iain oughtred

1 min read 2021-07-26 18:54:00

Mid Season with Mariota

This Summer has been good for getting to know the Mariota and discovering the extent to which age has diminished my ability to move about the deck on

1 min read 2021-05-03 22:15:00

As my seventieth birthday approached I finally parted from Stroma, designed by Alfred Mylne and built by McGruers on the Clyde in 1929. We had

2 min read 2020-04-30 22:56:00

My original intention in providing the Mariota with auxiliary power was to build a conventional outboard well at the aft end of the cockpit and use a

3 min read 2019-10-22 22:20:00

I'm pleased with my first season with Mariota, although we've only been out a few times due to it's having been a fairly dreadful summer here. Above

8 min read 2019-06-28 18:15:00

Mariota afloat at lastI've not been posting on here for a while, as the last few months (years) have been consumed by building the Mariota, which is

1 min read 2018-03-13 16:19:00

That's the mast basically finished. It's now stored in the Great Hut with the plastic bag to stop people poking their eyes out on it, not ideal but

1 min read 2018-02-22 03:51:00

This is a brief report on four days in the workshop. There's a lot of work involved in planing down a spar, but it doesn't take long to write about

1 min read 2018-02-18 15:51:00

One of the great delights in my boatbuilding activities is visiting my ancient friend in his Dragon's Workshop half way up a mountain a few miles

1 min read 2018-01-20 18:48:00

Imagine sporting events taking place with hundreds of participants, thousands of spectators, police and ambulance people about but no arrests and no

1 min read 2017-05-15 13:52:00

This week it became impossible to put off turning the hull any longer. The outside had three coats of epoxy, nicely sanded down to give a key for

1 min read 2017-04-13 15:41:00

I have a couple of confessions to make and don't know which of my sins is worse.In the West coast of Scotland, where I sail, there's a great deal of

1 min read 2017-01-12 16:43:00

Of course I know perfectly well that when the hull is planked up you're only a fraction of the way along the voyage to the completed boat, but it's

1 min read 2016-12-23 18:47:00

Moorings in the loch, waiting for boatsIt's great to be back doing something creative after three years working in the shadow of other highly

1 min read 2016-11-22 15:47:00

It's a great delight being able to build a boat by the sea and especially nice in Argyll, where the weather is better than anywhere else.Building any

1 min read 2016-08-18 16:34:00

Inner stems madeAfter a couple of years of thinking about it a decision about the next boat has been made and she’s going to be a Kotik, the