With the Blake family’s addition (named Asa) to the OCH “Junior Guide” list, and after a generous paternity leave from my Walkabout series, we pick up where we left off with the construction of the 74′ German Frers-designed sloop that’s under construction at Brooklin Boat Yard. As you can see, it takes quite a crew to pull off a modern foam-cored, wood-composite hul as large as this one. Launching will be in late spring.
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Fred Mens says:
Evening.
I was on your site a few days ago and was in a file where about 400 boats were displayed, some for sale. No price . No contact. I noticed an Oxford Werry 15’. For sale in Canada Vancouver- Victoria area. Someone there may re-direct me to learn more about it.
Very exciting program you have developed.
Thanks Fred
Nate Rooks says:
Hi Fred – I’m not sure exactly where you’re referring to, but have some ideas.
First, we have Dream Boat Harbor, some of our favorite boats for sale around the internet:
https://www.offcenterharbor.com/dream-boat-harbor-good-boats-for-sale/
Then, we also have the classifieds section on the Worldwide Classic Boat Show:
https://classicboatshow.com/classified/
Those both have prices and contact info, however – and I’m not seeing any Oxford Wherrys at the moment. Hope that helps!
Thomas Buzzi says:
Just beautiful,satisfying work, I imagine. Amazing technology. How DO you repair a hull like this after a collision??
Eric Blake says:
Hello Thomas,
Funny you should ask. This was my first question entering the industry, wet behind the ears, thinking I would spend the rest of my life building plank on frame boats. Light weight go fast wood composite structures all well and good, but what happens when you run aground?My first experience seeing the results of a major grounding on a wood veneered foam cored boat was on a 70′ Tom Wylie designed sloop called Rage. The boat hit a ledge, sailing on a reach, at 18 knots, with the mast head asymmetrical spinnaker up. The boat stopped dead, the navigator was tossed backwards down the companionway and tore his ear off, kind of funny, and it made a very bad noise. I was tasked to help with the repair to get the boat to the starting line of its next race in a months time.
What amazed me most was how the core failed in sheer, but how the wood veneer flexed enough to take the blow and keep the structure watertight. It did not sink, which wouldn’t of been the case with any other structure made of a different material with the same weight.
How do you fix a boat like this after a severe grounding? You walk around the damaged area with a chainsaw, cut the delaminated area out, set it over there in the dumpster, and you scarf back each layer and lay up a new bottom over ribbands. Amazing really. I have since replace three bottoms of deep fin keel wood composite hulls that have taken a similar grounding. It is what sold me on the whole wood composite method, and is what brought me to Brooklin building boats like this. I don’t know of another building style that will take the kind of severe abuse as a cold molded hull and not end up on the bottom of the drink. Steel and aluminum would shred, fiber glass and carbon fiber hulls explode, traditionally planked wood boats don’t have the ability to carry the extreme fin keels we are talking about doing this kind of damage. Laminated wood is a remarkable engineering material, and one I am always amazed by.
Howard Sharp says:
160 degrees! I understand that raising the temperature cures the epoxy more, but why don’t the veneers start lifting off as the epoxy starts to liquefy? Or is 160 not hot enough? BTW I think this is a really fun boat. And congratulations.
Eric Blake says:
Hey Howard,
The type of epoxy we are using on the boat is formulated to be post cured. This can be done in the sun, as dark colors can reach 140- 160 degrees with the sun beaming off the water. We like to post cure our hulls before applying finish coats. It doesn’t take much for seams to shrink and print, ruining a beautiful finish job. The resin we used actually doesn’t reach it’s maximum strength until they see this kind of temperature. Epoxy doesn’t like anything over 175 degrees.
We are talking really flawless finishes here. It is amazing to take a close look at what you may consider a perfect finish up close in the right light. The print through you see close up will suprise you, but you really have to be looking for it.
michele del monaco says:
Meraviglioso, great!
Jerry Rose says:
Really nice “walkabout” Eric. You make a very complex process very understandable. I like your panel stiffness comparison chart. It explains perfectly why a foam core can add so much stiffness. It’s a big plus in naval architecture. Not many people know this fact but the Germans developed this idea when designing and building the ” unsinkable ” destroyer Bismark in WW2. From that came Klegacell foam. Still highly regarded as a foam core material.
Geoff Kerr says:
My small boat builder brain is boggled! Too cool. Thanks for the glimpse of another planet.
Patrick Daniels says:
You people are nuts! Congrats Eric on the fresh human! Mazeltov!