Posts from — February 2009

Brion Toss, master yacht rigger, popular speaker and author of The Rigger’s Apprentice and Chapman’s Guide to Knots, will present a free seminar on Hidden Causes of Rig Failure at the Spaulding Wooden Boat Center on Thursday, February 19th. Brion, of Port Townsend, Washington, has been a professional rigger for more than 30 years.

In addition to his books and how to rigging videos, Brion has written numerous articles for Sail Magazine, Cruising World and Ocean Navigator. He specializes in blending the ageless wisdom of traditional rigging with the materials and applications of the modern day. Brion is also known worldwide for work of the highest standard in preparing vessels and their owners for extended cruising and offshore voyages.

This seminar is jointly sponsored by the Spaulding Wooden Boat Center and Guy Stevens’ Real World Cruising.

When:  Thursday, February 19 at 6pm
Where:  Spaulding Wooden Boat Center in Sausalito

Robert Darr and his students at the Arques School of Traditional Boatbuilding (now part of the Spaulding Wooden Boat Center), carefully select wood of the right shape for its intended use. Here, black locust tree limbs were selected with just the needed curve for boat frames.

Black locust wood is extremely hard, resistant to rot and long lasting, making it prized for building small watercraft.

One of the more interesting power tools at the Arques School of Traditional Boatbuilding at the Spaulding Boatworks is our 1930’s era Chicago Toolworks tilting arbor band saw. It’s a very handy tool for cutting bevels and angles in stock. The saw blade can be adjusted to a desired angle while the table remains horizontal.

What’s your favorite sailing, rowing or boating song? We asked that question on Twitter and received the following artist names and song titles.

Note: You can suggest a song to add to this list by commenting below, sending a tweet to @woodenboat on Twitter or an e-mail to blog [at] spauldingcenter [dot] org.

Artist, Song Title, Contributor(s)

• Anchors Aweigh, @USSConstitution
• Beach Boys, Sloop John B, @GalenMoore, @RockDoggy, @GeekWearsPrada, @Ramona_W
• Beatles, Because, @CarmencitaB
• Bertie Higgins, Key Largo, @GriffinClubMerv
• Billy Joel, The Downeaster “Alexa”, @lighthousenews
• Bob Seger, Against the Wind, @Maineman1
• Bobby Darin, Beyond the Sea, @infoaboutalaska
• Buffalo Killers, @ethigent
• Christopher Cross, Sailing, @UR_AY_GAS
• Collective Soul, @ethigent
• Commodores, Sail On, @infoaboutalaska
• Crosby, Stills and Nash, Southern Cross, @LOAnow, @huzzah70
• Dan Hall, http://www.danhall.com/albums.html, @lighthousenews
• Dire Straits, Single-Handed Sailor, @woodenboat
• Elvis Costello, Shipbuilding, @CarmencitaB
• Enya, Orinoco Flow (Sail Away), @SailorLass
• Fairport Convention, A Sailor’s Life, @woodenboat
• Frankie Ford, Sea Cruise, @woodenboat
• Gordon Lightfoot, Christian Island, @wolf10
• Gordon Lightfoot, Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, @lighthousenews
• Guy Clark, Boats to Build, @wolf10, @BarbAtSea
• Ivy, The Edge of the Ocean, @ogladi
• Jimmy Buffett, Boat Drinks, @UR_AY_GAS
• Jimmy Buffett, Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes, @woodenboat
• Jimmy Buffett, Margaritaville, @woodenboat
• Jimmy Buffett, Son of Son of a Sailor, @canepari
• Jimmy Buffett, Tampico Trauma, @LOAnow
• John Denver, Calypso, @Ramona_W
• Jonathan Edwards, I Will Not Lie Me Down, @BarbAtSea
• Jonathan Edwards, Sailboat, Sailboat, @BarbAtSea
• Kenny Chesney, On the Coast of Somewhere Beautiful, @ogladi
• Kenny Chesney, When the Sun Goes Down, @GeekWearsPrada
• Kingsmen, Louie Louie, @woodenboat
• Lee Murdock, @wolf10
• Little Feat, Sailing Shoes, @Maineman1
• Little River Band, Cool Change, @lighthousenews
• Looking Glass, Brandy You’re a Fine Girl, @GalenMoore
• Lyle Lovett, If I Had a Boat, @FirstBoat
• Otis Redding, (Sittin’ on the) Dock of the Bay, @woodenboat
• Peter Frampton, Sail Away, @woodenboat
• Phil Philips and the Twilights, Sea of Love, @MaritaR
• Port O’Brien, Stuck on a Boat, @bobbymcelver
• Procol Harum, A Salty Dog, @woodenboat
• Rodrigo y Gabriela, Tamacun, @cewhite
• Rusted Root, Send Me On My Way, @cewhite
• Shins, @ethigent
• Stan Rogers, Northwest Passage, @woodenboat
• Styx, Come Sail Away, @Maineman1
• Tanglefoot, The Commodore’s Compliments, @mw2009
• Burl Ives, The Constitution and the Guerriere (http://www.contemplator.com/america/constitutn.html), @USSConstitution
• Tokio Hotel, Monsoon, @ogladi
• Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Learning to Fly, @cewhite
• Tony Rice, Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, @BarbAtSea
• Traditional, Fiddler’s Green, @MaineWindjammer
• Traditional, While Cruising Round Yarmouth, @huzzah70
• Van Morrison, Into the Mystic, @woodenboat