Good news for those sailors who want to build the popular El Toro Sailboat.  We are putting together two El Toro boat building classes scheduled for February and March.  Plus, ACMC will host a Saturday lunch & talk on the history, building, etc., of this popular little boat.  The lunch & talk is free.

So, here is exactly what we are working on right now:

Saturday, February 18th - Introducing the El Toro Sailboat.  FREE lunch, talk etc...
Monday, February 27th -  Building The El Toro Sailboat Together...
Monday, March 19th -   Build Your Own El Toro Sailboat...

Obviously, the Saturday lunch & talk is to promote the El Toro.   The history of this little boat is interesting.  The El Toro was first built by local boat builders Don & Fred Smith in their shop on Samish Island.   It was based on the MacGregor Sabot plans which appeared in the Rudder Magazine in 1939.  Initially, it was intended as a tender,  racer, and a simple sailing pram to teach sailing to children and parents alike.  Along the way, it has become a recognized class of over 11,000 one-design yachts.

The second class (beginning Monday, February 27th 2012) is for those folks who may someday wish to build an El Toro or improve their basic boat building skills.  Note, Donn Wilson told me recently he built his first El Toro in his house using only hand tools.  Anyway, building the El Toro togethe promises to be a whole lot of fun.

If you wish to build an El Toro yourself, here is your opportunity.   We will share experience,  building supplies, building templates, and jig;  you provide the plywood, lumber, and of course, the labor .  Essentially, you will build your very own El Toro -- this is a very affordable way to build the El Toro!

See now you have it.  It's a great opportunity.  And, the price is right.  If you are interested in these classes, please contact us through the e-mail.  If possible, we would like to begin enrolling participants ASAP.

Pete Culler once wrote:  However you built it, a proper lofting job is essential.  I know of nothing better to get a craft off to a good start, be she a skiff or a sawn-frame vessel.   Pete is not alone in his appreciation of the lofting process.  In fact, the popular boatwright Greg Rossel agrees with him.

Last week, Vernon Lauridsen did an excellent job in making sense of this now ancient  science.  The class was full...twenty students.  Most of the people who attended his two-day session were experienced.   For some old timers, Vernon confirmed the basic principle underlying the lofting process; for the new people,  he carefully explained why lofting & the taking of lines is essential to boat building.  He walked them through the process, taking the time to demonstrate each step, beginning with the table of offsets and how the offset points come together in the profile, half breath, and body boat plans.

This is not an easy task.  Lofting is a boat building skill that allows the builder to take a three dimensional object and place it on a two dimensional surface...like paper.  It's especially important to building a round bottom boat.  From the lofting table comes not only the station molds but also the shape of the transom,  the layout of the rabbit line, and the pattern of the stems.  This is only the beginning.   I think the real treat in the class came when Vernon used a knife to slice a simple household potato to demonstrate how the profile & buttock lines and the half breath & water lines are illustrated in the boat plans.

Finally, Vernon teamed with Jerry Schutzler on the last night to tie together the lofting process and how it is essential to building a half model or full model.  Jerry has built several models including the 7 ft., Bluenose a Nova Scotia cod schooner.   He also built the Wawona half model which is on display at the Maritime Hertiage Museum in Anacortes.  For those students who would like to learn how to build a boat model, this part of the class was a real learning experience.  Perhaps, our next lofting class can explore the whole subject of making models to scale!

To  quote Greg Rossel:  Give lofting a try.  It won't change the world as we know it, but you might just end up looking at boat building in a whole new light.