Over the past three winters, the boatbuilding crew of the Saginaw Bay Community Sailing Association (SBCSA) strip-built a Jericho Bay lobster skiff. They used the plans from WoodenBoat magazine, which master boatbuilder Tom Hill measured from a Joel White-designed boat. More than twenty people have worked on the skiff. Continue reading
Gougeon Brothers, Inc. has supported our local tallships—Appledore IV and Appledore V—since they arrived at their downtown Bay City facilities on the Saginaw River. These steel-hulled, gaff-rigged schooners are typical of the type that sailed the Great Lakes and coastal waters right up to the end of the age of sail. Schooners were the primary means of transporting goods and people over long distances. Continue reading
We built Huialoha about eight years ago with no blueprints or plans. We started with several pictures of lobster boats from New England and did a Hawaiian version. He had 100 sheets of 3/8” (9.5 mm) marine plywood and about 50 gallons of WEST SYSTEM Epoxy. It took three months to do the hull and the boat in the water. The cabin was added while the boat was in the water. I am still working on the interior teak trim. Every time I go down to the harbor to work on it, I get distracted by Hawaii’s beautiful weather and end up going out for a cruise and swim instead! Continue reading
Above: The two foam halves of the rebuilt rudder, with the plywood core, are dry fit around the post before bonding.
What started out to be a relatively easy job of replacing the motor mounts and cutlass bearing on my 1983 Nelson/Marek 36 turned into building a completely new rudder. Once I removed the rudder, I had planned on fairing it and applying a WEST SYSTEM® Epoxy with 422 Barrier Coat Additive. barrier coat. However, upon closer inspection, I noticed that the rudder appeared to be bent.
Above: Optimist prams built by the SBCSA in the Gougeon boatshop, sailing before the Liberty Bridge on the Saginaw River.
Cover Photo: A new fleet of Optimist prams was built to serve the Saginaw Bay Community Sailing Association
The Saginaw Bay Community Sailing Association (SBCSA) was founded in 1995 by a group of local sailboat racers who shared a vision of a grassroots organization to provide area youngsters and adults a low-cost introduction to sailing. We began that first season with three Transfusion 547’s purchased for the association by Gougeon Brothers, Inc. (GBI) and a half dozen used Optimist prams donated by the Saginaw Bay Yacht Racing Association. Continue reading