Thread: MIK's Talk in Portland, Maine

Daylight savings. In winter. I am so confused.

Hey all. Please see photos at the Wooden Boat Forum of our wonderful day with Michael.

Michael Storer Talk at Clint Chase Boatbuilder - The WoodenBoat Forum

I will try to properly post some photos here in the coming days. I'd also like to get a summary up of the key points. What a great day.

Cheers,
Clint

Clint -

The pictures on WBF are great. You guys had a great day.

Bob

Current Projects at Clint Chase Boatbuilder

Monday, November 2, 2009

More pictures


The scene of the talk

Eric Risch Echo Bay Dory Skiff


MIK giving pointers


MIK was an engaging speaker. Thanks, Michael!
Posted by Clint Chase Boatbuilder at 7:12 PM 0 comments
Labels: Michael Storer



Michael Storer Talk and Messabout at Clint Chase Boatbuilder

Dana, Clint, and Michael getting things started...

Clint introducing the speaker and asking everyone to share a bit about themselves...

Lots of visuals during the talk...

Including an amateur built rudder and rudder box for a Goat Island Skiff.


On November 1st I was pleased and honored to introduce Michael Storer, an Australian Boat Designer reputed for his simple, elegant, and approachable boats, to a group of 21 members from the wooden boat community in Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Some knew of Storer's work, others have built his boats, and many knew him as an important name and wanted to learn more about the man and his message. His message was simple: that we can vastly improve our boats by paying a great deal more attention to three areas: the centerboard and rudder foils, the spars and sail, and the hull itself. With regards to the foils, Michael convinced is audience that it is the way they are made -- with care towards fair, accurate foil shape and towards a smooth surface -- that most matters. Michael has taken research in optimal foil design and applied these foils to boats that, without them, would not sail nearly as well upwind and would be much trickier to handle. These foils are flat in the middle, thin for reducing weight and wood use, and closely approximate the hydrodynamics of a true NACA shape, without the expense and fuss and awkwardness of a wing-shaped foil in a square centerboard box or rocking around on a flat work bench during shaping.

With regards to spars and sails, Michael's point was clear that the most important aspect of spars is that they flex and bend in the right way, the right amount. Spar bend is critical to the ability of a sail rig to absorb a gust, reducing heeling and putting the energy into forward momentum. The sail need not be a 600-dollar racing sail, but a simple polytarp will do cut with round to create the draft necessary to create power in the sail. His PDR Oz boats are a case in point. They all sail with polytarp sails, about a $30 dollar investment. And because they all use the same cloth, they can race against each other without the "upping the ante" attitude that has cause racing to be more expensive and less accessible to more and more people around the world.

(MIK: The polysail is not as good as a sail made from proper cloth but it is cheap allowing for experimentation and cutting the cost of something like a PDRacer substantially. But nice boats deserve nice sails. However the flexibility aspect is important for all sails.

(MIK: Additionally I think a lot of the discussion about best performing sails is misguided because the lessons of the last 100 years or so of competitive racing have not been applied equally when sails meet. The single most important is controlling twist. A gaff or lug rig where twist is controlled correctly will outsail a bermudan rig where the twist is not controlled. The two traditional rigs that control twist to some degree are the triangular sprit boomed sail and the balance lug. The lug tends to be favoured in storerboats because of the reefing ability, but the sprit is liked for its simplicity and incredibly rapid setup)

Interestingly, Michael left the hull out for last. He says the hull is less important because of the way quality foils and spars can make a good boat go faster than it should. The PD racer is a square hull and wide flat bottom. As evidenced by the messabout after the talk, it does go beautifully. Why? Because of the foils and spars, but also because the hull is light. Michael discussed the keys to making a hull light, using light plywood in a hull that is reinforced the right way, using stringers, fillets, butt joints, and interior compartments that create a light, stiff structure with nothing more than 6mm plywood. Fiberglass is heavy and Michael stressed that fiberglassing adds weight with little gain in structural integrity or even abrasion resistance. Most boats being glassed with 6oz cloth do not need it for structure and are not being used in such a way they it is needed to protect the boat from abrasion. Cloth as light as 2-oz cloth will be enough. He said that builders have also succumbed to the "upping the ante" mentality, trying to do things better and better and better than anyone else, ending up with heavier boats and poorer performance.

Australia saw another 25-plus years of wooden boat development that America and Europe did not see because of the way that market forces drove us to Fiberglass boats much sooner than they did in Oz. The result is much further refinement of glued-plywood construction and testing in the small boat racing circuits around the country. We are just now learning here in the States, thanks to Michael's generous knowledge sharing and this trip he has made to the USA.

(MIK: Australia and New Zealand had a huge amount of rivalry that helped things move forward too with at least half the work being done by the Kiwis. South Africa also did a similar thing with some of its indigenous classes)

Afterwards we enjoyed some great rowing and sailing off Portland's East End. Pictures of the messabout can be seen at the WoodenBoat Forum and at Michael Storer's own Oz Forum:

Michael Storer Talk at Clint Chase Boatbuilder - The WoodenBoat Forum
Michael Storer Wooden Boat Plans - Woodwork Forums

Folks will see many of Michael's philosophies played out at Clint Chase Boatbuilder in the Spruce-Composite oars, Birdsmouth masts, and soon foils, tillers, and other components made to improve the performance of customers' existing dories, skiffs, dinghies, and utility boats.

Thanks for this summary of MIK's speech. Keep it simple and add lightness!!

Wow ... thanks for that Clint ... I added a couple of notes.

Well done Clint on both organising the event and the write up.

Impressive shop you have there and I do like Dans little bagger I have not seen anything like it here it looks like a lot of fun are plans available.

Cheers
Mike

Today was the 2nd annual Fall Shop Talk & Messabout that Mik helped me start last year. This year I had Walter Wales, Sam Manning and Thad Danielson, all dory experts, come to talk to us about the Marblehead Gunning Dory, a specific dory type that evolved for duck hunting a few coves away from Swampscott beach, where the Swampscott Dory started.

It was a wonderful discussion about dory design, construction, history and use. In addition to Susan Manning and Karen Wales, many others contributed to the discussion based on their experience and asked great questions. Afterwards many went to East End Boat Ramp for rowing and sailing. Four boats and about a dozen folks took advantage of the 15-20kt westerly and did some brisk sailing in a Goat Island Skiff, Deblois St Dory, 15' Beach Pea and a 16 1/2' Swampscott dory.

I took some video of the talk and will post some clips as well as a summary about the content of the talk.

Others who came, please post your photos and if you would send them to me direct to [email protected] I'd appreciate it.

The Wooden Boat Forum will have the most info about this event, thanks..

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...68#post2753868

Folks,

Great time in Portland yesterday. I only wish we had more boats sailing!

I gave rides on the Goat, everyone seemed to enjoy it. Just enough wind to be moving, I got it up on step and really got her going once or twice. If I had gone solo, it would have been fantastic.

I also got to see and sail in Clint's Deblois Street Dory. This was a real treat for me. It is a beautiful boat, it's fast (even when completely undercanvassed with a sprit rig), and it's eerily stable. Throw in the fact that it's a traditional New England boat, and this New England boy's heartstrings get pulled. I haven't thought of much else boat wise other than the DSD since last night. A fantastic boat designed by Clint, and beautifully built by his friend Shane.

Some nice pictures on the WBF link posted above.

I'm psyched you got a chance to go out in my Dory machine, Christophe.

He is right, the builder has yet to put on all the sail area I called for, but it was just right on Saturday. Winds were what 20 kts Christophe?

The D St D when I get to build one for myself will most definitely have the lug yawl rig something in the 90-105SF range. A GIS sized lug would be big for the boat but with the right boat handler would make her sail in our lightish summer airs. The dorymen of yesterday had multiple rigs, a 'summer' rig, 'winter' rig and probably something in between. I think that would be quite appropriate for the dory. When there is no wind, you row, happily. I think the sprit looks great, but as far as user-firendliness, you can't go wrong with the lug.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inR4hhpY56w]YouTube - Fall sailing in Maine[/ame]

Heh heh heh heh

Who was that masked man?

I had heard that people were having trouble listening to my podcasts.

I have fixed the three boat design and construction podcasts from last year so they work but am still sorting out some of the interviews.

The ones at furled sails are fine too.

All here
http://www.storerboatplans.com/wp/category/podcasts/

MIK

It is so nice to come here and see happy things. Life is good but so busy here, finances are tough but we are tough. My row today blew away most of the worries. Why worry?

Sorry to be random.

The video of the Dory and Goat together makes me happy and excited about the next sailing season! Today was glorious on the water....shorts and tee shirt and crocs just like this summer!