Collecting oak knees

[Josko Catipovic]

So I've been collecting white oak wood knees - any clean bend that more or less matched a Whitehall skiff rib or stem profile was bandsawed to 8/4 or so, waxed, and stuck up in the rafters. I got the idea from an old boatbuilder decades ago, but I don't see or hear of anyone else doing this kind of stuff. Have I been going on a fool's errand all these years, or are there people who build skiffs with natural-grown knees? Most of what I see these days is laminated ribs. Seems there's enough for a bunch of skiffs, and I'm wondering if it's actually worth building something with them.
Anybody else out there doing this?

[Scott Winners]

Whitehall's are, to me, the epitome of class and elegance in a boat under 30 feet long. Unfortunately my rotator cuffs are in Patagonia somewhere on sabbatical, have been for decades, and my 401k says I am not hiring a crew to row a Whitehall with me in the stern sheets in this lifetime.

I say go for it. Even if you don't build the thing (which you should) someone somewhere someday will build another Whitehall with found natural grown well seasoned white oak ribs, and the world will become a more beautiful place.

God bless you.

[Josko Catipovic]

Yeah, I think I'm heading that way, especially now I've not some nice cedar in storage, as well. Biggest problem is not knowing what to do with the boat after I build it.

[Jay Houghton]

Yeah, I think I'm heading that way, especially now I've not some nice cedar in storage, as well. Biggest problem is not knowing what to do with the boat after I build it.

You build it and I'll buy it from you!
When I lived in Connecticut many years ago (1982) I joined the Mystic Seaport Museum and bought a set of construction drawings for a Whitehall design by Herreshoff. I treasured those plans since they had all the offset tables and construction details. Alas, now that I'm ready, somewhere in the 10 moves since then they've been lost. I looked but don't see them available anywhere...totally bummed out.

It's probably one of the most beautiful shapes every conceived in a rowing boat.

Jay

[Josko Catipovic]

You can still get the full drawings/offsets for the 18' Whitehall from Mystic. It's also in John Gardner's book.