: I'm currently building a CLC oxford shell - I'm wondering if anyone has any
: insights into other Plans/Kits on the market. I've had the pleasure of
: building 5 S&G boats with great success - I would love to build a
: competition rowing shell - however no luck in finding plans. My research
: found several articles by Graeme King in Vermont - very nice guy! I'm just
: looking for further ideas and opportunities!

If you have access to one that you like, you could take the lines off it, make up some molds and go for it. Use the same methods that you find here for building strippers. Some of the folks who post here know a lot about using high strength fabrics and such. You could use thin strips and practice up on your layup technique (epoxy/glass/kevlar, etc........not the basketball kind o' layup!), and you could probably wind up with a good shell........and if weren't quite strong enough.......well, at least you know how to fix it! I've never rowed before, but I just discovered that we have a club here where I live and they are planning a new community boathouse on a section of riverway that is currently being developed for rowing/water taxi service, etc. They hope to increase collegiate rowing here and host regattas. I'm thinking of building a recreational shell, using some patterns from Mac Mcarthy....it is a simple 18 footer, but I'm not sure how wide. It is not a competition shell (I used to get a hi-speed thrill from riding road bicycles, but my need for speed has been decreasing as my "on-board-mid-section flotation" increases.....maybe I need to dust off that bike????). Woodenboat Publications has a series of plans catalogs that have some shells in them. Some are fast competition types, some are recreational. Building methods range from "pretty simple" to "complex". The catalogs are called "Thirty wooden boats", "Forty wooden boats" and "Fifty wooden boats". Check around at your local Barnes and Noble or Borders book stores.......sometimes they have one or two on the shelves that you could thumb through to see which designs are in which book. Or Woodenboat Magazine has a web site and you can order the catalogs and the plans from there. Sorry for rambling.....hope this is of some help. garland