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Walkabout at Brooklin Boat Yard, 91-Foot Cutter SONNY: Sure, yachts are beautiful when the crowd gathers for launching day. But we wanted to see what it's like four days befor...
Metalworking Techniques, Part 2 – Making Mounts & Threading Stainless Steel: Erica demonstrates a variety of metalworking skills as she cuts, drills, grinds, and threads the traveler disk-mounts an...
Metalworking Techniques, Part 3 – Silver-Brazing & Finishing the Traveler: Erica finishes up the traveler project with fire and skill....
Building Birchbark Canoes, Steve Cayard Teaches a Wabanaki Tradition: As kids, many of us wondered how Native Americans built birchbark canoes. Well here’s master builder Steven Cayard sho...
How to Attach Sail Hardware, Part 2 – Webbing on a Slide: Alison Wood is attaching slides with handsewn webbing in the most durable way in part 2 of the series....
Metalworking Techniques, Part 1 – Heat-Bending Metal Rod for a Traveler: In this series, Erica Moody will demystify metalworking — showing the basics of how to work metal with portable tools...
Daysailing a Herreshoff S-Boat – Serenity at Sea: Long-known for its speed around the race course, the nimble and muscular Herreshoff S-Boat can provide just as much enjo...
Boat Shop Visit – Bertram Levy: One of life's fine pleasures is simply hanging out in the boatshop talking shop. And so we stopped by to visit retired d...
Rediscovering a Fiberglass Classic, A “New” Graves Constellation: For years we have been noodling around with the idea of picking up an old-time, bullet-proof fiberglass sailboat, sawz-a...
How to Attach Sail Hardware, Part 1 – Hand-Sewing Rings: In this series Alison Wood, of Port Townsend Sails in Washington, wants to show us how to attach the sliders and hanks t...
Traditional Rigging, Part 9 – How to Make a Wire Grommet: As this series continues Myles Thurlow will now make a throat halyard strop. The first step is to make a wire grommet- A...
WIZARD – Herreshoff’s Fishers Island 31: The restoration of the Herreshoff designed and built Fishers Island 31' by boat builder Brion Rieff not only achieves a...
How to Winterize a Small Outboard Motor, Part 2 – Oil & Grease for the Lower Unit: Taking us through the final steps, Bob Messier goes through changing the oil and greasing the pivots on the lower unit o...
How to Winterize a Small Outboard Motor, Part 1 – Flushing the System and Fogging Out: Watching a seasoned veteran as he goes through winterizing an outboard engine, step by step, takes the mystery out of th...
Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-op, A Shipyard Walkabout: Big buildings, proper machinery, tools, and 12 co-op partners, who manage projects, make up the Port Townsend Shipwright...
Restoring Mink, a 1914 Buzzards Bay 25, Part 4 – A New Set of Old Style Sails: In our final visit aboard MINK, we learn about the new suit of old-style sails made for the 1914 Buzzards Bay 25. Sailma...
Cuddling Up With a FOX (Double Paddle Canoe): The Fox Double Paddle Canoe is so cozy, and this little video clip was so heart-warming — it sparked nicknames for the...
How to Vacuum Bag, Part 1 – Making a Wood & Epoxy Laminate: Eric takes all the mystery out of what otherwise might seem like a daunting operation: Vacuum bagging. Step by step we s...
How to Vacuum Bag, Part 2 – Watching it Happen: Vacuum bagging with over 4000 pounds of pressure, and then opening the bag to see how it went is impressive enough- but...
Sand Casting Marine Hardware: The Port Townsend Foundry: We visit the Port Townsend Foundry to see how they utilize the sand casting process to create in-house marine hardware....
How to Make A Flat Blade Oar, with Wesley Reddick of Rower’s Oars: At his shop at Rower's Oars, Wesley Reddick shows us how to make a flat blade oar from a few pieces of spruce....
Making a Caulking Mallet with Antique Tool Guy Jeff Pearson: Antique tool guy Jeff Pearson takes us through the process of how to make a caulking mallet....
Herreshoff Marine Museum – Part 6, In The Boat Hall: The Dinghies: Maynard Bray and Eric Blake finish their tour of the Herreshoff Marine Museum with an examination of Herreshoff's dinghy...
Shortcuts for Shaping Complex Wooden Boat Pieces – Part 4, Using Hand Tools For Final Shaping: This week Eric Blake demonstrates using hand tools for the final shaping of complex curves and tapers of wooden boat pie...
Building Momentum, Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding: Eric Blake joins Head instructor Sean Koomen for a tour of the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding in Port Hadlock,...
How to Build the Off Center Skiff, Part 20 – Launch Day!: In the final part of our series, Eric Blake and Havilah Hawkins' work comes to a completion as the kids gather to launch...
How to Use Epoxy, Part 5 – Practical Applications: In the final part of this series, Eric Blake walks us through a few practical applications of using epoxy on wooden boat...
How to Build the Off Center Skiff, Part 19 – Oil, Plugs & Paint: This week Eric Blake, Havilah Hawkins and the kids are finishing up the Off Center Skiff with oil, plugs and paint....
How to Build the Off Center Skiff, Part 18 – Seat-Risers & Seats: Eric Blake, Havilah Hawkins and the kids build and install the seat-risers & seats on the Off Center Skiff....
Shortcuts Shaping Complex Wooden Boat Pieces, Part 3 – Routing & Sanding the Curves & Tapers: This week Eric Blake demonstrates routing and sanding shortcuts to the shape complex curves and tapers of wooden boat pi...
Restoring Mink, a 1914 Buzzards Bay 25: Part 3 – Putting Exact Period Details in Place: We visit with MINK's owner and chief researcher to learn about how they put exact period details in place on the 1914 Bu...
How to Build The Off Center Skiff, Part 17 – Inwales & Outwales: This week Eric Blake and the Brooklin Skiff Club kids are hand-riveting the inwales and outwales into place on the Off C...
How to Build The Off Center Skiff, Part 16 – Outer Stem + Sanding and Priming the Hull: The kids put in some elbow grease with sandpaper and paintbrushes....
How to Build The Off Center Skiff, Part 15 – Finishing the Bottom & Flipping the Boat: The kids are hard at work finishing up the puttying, taking the boat off the molds, screwing down the bottom stringers,...
Shortcuts Shaping Complex Wooden Boat Pieces – Part 2, Cutting the Tapers: We return to the Brooklin Boat Yard with Eric Blake as he walks us through cutting the tapers in shaping complex wooden...
How to Build the Off Center Skiff, Part 14 – Caulking Cotton: As the series continues, Havilah Hawkins demonstrates how to traditionally caulk the skiff with caulking cotton....
Bit Brace Essentials, Part 2 – Techniques & Uses: We return to Harry Bryan's shop to learn the essential techniques and uses of the bit brace....
Ingenuity at Work & Play, with Harry Bryan: Harry Bryan takes us off-the-grid again with his ingenuity in both work and play....
Shortcuts for Shaping Complex Wooden Boat Pieces, Part 1 – Making the Blank: We join Eric Blake at the Brooklin Boat Yard where he breaks down how to recreate compound tapered shapes for wooden boa...
Restoring MINK, a 1914 Buzzards Bay 25, Part 1 – An Uncommon Approach: Over the last century, the Herreshoff Buzzards Bay 25 has lived a storied history indeed.  Now, one of the five boats t...
Restoring MINK, a 1914 Buzzards Bay 25, Part 2 – Mink’s Owner and Chief Researcher Weigh In: MINK's owner and her chief researcher weigh in on the renovation aimed at putting the 1914 Buzzards Bay 25 back exactly...
How to Build the Off Center Skiff, Part 13 – Planking the Bottom: The Brooklin Skiff Club makes quick work of planking the bottom of their skiff....
How to Build the Off Center Skiff, Part 12 – Planing the Chine Log/Garboard: Our Off Center skiff build continues this week with planing the chine log and garboard....
Bit Brace Essentials, Part 1 – Knowing What To Look For: Join Harry Bryan as he walks us through bit braces and knowing what to look for.  ...
Traditional Rigging, Part 8 – Parcelling & Serving a Eye Splice: Myles Thurlow demonstrates the methods behind parcelling and serving a eye splice....
How to Build the Off Center Skiff, Part 11 – The Frames: Eric, Havilah and the rest of Brooklin Skiff Club are installing the frames as the Off Center Skiff continues to come to...
Traditional Rigging, Part 7 – Making a Wire Splice: Myles demonstrates the methods behind making a wire splice in this next chapter in our traditional rigging series....
Cool Shop Tips #4, Harry Bryan’s Sawhorse Clamp: Forget the power miter saw - this original sawhorse clamp design by Harry takes a sawhorse and clamp to create a handy t...
How to Build a Beautiful Skiff, Part 10 – Planking the Sides: This week, Brian Larkin joins the Brooklin Skiff Club as planking the sides begins on the Beautiful Skiff....
The Boltinator: An Ingenious Tool for Extracting Keel Bolts & Bearings: Got keel bolts to pull? Or perhaps you'd like to pull a hole in the time-space continuum? This shop-built tool does the...
Traditional Rigging, Part 6 – Leathering a Spliced Eye: For leathering a spliced eye, or sewing leather around standing rigging or oars, the double needle baseball stitch is th...
How to Build a Beautiful Skiff, Part 9 – Shaping the Inner Stem: As the skiff series continues, Eric Blake demonstrates how to plane a twisting bevel into the skiff's inner stem....
Fasteners & Fastening, Part 5 – Drilling and Tapping Stainless Steel: We finish our trip into the shop with a look at tricks on drilling and tapping stainless steel....
Traditional Rigging, Part 4 – Cutting and Parcelling for a Spliced Eye: We continue our exploration into the art of traditional rigging with Myles Thurlow walking us through the cutting and pa...
Traditional Rigging, Part 5 – Serving for a Spliced Eye: After cutting and parcelling, master rigger Myles Thurlow demonstrates the technique of serving a spliced eye....
How to Build a Beautiful Skiff, Part 8 – The Transom: Gluing-up and fairing the cedar boards that comprise the transom, and then mounting it, is the task at hand as the Beaut...
How to Build a Beautiful Skiff, Part 7 – Setting Up The Molds: With measuring sticks and pencils, the kids join Eric Blake and Havilah Hawkins to set-up the molds for the skiff....
How to Build a Beautiful Skiff, Part 6 – Layout and Building Molds: Before the kids arrive, Eric Blake and Havilah Hawkins walk us through the process for laying out and building the molds...
How to Build a Beautiful Skiff, Part 5 – The Strongback: A strong and precisely constructed strongback is a critical element in getting the skiff building project off to a good...
L. Francis Herreshoff – Yacht Designer, A Book By Roger Taylor: L. Francis Herreshoff (LFH) is one of our favorite designers here at OffCenterHarbor.com, and all of us have had direct...
How to Build a Beautiful Skiff, Part 4 – Cutting & Planing Planks: In the fourth video in our series, Eric Blake takes us to the Brooklin Boat Yard to begin work on cutting and planing pl...
Handsaws for Boatbuilding, with Harry Bryan: When it comes to handsaws, whether you're working with plywood or natural stock, Harry Bryan knows which saw is the be...
How to Build a Beautiful Skiff, Part 3 – The Local Wood Option: In the third video in our series, Eric Blake visits David Gray, an owner of a local sawmill, to have Eastern White Ceda...
How to Build a Beautiful Skiff, Part 2 – Getting Screws and Lumber: In the second video in our skiff series, Eric visits our local hardware store and lumberyard to purchase screws and rev...
How to Build a Beautiful Skiff, Part 1 – An Idea is Born With Eric Blake: In this first video, Eric introduces the skiff building project for local Brooklin kids that he and Havilah Hawkins are...
Schooner BOWDOIN Gets a New Deck: When OCH visited the schooner BOWDOIN to see the progress of her new deck, a job which called for the precise joining of...
Traditional Rigging, Part 3 – Wire, Thimbles, Marline, & More: Ever wondered what tools and materials a rigger brings to a traditional vessel? Master rigger Myles Thurlow takes us ste...
Traditional Rigging, Part 2 – Tools of the Trade: In part 2 of our Traditional Rigging Series, master rigger Myles Thurlow shows us the tools of his trade. Carefully sele...
Traditional Rigging, Part 1 – Whipping A Rope: In part 1 of our Traditional Rigging Series, master rigger Myles Thurlow walks us through whipping a rope end to finish...
Fasteners & Fastening, Part 4 – Drilling & Tapping Bronze: Head into the metal shop to learn the order of events of how to drill and tap bronze pieces together....
Fasteners & Fastening, Part 3 – Machine, Pan & Hex Head Screws with Wood: See more fasteners in action with tips on using machine, pan and hex head screws in woodworking projects....
How to Use Epoxy, Part 3 – Sheathing Wood with Fiberglass and Dynel: As Eric Blake demonstrates how to use epoxy for sheathing wood with fiberglass and dynel, we see how many techniques and...
How to Use Epoxy, Part 4 – Prepping & Painting Over Fiberglass and Dynel: After the epoxy cures overnight on the demonstration panels, we see the results Eric has been shooting for as he shows u...
Herreshoff Marine Museum, Part 5 – In the Boat Hall: The Extreme: Take a detailed look at the radical elements of Herreshoff's more extreme designs at the Herreshoff Marine Museum with M...
How to Use Epoxy, Part 2 – Getting a Smooth Finish of Paint or Varnish: Eric Blake continues his walkthrough on how to use epoxy to get a smooth finish of paint or varnish at the Brooklin Boa...
How to Use Epoxy, Part 1 – Coating Plywood for Paint or Varnish: For your next project, let Eric Blake walk you through using an epoxy buildup coat before painting or varnishing bare...
Fasteners & Fastening, Part 2 – Countersinking Screws & Setting Bungs in Wood: Fasteners in action: Proper techniques for putting stuff together using a variety of fasteners....
Fasteners & Fastening, Part 1 – Naming of the Screw: Get up to date on today's fasteners and their specific uses....
Making a Pilot House Door, Part 1 – Flush Panel Construction: Woodworking techniques abound as Tony Grove puts together a frame and panel constructed pilot house door for a Northwest...
Making a Pilot House Door, Part 2 – Finish & Fit: Woodworking techniques abound as Tony Grove finishes and fits the frame and panel constructed door for a Northwest Fish...
Creating the Pisces – A Daysailer Inspired by the Herreshoff Fish Class: These days classic daysailers are increasingly popular with experienced sailors with an eye for simple elegance and comf...
DAVID B – One Boat, Two Hearts: A skilled mechanical tinkerer and a gifted naturalist/cook turn their combined talents to the restoration of an ancient...
Herreshoff Marine Museum, Part 4 – In The Boat Hall: Classic Centennials: Surely the most radiant jewels of the Herreshoff Marine Museum are the boats designed by Nathanael Greene Herreshoff in...
Kids in the Shop, a Work Bench & Set of Tools: When Harry Bryan built a tool bench for his grandchildren, it got us to thinking that maybe there's a workshop in Passam...
How To Use A Handsaw, Square & Bevel Crosscuts: In an era of loud, whirring machines, Harry takes us back to the simplicity and precision of the crosscut saw as he show...
Herreshoff Marine Museum Part 3 – In The Boat Hall: The Early Days: To better understand the development of America's premier yacht designer, join Maynard Bray and Eric Blake as they exami...
Building Boat Furniture Using Plywood and Cleat Construction: We visit the Grove Woodworking School on Gabriola Island in British Columbia where boatbuilder Tony Grove demystifies th...
Cool Shop Trick: Applying a Herreshoff-Style Sheerstrake to a Cold Molded Alerion 26: Cold molded boats don’t really have individual planks, so sheerstrakes, especially ones in the Herreshoff style that a...
Sailing LILY – L. Francis Herreshoff’s Design # 43: Seldom has a man been more comfortable on a boat than OCH Founder Maynard Bray aboard his beloved L. Francis Herreshoff...
A Sail Aboard An Alerion 26 – KITTIWAKE: Of all of Nathanael Herreshoff's great designs, perhaps his beloved ALERION proved to be the most seminal,  spawning mo...
Carrying on the Tradition, Hand Painted Boat Lettering: On a classic boat, nothing says "hand made" better than the artful flourish of hand painted boat lettering....
An Electrifiying Twist To The Gunning Dory: G.E.M.A. – The Gentleman’s Electric Mess-About: G.E.M.A, otherwise known as the Gentleman’s Electric Mess-About, has an electrifying new twist on the classic Chamberl...
Boats Worth Restoring, PORPOISE Gets New Frames: What makes a good candidate for wooden boat restoration? Meet PORPOISE: A one-of-a-kind, handsome little pocket cruiser...
A Three-Generation Dream Boat – The Herreshoff Fish Class Sloop – PERCH: We pass a significant milestone with this video — our 250th video for members of OffCenterHarbor.com. We fantasize abo...
How to Paint a Boat, Part 3 – Primers & Thinning: Understanding how to use primer, and thin it properly, sets the stage for a finish coat you can be proud of....
How to Paint a Boat, Part 4 – Brushwork: Rolling & Tipping and Cleaning: Finishing the job: Techniques for laying on the final coat with a few tips for cleaning up afterward....
How to Paint a Boat, Part 2 – Prepping a Surface For Paint: As the man (or the woman in this case) always says, good preparation lays down the foundation for a good paint job.  Th...
How to Paint a Boat, Part 1 – Getting the Right Topside Paint: Get a grip on how to paint a boat — before you head off to the marine paint store. The more you know, the better the...
SPARKLE: The Boat to Beat: In 1947, two NASA rocket scientists started playing around with sailboat design. The result was SPARKLE: the boat to bea...
Lie-Nielsen Woodworking Tools, A Glimpse at How They’re Made: Tom Lie-Nielsen is the man behind the kind of woodworking tools that we would like to pass down to our kids and grandk...
Installing Floor Timbers in a Wooden Boat, Part 1 – Making the Pattern: It's better to have a whole boat, rather than two halves. Installing floor timbers in a wooden boat ties everything toge...
Installing Floor Timbers in a Wooden Boat, Part 2 – Cutting & Fitting Big Oak: Handling big oak timbers is an art unto itself. Peter Buxton passes along valuable tips while he's installing floor timb...
Installing Floor Timbers in a Wooden Boat, Part 3 – Fastening with Drift Pins & Screws: Fastening the newly shaped piece of oak with drift pins to the keel, frames and planks is the final step of installing f...
Marine Diesel Engines, Part 9 – Belt & Electrical System: When it comes to the electrical system - it's not always clear what is really causing your problem....
Marine Diesel Engines, Part 8 – Changing the Oil: Changing the oil in your engine is simple and essential to its long term health. Do it yourself and there's no appointme...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 42 – Final Thoughts: Launch day has arrived, and it's time to take our Caledonia Yawl sailing! And with a few parting words from Geoff; we're...
Marine Diesel Engines, Part 7 – How to Bleed the Fuel Injection System: Diesel engines won't run if air gets into their fuel systems.  Knowing how to bleed air out is therefore an essential s...
Marine Diesel Engines, Part 6 – the Fuel Injection System: Clean fuel is THE essential ingredient when it comes to a smooth running diesel engine.  Understanding the path that th...
Cool Sail Rigging Tips #4 – Calibrating Your Eye for Luff Sag: Seeing the correct shape will help you get the most out of your sail....
Cool Sail Rigging Tips #3, Of Rollers, Coils, & Curves: Coiling rope (or even your garden hose!) and other tips....
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 41 – Rigging: Woodworking tools can be put away as Geoff assembles the Caledonia Yawl and completes her rigging with her new suit of s...
Wood Carving, Part 2 – Carving Letters: Whether it's on the stern or a quarterboard- nothing beats seeing a boat's name carved in wood....
Wood Carving, Part 1 – Traditional Scallop Shell: Sculptor, teacher, sign-maker and boat-builder all rolled into one, gives us the wood carving how-to on carving a handso...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 40 – Installing the Hardware: Cleats, oarlocks and a few more final bits of hardware as we draw close to finishing up our Caledonia Yawl....
Cool Sail Rigging Tips #2 – Tail Bury Lengths for Splicing Braided Rope: Synthetic ropes are strong but slippery. Here's how to be sure you have enough tail bury length when splicing braided ro...
Cool Sail Rigging Tips #1 – Turnbuckles & Pins: Rigging tips from the pro on how best to handle turnbuckles and those terrible cotter pins....
Marine Diesel Engines, Part 5 – Coolant Trouble-Shooting & Maintenance: A little maintenance can save a lotta headache -sure-as-shootin'!...
Marine Diesel Engines, Part 4 – Coolant System Overview: Let's take a look at how the engine coolant system keeps things from overheating under pressure....
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 39 – Fitting Out the Interior: Putting all these parts together that we've spent so much time making? What could be more satisfying?...
How to Make a Herreshoff Tiller, with Alec Brainerd: The tiller is the conduit for a sailor's intentions and a boat's response; delicacy is an asset....
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 38 – Installing the Rub Strips: Whether you call them bang-strips, rub-strips, or brass half-oval, they are a must for protecting the keel while getting...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 37 – Mast Steps & Partners: There's a lot of pressure exerted on masts so well set steps and partners are vital to keep everything in place....
Marine Diesel Engines, Part 3 – Changing the Impeller: The rubber impeller in the raw water pump pushes water through the cooling system.  Learn how to inspect this critical...
Marine Diesel Engines, Part 2 – Trouble-Shooting the Raw Water System: Your engine is running too hot; here's how to think through the stages of the raw water system and then solve your probl...
Marine Diesel Engines, Part 1 – Overview of the Raw Water System: Understanding the raw water cooling system of your boat's diesel engine will help you keep her running cool. Keeping you...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 36 – Finishing the Mainmast: Some planing, sanding and a little carving to bring our birdsmouth spar to completion and ready for paint or varnish....
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 35 – Assembling the Birdsmouth Mast: Working those long twisting staves into position made simple. Here's how the birdsmouth mast comes together....
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 34 – Milling the Wood For a Birdsmouth Mast: Our hollow mainmast will call for some pieces which need to be carefully shaped. The result is a birdsmouth mast weighin...
Herreshoff Marine Museum, Part 2 – NGH’s Workshop with Halsey Herreshoff: Halsey Herreshoff shows us  the tools and workshop where The Herreshoff legend was made. THE MUSEUM: Herreshoff Marine...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 33 – Solid Spar Making with the Mizzen Mast: Building a solid round spar calls for specific tapering and shaping techniques and a lot of fractions....
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 32 – Finishing the Rudder: When building a double-ender there will be some discussion of pintles & gudgeons as well as the Norwegian tiller- th...
Applying a Boat Name That Sticks – How to Use Vinyl Lettering: All boats should have a name, and vinyl boat name lettering is one of the most common and affordable methods for sharing...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 31 – Shaping the Rudder & Centerboard: Shaping and feathering the trailing edges of both rudder and centerboard into aqua dynamic shapes is the subject here....
Stepping a Mast with a Gin Pole: A do-it-yourself method for stepping a mast with a gin pole that makes the job simple and elegant... and saves you money...
Herreshoff Marine Museum, Part 1 – The Model Room with Halsey Herreshoff: When we launched OffCenterHarbor.com, we hoped to give our members access to special boats and places that is not availa...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 30 – Reinforcing & Ballasting the Centerboard: Heft and durability - just what our centerboard needs....
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 29 – Laminating the Centerboard & Rudder: Laminating the centerboard and rudder and similar processes. Follow along with Geoff Kerr and he takes us through Iain O...
A Different Kind of Lobster Yacht with Tom Townsend: Tom Townsend takes practical work boats and brings them back to life with no-fuss painted finishes for an ease of care l...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 28 – Cleanup, Filleting & Priming: Cleaning up the inside of the hull is a must in preparation for painting....
Plane Talk & Spokeshaves – Boat Building Hand Tools: Boat building hand tools expert, OCH Guide and well known traditional tool expert, Harry Bryan, takes us through his col...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 27 – The Floorboards: Being systematic is key as the floorboards are cut and shaped before painting....
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 26 – Some Odds & Ends: Crucial finishing details are illustrated so you can get things right as the project winds up....
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 25 – Shaping & Drilling the Seats & Partners: Dressing the side benches and thwarts maintains their strength while removing the appearance of bulkiness....
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 24 – Partners, Thwarts & Side Benches: As our Caledonia Yawl takes final shape, Geoff furnishes the interior space with thwarts and seats....
Sailmaking at Nat Wilson’s Loft, Part 4 – Ropework, Rings & Grommets: The guys at Nat Wilson's finish up with the handwork of roping, rings and grommets on the new suit of sails for our Cale...
Cool Shop Tip #3 – Chipper Guide for Plane Sharpening: Who knew the cap iron on your hand plane could be used as a guide when sharpening the blade? A handy little plane sharpe...
Sailmaking at Nat Wilson’s Loft, Part 3 – Patches, Turns, & Tapes: Stitching seams and finishing the edges are integral parts of sailmaking and gives a sail its shape....
Sailmaking at Nat Wilson’s Loft, Part 2 – Laying Out the Panels: Laying out panels in dacron sails and cutting for shape must be done smoothly as well as economically....
Spring Painting, Beauty is the Reward – Prepping & Painting a Wooden Boat’s Topsides: Spring painting is a well-worth chore. Achieving a smooth and glossy paint job on ancient topsides calls for an assured...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 23 – Cleats for the Thwarts: Locating the exact position of cleats supporting the thwarts, and then establishing the proper bevel so the cleats lay s...
Sailmaking at Nat Wilson’s Loft, Part 1 – Laying Out the Shapes: Sailmaker Nat Wilson has graciously opened the doors of his legendary loft to OCH, and we're taking you inside for a new...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 22 – Stemheads & Breasthooks: Stems and breasthooks are signature components that jump out visually in the finished boat.  Learn the specific techniq...
Sailmaker’s Bench at Nathaniel S. Wilson Sailmaker: A tour of an antique sailmaker's bench with the tools-of-the trade explained, sets the stage for our video series on tra...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 21 – The Centerboard Trunk: Over a period of four days Geoff builds and installs the centerboard trunk....
Carvel Planking a Wooden Boat, Part 3 – Fastening a Cedar Plank: The fat lady sings (well, not really) when Peter screws the plank into place.  It's snug, it's lovely, and it's sure to...
How to Build A Caledonia Yawl, Part 20 – The Rails: Geoff brings a bit of salty boat quality to the hull as he installs the rails....
Carvel Planking a Wooden Boat, Part 2 – Making & Fitting A Pair of Cedar Planks: After spiling the plank to achieve a rough shape, Peter planes it down to fit precisely before fastening....
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 19 – Turning the Hull Over: Flipping the hull over, a job that's scarier than hard, gives us our first chance to see just how big a Caledonia Yawl r...
Carvel Planking a Wooden Boat, Part 1 – Spiling: "Spiling" is the technique boat builders use to determine the shape of a plank. In the abstract, it is a difficult proce...
Building a Stitch and Glue Boat, Part 26 – Final Rigging For Launch: The Fox finale features final touches before she hits the water for the first paddle.   Great job, Bill, and thanks fr...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 18 – Scoring a Waterline with a Laser Level: Striking and the scoring an accurate waterline is an easy job with a laser level and a good set of plans.  Join Maynard...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 17 – Installing the Outer Stems & Keel: In a double-ended boat, the outer stems define her final shape.  See how forethought throughout the project makes this...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 16 – Prepping for Outer Stems & Keel: Fairing the hull with a power plane to achieve a snug fit for the keel and the stem....
Sanding Station: Tired of the sawdust from sanding? See the sanding station system Bill Thomas put together to more than solve that prob...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 15 – Planking: Geoff Kerr's masterpiece; where artistry and structural imperatives intersect.  Planking, after all, is ultimately what...
Selecting Wood for Boat Building – A Few Basics: Here's the introductory course on wood for boat building with Ted Pike.  Plan your needs, get your wood early, for the...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 14 – The Garboard Planks: Snug fitting garboard planks are key when it comes to keeping water out of a boat....
Building a Stitch and Glue Boat, Part 25 – Painting The Hull: In this edition of the fox series, we get much more from Bill than a simple video of rolling on some paint. Bill, per us...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 13 – Mounting the Floor Timbers: Mounting the floor timbers completes the boat's backbone and must be done correctly to assure a smooth landing for the p...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 12 – Fairing the Keelson: Fairing the keelson with a power plane calls for precision.  Get it right and the garboard planks kiss the keelson all...
Building a Stitch and Glue Boat, Part 24 – Varnishing the Deck, Coaming, & Fittings: Everyone has their own experience, tips, and tricks when it comes to varnish. In Fox 21 we get Bill's take on the elusiv...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 11 – Installing the Keelson & Stems: Installing the fore and aft inner stems and epoxying them to the keelson, the whole job stabilized with clever angle iro...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 10 – Shaping the Stem: A strong, well rendered stem sets the shape of the boat to come.  Here are the tips and techniques you need to get it r...
Stitching Oar Leathers: From the placement of oar leathers on the shaft, to the stitching technique, to attaching the button, see the entire pro...
Building a Stitch and Glue Boat, Part 23 – Finishing The Little Details: Bill Thomas has built enough of these that we can all learn from his workflow. He's got the amount of epoxy and how far...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 9 – Preparing the Keelson: Preparing the keelson: Milling out the keelson and cutting the center board slot by employing the precision of a table s...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 8 – Making the Floor Timbers: Techniques for fashioning precise floor timbers are covered here.  And don't forget the limber holes....
Building a Stitch and Glue Boat, Part 22 – Fitting The Coaming Rims: Just when we thought we'd completed the stitch and glue part of the build, Bill throws one more at us. Even at this stag...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 7 – Scarfing the Planks: Kit builder Gardiner Pickering takes us through the steps in gluing up pre-cut scarf joints to create precise boat-lengt...
Building a Stitch and Glue Boat, Part 21 – Installing the Seat Risers: Moving along in this series we are finishing up the little details that pull the Fox together. Installing the seat riser...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 6 – Laminating the Stems: Stems on a double-ended boat largely define the shape as well as assuring the integrity of the structure.  So let the l...
Building a Stitch and Glue Boat, Part 20 – Installing the Seatback: The Fox canoe is beautiful. With its simple clean lines and functional attitude toward getting out and paddling, she was...
Building a Stitch & Glue Boat, Part 19 – The Dos & Don’ts of Prep Work: With the stitch and glue Fox nearing completion; we took her out of Bill's hands in order to take a stab at prepping the...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 5 – Tips for Mixing and Applying Epoxy: An expert takes on the goop in this video on mixing and applying epoxy.  Do it right, epoxy is your best friend; do it...
Caulking a Wooden Boat, Part 4 – Tying Up Loose Ends: The Caulking a Wooden Boat series concludes with Geno taking us through some of the odds and ends of caulking. With an u...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 4 – Building Frame & Molds: Constructing the building frame and setting up molds.  How to get things straight and level at the outset gets the job...
Caulking a Wooden Boat, Part 3 – Oakum Caulking: In this segment of our wooden boat caulking series, we talk about oakum. With Part 3 being entirely dedicated to this wo...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 3 – Essential Boat Building Tools: What are the minimum essential boat building tools for a boat like the Caledonia Yawl?  Geoff Kerr takes us through his...
How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 2 – Setting Up Shop: Geoff Kerr sets up our new shop the way he wants it for the new series about building a Caledonia Yawl.  "Manning" benc...
How To Build the Caledonia Yawl, Part 1 – A Good Boat, Up-Close:  For "Part 1" of this series, we revisit our up-close look at the Caledonia Yawl and why we love her... We were so insp...
Caulking a Wooden Boat, Part 2 – A Deeper Look at the Craft: Geno takes us through some of the intricacies of caulking a wooden boat, enlightening us to what a professional caulking...
Caulking a Wooden Boat Part 1, Tools and Basics: Geno Scalzo is a master caulker out of Owls Head, Maine. He has over 30 years experience caulking wooden boats, and he's...
Smooth Planes – The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly with Harry Bryan: Ever wondered what all those moving parts in your hand plane were for? Well Harry takes a couple of smooth planes apart...
Building a Stitch and Glue Boat, Part 18 – Installing the Coamings: Few things are as exciting during a stitch and glue build as when the boat really takes shape. With the installation of...
Building a Stitch and Glue Boat, Part 17 – Trimming the Deck: We really start to see how beautiful the stitch and glue Fox's shape is as Bill trims the deck....
Painting a Wooden Boat: Simple Techniques for a Professional Finish: Geoff outlines all of the steps to get a durable and beautiful finish when painting a wooden boat in your own shop....
Building a Stitch and Glue Boat, Part 16 – Shop Safety: Here we pause from building to remind ourselves of what's really important... step #1 in keeping our beautiful hand-eye...
Cool Shop Tips, Part 2 – ‘Bed of Nails’ for Painting: Simple ways of painting spars and boat parts can come in instant flashes of genius and wisdom after twenty years of expe...
Watercraft Collection of Mystic Seaport, Part 3 – The Original Herreshoff ALERION: In 1912 Nathanael Herreshoff designed a 26' gaff-rigged sloop for his own use.  Named ALERION, she proved to be a semin...
Building a Stitch and Glue Boat, Part 15 – Installing the Deck: Bill shows us the gratifying step of installing the deck in this stitch and glue boat building video....
Cool Shop Tips, Part 1 – Manning Benches: A saw horse and a rugged, portable, versatile work bench all in one, or as the case may be, two. Geoff Kerr introduces u...
Building a Stitch and Glue Boat, Part 14 – End Pours and Epoxying the Interior: In this stitch and glue boat building video, get tips and tricks for finishing the interior, including end pours and bru...
Sails for Blue Water Cruising with Carol Hasse of Port Townsend Sails: Carol Hasse of Port Townsend Sails has been building "Cape Horn ready" sails for many years.  Whether you dream of high...
Building a Stitch and Glue Boat, Part 13 – Planing the Sheer Clamps: Planing the shear clamps just right guarantees the plywood deck will fit tightly.  Bill shows you how to take the clamp...
Building a Stitch and Glue Boat, Part 12 – Installing the Carlins: In this installment of our stitch and glue boat building series, the hull is prepped, and now we need to install the car...
Anchoring a Boat, Part 3 — Creative Solutions with a Traditional Anchor: Getting a large yachtsman anchor aboard a classic sailing yacht without damaging the topsides, toe rail or deck can be a...
Building a Stitch and Glue Boat, Part 11 – Fiberglassing the Hull: Bill shows us how to fiberglass the exterior of the hull in this stitch and glue boat building video....
Introducing Kids to Boats, Part 2 – The Blink of an Eye: With one's kids, things happen quickly.  With grandkids, as the slope of years angles ever more sharply downward, thing...
Building Interiors Upside Down: Building hulls upside down happens these days more often than rightside up, but keeping them that way while building the...
Building a Stitch and Glue Boat, Part 10 – Installing the Knees: Bill takes us through the process of filleting knees into place in a way that produces tight fits and continues to assur...
Building a Stitch and Glue Boat, Part 9 – Fiberglassing the Interior: In this stitch and glue boat building video Bill shows us how to fillet the ends and then fiberglass the interior of the...
Blade Sharpening Part 3 – Sharpening Planer Blades: Sharpening planer blades on a big machine can be especially daunting. And yet Harry takes it on with aplomb, as he shows...
Essential Boat Building Tools – Clamps: A few helpful hints on getting the right clamps for your boat building shop from a master builder of wooden boats....
Building a Stitch and Glue Boat, Part 8 – Truing the Hull & Filleting the Cockpit: Bill trues the hull and goes through the filleting of the Midship Planking in this stitch and glue boat building video....
Building Raised Panels at Rockport Marine: Building a raised panel is no simple task, and yet Joe Kobak at Rockport Marine knocked out this entire raised panel pro...
Drilling Holes with Boring Bars: Have you ever wondered how they bore a 10+ ft straight hole through a hull? Let's take a trip to a few boatyards and let...
Building a Stitch and Glue Boat, Part 7 – Stitching the Hull: Bill Finishes stitching the hull together. This video includes: stitching the sheer panels in place and adding additiona...
Sharpening Plane Blades, Part 2 – with Harry Bryan: A mid-winter follow-up journey over the border to Canada gives us the opportunity to get a lesson from master boatbuilde...
Wooden Boat Repair — Refastening, Part 3 — New Screws & Bungs: The thrilling conclusion you have all been waiting for: New screws, tight bungs, and finishing touches get the refasteni...
Wooden Boat Repair — Refastening, Part 2 — Removing the Old Screws: John O'Donovan and Patrick Dole show us how to remove the screws from a 50-year-old Concordia 31. They show us the tools...
Building a Stitch and Glue Boat, Part 6 – Stitching the Hull Begins: This is the first steps in stitching the bottom of the hull together. In this stitch and glue boat building video, we co...
Wooden Boat Repair — Refastening Part 1 — Scoping Out the Job: Every wooden boat owner knows that refastening is in their future; but where do you begin? John O'Donovan and Patrick Do...
Building a Stitch and Glue Boat, Part 5 – Gluing the Parts to the Bulkhead: This is the last step of preparing the parts before the hull of the boat gets stitched together. In this stitch and glue...
Best Boat Building Tools, Part 3 – Industrial Handheld: In this video on boat building tools, master builder Eric Blake takes us inside the Brooklin Boat Yard again to look at...
Building a Stitch and Glue Boat, Part 4 – The Bottom & Sheer Clamps: Bill's gluing-up bottom panels and gluing sheer clamps.  In this stitch and glue boat building video, we cover: Using ...
Building a Stitch and Glue Boat, Part 3 – Gluing the Side Panels to Length: Building a Stitch and Glue Boat, Part 2 - Gluing the Side Panels to Length: Careful measuring — Stacking planks to ach...
Building a Stitch and Glue Boat, Part 2 – Getting Supplies: As he builds the Fox Double Paddle Canoe, Bill Thomas unpacks a box of goodies and helps us understand why a dozen might...
Building a Stitch and Glue Boat, Part 1 – Introduction: The FOX Double Paddle Canoe, a stitch and glue boat designed and built by Bill Thomas, has a long and distinguished pedi...
Versa Vise Review, with Harry Bryan: When we first saw this video, we called to order two of these clever little versa vises immediately. And they haven't le...
Laminating Wooden Boat Frames on the 68′ Sloop ISOBEL: Strong, light weight epoxy laminations are surely the wave of the future for many boat building projects. Even though yo...
No-Fuss Wooden Boat Maintenance: A yearly plan makes maintaining a traditional wooden lobster boat and its plywood lapstake tender a breeze. Brian Larkin...
Wooden Boat Building Techniques: Steam Bending Oak Frames: Watching hot oak timbers go into a boat is fascinating. Join Maynard Bray as he describes how Brian Larkin reframes the...
Quick Wooden Boat Repair of a Stem and Plank Ends: So you've got a soft, rotting stem and plank ends? No problem! Eric Blake shows us that sometimes a load of common sense...
Fairing and Painting Topsides, with Nat Bryant: Nat Bryant and his father Paul are so good at caring for classic boats that they have been Maynard Bray's mentors for ma...
Wood Storage For Boat Building – Cedar & Oak – with Harry Bryan: In Part I of our wood storage for boat building series, Harry Bryan shows us how he stores cedar and oak, two of his fav...
Boat Building Hand Tools, The Basic Tool Kit – with Harry Bryan: Ignoring many of the tools now flooding the marketplace, Harry Bryan shows us the basic boat building tools you will nee...
Sharpening Plane Blades, Part 1 – with Harry Bryan: A mid-winter journey over the border to Canada gives us the opportunity to get a lesson on sharpening plane blades from...
Anchoring a Boat, Part 2 — Reliability & Versatility of a Danforth vs. a Yachtsman Anchor: When anchoring a boat, you want an anchor that will not only be reliable in good conditions, but one that will be versat...
How to Anchor a Boat, Part 1: Anchoring a Small Powerboat with a Yachtsman: This video answers two questions facing a small boat owner: what kind of an anchor do I need and how should I use it, us...
Best Boat Building Tools, Part 2 – Stationary Tools: Inside the Brooklin Boat Yard, master builder Eric Blake goes through what he considers the “standard” boat building...
Best Boat Building Tools, Part 1 – Small Handheld Power Tools: Inside the Brooklin Boat Yard, master builder Eric Blake talks boat building tools and what he considers to be the woode...

 

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Good Reads: Recommendations by Brion Rieff: OffCenterHarbor.com asked our guides to share their favorite books that should be in every boater’s library… NOTE: ...
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Good Reads: Recommendations by Brion Toss: NOTE: OffCenterHarbor.com asked the Guides to suggest "Three Books That Should Be In Every Boater's (or Boatbuilder's)...
Harry Bryan
Rattail Reamers You Can Make Yourself. Also, a Neat Chainsaw Sharpener—by Harry Bryan:  A RATTAIL FILE MADE INTO A HANDY REAMER A rattail file is round, fairly coarse, and tapered at one end.  A 3/8” rat...
Jane Ahlfeld
Good Reads: Recommendations by Jane Ahlfeld: OffCenterHarbor.com asked our guides to share their favorite books that should be in every boater’s library… NOTE: O...
Ginny Jones
Good Reads: Recommendations by Ginny Jones: OffCenterHarbor.com asked our guides to share their favorite books that should be in every boater’s library… NOTE: ...
Ed McClave
Good Reads: A Recommendation from Ed McClave: OffCenterHarbor.com asked our guides to share their favorite books that should be in every boater’s library… NOTE: ...
Tom Cunliffe
Good Reads: A Recommendation by Tom Cunliffe: OffCenterHarbor.com asked our guides to share their favorite books that should be in every boater’s library… NOTE: ...
Peter Neill
Good Reads: Recommendations by Peter Neill: OffCenterHarbor.com asked our guides to share their favorite books that should be in every boater’s library... We, the...
Alec Brainerd
Good Reads: A Recommendation by Alec Brainerd: OffCenterHarbor.com asked our guides to share their favorite books that should be in every boater’s library… I am ad...
LinAndLarry Pardey
Good Reads: Recommendations by Lin & Larry Pardey: OffCenterHarbor.com asked our guides to share their favorite books that should be in every boater’s library… NOTE: O...
Eric Blake
Walkabout at Brooklin Boat Yard, Part 6 – 12/1/12: For those of you just tuning in to Eric Blake’s weekly walkabouts, the boats he describes being built new in Brooklin...
Eric Blake
Walkabout at Brooklin Boat Yard, Part 5 – 11/11/12: What a beautiful fall we have had in Center Harbor! These chilly fall mornings bring with them sea smoke. The harbor is...
Eric Blake
Walkabout at Brooklin Boat Yard, Part 4 – 10/22/12:   One of the most frequently asked questions at the yard goes something like this: " How do you boys get those boats so...
Eric Blake
Walkabout at Brooklin Boat Yard, Part 3 – 10/14/12: Here is a great reason why I am having so much fun with this walkabout post. Midweek I says to myself,  "Hey self, why...
Eric Blake
Walkabout at Brooklin Boat Yard, Part 2 – 10/5/12: I can't help but feel that I threw you all off a cliff last week, freefalling into construction details of an unknown cr...
Eric Blake
Walkabout at Brooklin Boat Yard, Part 1 – 9/27/12: Fall is in the air in Center Harbor and the fleet is slowly making its way into winter storage at Brooklin Boat Yard. It...
Brion Toss
Three Tricks of the Rigging Trade: Use of Drill Taps: Rigging modern boats with metal spars entails a whole lot of drilling and tapping, usually into alumi...
LinAndLarry Pardey
The Three Boats I Lust After (and Why) – The Herreshoff Buzzards Bay 25, Herreshoff 12.5 & Whio: I’ve had the good fortune to sail on dozens of different boats over the years ranging from 140 foot schooners to light...
Eric Blake
The Sterns of Brooklin Boat Yard: , It was this very stern that did it to me. About 16 years ago as I walked down the dock of Falmouth Harbor in Antigua,...
Maynard Bray
New Paint You Should Know About – Marshall’s Cove Marine Paint: I’ve discovered a new brand of paint called Marshall’s Cove Marine Paint. It’s oil-based and comes in a variety of...
Geoff Kerr
Projects at Two Daughters Boatworks: Our two winter projects have been delivered and launched with general grins and giggles all around. Peeler, the 15’ ou...
Maynard Bray
A Sail in the Herreshoff S-boat Mischief: Luckily, I got to go for sail in the Herreshoff S-boat Mischief a week or so ago, the first boat to raise sail in Center...
Eric Blake
Installing a Teak Boat Deck on the 47′ Sloop Lark:   With the deck frame and plywood subdeck nearly laid on the 47' sloop Lark, it's time to start marking out the pieces...
Geoff Kerr
In the Two Daughters Boatworks Shop: Bare ground for Valentine’s Day is a sad, sad thing in northern Vermont. Not only is the skiing bad, but every mouse o...
Eric Blake
The First of Three Sailing Yawlboats Takes Shape: There were a few things responsible for getting this project underway. Two of my closest friends needed a small boat to...
Eric Blake
How to Install A Teak Boat Deck: Laying It Out and Laying It Down: Here we are at the stern of a 26' center-console  jetdrive launch that's under construction at Brooklin Boat Yard. The...
Brion Rieff
The “Radical” Skeg: Eric Blake and Steve Stone stopped by Friday afternoon to check out a 30' oak keel we're getting ready to install. I'll...
Eric Blake
My Winter Boatbuilding Projects: It's the beginning of March and spring is on its way! The view from the design office at the Brooklin Boat Yard is inspi...
Eric Blake
Building Wooden Boat Steering Wheels at Brooklin Boatyard: The steering wheels that come from most boats at the Brooklin Boat Yard are some of the coolest I’ve seen up close. My...
Maynard Bray
Restoring the Herreshoff S-Boat Mischief, 2nd Episode: This is the second episode of the Herreshoff S-boat Mischief’s restoration at Brooklin Boat Yard. Mischief had to be r...
Eric Blake
Restoring an Old Iceboat: I freely admit, I am drawn to old stuff. To me it is the way that it brings people together in modern times, to tell sto...
Maynard Bray
Peening Rivets Faster: Long-lasting copper rivets can't be beat for fastening planks to frames. Here's a faster and easier way of peening rivet...
Maynard Bray
Restoring the Herreshoff S-boat Mischief: Brooklin Boat Yard began this Herreshoff S-boat restoration on speculation as a fill-in during slack periods. So it went...
Maynard Bray
Painting a Beetle Cat Sailboat on the Beach: Here's another example of no-fuss maintenance in painting a Beetle Cat sailboat. (You can see the first example by viewi...
Maynard Bray
Building Boat Interiors Upside Down: Brion Rieff's ingenuity blows me away. Brion is a neighbor and one of our OffCenterHarbor.com Guides. He's always trying...
Maynard Bray
Reframing the 1934 Sloop PORPOISE: Here are a few of the photos I grabbed last June during an OffCenterHarbor.com video shoot. We'll show you more in the v...
Alec Brainerd
The Three Boats I Lust After (and Why) – Buzzards Bay 18, Dark Harbor 12 & Belfast Lough One Design: There are designs that simply cannot be improved upon.  The Herreshoff 12 ½, the Herreshoff Fish Class, the Buzzards B...

 

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Anchor Point: What a remarkable story of forgiveness and grace. The title of this film is "Anchor Point", a term I wasn't familiar wit...
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