The Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding
Sliver is 62 feet long and 55 feet 4 inches long at the design waterline. She is 9 feet 10 inches wide and will have a 10 foot draft when finished.By Glenn Kohaly
The Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, located in Port Hadlock on the Olympic Peninsula, has been given a tremendous opportunity to build a one of a kind day-sailor aptly named Sliver. She has been designed by world renowned boat designer Bob Perry.
Sliver is 62 feet long and 55 feet 4 inches long at the design waterline. She is 9 feet 10 inches wide and will have a 10 foot draft when finished. The boat will carry 976 square feet of sails, and will be tiller steered. She is designed to have a basic suite of accommodations, and will be driven in calms by a 39 hp Yanmar diesel.
Turn Point Design, a Port Townsend CNC fabrication shop owned by Brandon Davis, cut the molds for the hull and deck. The hull was strip-planked with red cedar, edge-nailed with composite nails and glued with WEST System epoxy, under instructor Bruce Blatchley’s leadership. This all took place in the Boat School’s Contemporary (composite) boatbuilding shop.
Other members of the design/build team include Russell Brown, lamination and construction consultant; Jim Franken, CAD and construction consultant; and Tim Nolan, engineering consultant. All are based out of Port Townsend
Although not finished yet, the outside portion of the hull has been faired by hand, with long boards and WEST System epoxy and fillers. She is being sheathed in 30-ounce
tri-axial fiberglass cloth that is bonded to the hull with WEST System epoxy. The hull will be turned by the end of November and the crew will work to finish the hull by January.
At that time, the class of 2011/2012 begins work on the deck. The deck will be built separately of 18-ounce bi-axial cloth laminated over the deck's foam core. The class will also sheath and fair the inside of the hull and install the bulkheads and structure. They hope to have her together (deck on hull) by fall 2013.
The boat is being designed for the pure joy of sailing, with simplicity and elegance as her benchmarks. Although not nearly finished, she is creating quite a stir on sailing related blogs. You can follow her progress, and the rest of the boats being built at the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, on their Flickr account, easily accessed on their website at www.nwboatschool.org.
The Boat School’s goal, along with the owner and rest of the team building and designing her, is that you will see her sailing the greater Puget Sound and inside passage no later than winter 2013.
Founded in 1981 and celebrating its 30th year, the Boat School’s mission is to teach and preserve the skills and crafts associated with fine wooden boatbuilding and other maritime arts, with an emphasis on the development of the individual as a craftsperson. For more information on the school, visit their website at www.nwboatschool.org or call 360-385-4948.