Member Project: Building John Welsford's `Long Steps`

On a crisp winter Saturday a group of TBSA members made the pilgrimage to Ron Parker’s home workshop to see how his retirement project is coming along. The project is Long Steps — a 5.85-metre rowing and sailing cruiser designed by New Zealand naval architect John Welsford, and the hull that greeted us was, frankly, stunning.

The Boat

Long Steps is a design that asks a lot of its builder and rewards it handsomely. Welsford drew it for the kind of sailor who wants to row when there’s no wind, sail fast when there is, and sleep aboard while exploring remote coastlines — all from a vessel narrow enough to pull on oars without embarrassment. At nearly six metres she carries ample storage under her decks, takes a lugsail and mizzen yawl rig, and is shaped to hold a course without the skipper’s hand constantly on the tiller. It is, in short, a serious boat that happens to be buildable in a home workshop.

For Ron, who has spent a lifetime on the water and now has the time to do things properly, it’s a perfect fit.

In the Workshop

Walking into Ron’s workshop you’re met by two things simultaneously: the sweet smell of freshly worked timber and the gentle tick and glow of the wood heater tucked into the corner. A good cast-iron stove with offcuts of boat timber stacked alongside it and an axe leaning against the brick wall — it sets the tone. This is a place where things are made carefully, and where there’s no hurry.

The hull sits on a low jig in the centre of the floor. She’s right-way-up, and the laminated frames and planking have already given her the unmistakable look of a real boat. The timber is gorgeous — warm honey tones, grain running fair along the curves — and it’s clear that Ron has been working to a high standard. Several members immediately stepped in for a closer look, running hands along the sheerstrake and crouching to peer at the centreboard case assembly.

That transom rudder and the centreboard design generated a lively discussion. The Long Steps design uses an offset centreboard arrangement — borrowed from John Welsford’s earlier SCAMP design — and fitting it square and true is one of those details that looks simple on the plans and less simple in practice. Ron had the white-painted board itself on hand, and members took turns holding it up to the case opening, debating the geometry, suggesting approaches, recounting stories of similar problems on their own builds. Nobody was in a hurry to reach a conclusion. The plans — Welsford’s dense, hand-annotated construction drawings — were pulled out and propped up for reference, and the conversation moved from the centreboard pivot to the cockpit framing to the cuddy arrangement and back again.

This is one of the quieter pleasures of belonging to a club like ours. Ron isn’t building in isolation. He has a room full of people who have bent planks, faired hulls, puzzled over designer’s notes in the small hours, and come out the other side with a boat they love. That accumulated knowledge circulates freely over a workshop floor, and nobody keeps score.

Coffee and a Burgee

After an hour or so of workshopping the build, the group migrated to Ron’s covered veranda where the kettle was already on. Mugs in hand, conversation spread out beyond centreboards — to sailing plans, to past voyages, to boats built and boats dreamed about.

Then came a small ceremony that made the morning. Club Commodore - Peter - produced a TBSA burgee — our red club pennant — and presented it to new member Dick who has also completed a boat building project. It’s a quiet tradition: the burgee goes to the builder before the boat is finished, as a way of saying she’s already one of ours. Dick took it with a grin, coffee cup in the other hand, and there was a warmth in that moment that had nothing to do with the heater back in the shop.

Looking Forward

Long Steps has a good way to go yet. There are decks to lay, spars to shape, rigging to sort, and the whole question of what colour to paint her. But the hull is sound, the builder is experienced and unhurried, and the TBSA is paying attention. We’ll be back.

If you’re curious about John Welsford’s work, the Long Steps plans are available at jwboatdesigns.co.nz.