And now for Something Different...

All this stuff about faerings and nothing about the Shetland yole Mattis is quietly building alongside. I said quietly, when his favourite tool is an electric planer I bought off the back of a lorry and seldom take out of its box.

Anyway, Mattis has taken it to his heart and shapes planks, both tops, bottoms and ends, with it to great success. Whereas as soon as I touch it, it tears great chunks off whatever I am planing. I expect before too long he will be shaving with it (if it weren't for the razor edge he proudly showed me today on his block plane).

Without more ado, here are some shots of Sula, as taken today, with the fifth strake going up. Look and weep, for it is a thing of great beauty and Mattis is indeed a meticulous craftsman.

Launch

The faering was slipped into the limpid waters of Loch Broom at the weekend and... floated, naturally, although an alarming water spout from under the aft thwart suggested more than the usual amount of taking up time might be required. Until I realised that two temporary screw holes had not been plugged.

With no mastic between the lands I was always worried she would leak like a... faering? In fact the  water came from a few places along the garboard seam where the scarphs meet the keel, which was later fixed with the application of that ancient Viking leak recipe: a dab of acrylic frame sealant, and a doubling up of the fastenings. Should be more or less leak free now.

And does she row. Like a dream, slipping along with barely a pull on the oars, whilst leaving a smooth slick in her wake, as if she was made to fit the water.

Still some finising to do, and more Varnol. To date she has swallowed up about six litres of the precious stuff, from a store that was supposed to last a year.

The steerboard appears to turn the boat, though how strongly I have yet to determine. I have a good feeling about it, and it looks the part. It can be made bigger.

I like to be brutally honest (probably to my detriment) about things that "could have been done better" but overall, the impression is good. The faering to my mind is the simplest but most ingenious small boat to have evolved. Just three strakes and you have as elegant a shape as any afloat. It does require good timber though. And one day I will build one without the aid of moulds, just a table of strake angles and a gadget that looks like an inclinometer to measure them.

Beautiful? But that's surely in the eye of the beholder. Could I do better next time? Of course: a closer fit here; a slight imperfection in the line of a land; a tiny split at a nail... As Tom Whitfield, a time-served boatbuilder who emails me from Australia with comments would say: "you never stop learning..."

Progress

With any luck we'll pop her in the water this afternoon and see how much water she makes. I used very little if any mastic in the lands; only at the stems anf around the scarphs (a first for me) so it will be interesting to see whether she needs to take up or not.

The steerboard arrangement is a synthesis of all available information without copying anything in particular. Did the Vikings do it the same way every tie? If they were anything like the boat builders I know, they would have been constantly trying something a little different, rather than sticking to the same old pattern. Hence my take on the rudder arrangement.

Any further back and it would have been impossible to use, the helmsman stuck up in the back; any further forward and it would not have been effective. Nor could the aft stammerung or cant frame be moved from its position supporting the stern sections, so the logical answer was to build a sturdy but separate supporting frame for the steerboard. We'll see. If it doesn't work, then it can be removed, as can pretty much everything in a clinker boat with the aid of a file to release the roves.

And bow on there's nothing to compare to the shape of a faering...

Nearly There...

Twenty eight days down the line and the Woodfish is nearing completion. As this is to be an authentic-ish faering; ie one that might have been dug up somewhere along the West Coast, the finish has been given the Varnol and tar treatment. It's not the yacht-like finish I have been used to, and indeed it took some getting used to. I have to admit that the rich, warm, brown colour is quite appealing and enhances the grain, without losing the character of the superb larch I managed to lay my hands on. That's one teaspoon of bitumen paint to one litre of Varnol, thinned as usual with turps. I reckon a teaspoon per two litres would have been enough as the larch will  darken of its own accord anyway.

The treatment does however pick up any discolourations, notably the water marks where the ends of the strakes were steamed into the stems. It gives the wood an interesting, pre-used look. In fact working on the faering at this stage of the build feels more like a restoration than a new build. The pristine, yachtiness and obsessively sanded finish has given way to a more natural look. And I have been careful to leave the tool marks.

Why? Well, as you have probably guessed the boat is to be part of a collection of Viking-age type boats and needed to look the part. This particular faering dates from the 19th century, but can trace its roots back to the Viking age and that unbelievably lovely Gokstad faering. So, a compromise.

Mattis meanwhile is doing his usual excellent work on the Sula, another Iain Oughtred design, but a traditional Shetland yole, not a (nasty) plywood job. As both stems have rabbets, the strakes have to be made in sections; the garboards in two, the next strake in three, and the last four in two also. Otherwise, how on earth do you fit a full-length strake into the bow and stern rabbets? Was it ever done thus?

There will be four strakes up by the end of this week and believe me, they are close to perfection. What will I do when he departs for Norway on September 10?

Postscript

Just had an email from Ted Phillips for whom I built an 18ft sjekte some time back. He entered the English Raid (East Coast rivers). I like the bit about prettiest boat. Not surprised (no need to be modest here, as I believe Florence Oliver to be the best looking boat I am ever likely to build).

Dear Adrian

I completed the raid ending last Sunday and have attached a photograph. This was taken at the end of a race up the Orwell to Orwell sailing club where the fleet were given a generous welcome including a very formal welcome a hand shake from the vice commodore. Very nice club and very nice people.

Anyway, FO got the vote from the rest of the fleet for prettiest boat so you can give yourself a pat on the back for that.

FO went very well and sailed very competitively in a fairly fresh breeze.

You will notice the outboard bracket I fitted [no holes in the boat] which was very useful for locks, marinas and creeks.

Hope this is of interest.

All the best


Ted