Traditional Boats - East and West - at Douglas Brooks Boatbuilding

Douglas Brooks is a boatbuilder, writer and researcher, specializing in wooden boats built to traditional Western and Japanese designs. My research work involves documenting the design secrets and techniques of traditional Japanese boatbuilding, working directly with Japan's last wooden boatbuilders. I also research the boatbuilding traditions of the Lake Champlain Basin where I live. http://www.douglasbrooksboatbuilding.com COPYRIGHT © Douglas Brooks and douglasbrooksboatbuilding.com 2016.

Sunday, July 23, 2017

LAUNCHING!

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Yesterday we had our shinsuishiki, or boat launching on the Nagara River in Gifu City. It was the day after Nasu san's 86th birthday. Th...

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Thursday, July 13, 2017

Kansei - Finished

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We finished the boat yesterday. Today I am going in to make a traditional bailer and then we are ready for the launching next Saturday, whic...

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Friday, July 7, 2017

Finishing the Hull

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Back at it after our week in Okinawa. The heat followed us; today's its hovering around the high-90s, and I called it quits at noon, ...

Monday, July 3, 2017

Sabani Race-Okinawa

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Readers of this blog can return to its very first posts to learn about my apprenticeship in 2009/2010 with one of the last three builders of...

Fashioning the Decks

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Looking at the bow of the boat. Here a short pair of planks act as an extension of the top plank to support the forward deck. The basket ...

Sunday, June 25, 2017

Last Plank Before Vacation

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We have two more days of work before we leave for a week in Okinawa. I am finally going to see the annual open ocean sabani race from Zamam...

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Thursday, June 22, 2017

Planking the Hull

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Time has slipped by plus I had a computer glitch that kept me from posting. The hull is almost completely planked now. I will throw up some ...

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About Me

Douglas Brooks: I am a boatbuilder, writer and researcher with a special interest in traditional Japanese boatbuilding. Since 1996 I have apprenticed with nine boatbuilders throughout Japan, building and documenting the designs and construction of over a dozen distinct types of Japanese boats. My research involves working directly with craftsmen in order to document their secrets and techniques. In my view this work is crucial, as Japan's last traditional boatbuilders leave little or no written record of their work and most have no apprentices. This work is chronicled in my latest book, Japanese Wooden Boatbuilding, published in 2015 by Floating World Editions. Signed and inscribed copies are available from my website. Here in the US I build wooden boats for private clients and as education projects for museums and municipalities. I also teach boatbuilding and I am researching the boats and boatbuilding traditions of the Lake Champlain Basin where I live. I write for WoodenBoat magazine, among other publications. Please visit my website: www.douglasbrooksboatbuilding.com COPYRIGHT NOTICE © Douglas Brooks and douglasbrooksboatbuilding.com 2020.

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