Ocean Institute Welcomes New Shipwright
DANA POINT, CA, April 7, 2008 - Bob Smirl is the Ocean Institute's shipwright. Shipwrights build and repair sailing vessels. The Ocean Institute has three vessels, the R/V Sea Explorer and two tall ships, the Spirit of Dana Point and the Pilgrim.
He is a San Clemente resident who recently retired from teaching high school English literature. He is largely self-taught; he combines his carpentry skills with information he gleans from books on shipbuilding.
Smirl makes use of a wide variety of tools, some of which are modern and some that are over a century old. Recent projects include the repair of a rotting 45-foot yard, a spar on a mast from which sails are hung, from the Institute’s tall ship Pilgrim. The three-week project involved cutting off the damaged third of the yard with a wedge cut, and replacing it with pine boards that were then shaped to match the circular cut of the yard.
"Much of the work involves simple geometry," Smirl explained. "It involves measuring the old portion of the yard and shaping the new wood to match it."
Upcoming projects include building a capstan and boom derrick for the Institute’s new Seaside Learning Center.
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