Well things are nearing the end,  the end of construction any way, the lads put on the last coat of varnish today. The sails have been ordered and launch should be early next month.

We had an interesting meeting with F.R.C. and I now understand a little more of how the system works or at least where the funding comes from, I have to admit to being a little skeptical of the set up at first. Could it really be financially viable to supply a workshop, materials and a support system for the long  term unemployed?
Well at present the rent for the Yard and shed is apparently less than the legal contract for it, there are at present roughly 15 men using the facilities, a group of teenagers are moving in in the next two weeks for a project of theirs and there are numerous projects in the pipe line. Training for teaching sailing amongst others.
The shed has already become so popular that it now has to be booked months in advance and is open to other local projects, the men involved with the boat building have learnt and are still learning new skills the next generation are gradually becoming involved and a piece of Wexford ; the Cot has a had a shot in the arm, from five boats racing last summer to a possible 14 next year. ( according to Mr. Nolan ) 

Talking to the men at the shed I sense some competition between boats and they are not even launched yet, apart from some friendly slagging I see a community, which will organize into some great race days- family days.  A growing sense of community, something, I feel is missing in our closed, insular society. what I see as a cause for a lot of anti social behaviour, a lack of belonging.

O.k. so the F.R.C. is not going to be a miracle cure for unemployment or anti social behaviour but Without knowing the area or the people who live here I can see the results in a few weeks with the enthusiasm and pride these men have built another better sailing boat for the use of the community.
For the cost of a shed, something to build with, a bargain.

Well it's been a while and wow the lads have been working hard. There has been some pressure from another group from the resource Center wanting to get in to the shed to start their project but nothing serious. The lads have been lucky enough to find some work for a few days since the painting of the Kingfisher so work has come to a bit of a stand still for the moment. One of the lads turned up to open the shed for us to have a look at the colours which are to contrast with all the white and grey boats to be found around the harbour. The mast (which can be seen hanging at the back of the shed) has been made from 4 pieces simply lapped and glued together.

I had a few minutes this morning before the shed opened and took a look at the slipway, the area is interesting in as much as the houses are ordinary three bedroom semis, what struck me is the number of boats in driveways. Talking to some older locals while there, I was interested to find out that the area is still used to farm oysters, all be it on a small scale. Mussels were also dredged from this slipway in the past but competition from the bigger boats has wiped out that source of income. I would be interested in a little more research on this additional source of income on a local scale.

While working on the boat, yep the guys trust me now to fit the copper rivets to hold the planks together, quite a fiddly job tapping down the nails over the washer.

Any way  I got to thinking about what I would be doing if I hadn't had the luck to be on this course, the only qualifications I have are in construction, what would I be doing? The guys building the boat are obviously motivated they put in regular hours, work hard and well together, I think they are mostly in the building game and with the way the economy is going construction work is very limited. The shed offers  a social space as well as keeping a hand in the practical manual work. The attitude seems to be if the work is there they would drop the boat building,


The idea for the two Mirror dinghies built last year was that a few locals would be trained through the Family resource centre to teach sailing to the younger generation. A great idea, the continuation of traditional skills, some responsibility for the maintenance of the boats etc.  One of the problems here is the cost of training instructors, one of the guys is going ahead for this training which will start with water safety and first aid then power boat handling, navigation etc. all of which takes a good deal of commitment both from the individual and the financial backing.
The finance for the shed and the boat building materials I understand comes from several different government departments, some of who's budgets will no doubt be cut.



The family resource centre offers this group of men a chance not only to keep busy, a social space but it offers a position in the community with a chance to improve the opportunities not only for themselves but other groups, the youth of the area for one.


I cant help but wonder if there is the opportunity for a cottage industry here, could there be a demand for this type of hand built traditional wooden boat, how many people could this support, is there the interest in setting it up, where would the finance come from to so?

Ah the future.....

Things are flying along in the South End boat shed, the boat is really taking shape the bottom planks, the first to be fitted are the most complicated to fit. Each plank must twist in two directions at once and I suppose obviously be cut in a curve. Never having thought about this before I always assumed that the planking on a boat of this size were straight, the reality is they take a lot of careful marking out and offering up ( put into position temporarily) to mark out and then to sand down to fit as perfectly as possible. I am quite interested in the history of the design and other regional designs to fit local functions, the Wexford Sailing cot seems to be primarily to race and as a bonus fit the functions of hunting and fishing. Racing apparently used to be important to Wexford, not just in the yacht club but the people that earned a living from the boats. Just a quick Google brought up the 2006 Audit of Maritime collections by the Heritage Council very interesting When I have the time to study it more closely.The recommendations for more regional museums, the Wexford collections seem limited to private collections and the heritage park which is a shame since it is positioned at the mouth of the river.
Articles include;
6. Records of Boats and artifact collections.

 7. The actual Audit.

Second visit to the South end Boat builders

Well a second visit to the Lads from the Family resource Centre saw us helping to lay out the bottom of their next Wexford sailing Cot, well we helped by holding a baton in a curve around specifically positioned nails to achieve the right line. There were three men there and they each knew their job working as a team,very welcoming and informative answering our repeated questions with enthusiasm.

 The Idea is that the college has Funded the materials for this boat and will follow the construction through a group of Art students and by a group of Architectural students who are scanning in a previously built version into a CAD computer program. I personally had not heard of the Family resource center before starting this project and am learning a little bit about it and what it can offer the community, certainly the men involved in the boat building are getting not only practical skills but social interaction, not only with their local community but in the larger Wexford community. This particular Southend project is attracting attention from the Enniscorthy Family resource center who visited while we were there to see about the possibility of starting their own boat construction. I wonder if the Enniscorthy boats would be the salmon fishing boats, the rowing cot? And here is a nice site to visit and find out a little more about the types of boats from the South East;http://inshore-ireland.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=303&Itemid=143 

 

In just a morning the men had fitted all five pairs of "knees" to the bottom boards and given the boat its "kick" the curve the bottom of the boat  takes.It really is quite impressive to watch it taking shape so quickly.Apparently it is a tricky job getting the first planks on as they curve in two direction around the knees, I am looking forward to my next visit.

South end boats

Had a cup of tea with the lads from South end boats and I have to say I was very impressed with what they have achieved with the facilities they have and surprised to learn they use hand tools. I think its five boats to date, all built in the open air, so its nice to see they now have a shed to work in. They are rightly proud of the workmanship and  I enjoyed discussing their next project and improvements both to the design and the materials they hope to use. I am looking forward to working with these men and learning some of their skills and hopefully sailing with them in spring.

Southend boats

Well here

After having seen Noelle's Blog I found a short article about South end boats in the Wexford Echo from June 19 2010   www.wexfordecho.ie/news/story/?trs=mhgbeyauid&caf=news

So the group have built Mirror dinghies and Cots never heard of those before so I looked into the Cot species of boat and found there are loads of variants around the place depending on the type of waterways in the region and their purpose, having paddled the Slaney from the mouth of Wexford Harbour to Enniscorthy I have seen lots of derelict Cots on the banks and in the reeds and cant help wonder at the waste....   So the Mirror Dinghy named after the newspaper a working class boat is how it is described designed by a Television  D.I.Y. expert in 1962!  Barry Bucknell and Jack Holt, relatively cheap and supposedly easy to build at home. 

  D.I.Y Tv in the 60s! got to google that.

Any way check out this link and I will be back later.

 irishwaterwayshistory.com/.../traditional-boats-and-replicas/