Outward Bound "Pulling Boats"

[w00dy]

Hey everybody

I've been working at an Outward Bound charter in Boston this summer, as a captain and boat carpenter (wood butcher ;) ). They run some sailing expeditions for students on some open boats that seem to be modified from a traditional whaleboat design. The courses simulate a lifeboat setting and the students must bring food, water, and supplies to last them through a 2 week course, non stop. They row and sail around the harbor islands, anchoring in different spots each night. They rarely disembark, except to jump in the water in the morning for a quick dip. With the exception of a boom tent as a rain shelter, they are extremely rugged and simple. They feature a head bucket, a compass, a lead line, and that's about it....

Here's an image gallery of the boats, their rig, and one of them I'm doing a restoration project on:

http://imgur.com/a/QN6k8

[Bubba the Pirate]

Very cool. Good work and grog to ya.

[Jim_ME]

Seeing the photos reminded me that I had read something about the Maine Hurricane Island Outward Bound having replaced their traditional 30-foot pulling boats with a new design due to "...increasing maintenance demands from the old boats, some requiring complete rebuilds..."

Here's an article...

Guess we'll have to come back and see how these new-and-improved boats are holding up after 50 or 60 years?

Thanks for the update and photos, Woody. It must be interesting work.

[ralay]

That was a really on point article.  Thanks!  Grog to ya.

[Jim_ME]

...a boom tent as a rain shelter, they are extremely rugged and simple. They feature a head bucket, a compass, a lead line, and that's about it....

There is something beautiful and alluring about that pure simplicity. It does seem like the older pulling boats (compared to the new/update design in the article below) have an authentic traditional character that embodies this simplicity and connects the experience to an earlier era, when this was the norm. When I see the modern updated boats, I suspect that they might have an Engel cooler hidden under the foredeck so that roughing it and suffering does not extend so far as a barbaric deprivation of cold beer.  :D

I also recall how many years ago, when movies were black & white, Captain Bligh and the loyal part of his crew were mutinied into a similar type of boat (by Marlon Brando making him an offer he couldn't refuse...or was it Mel Gibson?), and made a voyage of thousands of miles before finally reaching land...somewhere in the Bahamas...?

Anyway, I've been wondering what became of the older boats that were here in Maine? Could the boat you are restoring be one of them...? In searching for information I did find this article Maine's Outward Bound school celebrates 50 years of adventure which has some older photos, as well as some more recent ones...

It is good to see one of those wonderful original boats being restored to keep the tradition alive... Another grog to you and one back to R. :)

     

[ralay]

Yeah, I have mixed feelings about them.  Mostly a mix of "glad I'm not stuck on that" but also curiosity and interest.  I'd like a chance to go sailing on one or use it to explore an area with a group of friends.  I don't think I'd want to be confined to one for two weeks in the name of building character.  But then, despite living among all these folks who are working with youth, I spend no time with the kids.  I hear a lot about the deprivation, but I don't ever hear from the kids about the positive things they are or aren't getting out of it. 

[Owly055]

Yeah, I have mixed feelings about them.  Mostly a mix of "glad I'm not stuck on that" but also curiosity and interest.  I'd like a chance to go sailing on one or use it to explore an area with a group of friends.  I don't think I'd want to be confined to one for two weeks in the name of building character.  But then, despite living among all these folks who are working with youth, I spend no time with the kids.  I hear a lot about the deprivation, but I don't ever hear from the kids about the positive things they are or aren't getting out of it.

     The positive aspects are often not immediately apparent, but grow on you over time.   I had many adventures growing up, some of them difficult and with unpleasant aspects, and they were all learning experiences, and confidence building.   My folks and parent's friends often dropped us (myself and a few friends), and picked us up 5 to 10 days later 50 to 100 miles away, or dropped us on a river bank somewhere with my canoe (one I built from wood, canvas, and fiberglass, or a later cedar strip boat I built), and a number of days later after adventures in one of the rivers, portages, even a trip through the locks once, we'd land and go looking for phone to call for a pick up.   I also bicycled literally hundreds of miles, made friends along the way, camped out or stayed with new found friends.  The coast was 80 miles away, and one of my favorite destinations, and I finangled my way into going out with crabbers and fishermen, etc.   I also hitchiked countless miles, particularly in winter, when the mountains were not really accessible.   I loved the high desert of Eastern Oregon, and people out there were friendly and open with this stray teenager, and I stayed with many ranch families on the spur of the moment, helping with sheep and cattle, etc.   
     It was a different era, a time when people were more open and friendly, and looked out for one another more than they seem to today, and my parents were exceptional in their confidence in my self reliance and judgment...... they knew I could and would take care of myself and find my way home.   Things and attitudes were beginning to change even back then, and my younger brother (4 years), had nowhere near the liberty I did, or the confidence and self reliance and ability to get by in any situation.   I treasure those years and the experiences I had....... which are stories to tell today of a life most young people can't even imagine.    They tend to regard my parents as irresponsible..........they in fact were anything but.   Well educated professional middle class parents who took the job of raising a somewhat rebellious teen very seriously, and understood that I needed lots of "rope".     I remember on one pack trip with my best friend an two other boys who hadn't near the experience we had....... 110 miles in the Cascades.  It rained most of the time, and the two other teens had not anticipated how much food you need in the mountains, and were starving.  Within a few days we were foraging to keep them going.   No hunting or fishing equipment, we managed anyway to catch fish with what we had, and kill a few grouse, stumbled on a shallow lake with crawfish aplenty, and he and I knew all the edible plants and how to use them......... The two boys were a bit squeamish about food, so we filled out their needs from our packaged food, and ate a lot of wild food ourselves.  One boy started losing the sole from one of his hiking boots, and my friend and I concocted a glue using camphophonique which my friend carried and is mostly alcohol, and located some balsam fir for the pitch.  The alcohol was the thinner and the pitch was the glue, and some nails from a remote fire tower that had been burned were driven through the welt to secure it.    He and I had a great time..... rain, hardship, and all, we were irrepressible when in the mountains and had a good time no matter what happened.   The other two were miserable, and groused the whole time, not being able to understand the joy we found in the adventure and challenge.   Everybody is different, but I've always managed to choose my friends well.   For us hardship equalled challenge and adventure.

                                                                                    H.W.

[CharlieJ]

LOL-- you obviously don't know Ralay well :) She's biked all over the country. owns and operates a Pedicab (along with W00dyn on his) and is living aboard in Boston harbor with W00dy on their 32 footer (their third boat together). She runs a bicycle Produce delivery business around Boston

They are two VERY adventuresome people

[CharlieJ]

Oh. And i am jealous of what they. Have done and are doing at their ages :) :)

[w00dy]

Thanks for the compliments, all, the excellent article, Jim, and the vote of confidence, C.J.

Owly, I enjoyed reading about your back country adventures. I certainly have spent my fair share of time rambling around and roughing it over the years, but even I'm impressed by the level of self sufficiency your generation displayed at such a young age. Nowadays, wildcraft and wood lore seems to be getting replaced by pop culture and pokemon.

I do count myself lucky to have grown up in a place where there were still woods and wild places left to get lost in. Also, I had support and encouragement in the form of older role models (family and community) to impart knowledge and wisdom. I had many opportunities to get indoctrinated into the outdoor world, including camping, hiking, fishing, sailing, etc.

Now, I work for an organization that helps give youth those same opportunities, many of whom would otherwise have few or no chances to enjoy the same activities that I took for granted growing up. Feels good. I'm sure that the program is not a perfect fit for everyone that signs up, but I feel that these kinds of programs are generally a good thing and have positive impacts on many, if not most of the participants.

[ralay]

HW:  It sounds like your youthful adventures were ones in which you were given a lot of freedom and autonomy.  I enjoy doing all the things you've mentioned (hitch hiking, boating, bike touring, etc.).  As I said, I think I'd enjoy having a pulling boat to take a trip on independently.  I don't think I'd like to sign up for a program where everything was structured and regimented.  Where I'd sail from interesting new place to interesting new place and be told I wasn't allowed to leave the boat to go ashore and explore.  Not my thing.  But different strokes for different folks.

I'm also a little skeptical that you can develop people's character by forcing them to take cold salt water baths or using a P-38 can opener is a whole other discussion.  But, like Woody, I grew up far out in the country.  It's easy to forget that just being able to get off the concrete and onto the dirt is probably a real treat for a lot of these kids. 

[w00dy]

BTW jim, the pulling boats I am working on were custom built for this org. They may have been based on the same design though. Supossedly the molds are still sitting up in rockland me, where they were built.

[Owly055]

HW:  It sounds like your youthful adventures were ones in which you were given a lot of freedom and autonomy.  I enjoy doing all the things you've mentioned (hitch hiking, boating, bike touring, etc.).  As I said, I think I'd enjoy having a pulling boat to take a trip on independently.  I don't think I'd like to sign up for a program where everything was structured and regimented.  Where I'd sail from interesting new place to interesting new place and be told I wasn't allowed to leave the boat to go ashore and explore.  Not my thing.  But different strokes for different folks.

I'm also a little skeptical that you can develop people's character by forcing them to take cold salt water baths or using a P-38 can opener is a whole other discussion.  But, like Woody, I grew up far out in the country.  It's easy to forget that just being able to get off the concrete and onto the dirt is probably a real treat for a lot of these kids.

      I think different people have different needs, and character has different aspects.    I've been justifiably accused of being too independent, not responding well to authority, or working well in a group environment...... Though none of these things has ever been of any real consequence.   Some people respond extremely well to the boot camp type environment and thrive and grow in the military or similar organizations.  I do not and never have.   I find those situations stifling and frustrating and instinctively resist and rebel, going into "passive aggressive" mode if none other form is available.   I was fortunate to miss the draft by about a year...... it wouldn't have been pretty!!  I would not have submitted, choosing one course or another, I would never have been gotten into uniform, and definitely not in Vietnam.   I knew that much long before I reached draft age........ and I make no apology to anybody for it.

                                                      H.W.

[Jim_ME]

BTW jim, the pulling boats I am working on were custom built for this org. They may have been based on the same design though. Supossedly the molds are still sitting up in rockland me, where they were built.

In searching for more information on the original boats I did find more on the new ones...

This page by the designer, which includes a discussion of features, a sailplan/profile, and layout plan/sections drawings.

And another page by the builder, with more discussion of the boat's features...

The original boats are also praised..."The Pulling Boats designed by Cyrus Hamlin for Outward Bound in the early 1960s have proven to be seaworthy, handsome and loved by all that sail them."

Reading these discussions gave me a better appreciation for the goals of the updated design. However, as with most compromises and "progress", something can also be lost. The wood features that can become maintenance issues and the traditional hull form are also what gives the old boats their salty character. I'm still as glad that the original boats are being restored and maintained for continued service.  :)

[Owly055]

     These boats are surprisingly large........... though with a crew of 12 they would need to be, I was imagining them in comparison to the James  Caird in which Shackelton and 5 other men made their way from Elephant Island to South Georgia battling the famous 60' rollers of the furious 50's and encountering one 90' wave and surviving.  Going to sea in an open boat of this size with this many people, one couldn't help but compare the adventure to those of Shackelton, Bligh, and Slocum's return from South America....... and who knows how many others.   It's not difficult to imagine a small crew setting out on a circumnavigation in one of these...

                                                                                             H.W.

[w00dy]

The boats that I have in my care are actually pretty good designs in regards to maintenance. The seats are all thick teak planks, and have generally held up well over the years. The thwarts and rails are white oak, which adds strength and stiffness to the rail. The spars are mixture of spruce and pine. The hull is solid glass and bulkheads are glass covered 3/4" marine ply. Oars are ash and solid wood.

Since the boats on this island only go out for the summer, maintenance consists of one or two fresh coats of paint and an application of bottom paint under the water line. The wood gets a wash and scrub, then lightly sanded, then several coats of a 50/50 mixture of teak oil and penetrol. It's ridiculously easy to apply and doesn't require sanding in between coats. If you're careful in your application, it doesn't even require a rag wipe down afterward. Most of the hardware is galvanized and instead of rigging screws the stays are hauled down and lashed with nylon. Supposedly they were designed to be freestanding rigs, but at the request of the coast guard, stays were added.

The boats are meant to get used and abused, so we don't put too much effort into making them cosmetically beautiful, but a well painted and oiled boat is better protected from the ravages of the elements. For 35 year old boats sailed by groups of novice youth, I think they've aged pretty well ;)