Meet Peter Matheson, inspired by The Aegre to build the Stroma Yole, American Lady in Glasgow. See a video made by two of his volunteer helpers (link below) plus latest pics of progress on the boat and a page added to website about the cooker aboard The Aegre.
The boat being built in Glasgow nearing completion.
American Lady, the Stroma Yole being built on Clydebank in Glasgow by Peter Matheson, is nearing completion. Sadly she didn’t make it to the Portsoy Scottish Traditional Boat festival this year. But progress is good with a number of recent helpers. Most recently Peter commented, “That’s the wash strake done. A bit of tiding up and some paint and varnish work and then put her outside for the rigging.”
While Peter was inspired to build American Lady after reading The Voyage of The Aegre, American Lady is not a direct replica of The Aegre, but similar in many ways. Double ended, she has been built in a similar way, clinker planked, by eye, with sawn frames. She’s slightly longer, and beamier. She’s built more heavily too, in the way of a Stroma Yole, to carry heavier loads in the seas of the Pentland Firth.
Her deck arrangement is different too. The Aegre was fully decked with a curved whaleback from stem to stern, of 3/8 marine ply, with a 2 ft square cockpit aft and 2 ft square hatch immediately forward of it. American Lady has a laid deck, with a small cockpit aft for the helmsman, then a larger cockpit running forward to the mast, with wide side decks (see above). An engine will be fitted in the cockpit.
Forward of the mast Peter has built a small doghouse that will give sitting room below, and house a cooker, a berth or two, and a toilet.
The rig will be similar to that of The Aegre, a standing lug mainsail, inner staysail and jib on a bowsprit.
For more photos and explanation visit the website page that records the building of her here .
Now, meet Peter Matheson, in a short video made by two of his volunteer helpers, Murray Morrant and Emily Thorpe, available on YouTube here
Hot food and drinks aboard The Aegre?
Also new to The Aegre website is a page about the cooker we built and used on The Aegre. Back in 1973, being in the far north of Scotland, we were far from well stocked ships chandlers with shiny chrome-plated all gimballed yachting stoves. So we improvised and built our own. It was based on a single burner Primus and proved (near) indestructible. Hot food and drinks in the worst of weather. You can read all about it, and the pros and cons, here.
Now, have another look at that short video introducing Peter Matheson. It’s worth watching a few times. Here
Thank you for your interest.
Nick Grainger
