With an NIS, there are many details that are left to the owner-builder to decide. It was one of Bruce Kirby’s principals with this range. He didn’t want to be too prescriptive. Sharpies can be seen as a tight fitting boat, and such a thing is best ‘custom fitted’. This can be frustrating and induce procrastination, but if you tackle it with whatever confidence you can muster, you will be rewarded with something unique. In this instance, the outer stem needed sorting. I set the stem face way back when I laminated up the inner-stem and rebated the sides into it (https://wordpress.com/post/paulsb ..read more

Whilst this blog is about Norwalk Islands Sharpies, you will see my love of Iain’s boats threaded through. My boat passions exist in a BIG tent. There is no doubt that Iain’s designs are a foundational to me. Not only did his Whilly Boat draw me into boat building, but every single one of his designs proves that plywood can be made to dance the most beautiful dances. I would argue that both Iain and Bruce Kirby approached epoxy plywood boat construction from different but highly effective directions. It is truly impressive what they have given us. A lot has been written about Iain since his pa ..read more

Building not writing. It’s been a good holiday season for me and the boat, powered by a strongly recovering wrist, a desperation to make real progress, and the inspiring industriousness of Troy’s work. Thankfully, I’ve been able to afford to have Troy and his assistant Luke working on the boat for longer periods. There is something about professionals, and their detachment from a project, that has a momentum I’ve never been able to hold when boatbuilding. It’s a freedom from all the stifling yet wonderful choices many of us have as owner-builders. The agony and the ecstasy. The forward tabern ..read more

In taking the baby steps I need to ease into my fresh wrists, I’ve tackled something small and hidden; the mizzen and main mast tabernacle steps. For those of you unaware, I have planned for my NIS26 to have folding carbon fibre masts, to speed up launch and retrieval, and lessen the weight aloft. These masts pivot on a tabernacle. The Cambridge Dictionary defines Tabernacle as : “a place of worship for some groups of Christians. For the Jews in ancient times, a tabernacle was a type of tent moved from place to place and used for worship. in a Roman Catholic church, the box in which holy bread ..read more

It’s five months after surgery and the right wrist is beginning to be useful. It is a great feeling. Thankfully I’ve had the funds and Troy has had the time to see some progress in my down time. He has completed the cabin top, it is fully laminated (one layer of 5mm with groves to simulate panelling, and two diagonal 4mm x 200mm strips. Now its all dry and trimmed, Troy has removed it off the boat to enhance access as we move into the next stages. Next was nutting out the cabin sides and deck relationship, something that is not overly obvious. Do the sides sit on the deck, or does the deck pus ..read more

I’ve been wanting to capture my conversations with Robert Ayliffe and share them with the wider boating community. Being a fan of podcasts I considered this medium, but what I really wanted is for all to have the same opportunity to chat with Robert. We should all be at a boatshow all the time. The back and forth is everything. So, with the help of Peter Ironmonger who administers the perpetually useful FaceBook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/223381961340209), we’ve embarked on a series of YouTube presentations, where Robert will present and answer questions of those who join the Zoom ..read more

My after my two times tangle with the surgeon last year, having my left (dominant) wrist fused to stabilise it and manage pain, he promised me my right will need some attention sometime. He was right. It may have deteriorated in sympathy, been a hereditary feature or from overuse as my left was recovering, but late last year it was rattling like a bag of dice. Regardless, I wasted no time on this one as the success of the left’s procedure has inspired me to get the right sorted. The other key driver was the sweet smell of a finished boat… Not to say I am close, but I feel I can reach for it ..read more

This site is here to tell the building of my NIS26. There are many elements that have come together to ensure this boat touches the water, but one of the foundational, Michael Jansen, passed away 21st February 2023. Michael and I went to Kindergarten together and never lost site of our friendship.We both loved boats, both of our families had a similar journey. His uncle and father built a Hartley Cabin Cruiser together, they’ve owned and raced dinghies. Michael and I sailed together through out our teens. Michael helped my build my Whilly Boat, he crewed on Fresh Aires, we sailed Robert’s Char ..read more

Troy and I have a bit of a routine going on where he and his crew will work on the bigger external items while I fiddle and fart over the internal details. Troy’s first project, the motor well, is almost finished, it is just needing some filling and fairing before paint. The fuel lockers are mostly in place and the back deck when fitted will lock it all up. However the lack of a back deck is providing an excellent access route into the boat. This is a surprisingly important consideration as getting in and out of a boat on a trailer requires stair-master effort. And having an easily distracted ..read more

Those of you with children older than 5, do you remember those first off-to-school days? Do you remember how you felt letting them go? They are still your children, but someone else is now messing with them. Worry. This is my default position. I worried about both of my daughters and their disembarkation from the mother ship. They are now 18 and 19, and while that gangplank is verrrry long, that same worry is still there. Or at least has been replaced by some other tantalising concern . This is how it has been over this year as my beloved Sharpie has been in the hands of Troy Lawrence of Adela ..read more