Hooked On Wooden Boats

Today’s podcast is an interview with Strip Planked building expert Bruce Blatchley, instructor at the NW School of Wooden Boat Building in Port Hadlock, WA. This is the fourth of my Interview The Expert series of podcasts focused on 6 methods of boatbuilding: Carvel, Lapstrake, Cold Molded, Stitch and Glue, Strip Planked, and Skin-on-Frame. With Strip Planked construction, a strongback (think of b...

Today’s podcast is an interview with Lapstrake building expert Jay Smith, owner of Aspoya Boats in Anacortes, WA. This is the third of my Interview The Expert series of podcasts focused on 6 methods of boatbuilding: Carvel, Lapstrake, Cold Molded, Stitch and Glue, Strip Planked, and Skin-on-Frame. In this interview, Jay discusses the ins and outs of the traditional method of Lapstrake (aka Clinker...

Today’s podcast is an interview with Stitch and Glue expert John Harris, owner of Boat Kit manufacturer CLC Boats in Annapolis, MD. This is the second of my Interview The Expert series of podcasts focused on 6 methods of boatbuilding: Carvel, Lapstrake, Cold Molded, Stitch and Glue, Strip Planked, and Skin-on-Frame. In this interview, John discusses the ins and outs of using the relatively modern...

This week’s podcast is three short interviews I recorded during the 2013 Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival. The first interview is with Korey and Christina from Florida. Korey heard my HOWB podcast last year, and as a result he and Christina flew up for the September 2012 Port Townsend Festival and to check out the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding in Port Hadlock. This August they packed u...

This week’s podcast is an interview with Russell and Ashlyn Brown of Port Townsend, WA. Russell and Ashlyn started Port Townsend Watercraft in 2009 “....with a vision and little knowledge about running a business. What they knew was that they had a good idea, and that idea had the potential to give back to the community that continues to treat them so well.“ Both Russell and Ashlyn have spent many...

This week’s podcast is an interview with Barb Trailer, co-director of the 37th Annual Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival. Barb and I talk about the history of the 37th Festival, the highlights and some new happenings this year. Mark your calendars for September 6-8, 2013 and don’t miss it! You can listen to several interviews from last year’s festival at HOWB 053. Barb spent her youth in Minnesota...

I am super excited today as it is the 100th Episode of HOWB! I can’t believe I have been doing this for almost 2 years Time has flown by and I am having more fun than ever. The other big news this week: I am publishing my first eBook on August 15th, 2013 – Get in the Wooden Boat Game: A Guide for Building Your First Boat. Today’s special 100th episode includes an interview with Henry LePage and an...

Today’s podcast is an interview with Chief Instructor and Master Shipwright Jeff Hammond of the Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building in Port Hadlock, WA. This is the first of my Interview of The Expert series of podcasts focused on 6 methods of boatbuilding: Carvel, Lapstrake, Cold Molded, Stitch and Glue, Strip Planked, and Skin-on-Frame. I discuss each of these methods of construction in my...

Today’s podcast is an interview with Marty Loken, founder of the Port Townsend Pocket Yachters and (almost) retired from his Boatshop on Marrowstone Island. The Pocket Yachters like to keep it simple – no officers, dues, bylaws, regulations nor fees to attend the annual Palooza. Last year I attended the first ever Palooza and had a blast. This year I attended the second annual Pocket Yacht Palooza...

Today’s podcast is an interview with Scott Sprague of Bainbridge Island. I met Scott at the 2013 Bainbridge Island Wooden Boat Festival while he was relaxing on the beautiful 42ʹ double ended sloop – Tumblehome – he designed and built. We had a great time talking shop and I learned what a rotating wing spar is :). Scott grew up on Bainbridge Island and from a very tender age he was sailing his par...

Today’s podcast is an interview with Betsy Davis, Executive Director of The Center for Wooden Boats (CWB) in Seattle, WA. I chatted with Davis while she was sitting on her classic 1914 yacht Glory Be during the 37th annual Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival. We had a great time talking about CWB, the Glory Be, and other fun stuff. Betsy spent her formidable years on Mercer Island and enjoyed getting...

Today’s podcast is an interview with George Fisher whom I met at the 2013 Bainbridge Island Wooden Boat Festival while he was relaxing on his sleek 1937 Swedish sailing vessel Hansina. We had a great time talking shop and recorded a really fun interview. When George was 11, his dad came home and announced to the family he had purchased a “30 Square Meter” boat. This was a complete surprise as Geor...

Today’s podcast is an interview with Pat Lown who has been at WoodenBoat Publications Inc. since 1993 and is currently the Director of Research. Pat grew up in Kingston, New York near the Hudson River. Her family did not go boating, but as a youth she was introduced to boating when she attended a YMCA day camp where she had a great time paddling and rowing the canoes and rowboats there. Growing up...

Today’s podcast is an interview with Todd Blankenship and his father Arlie Blankenship. Arlie grew up in Port Townsend, WA fishing with a bamboo pole and hand reel in a 12ʹ wooden boat his dad made. When Todd was a teenager in Hawaii, he and Arlie built an Eight Ball sailing dinghy together and took sailing lessons. From that time on, they were hooked on sailing and owned several boats including a...

Today’s podcast is an interview with Matt Murphy. Matt is the editor of Wooden Boat Magazine in Brooklin ME where he has worked since 1992. Matt grew up in Salem, MA “playing in boats during the summers while dreaming about them in the winters”. He cut his mariner teeth sailing one design sloops such as the Rhodes 19, Etchells 22, and Town Class sloop around the Marblehead area of Massachusetts. A...

Today’s podcast contains two interviews from the NW School of Wooden Boatbuilding in Port Hadlock, WA. The first interview is with Steve Stanton. Steve is a retired law enforcement officer from Colorado and is a student this year at the School. Hear Steve share his insights about the School and some of the fun things he is learning. The second interview is with Bruce Blatchley, Contemporary Instru...

Today’s podcast contains two interviews from the 2013 Olympia,WA Wooden Boat Fair. The first interview is with Tom Pearson. Tom is a volunteer for the Tugboat Sandman. She was built and designed by Crawford & Reid in Tacoma, WA and launched in 1910. Sandman is 59ʹ 10ʺ x 14ʹ 6ʺ and is planked with old growth Douglas Fir. She was a working tug until 1987 and has spent her entire life in Puget So...

Today’s interview is with Jay Smith of Anacortes, WA. Jay studied Clinker boat building in Norway when he was in his 20’s then moved back to the US and has continued building traditional lapstrake boats for the last 30 plus years (for more on Jay’s personal history listen to my previous interview with Jay at HOWB 007). One of the projects Jay is working on is a 56ʹ viking ship which is being being...

Today’s interview is with Masaki Tobashi of Kyoto, Japan. Masaki is a student at the NW School of Wooden Boatbuilding (NWSWBB) in Port Hadlock, WA. Masaki enjoyed woodworking when he was very young and was especially attracted to wooden boats. When he was in the 8th grade his mom found the website for the NWSWBB and Tobahashi watched a 16 minute video of master instructor Jeff Hammond magically sh...

Today’s interview is with Doug Hylan, owner of D.N. Hylan & Associates in Brooklin, Maine. Doug grew up north of Boston with the allure of a small lake in his neighborhood. He was fascinated by boats and at an early age finished building a skiff that his dad and brother had only partially completed. Being on a small budget Doug got creative and made sails out of fabric he found at the local du...

Today’s interview is with Andy Stewart, one of the owners of Emerald Marine Carpentry in Anacortes, WA. Growing up, Andy’s dad was in the foreign service so the family lived overseas and moved frequently. As a youth, Andy enjoyed woodworking and a limited amount of boating with family and friends. He also remembers visiting his Great Great Uncle’s boat shop in Ilwaco WA. In his teen years, Andy la...

I thought it would be fun to interview a few students at the NW School of Wooden Boatbuilding in Port Hadlock, WA to get their perspective of Getting In The Wooden Boat Game. This week’s student interview is with Randy Roberts of Colorado. Randy is a retired Air Force officer where he worked as a navigator and as an intelligence officer for nearly 30 years. After retiring, Randy decided to use the...

Todays featured spot is an interview with Captain Joshua Berger of the schooner Adventuress of Sound Experience. Sound Experience is the caretaker of the 1913 BB Crowninshield designed 2 masted gaff rigged topsail 101ʹ schooner. Joshua grew up in New York sailing on Manhassett Bay with his father. He competitively raced Bluejays, 420’s, 505’s, and Lasers during college and high school. As a youth...

Todays featured spot is Part 2 of an interview with Chris Wallace and Jeff Carson. Chris and Jeff live aboard their vintage 65ʹ wooden double ender Kwaietek, and both work on the schooner Zodiac. Today’s podcast is focused on the Zodiac. Zodiac is a 160ʹ (sparred length) two masted gaff topsail wooden schooner designed by William H. Hand Jr. She was built by Hodgdon Brothers Shipyard and launched...

Todays featured spot is an interview with Chris Wallace and Jeff Carson. Chris and Jeff live aboard their vintage 65ʹ wooden double ender – Kwaietek. Kwaietek is an ex British Columbia, Canada Forest Service boat that is built stout and beautiful. Chris is also the Port Captain for the wooden schooner Zodiac. Jeff was born in California, the son of a career Navy man. The family moved frequently an...