Two from Mr Oughtred

Spotted these two dinghies outside my shed today and realised they must have been the ones I built recently. It's just nice to have two boats, especially so similar in style, alongside each other for a few days before they depart. A rare occurrence and one I thought I'd better capture while I could.

The smaller of the two is Iain's Guillemot; the larger his Tammie Norrie. The former is built of larch on oak and steamed Scots pine, the latter of Scots pine planking with larch garboards, and timbered out in larch as well, a material I am increasingly using for framing as it steams well, doesn't crack and can be found in long, clear lengths, whereas the slightest flaw in oak and it's in the wood burner.

The stem of the Guillemot is laminated while that of the Tammie Norrie is solid. And while the little boat is for rowing only her big sister carries a lugsail.

The only thing missing is a rubbing strip on the larger boat, probably a simple half round of oak or mahogany, left unfinished as the whole point is that it's designed to rub, so will lose any paint sharpish.

The blue strip on the Guillemot, on the other hand, is more for show as she's left on a mooring and to give that wide top strake a little more lift at the transom.