The 4th Annual Newfound Rendezvous

February-March 2001

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
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by Michael Vermouth

The lineup on the beach was impressive.

It took a year’s planning and many man/woman hours but we were finally able to enjoy another great gathering of wood strip/epoxy boat builders at Geneva Point Conference Center on Lake Winnipesaukee, Moultonboro, New Hampshire in September.

Attendees came from surrounding states and locally. This was a first for many, but there is a large group that has attended all three Rendezvous, a sort of cult following—people who will spend all of their free time between now and next year building the ‘perfect boat’ (surfers will relate with their quest for the ‘perfect wave’).

Someone invited Hurricane Floyd to last year’s Rendezvous so, as we got closer to the date, I feared a repeat and couldn’t even watch the weather predictions. As it turned out, we got drenched with rain for a few hours on Friday but late in the day the sky cleared. If you don’t like the weather in New England, just wait a while—it will change. And it did.

We started the Rendezvous four years ago when Nick Schade suggested we give our customers and anyone who had built a stripper a place (a reason?) to gather and show each other what they had accomplished. At that time many people had built beautiful boats on their own in basements and garages, not really sure if there might be others out there suffering from this same addiction. I became addicted when I picked up Canoecraft in 1987 and saw the beautiful, functional cedar strip/epoxy canoes.

It wasn’t just that these boats were made from wood for I had been exposed to wooden boats before when I rebuilt the transom of a Chris Craft and re-varnished the whole boat in my woodworking business. After seeing the rot and deterioration from years of neglect I was determined that I wasn’t going to get involved with wooden boats!

But this epoxy/fiberglass coating thing was something else, sealing the wood and giving it strength, and four coats of varnish giving the wood character and depth you could only dream about. You also had thin strips that could be arranged in designs using different wood species! And taking this one more step, these strips were all put together in slick curves in a boat that was functional. For someone who was used to creating windows, doors, and cabinets from wood, this was something that had to be explored.

OK, so back to this year’s Rendezvous. The designers were there: Jay Babina (Outer Island), Nick Schade (Guillemot Kayaks), Rob Macks (Laughing Loon), Jim Luton (Islander Design), Peter Hunt (Little Dubber), and Eric Schade (Shearwater Boats). These are all people with a love of boating and building, who go one step further by creating their own designs that will perform to high expectations. They also provide their designs for others to build, and offer assistance by phone and e-mail to keep builders on the right track.

Demonstrations of canoe and kayaks were conducted by Jim Luton (canoe sailing), Jay Babina (Greenland paddling techniques/rolling), Caleb Davis (traditional solo canoe paddling in a tandem canoe), Harry Weidman (basic and intermediate kayak instruction).

Flames engulf bow of a wooden ‘hot rod’.

Many of the attendees discovered new boat building techniques by watching Mike Brooker stripping a Wee Lassie, Eric Schade stripping a Hybrid kayak, Rob Macks stripping a canoe by his staple-less construction method, Nick Schade showing creative stripping methods, Lenny Lipton showing his method of making secure kayak deck fasteners, and me demonstrating fairing techniques. Other related woodworking topics were explained by Bill Allen (split ash pack baskets) and Ray Wisner (marquetry). Dr. Donald Campbell gave a talk on muscle use in canoe and kayaking, Peter Hunt explained GPS use, and Mary Anne McFarland explored new methods of using epoxy.

This is the first year that we hosted a “Designers’ Forum”. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it turned out to be an interesting discussion among the designers. When we came up with this idea I was afraid I might have to step in to break up serious disagreements, but not so. Of course, each designer prefers his designs because he feels they perform to his expectations, but this turned out to be a very civilized discussion of design parameters and wood/epoxy/fiberglass hull strength issues.

Another couple of ‘firsts’ should be mentioned here. Late Saturday afternoon we held the first ‘Paddle-By’ where we gave out numbers and people paddled their boats by the crowd on the beach as the announcer called out the name of the paddler, the designer, the builder, etc. I have to say that shivers went down my spine as I looked up from assigning numbers to see more than thirty-five beautiful boats all milling about at once. I know I wasn’t the only one, because the crowd on the beach became really quiet. I’ll bet others were also thinking, “Wow, look what we’ve done.”

The other item in the area of ‘firsts’ was in the unique design and accomplishment categories. Generally we don’t have any kind of beauty contest here because that’s not what it’s about. Some builders are content to get through the building process to have something that is functional and others are in the works-of-art category. Two builders broke new ground this year: Kent LeBoutillier built a kayak with his son that was decorated in flames reminiscent of those 50’s hot rods. The flames were made from real wood strips with fine workmanship. Tony Hill’s kayak had a high gloss black painted hull with alternating mahogany and butternut strips on the deck. This is unique because prior to this many strip builders would have chopped off their left hand before they would think to paint a stripper. In this case, Tony showed us all how judicious use of paint actually enhances the appearance of a stripper!

This year’s event was the best yet. Why? Because it wasn’t just a gathering where the beautiful boats are all lined up to be admired—although there were over 125 boats on Saturday afternoon. These boats were also used and paddle-tested. The designers and Newfound Woodworks had a huge variety of different canoes, kayaks and rowing boats available for those who wanted to test performance. This is the only place on the East Coast where this many wood strip designs are in attendance at once. (On the west coast, Joe Greenley of Redfish Kayaks hosts the West Coast Rendezvous in late August. Contact: 208-344-7116, www.redfishkayak.com.)

Not only were there demonstrations, but also a free flow of information regarding construction techniques. The flow went both ways, from demonstrators to attendees and back. I find that every time I teach someone how to build, I come away smarter because they seem to come up with new angles for a lot of our ‘tried and true’ methods.

There seem to be two major types of people who get involved in wooden boats: the boat ‘users’ and the ‘builders’. The ‘users’ are avid small boat enthusiasts who get into building hoping to end up with a more uniquely designed, quality boat. The ‘builders’ are people who have maybe used a canoe or kayak before, but are smitten with the beauty and functionality of the wood strip/epoxy package. Somewhere in the process the users become builders and the builders learn to use and enjoy their works of art.

So be careful: there is a movement rumbling around out there. It isn’t ‘backyard’ boatbuilding anymore—it’s custom boatbuilding. It involves wood, sawdust, shavings, epoxy, fiberglass, and the intoxicating smell of cedar, and is very addictive. Small boat building is alive and well, and it’s growing rapidly. It grows every time we take our boats to the water and the uninitiated see them for the first time. Once they try one, they’re hooked. They have to go home and clean out the garage or basement to make room. Those may be the last household chores that get done for quite a while. Instead, the important thing will be getting the hull stripped or applying the next coat of epoxy. Next September maybe you’ll show up at the Rendezvous with your functional work of art!

I would like to thank the employees of the Newfound Woodworks, their spouses, and the many, many volunteers who donated their time and energy to assisting with this event. It wouldn’t have happened without their assistance and encouragement.

Michael Vermouth can be reached at Newfound Woodworks, Inc. in Bristol New Hampshire at 603-744-6872. Email: info@newfound.com Web:www.newfound.com