The Acorn is a Whitehall Skiff design by Iain Oughtred, who has many Acorn designs to make things complicated. The 12 foot clinker version is the design that has been chosen and is a scaled down version of the boat depicted above. It is a very easily rowed and graceful boat which can be easily sailed. This particular boat will be built as a plywood lapstrake clinker boat in order to keep costs (and weight) down.

Building this boat will be our first course as part of our ongoing mission to promote boat building and boating skills, especially those to do with traditional boats. We hope to be offering many  more courses as part of our mission.

The course started on Monday January 15 and will continue for 15 weeks. 5 people commenced the course, people with very diverse backgrounds and boatbuilding experience.

They will be working under the direction of Peter Laidlaw, a graduate of the Wooden Boat School and an expereinced and dedicated traditional wooden boat builder.

The first day resulted in the stem being laminated, the plans lofted onto chipboard and the plywood sheets scarfed to a length that will allow easy planking. It was a very productive day and heralded many enjoyable and productive sessions on Mondays at the LBT shed.

Click here to see what the designer has to say about this boat.