211051159125SnIwsx
Bruce --
Your pictures are a wonderful revelation, and your boat is a beauty.
Six questions:
-- Is the info in "Small Boats" sufficient to build a Spur II?
-- Would you still use Gorilla Glue?
-- Would you still use Bondo?
-- Would you still use 1/8" lauan plywood? What kind? Where'd you get it?
Thanks,
-- Walt
Your pictures are a wonderful revelation, and your boat is a beauty.
Six questions:
-- Is the info in "Small Boats" sufficient to build a Spur II?
-- Would you still use Gorilla Glue?
-- Would you still use Bondo?
-- Would you still use 1/8" lauan plywood? What kind? Where'd you get it?
Thanks,
-- Walt
--- Inbolger@yahoogroups.com, "Bruce Hallman" <bruce@...> wrote:
>
> > In "appreciating" PCB, Tom Jones wrote " To me the loveliest and
> > most useful of Phil Bolger's designs... is the... Spur ll". He
> > finds "This boat is almost miraculous to me in her simplicity and
> > elegance and the functional perfection of every detail.".
>
> Ditto from me. Having built and used a Spur II, let me fill in some
> detail. I see PCB genius in the design considering how he updates the
> 'classic' to be modern.
>
> 1) The wood, clear (scarce, heavy & expensive), needed for old classic
> plank on frame is replaced and updated with cheap, lighter easily
> available modern plywood. Spur II can be extremely light weight and
> quick to build. I recall mine took about 80 hours spread over two
> months of spare time. Today, with more experience under my belt, I
> could probably build a better one in about half that time.
>
> 2) The frame detail. The plywood frames serve triple duty, first as a
> boat mold, second as structural frame, and third as seat supports.
> This classic Bolger signature, elegance through dual (or in this case
> triple) use.
>
> 3) The old classic pulling boats (a la Spur and Victoria) were
> intended to carry freight and therefor had lots of deadrise. (Tippy
> when empty.) Today, a recreational rowboat doesn't need that much
> deadrise. Resulting in Spur II, being a lighter cheaper boat that
> doesn't have the excess windage in 'normal' loading and trim. And with
> a flatter wider bottom, more initial stability.
>
> 4) The seat detail, (with the seat slats only in the center portion of
> the boat) is both comfortable, functional and harnesses human nature
> to add stability to the light weight boat. (And makes the boat lighter
> still.) Another Bolger signature element.
>
> I didn't try the optional sailing rig, but I bet that Spur II would be
> fun to sail too.
>
> In "appreciating" PCB, Tom Jones wrote " To me the loveliest andDitto from me. Having built and used a Spur II, let me fill in some
> most useful of Phil Bolger's designs... is the... Spur ll". He
> finds "This boat is almost miraculous to me in her simplicity and
> elegance and the functional perfection of every detail.".
detail. I see PCB genius in the design considering how he updates the
'classic' to be modern.
1) The wood, clear (scarce, heavy & expensive), needed for old classic
plank on frame is replaced and updated with cheap, lighter easily
available modern plywood. Spur II can be extremely light weight and
quick to build. I recall mine took about 80 hours spread over two
months of spare time. Today, with more experience under my belt, I
could probably build a better one in about half that time.
2) The frame detail. The plywood frames serve triple duty, first as a
boat mold, second as structural frame, and third as seat supports.
This classic Bolger signature, elegance through dual (or in this case
triple) use.
3) The old classic pulling boats (a la Spur and Victoria) were
intended to carry freight and therefor had lots of deadrise. (Tippy
when empty.) Today, a recreational rowboat doesn't need that much
deadrise. Resulting in Spur II, being a lighter cheaper boat that
doesn't have the excess windage in 'normal' loading and trim. And with
a flatter wider bottom, more initial stability.
4) The seat detail, (with the seat slats only in the center portion of
the boat) is both comfortable, functional and harnesses human nature
to add stability to the light weight boat. (And makes the boat lighter
still.) Another Bolger signature element.
I didn't try the optional sailing rig, but I bet that Spur II would be
fun to sail too.
--- Inbolger@yahoogroups.com, "califwalt" <wwiley@...> wrote:
from PCB&F.
In "appreciating" PCB, Tom Jones wrote " To me the loveliest and
most useful of Phil Bolger's designs... is the... Spur ll". He
finds "This boat is almost miraculous to me in her simplicity and
elegance and the functional perfection of every detail.". After the
best part of a page critically and comparatively praising her, and
finding her a better boat than Victoria, he then writes:
"As Bolger says in Small Boats, Victoria was derived from a pulling
boat that he designed and had built while working for Stanley
Woodward in Mallorca. The Spanish boat was called Spur and was
designed for looks above everything. She had a great deal of sheer
and a black hull with gold sheer stripe and a gold centaur plastered
on the transom. In a photo I saw she has a 6-square-foot American
flag floating in the breeze, which must have added to the pleasure
of rowing to windward. Bolger is at the oars, and in the stern
sheets sits a blonde who is also of considerable decorative value. [
the foregoing you can get from Small Boats and its dust jacket]
Bolger says that an article about Victoria in a boating magazine
["Boating" ??] produced about 1,500 plans enquiries. Using the
normal scaling factor of 1:20, that would have resulted in 75 plans
sales, which is pretty good for a rowboat. Twenty years later I
can't imagine that Spur ll, which I think a somewhat better boat,
sold half as many"
High praise for Spur ll from a sailing/writer/designer/builder who
seemed to always call things how he saw them and wasn't averse to
even fiddling with a Bolger design.
Almost miraculous perfection.
Cheers
Graeme
Afterthought: Was "almost" lucky for Bolgerdom, for would a walking
on water boat designer design any more boats? ;>)
> Could you, or anyone on this here list, direct me to informationof >some books on small boat design, but I didn't see anything about
>about building Spur II? I notice that it's listed in the contents
>actually building it. Am I correct in assuming that plans are stillPlans for Spur ll, or the Spur derived Victoria, would be available
>available from Bolger?
from PCB&F.
In "appreciating" PCB, Tom Jones wrote " To me the loveliest and
most useful of Phil Bolger's designs... is the... Spur ll". He
finds "This boat is almost miraculous to me in her simplicity and
elegance and the functional perfection of every detail.". After the
best part of a page critically and comparatively praising her, and
finding her a better boat than Victoria, he then writes:
"As Bolger says in Small Boats, Victoria was derived from a pulling
boat that he designed and had built while working for Stanley
Woodward in Mallorca. The Spanish boat was called Spur and was
designed for looks above everything. She had a great deal of sheer
and a black hull with gold sheer stripe and a gold centaur plastered
on the transom. In a photo I saw she has a 6-square-foot American
flag floating in the breeze, which must have added to the pleasure
of rowing to windward. Bolger is at the oars, and in the stern
sheets sits a blonde who is also of considerable decorative value. [
the foregoing you can get from Small Boats and its dust jacket]
Bolger says that an article about Victoria in a boating magazine
["Boating" ??] produced about 1,500 plans enquiries. Using the
normal scaling factor of 1:20, that would have resulted in 75 plans
sales, which is pretty good for a rowboat. Twenty years later I
can't imagine that Spur ll, which I think a somewhat better boat,
sold half as many"
High praise for Spur ll from a sailing/writer/designer/builder who
seemed to always call things how he saw them and wasn't averse to
even fiddling with a Bolger design.
Almost miraculous perfection.
Cheers
Graeme
Afterthought: Was "almost" lucky for Bolgerdom, for would a walking
on water boat designer design any more boats? ;>)
An even more simple version is the Pygmy kit, wineglass wherry. It's
stich and glue, comes UPS, makes about 100# 14ft boat. Easiest rowing
boat I've ever tried with the spoon blade oars I bought with the kit.. Clyde
John and Kathy Trussell wrote:
stich and glue, comes UPS, makes about 100# 14ft boat. Easiest rowing
boat I've ever tried with the spoon blade oars I bought with the kit.. Clyde
John and Kathy Trussell wrote:
> My copy of Small Boats (sadly without the dust cover which has long[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> since perished) states:
> he last I heard, PCB had a Spur II for his own use.
>
> If you want a modern version of a Whitehall (which is similiar to the
> original Spur), Ian Oughtred has a very handsome version in his plans
> portfolio.
>
> JohnT
> ----- Oo:bolger@yahoogroups.com<mailto:bolger%40yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Friday, February 23, 2007 6:05 PM
> Subject: Re: [bolger] Re: What's the book?
>
> > Sorry for my imprecise question, and thank you for correcting me.
> > Sounds like you've put me closer to my goal here. Could you, or
> anyone on this here list,
> > direct me to information about building Spur II? I notice that it's
> listed in the contents of
> > some books on small boat design, but I didn't see anything about
> actually building it. Am I
> > correct in assuming that plans are still available from Bolger?
>
> I built a Spur II, using the chapter from the book. There is enough
> information in the book to build from. Hugo Tyson's father, Bruce
> Tyson, built one too (his is much nicer than mine).
>
> Here is a photo montage of the building of mine.
>
>http://hallman.org/bolger/spur/<http://hallman.org/bolger/spur/>
>
> ------------
>
> ----------------------------------------------
>
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> Version: 7.1.412 / Virus Database: 268.18.3/698 - Release Date: 2/23/2007
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
My copy of Small Boats (sadly without the dust cover which has long since perished) states:
' "Boating" magazine ran a feature article about a rowing boat I had built while working in Spain, and got a flood of letters, around 1500 I understand, wanting to buy the plans.I did not think the design was suitable for general use and refused to release it so the editors commissioned this design as a substitute.'
I believe that the boat built in Spain was the original Spur, shown on the cover of Small Boats and on page 20 with a very young PCB at the oars. The substitute design is Victoria, design #218. The drawings show Victoria as a handsome boat, but the only picture I've ever seen of a Victoria was in an old "Woodenboat" and the strakes on that boat were not lined off very well.
Spur II is described starting on page 47 of Boats with an Open Mind. The essay starts:
'Spur is named for a Whitehall type I had built in 1963, much admired but a failure in use due to its great weight, and because i designed the blades of her oars much too small and did not realize for a long time what was wrong.'
The last I heard, PCB had a Spur II for his own use.
If you want a modern version of a Whitehall (which is similiar to the original Spur), Ian Oughtred has a very handsome version in his plans portfolio.
JohnT
' "Boating" magazine ran a feature article about a rowing boat I had built while working in Spain, and got a flood of letters, around 1500 I understand, wanting to buy the plans.I did not think the design was suitable for general use and refused to release it so the editors commissioned this design as a substitute.'
I believe that the boat built in Spain was the original Spur, shown on the cover of Small Boats and on page 20 with a very young PCB at the oars. The substitute design is Victoria, design #218. The drawings show Victoria as a handsome boat, but the only picture I've ever seen of a Victoria was in an old "Woodenboat" and the strakes on that boat were not lined off very well.
Spur II is described starting on page 47 of Boats with an Open Mind. The essay starts:
'Spur is named for a Whitehall type I had built in 1963, much admired but a failure in use due to its great weight, and because i designed the blades of her oars much too small and did not realize for a long time what was wrong.'
The last I heard, PCB had a Spur II for his own use.
If you want a modern version of a Whitehall (which is similiar to the original Spur), Ian Oughtred has a very handsome version in his plans portfolio.
JohnT
----- Original Message -----
From: Bruce Hallman
To:bolger@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, February 23, 2007 6:05 PM
Subject: Re: [bolger] Re: What's the book?
> Sorry for my imprecise question, and thank you for correcting me.
> Sounds like you've put me closer to my goal here. Could you, or anyone on this here list,
> direct me to information about building Spur II? I notice that it's listed in the contents of
> some books on small boat design, but I didn't see anything about actually building it. Am I
> correct in assuming that plans are still available from Bolger?
I built a Spur II, using the chapter from the book. There is enough
information in the book to build from. Hugo Tyson's father, Bruce
Tyson, built one too (his is much nicer than mine).
Here is a photo montage of the building of mine.
http://hallman.org/bolger/spur/
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.412 / Virus Database: 268.18.3/698 - Release Date: 2/23/2007
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Spur II is in the book "Boats with an Open Mind", BWAOM to this group.
BWAOM is still in print. If you enjoyed "Small Boats", you must get
BWAOM.
Doug
BWAOM is still in print. If you enjoyed "Small Boats", you must get
BWAOM.
Doug
--- Inbolger@yahoogroups.com, "Bruce Hallman" <bruce@...> wrote:
>
> > Sorry for my imprecise question, and thank you for correcting me.
> > Sounds like you've put me closer to my goal here. Could you, or
anyone on this here list,
> > direct me to information about building Spur II? I notice that
it's listed in the contents of
> > some books on small boat design, but I didn't see anything about
actually building it. Am I
> > correct in assuming that plans are still available from Bolger?
>
> I built a Spur II, using the chapter from the book. There is enough
> information in the book to build from. Hugo Tyson's father, Bruce
> Tyson, built one too (his is much nicer than mine).
>
> Here is a photo montage of the building of mine.
>
>http://hallman.org/bolger/spur/
>
> Sorry for my imprecise question, and thank you for correcting me.I built a Spur II, using the chapter from the book. There is enough
> Sounds like you've put me closer to my goal here. Could you, or anyone on this here list,
> direct me to information about building Spur II? I notice that it's listed in the contents of
> some books on small boat design, but I didn't see anything about actually building it. Am I
> correct in assuming that plans are still available from Bolger?
information in the book to build from. Hugo Tyson's father, Bruce
Tyson, built one too (his is much nicer than mine).
Here is a photo montage of the building of mine.
http://hallman.org/bolger/spur/
--- Inbolger@yahoogroups.com, "Bruce Hallman" <bruce@...> wrote:
Sounds like you've put me closer to my goal here. Could you, or anyone on this here list,
direct me to information about building Spur II? I notice that it's listed in the contents of
some books on small boat design, but I didn't see anything about actually building it. Am I
correct in assuming that plans are still available from Bolger?
>a pretty
> >
> > I can't recall the title of the book, but I'm haunted by the color photo on the jacket of
> > little lapstrake pulling boat.Sorry for my imprecise question, and thank you for correcting me.
>
> The book title is: _Small Boats_
>
> > Anyone know the name of the pulling boat's design?
> > Anyone ever built one? Or know of anyone who has?
>
> The boat on the cover is "Spur", at least one was built as we see one
> in the photo. I have heard of no other, that I recall.
>
> Bolger redesigned "Spur", to be much more simple and lightly built,
> naming the new design "Spur II". At least several "Spur II" boats
> have been built, including one by me.
>
Sounds like you've put me closer to my goal here. Could you, or anyone on this here list,
direct me to information about building Spur II? I notice that it's listed in the contents of
some books on small boat design, but I didn't see anything about actually building it. Am I
correct in assuming that plans are still available from Bolger?
Sounds like Small Boats but I am not home right now to check. Cheapest price is $38.50 on Bookfinder.
HJ
HJ
----- Original Message -----
From: califwalt <wwiley@...>
Date: Thursday, February 22, 2007 8:49 am
Subject: [bolger] What's the book?
> Years ago, I bought a nice little book of designs by Bolger.
> Foolishly, I lent it to a friend who
> didn't treasure it as much as I did and lent it to someone else
> and now I don't have it
> anymore.
>
> I can't recall the title of the book, but I'm haunted by the color
> photo on the jacket of a pretty
> little lapstrake pulling boat. As I recall, the book had a lot of
> PCB's simpler designs, and he
> sort of dismissed the cover-girl boat as a bit too complex for
> beginners.
>
> Anyone recall the title of the book? Anyone know the name of the
> pulling boat's design?
> Anyone ever built one? Or know of anyone who has?
>
>
>
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>The book title is: _Small Boats_
> I can't recall the title of the book, but I'm haunted by the color photo on the jacket of a pretty
> little lapstrake pulling boat.
> Anyone know the name of the pulling boat's design?The boat on the cover is "Spur", at least one was built as we see one
> Anyone ever built one? Or know of anyone who has?
in the photo. I have heard of no other, that I recall.
Bolger redesigned "Spur", to be much more simple and lightly built,
naming the new design "Spur II". At least several "Spur II" boats
have been built, including one by me.
Years ago, I bought a nice little book of designs by Bolger. Foolishly, I lent it to a friend who
didn't treasure it as much as I did and lent it to someone else and now I don't have it
anymore.
I can't recall the title of the book, but I'm haunted by the color photo on the jacket of a pretty
little lapstrake pulling boat. As I recall, the book had a lot of PCB's simpler designs, and he
sort of dismissed the cover-girl boat as a bit too complex for beginners.
Anyone recall the title of the book? Anyone know the name of the pulling boat's design?
Anyone ever built one? Or know of anyone who has?
didn't treasure it as much as I did and lent it to someone else and now I don't have it
anymore.
I can't recall the title of the book, but I'm haunted by the color photo on the jacket of a pretty
little lapstrake pulling boat. As I recall, the book had a lot of PCB's simpler designs, and he
sort of dismissed the cover-girl boat as a bit too complex for beginners.
Anyone recall the title of the book? Anyone know the name of the pulling boat's design?
Anyone ever built one? Or know of anyone who has?