11 Foot Grandy Lapstrake tender

Very well done. I’m planning on building an Aderondack Guideboat this summer. Just need to find some clear Cedar.

-- Bruce from Central New York

All I can say is, “Wow!, that’s beautiful.”

Thanks! Lapstrake is a great way to build, strong and light weight. I’d love to do a Guideboat as well, they have always captivated me with that graceful sheer and tumblehome in the stem and stern posts. We’re lucky up here in the Pacific Northwest to have access to great lumber! Good luck with yours, I’d love to see it when it’s completed.

-- Brian S. --- "If you’ve worked on the building of a boat, it belongs to you the rest of your life." -Bob Prothero

thats beautiful! wonderful job! thanks for the post.

Hey I live down here in Georgia and have plenty of room in my shop to build a canoe like that. (If that’s what it is) Got any more info? bbqKing

-- bbqKing, Lawrenceville

Actually, it’s not a canoe. This is a 11’6” rowing skiff. It has a flat transom on the back as opposed to a stern post in a canoe. It was built to be a tender for a larger sailing yacht here in the Puget Sound area. It’s primary use will be to get the owner ashore once he’s anchored in a bay some where. The majority of canoes are double ended, narrow beam or width of the boat at the widest part, and use paddles for propulsion. This is a traditional rowing boat using two oars instead of paddles. She’s much fuller up front and beamier as well.

We used lines that were taken off of an ex park service boat to build this one and its little sister a 9 foot version.
The original boat was built by the Grandy Boat company in Seattle, Washington. The company used to make these little beauties as tenders for power and sailing yachts.

-- Brian S. --- "If you’ve worked on the building of a boat, it belongs to you the rest of your life." -Bob Prothero

Absolutely beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!-SST

-- Accuracy is not in your power tool, it's in you

My, these are quite the boats. Always admired the old wooden boats. I would think this would be a good business to get into in the right place. Beautiful work by you and your class mates. Thanks for posting.

God Bless
tom

-- Mc Bridge Cabinets, Iowa

That is a wonderfully beautiful tender! Did you create a bending form for each of the ribs? What did you finish it with? This really is a wonderful boat. Great job!

Gorgeous!

-- Growing older but not up!

Absolutely gorgeous! I love wooden boats and hope someday to make one of my own (probably a canoe or kayak)

Keep up the good work.

-- -- Rob Hix, King George, VA

Pretty and useful! Well done.

-- http://newmissionworkshop.com

What a gorgeous boat!

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Beautiful boat! Thank you for sharing.

-- My favorite piece is my last one, my best piece is my next one.

I love it ! I don’t know what else to say.

-- Urban logger, http://nelsonwoodworks.biz/

Thats a work of Art.Both in design and workmanship.Well done!

-- " If I can make it,so can you" Andy in Oregon

I was raised on the shores of the Chesapeake as a Navy Brat…. I have always admired the old craftsmanship.

Amazing work Friend!

-- Chris

Hey Scotach -

Thanks so much for posting. Where did you find Grandy plans, or did you take them off of an existing boat? I know that with the clinker such things as fiberglass and epoxy coverings aren’t necessary, but did you add them for abrasion, or is she just the traditional (and admirable) spar varnish? Are you all making the oars as well?

A proper tender, that. Well done!

-- There's no tool like an old tool...

Schweeeeeet!

always,
J.C.

-- "Imagination is more important than knowledge" -- Albert Einstein

Hi Brian;

Superb! Outstanding workmanship.

And a beautiful boat.

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

just incredible…what a fun project!

I clicked on our website last night and it sounds like a wonderful school!!! Would like to get up there one day!!!

-- Matt, Napa, CA...fun is beautiful...just trying to have some fun...

Wow Brian! That is truly amazing. I had to go back and look at your other boats as well. Seeing the inside of the boat, makes one realize the effort that must have gone into that. It looks to me like this has “blog” (hint, hint) written all over it. If you have any pictures of the construction process, I’d love to see them.

Thanks for posting these.

-- Martin, Kansas

She’s a beautiful vessel. Extremely well done. Thanks for sharing this with us.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

thats beautiful.good work.

-- jeanmarc manosque france

Wow, I’m blown over by the great comments posted here by everyone. Thanks everyone for the compliments and kind words. Seems like I have found a great community of folks here, but hey, woodworkers are amazing people!
I’ll try to answer the questions posted above.

ChrisBabayco – The frames (White Oak) were steamed in a box for about 30 mins each, once taken out they are carried rather quickly to the boat. At this point the boat is completely planked. Since the frames are noodle consistency, you can simply just bend them in, then fasten them. It takes a couple of sets of hands to accomplish this, maybe my kids could help me out with this stage of things when the time comes. As for the finish, it’s what the school calls boat sauce, a mixture of several things, pine tar, etc. The end result really makes the wood grain pop, without having to put on 7 coats of varnish.

Texasgaloot – The plans we used were taken off an old boat a couple of years ago at the school, from there we lofted the plans out to build our boats. As for epoxy or fiber glass, none at all on this boat, it would be redundant. If craftsmanship is top notch, the laps of the planks are completely water tight. One modern plywood lapstrake construction epoxy is used heavily. The hull got the same finish treatment as the interior, “boat suace”, but a few more coats. Should be fine, one would just need to be careful when beaching this craft, other than that she’s a good strong boat. And yes we made the oars as well, all of the small rowing style boats had oars made up, Sitka spruce or yellow cedar.

I’m working on getting my LJ’s blog going. I thought that would be cool as well, to put up construction pics of these boats. I have a ton!! I’ll have to sort through them and I’ll try to get some up soon.

-- Brian S. --- "If you’ve worked on the building of a boat, it belongs to you the rest of your life." -Bob Prothero

These boats are some of the sweet project I seen on this great site…great post thanks for sharing…Blkcherry

That is a beautiful boat. I’m looking forward to the blog. I’d like to see photos of the process. I built a wood strip canoe years ago, but this boat of yours is a whole new ball game.

-- Hailey, ID

That is truly a work of art. Inspiring. Thanks for the post.

-- Kip Northern Illinois ( If you don't know where your goin any road will take you there) George Harrison

Tremendous effort, stunning looking boat Brian.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

Gorgeous! What a beautiful combination of woods…

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

Beautiful!

-- I'm a wood magician... I can turn fine lumber into firewood before your very eyes! - http://www.woodworkersguide.com

that boat is gorgeous!

Wonderful boat!

-- miles125, Alabama.."Architecture is frozen music""

My dad had one similar to that with a big 10 hp on the back. The worked great through the rapids.
You are indeed lucky to have made her.

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

What an outstanding piece of functional art. I’ve done a number of the wooden model kits (peapods, canoes, etc) and this just makes me drool. I envy your passion.

-- Better to say nothing and be thought the fool... then to speak and erase all doubt.

That’s nice, wish I had the stones to take the time. Looks Great.

-- http://www.riverviewwoodworking.com

I love it. I can`t imagine how long it would take
to build a masterpiece like that. Man, that is amazing.

-- ''Carry on my wayward son''

Brian,

Great boat! There is just something about beauty combined with function that just gets my juices flowing. Right now I am in the beginning stages of windsor chair making but would love to expand my horizons to the building of kayaks and canoes. The posts of the crafts on this site have been inspiring works of art. Keep up the incredible work.

-- Fred.... Poconos, PA ---- Chairwright in the making ----

WOW!! I think I like this one better!! Great looking boat!!!

-- Matt, Houston Texas

simply beautiful. Music on the water.

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso -- http://blanchardcreative.etsy.com -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/

Really cool. I am going to be trying a boat sometime next year, can’t wait for the challenge.

-- Something that goes unnoticed will never be remembered.

Beautiful…hope she gets lots of water under her.

-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com

Nicest looking small dinghy/tender I have ever seen without doubt wait a minute no landscape in the photograph are you sure it’s not a 6” model in your bath lol just kidding well done could you make me one,I could swim across the pond and row it back.Alistair

-- excuse my typing as I have a form of parkinsons disease

Could you be a little more specific on the finishing of the boat. I am building a herreshoff 10’ pram and sail in long island sound. Should I use bottom paint on the bottom (lots of algae) or varnish the inside and out.
thanks, Sis

She is beautiful!!!!!

She should be in a calender…...............love it

-- http://www.furnituremann.ca/

What a pleasure it was to see this pop up on the Lumberjock’s Pulse pages. Truly a work of art when so many are turning to stitch and glue held together with epoxy.

I am close to finishing the roof over a new slab next to the garage. When that’s done I’ll start lofting one quite similar to this. Mine will be 18 1/2 ft lap strake of Alaskan yellow cedar over white oak frames with a white oak backbone. It will be a Rangeley with two rowing stations and an hourglass stern.

This photo makes me want to start now and forget the roof but there is an order for everything.

-- Tom Landon, Lakeland, Fl. When you're through learning, you're through.

What is the best way to finish the bottom of a cedar lapstrake, and should it be submerged for some time until ready for launch?
thanks, Sis