Thread: CHESTNUT TEAL designed by Murray Isles

Hello everyone. There have been a couple mentions of the Chestnut Teal on this forum and I was encouraged to dig up my old photos of the building process and post some other pics of it completed. I think this is somewhat important because I can't seem to find any other pics around of it. I have no idea how many were built... I don't assume too many.

I started building this I think in 1995. I was only 27 years old or so... haha... with really NO wood working skills. It took me four years to build and I estimate about $10,000 Canadian dollars all told. And I usually tell people that I actually built about 2.5 boats: Usually I would make a piece and then have to redo it again, and sometimes AGAIN!

However, in the end I loved every minute of the building process (my wife, however, was not so kind about it) and since then I have had so many years of wonderful sailing. It actually does sail QUITE well and every time I am out I have many admirers. Under favorable winds I can keep up pretty well with significantly larger boats!

So, anyway, you can look at my picts here that I finally dug up and scanned into my computer. As you can see, the conditions were NOT good for the build... especially with CANADIAN winters on the north shore of Lake Superior! But somehow I made it work. I sailed it two years on Nipigon Bay on Lake Superior and it was glorious sailing (although really not so safe all the time), but then I moved to Pennsylvania and have had to sail it on much less glorious waters, but I enjoy it anyway.

Unfortunately my pictures during the building process are NOT complete at all. I didn't even think about the small stuff. But as you can see, although there was planked and plywood versions, I chose the strip plank. Definitely more difficult. Definitely more beautiful! I also chose the gaff rig. Although it is I am sure more difficult to maintain and manage than the regular main, I do love it. The only notable modification of Murray's plans that I implemented was that I ditched the water ballast design and I just fill old socks with lead auto tire ballast that I picked up at the junk yard! I put the boat in at the beginning of the summer and take it out at the end and I am happy with transferring the ballast out and in at those times.

Anyway, if you have any questions, fire away. I haven't built any other boat and I don't really have a lot of other sailing experience with anything similar, but I would highly recommend this boat if you can still find the plans for it. It is 16 foot, VERY roomy, and LIGHT!


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And I forgot to add here a couple pictures that were taken this past summer of it actually sailing. I am always sailing it so I never get any pictures of it except when it tied up! Thanks to this fellow and his iPhone he was able to take them and then I just shouted my email address and he sent them to me!

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