return to section: CLC was in Mystic, Connecticut for the WoodenBoat Show the weekend of June 29-July 1. We brought 30 boats to display, plus all of the kits, sawhorses, and sundry supplies to build sixteen Sassafras canoes. This was a big challenge as usual, and required four trucks and some creative packing. Our colleague Jay devised a very clever set of cradles to securely transport two Cocktail Class Racers inside the Peeler Skiff.
Scroll down for highlights from the show. Click here to skip to Family Boatbuilding.
This photo, during setup, captured John, Austin, and Joey setting a mooring for the Peeler. In the background, our friend and colleague Geoff Kerr is sailing his Oughtred-designed Caledonia Yawl.
House designer Eric Schade drove down from his home port in Maine to build a Wood Duck 10 kayak in the booth.
The Peeler Skiff got a lot of attention, moored next to a 100-year-old schooner.
Here's PocketShip nestled amongst handsome wooden friends.
Arthur L. paddled by the booth on Friday with his Shearwater Sport Hybrid, which he had on display at the show.
Nick Schade was at the show. That's a Night Heron SG and a Petrel in the booth with him. He built a prototype for a new 16-foot tandem strip-planked canoe during the show!
Nick's a fast builder. Here's how far he was by Sunday afternoon.
Courageously, Eric Schade muscled through the entire assembly of a Wood Duck 10 in just 2-1/2 days, including the application of these beautiful dried ferns beneath the fiberglass.
We'd hoped to have both of our demo-model Cocktail Class Racers running in the regatta at the Show, but a busy booth made it impossible to field both boats. Anne Dunbar, Associate Publisher of WoodenBoat Magazine, helmed our #69 "Blue Wave" and won six out of six races in it. Well done, Anne!
It was quite hatefully hot all weekend---pushing 100 degrees. The CLC crew enjoyed escaping down the Mystic River in the Peeler Skiff in the evenings.
CLC has been running "Family Boatbuilding" events since 1998. This is a program, usually undertaken at a show like this one, where teams (sometimes parent-child, sometimes siblings or friends) build their own boat in just 2-1/2 or 3 days. Carl Cramer and WoodenBoat Magazine originated the current iteration of the program. We provide specially-prepared kits and a team of skilled boatbuilding instructors. This is our third year leading Family Boatbuilding at Mystic Seaport, and once again it was a big success.
WEST System has been the grease that made the event happen the last three years, contributing epoxy, fiberglass, supplies, and skilled boatbuilders.
Here, David Fawley, CLC's longtime production manager and leader of this year's event, orients the sixteen families at 0900 on Friday.
In order to build a boat in a weekend, we glue the hull panels together back at CLC. That way, we can start hull assembly right away.
Each family built a special edition of the Sassafras 16, actually a slightly larger boat than the stock model. It incorporates a lot of tweaks for rapid assembly without giving up any looks or performance.
By the afternoon on the first day, the hulls are assembled. Here, David and WEST System's Bruce Niederer demonstrate epoxy fillets around the permanent bulkheads. Masking tape is in place, ready for applying fiberglass cloth to the bottom of the hull.
David and Bruce have everybody watch a demonstration on one boat, then head to their own boats to repeat the step.
By Saturday it's time to glue on the rails. Sixteen boats times at least 40 clamps each equals A LOT OF CLAMPS.
The Family Boatbuilding tent featured a lovely (and thankfully breezy) view of the Mystic River.
By Sunday morning we could install decks and trim.
Final epoxy coating, sanding, finishing, and seat installation are done at home. Congrats to all sixteen families who built their own wooden boat! And many thanks to WEST System, WoodenBoat, David Fawley, Bill Cave, Bruce Niederer, Don Gutzmer, and John Harris for making this happen.
Our booth at the WoodenBoat Show. See you next year!
