Views of the Neighborhood – Wooden Boat Festival

~ John W. Howell

This weekend is the Wooden Boat Festival. The business is all things wooden and boats. I started taking photos on Friday so that you would be able to see the progress of the family boat builders. These folks are building an entire boat over the weekend.

Here we are on Friday at the boat building tent. That big piece of plywood will become the hull.

This shows parts that will be used to build the boat.

This photo shows a group of experts all concentrating on one thing. Building plans you ask? No. How to get the glue opened.

Work is underway.

Here is a shot of the grounds on Friday. The weather was in the high 70’s and beautiful.

Checking in on Saturday we find the boat builders have made real progress.

There are two boats being built. The one in the background can’t be seen in this photo.

Here is another shot of the grounds on Saturday. A front moved in, and the temps are in the 50’s with a feel like in the 40’s. It is also misting rain.

Part of the festival includes a silent auction. Here are some old spikes and charts.

There is also an antique ship’s binnacle available to buy. What’s a binnacle? It houses the compass and other navigational aids and keeps them safe from wind and sea.

There are lectures on many subjects.

Many boats

I like the colors on this sailboat.

Here is a sailboat with an enclosed cockpit. The important thing about the festival is that the boats are made of wood and are constructed by hobbyists.

I hope you enjoyed the wet, chilly, walk.

68 thoughts on “Views of the Neighborhood – Wooden Boat Festival”

  1. It’s fascinating to see boats under construction. I have a number of photographs of dhows in various stages of construction on Ajman Creek in the 70s (you’ve seen one or two of them on the Kreative Kues pages).

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  5. This event brought a smile, especially the photo of the experts trying to open the glue. When I was a kid, my dad built a boat which he used on the Salton Sea. Thank you for the memories. 🙂

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  6. Great turn given the weather conditions. I like the color of that one sailboat too, John. Speaking of boats, Jimmy Buffet was scheduled to perform at an outdoor area last night, but it was canceled due to the cold and rain. I guess he’s not as tough as the wooden boat community. Happy Sunday!

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  8. Oh, what fun! I really enjoyed this virtual visit, John. You cracked me up with the experts and “How to get the glue opened.”
    It’s a shame that the beautiful weather didn’t hold out. Temps did the same here, but at least we didn’t get the amount of snow forecasted — just some flurries.
    I had not heard of a binnacle — now I’ve just got to use one in one of my stories. 😀 Binnacle… how could I resist that word? Have a sublime Sunday. Hugs.

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  10. My kind of festival, John. I used to own a small sailboat. I sold it after realizing that the Editor didn’t do well on water. Building a boat would be a great hobby in your area. Thsnks for sharing the photos, and for going back to chart the progress.

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  11. I enjoyed the wet, chilly walk a great deal – felt right at home – although I’d kill for temps in the 40s and 50s! Thanks – I love these pictures of a world so different from my own.

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  15. As one of the Farleys is reported to have said, “If God wanted fiberglass boats, He would have made fiberglass trees.” I love seeing these boats take on life — this is just as interesting to me as the big wooden boat event here in May. How’s the progress on the scow schooner going? Did it make it through Harvey in good shape?

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    1. The scow Scooner looks pretty much like it did last year. Yes it made it through the hurricane. I did a feature on the Farley Boat works last year and skipped going there for this one.

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  16. Well, these are just fascinating! Are there prizes or just bragging rights? And what do they do with those boats, once they’re finished? Your weather sounds too much like ours, only ours is wont to mix a bit of snow with the rain and drop the temps several degrees. Where is Spring?!

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  21. I laughed out loud at them trying to open the glue. Sounds like Saturday’s weather was wonky everywhere – we had snow. Nothing that stuck, but still – it’s April!

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  22. I hope you enjoyed the wet, chilly, walk.

    I did! I DID! And no snow.

    My dad and I built a wooden sailboat, many years ago. Neither of us had sailed and on our first time out, the sky turned green then orange and all hell broke loose. A tornado crossed the water no more than a quarter mile away.

    We were on a long run to the beach, the rudder kicking up rooster-tails and when we hit the beach, we just surfed right up on it and ran like hell.

    Never lost that love for sailing.

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    1. Thank you, Greg. You reminded me of a similar experience. I had my two kids in a sailboat and a storm came out of nowhere. I had to hold them while trying to navigate into shore. They were pretty scared although I kept saying there was nothing to worry about. (There was plenty as you well know)

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  26. I had no idea a boat could be built in a whole weekend, John. It once took me a whole week just to build a bedside table from a flatpack that came with instructions that only had pictures (no words). Did you get involved with any of the boat building?

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  27. How fascinating, John, and I like the sailboat colors, too. It’s incredible to think a boat can be built in one weekend. Looks like a fun time. Sorry I’m late. 🙂

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