News - Page 3 of 7 - Black Rocks Rowing Club

Post published:17/04/2023

Turnover!

We’re well overdue for an update on our St Ayles Skiff build. The more perceptive observers will have noted that the hull of our skiff has been being built upside-down, which means that – at some point – it would need to be turned over. With the exterior of the hull now complete, we celebrated this milestone on the 18th March. We were joined by a number of friends and helpers from Burntisland Sailing Club and a number of local rowing clubs and, after releasing the boat from its build frame, succeeded in turning it over without damage. Whilst these boats are not especially heavy – a little over 150kg when complete – they are rather awkward to manoeuvre in the confined space of a workshop!

There is still much to do, of course, but a general tidy-up of the glue joints is nearing completion. Next, we’ll look to begin building the gunwales – a structural component that edges the uppermost planks – and the seats (also known as thwarts or ‘tafts’). Oar construction has already begun, thanks to the efforts of Frank from North Queensferry Rowing Club. And we continue to be grateful to Jim Day, a local boatbuilder whose advice and assistance continues to guide our build.

Although we continue to draw on all the experience that is available to us, this is principally an amateur undertaking and is open to everyone. As our St Ayles Skiff build continues to look increasingly boat-like, we hope to attract some new members so whether your interest is in boatbuilding, rowing, or even the social aspects of membership, please do get in touch! You can contact us here, or find out more about the sport of costal rowing at https://scottishcoastalrowing.org/

Article written by Finlay Robertson

Post published:19/12/2022

Whisky plank

It’s been rather a long time since we last posted a build update, but the workshop elves have been toiling away and making rapid progress with the planking which is now complete. Anyone visiting the build shed will be left in no doubt as to what we’re building – rather than a build frame and a pile of wood, Black Rocks is now most definitely in possession of the hull of a boat!

The last plank is sometimes called the ‘whisky plank’ in reference to the tradition of drinking a celebratory dram when it’s installed. And as evidenced by the accompanying picture – who are we to fly against centuries of tradition?!

The final steps required to complete the exterior of the hull involve fitting the outer stems (currently in the process of being whittled to shape) and the keel – after which we’ll be able to apply a coat of protective primer before turning the boat over to begin work on the insides.

We owe a significant debt of gratitude to Jim Day – a local boatbuilder who has been a great friend to the club and has been instrumental in guiding our build over the past few months. The increase in the pace of the build has largely been down to his ministrations!

In other news, we held our Annual General Meeting at Burntisland Sailing Club on Saturday 3rd December – the first AGM we’ve held in-person since 2019. There were no big surprises, and the draft minutes will be uploaded to the website in due course. We’re planning on holding some more social events in the new year; in the meantime, anyone is welcome to reach out to the build team and see how we’re getting on in the workshop!

Article written by Finlay Robertson

Post published:22/11/2022

Freshwater Sprints

Not having attended rowing events previously we decided to visit the Freshwater Sprints, held at Loch Tummel, in late October to see what was involved.

It was a clear autumn day with little wind – ideal.

We arrived mid-morning with a number of boats already on the water. There would be, possibly, around 100 people there. Fife was well represented from 8 different clubs. The event was based at the sailing club which offered all the refreshments we could possibly need. It was well organised with races timetabled every 20 minutes or so.

I am a novice rower so didn’t know quite what to expect. Unbeknown to me, I was firstly entered into the “Intermediate” race. I declared to my fellow rowers that I had very little rowing experience but nevertheless was allocated the stroke position.

For those who don’t know, that is the position facing the cox and the primary role is to set the pace and keep it steady. Well, not wanting to show myself up as unfit, I thought I’d head off strongly. Big mistake! After 100 metres or so, i could feel myself slowing up big time. We finished, I think, 3rd out of 5 boats. Pretty good considering. However the lesson learned was go off at a pace you can sustain – and perhaps a bit of practice beforehand!

I got myself involved in another two races that day but I’m afraid I did little to help my crewmates, coming last and 2nd last as I recall – but it’s the taking part they tell me.

It was a great day out and we met many new people. All were eager to help with advice. It’s clear there is a lot of interest in inter-club events. Maybe not every club member will want to take part in these events but for me, it was enjoyable and nice to meet other people.

So, here’s hoping that by next summer Black Rocks Rowing Club will be attending these events with our own boat.

Article written by Martin Birrell

Post published:28/08/2022

1st plank … and a BBQ!

One could be forgiven for thinking that things have been a bit quiet over the past few months, but the long-awaited end to Covid restrictions earlier this year have allowed us to accelerate the boat build which has been progressing steadily through the summer. We’ve now celebrated a significant milestone: the fitting of the first plank to the hull. As can be seen from the accompanying pictures, we had to use just about every clamp that was going spare (plus a few that weren’t!) – 55 in total!

A great deal of fairly tricky work was required to get us to this stage, with the hog and apron timbers needing some careful shaping to accept the inside surface of the first planks. We had a couple of false starts on this front, but the great thing about working with timber and epoxy is that just about any mistake can be repaired. This is a learning experience for us all!

Now we’re over this hump we’re anticipating that progress should be both quicker and more visible going forwards. The hull of a St Ayles Skiff is made up of 12 planks – 6 on each side – which have already been made up (as described in the previous article). Now that we’re ready to begin installing them, we should see the hull start coming together quite rapidly over the next few months. It’s a very exciting part of the build, because we’re finally at the stage of assembling something that will begin to look vaguely watertight!

To mark this milestone, the club met up for a celebratory summer barbecue on the afternoon of Saturday 13th August. The weather was extraordinarily kind to us on a day that bathed most of the Firth of Forth in a thick haar, and it was a fantastic opportunity to show our wider membership (along with friends and supporters) the state if our build.

Special thanks are due to Irene who, not being content with lending us a building space for the boat, also allowed us to invade her garden for the afternoon. It only seemed right that she should be the one to remove the symbolic first clamp.

By the time this article has been published, the second plank will already have been fitted; hopefully this gives some reassurance of the fact that the build really is ramping up. Plank gluing is an activity where extra hands really do come in handy, so if you’re interested in helping out then now’s a great time to get involved. This invitation is open to everyone – members, prospective members, friends, family, and the innately curious! Build sessions are usually on Tuesday and Thursday evenings but this does vary week-to-week; by far the easiest way to keep abreast of our plans is to ask Elisa, our Membership Secretary, to add you to the builders’ WhatsApp group. If that arrangement doesn’t suit you, feel free to tie in with any of our regular builders.

We hope to see you soon!

Article written by Finlay Robertson