Iain Oughtred Clanweekend 2011

Oughtraid 2011, organized by Bert van Baar. I have been admiring Iain Oughtred’s designs for a long time, and finally made contact with Iain a few month ago. As a sailmaker with a passion for oarandsail boats I made many sails to his designs. This time no volcano spoiled the meeting and saturday evening, we met at the lake of Uitgeest. Arriving a few hours late I saw him, taking pictures of boats, studying details, and not wanting to disturb him, we launched our aluminium Caledonia Yawl with the help of other boaties. Ben Ullings, a professionel boatbuilder who is at the moment without Oughtred boat, helped me rig her. Iain came by and I invited him onboard for a sail which he graciously accepted. Bert Reyntjes, who owns De Bootbouwer, came also with us and Iain took the helm at my request. There was a good breeze and every boat was showing of nicely except a few who hadn’t got right the rigging of their boats. In gatherings of this kind somehow always boats are present whose owners use it as a tryout which is understandable because many backyardbuilders got in a rush to finish their boat. And for most of us it was the start of the season. Bert looked at the buildings of the Bootbouwschool and announced: “Now we ought to buy it and then fill it our boatbuilding companies, a sailmaker, perfect location and probably cheap.” Iain fell in with :” That’s the problem with my spot on Skye, too isolated, no boatbuilders, I could live in a place like this.” And we all dreamed of our boatbuilding, sailmaking and boatdesigning paradise, till we caught up with the other boats and Iain urged us to trim the boat so we might pass a few others.

Later that night after a nice dinner, provided by Joke, Berts wife, there was still a nice breeze and we got three boats, all lugrigged Caledonia Yawls for a short sail.

This time I had amongst others three boatbuilders wives who started singing untill one of us urged them to stop. He felt to miserable after the road acccident earlier when his beautifull Elf was destroyed on her trailer by a careless lorrydriver who overlooked his boat. After uttering the words “ Ah, well, that can happen’, he was forced out of his cabin and police came to get their statements. The whole story will be treated in more detail in Watercraft and I hope and expect the victim is recovering to build a new boat.

Later that night Iain held a lecture about the boats he had designed or was in volved with. What I remember best is his remark on a certain boat:”This boat embodies none of the elements I was brought up with, that a fast boat should be lean, light and have a short deep keel or daggerboard”. On my question how long a boat would last that was built without the best of materials, good but not the most expensive plywood, only epoxy for gluing, oil paint , and pine instead of hardwood for most of the solid wood he answered that it just depended how long she was taken care of. A sobering remark.

After some drinks most of us went to bed in our tents that we had put on the vast terrain of the Boatbuilding school.

Aluminium Tirrrik leading the others.

Sunday morning we paraded all boats in front of Iain and Welmoed Bouhuis, his Dutch companion.

The afternoon passed quickly with looking at boats, talking boats and raids, sipping wine till we had to get our boats on the trailers again to get home.

With thanks to Kathy Mansfield who helped me with the pictures.

Wizardsails

We sail a Wizard, a modern catamaran designed by Richard Woods. The sails on her are made in Maxx Pen 15, a laminate that is designed to build crosscut sails with wide cloth as an alternative to radial cut sails.  Advantages are: Less cutting time, sewing time, smaller gluing faults, faster construction, together resulting in a better and more costeffective sail.  Our boat is now easier on the helm, tacks better, and faster. Later this year we hope to add a screacher on a roller on a bowsprit. Till then we use an old Tornado asymmetrical spinaker. On the Frisian Sea where we sail the water is rather thin so a shallow boat is great here. When we have the time we usually let the boat dry out on a tidal mudflat to sleep and we can also wipe eventual slime off or go for a walk, get some cockles, mussels or oysters.   

New Tirrik

The latest aluminium Tirrik from Iain Oughtred and built by Rob Bouma from "Jachtwerf de Zeeg" for a particularly experienced owner. He finished her himself and fitted her out with Selden spars and carbon oars. The sail I built in Low Aspect 4.46, much firmer cloth than I normally use for sails like this and with a bigger roach. This way the form is very much like the ideal eliptical shape we hope. It is nice to do a little experiment sometimes.

Oughtraid

Bert organizes again a great weekend for us, and I will come with an aluminium Caledonia Yawl, built by Rob Bouma. Jachtwerf De Zeeg . I expect at least three C. Yawls at the event, next to several Ness Yawls and other Oughtred designed boats. This is his newsletter.

Iain's Clanweekend 2011

Dear Oughtraider,

My last newsletter was from december 2010 and since then there were only 8 people who send me their form saying that they wanted to come to the Clan weekend 7/8 may in 2011.

Because I need to organize things I was glad to not having ordered for the guesthouse at Giethoorn for €900. What if there are to little people wanting to come?

As my guts told me last year that it was good to organize this again but than with Iain involved, I started these newsletters.

So if you still want this weekend to go on, please do the following before the 6th of march 2011 (end of Hiswa, st. nr. 05.122): After that day I will decide if there will be enough people with lovely boats to go on with organizing.

I want to ask you to mail me a.s.a.p. at: bert.van.baar@quicknet.nl or info@bootbouwschool.nl if you want to join the Iain Oughtred weekend in Uitgeest, Holland again. Prices will be somewhat like last year: €45 p.p. for the catering and camping. Iain's trip (he was already looking forward to come!) is paid already out of last years pocket.

If you mail me I will send you a form to fill in and to send back to me.

I am looking forward meeting you again. Even some Russians have taken some interest in the event.

Please, feel free to tell a friend about the weekend and bring them. Maybe we'll have some launchings again? I am very busy finishing my own boat.

PS: people who told me so far that they would come don't need to tell me again!