Wooden Drascombes

The Building of Drascombe wooden boats

by John Elliott

A fallen tree drifting along gently with the tide was probably man's first means of transport and over the centuries traditional boat building has developed from this very humble beginning.

Once the ability to construct simple stone cutting implements had been discovered, it was not long before our ancestors realised that if they hollowed the trunk of the tree out, they could carry not only themselves, but their families in reasonable safety and comfort to new hunting grounds.

These dugout canoes, still in use in some very remote areas, were used to carry early man and his few belongings from place to place faster than any other form of transport.

As time went by, small riverside communities began to appear, and as civilisation developed it soon became necessary to be able to transport large loads over longer distances.

The dugout was too small and unstable for this extra work. So with the passing of time tools that could cut logs into planks enabled larger lighter boats to be constructed in a variety of designs capable of carrying many different loads.

The modern planked boats are direct descendants from these primitive craft, and the people who build them owe much of their knowledge to these early pioneers of the trade.

Traditionally, the early rowing and work boats were built using the clinker or lapstroke method of construction, which was considered to be stronger and easier to repair than the smooth hulled carvel type planking.

At first, locally grown timber was used but this was often not very durable, so as soon as imported durable hardwoods became available the boatbuilder quickly introduced them into his craft to good effect.

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Last updated: 2 November, 2008

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