Small boat details, if artfully carried out, can turn a crude creation into a refined one. Easy on the eyes as well as performing their intended function, it generally takes no more time to make these details right as it does wrong.
For those of you not surrounded by good examples to learn from, here are some photos I snapped years ago when shooting overviews for the book Mystic Seaport Watercraft. There are many, many more boats at Mystic Seaport whose details are worth looking at. That’s possible whenever the watercraft storage area is open—always during The WoodenBoat Show in June and otherwise by appointment.
The photos that follow were scanned by Penobscot Marine Museum from the collection of black-and-white negatives I donated back in 2013; they have kindly been made available for this use. You can click the images for a larger view with my detailed comments.
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Kent Lewis says:
Very nice!
Robert Stumm says:
Thanks Maynard. I love your photo journals. They are an invaluable source of inspiration.
David Tew says:
Your seventh photo of the post under the main thwart reminded me of a boat Paul Schweiss built for a customer. It was a long, slim Cornish pilot gig if I remember correctly. He was sent (in error) a piece of lumber that was ‘instrument grade’, I presume for stringed instruments. He used it for the main thwart with a post fit underneath so as to create a slight upward bow. When struck with a mallet the whole boat vibrated like a drum.