Spira International
Category
General Information
Locality: Huntington Beach, California
Phone: +1 714-676-5731
Address: P.O. Box 2155 92647 Huntington Beach, CA, US
Website: spirainternational.com
Likes: 5266
Reviews
Facebook Blog
Here's how this builder carries around the ultralight Glousterman dory, 15' [4.6 M] long, 42 lbs. [19 kg] Free study prints and construction photo essay: https://spirainternational.com/hp_glou.php
Fareed Majeed is busy building this Huntington Harbor kayak from free plans, available when you join the insider site. https://spirainternational.com/hp_fun2017.html
Ralph Puertas is working on this Bolsa Chica Stand-Up Paddleboard this winter. It's always fun to come up with a winter project you can build in your garage or basement. Mine are longer and faster, since normal boards are designed for surf use. Mine is a double ender intended for calm water. The last pic is not Ralph's built, bit it shows what it will look like when complete. Yes, the plans for the paddle are included in the design package.... Free study prints here: https://spirainternational.com/hp_bols.php
Roman Dybala just finished up and launched this 15' [4.6 M] Glousterman Ultralight Rowing Dory in Melbourne Australia. It is a 42 lb [19 kg] stitch and glue design that is made from just two sheets of 1/4" [6 mm] plywood. More information and free study prints may be found at: https://spirainternational.com/hp_glou.php
Here's my latest video about fiberglassing homebuilt boats.
Andy Berry just sent me this note and these pictures of his 13' [4M] Bay Matagorda Rowing Skiff: "Jeff What a great experience on this Bay Matagorda Rowing Skiff. Considered naming her "Woodpile" due to all the wood used came from my stash in the woodworking garage (except the plywood). Decided to go with Golden Hour" instead. Can't wait to launch her soon. Thank you for your great work.... Andy" More information and free study prints may be found at: https://spirainternational.com/hp_baym.php
Iain Neish recently completed and splashed his Puchie Special Garvey/Dory. He uses it for seaweed farming in Bali, Indonesia. Here's what he said about it. "Hi Jeff, The boat came out nicely and that is largely due to my boat builder Pak Cak. He normally builds Jukung and this was the first time he built a boat to plans. My role was largely in interpreting the plans for him and in sorting out interior arrangements. Along the way he did quite a few things his way, but it all w...orks. For one thing he does not bother with saw horses and benches; he does everything squatting on the floor, like where you see him in the video cutting frame timbers to width. It took seven weeks to build the SeaCotek boat but the period was punctuated by several Muslim and Hindu religious holidays as per SOP in Bali. We could probably build a second one within a month. Before that happens, though, we need to work out operation of the vessel with machinery onboard and with moving seaweed cargo around. We will use standardized tote dollies that can roll on and off over the bow door. I hope that my video does justice to your design. This boat is just what I was hoping for so far. Cheers, Iain" You bet it does justice to the design. Thank you for the great video and story. More information and free study prints may be found at: https://spirainternational.com/hp_puch.php
Andrew VanDuyke launched his Labrador Grand Banks style dory in the Arctic coast of Alaska. Here's what he had to say: "Hello Jeff, I live in Barrow, AK, and have been building this Labrador Dory.... Thought I'd let you know that we are mostly done (meaning she floats, and we've taken her on a couple short trips). Attached is a pic from just before her maiden voyage. Technically, in the pic she was far from completed. But we were anxious to do "sea trials" while the weather still held. We had 7 people on board! so a pretty heavy load and she was just fine. This was about a month ago. About a week ago we took her on another trip to a place called Plover Point, where we saw polar bears and a walrus. This last time with 3 people and not much gear (so lightly loaded). Really like the shallow draft too, as navigating around here is tricky. Lots of shallow lagoons, river deltas, silt... so we have lots of room for error when trying to find the channel such as it is. Seems to be a great boat, handles well even in a chop and even when not heavily loaded (as I'd read before, these boats handle better when loaded). Used a 15hp and made about 8+ mph (though speed obviously is not the point). Thinking I could haul a truckload of stuff if I wanted, yet light enough for 2 guys to move onto our rickety old trailer without a winch and haul with a 4-wheeler. Weight will increase as we add seats, storage, gunwales... and I would like to add a small cabin and some sort of wheelhouse because it's typically nasty here in the Arctic, even on a good day. Thinking cabin could possibly be semi-removable (as in a truck topper). Both hull and interior will be painted. Would like to rig for sailing at some point too. Long list of fun things to work on! BTW, this boat was done on the cheap...we got all the wood for free as salvage from construction. We only purchased screws, fiberglass, glue, and epoxy resin. Very happy with our boat (named Nerpa after the Russian word for 'seal'). We built her outside from reclaimed materials, much in the spirit of the original builders of these boats I imagine. Have gotten a lot of positive feedback from Native community members who use a similar design for hunting bowhead whales. Their 'umiaqs' are basically a flat bottomed dory (no rocker) covered in the skins of bearded seals. Nowadays, it seems like big fast motorized boats are the norm, but older folks still smile when seeing our boat because it's "old school" and reminds them of how life in the Arctic used to be. Will send other pics later. Sincerely, Andy Von Duyke" Great story! I'm eager to see more pictures. More information and free study prints may be found at: https://spirainternational.com/hp_labr.php
For those of you that are interested I have posted my first YouTube episode one .on the 30 foot dory build which I have mentioned I’m starting inside the baseme...nt of my house and will be assembling it in the spring .at the end of March in my yard after today’s purchase .I will be posting episode two on laying up the frames for the 30 footer and yes posting that if you’re interested check it out. You should find it under Daniel’s Dory boat build. My plans were purchased from Jeff Spira international . excellent plans if anyone’s interested. I personally couldn’t find anybody doing a detail build on this type of boat so I’m gonna do my best to do this for anyone that’s thinking of building a flat bottom Dory I’m not a professional this is my first time on YouTube and the first time building a boat any kind .so boys give me a break and ladies if you’re watching thanks y’all have a good day. From Alberta Canada. See more
Kevin Fredericks just sent me this picture and email: "Hi Jeff, First day on the water with my new Mackinaw McKenzie. The plans were fabulous. Kevin Fredericks... Cloquet, Minnesota" Nice looking! Hope you have lots of fun in it. More information and free study prints may be found at: https://spirainternational.com/hp_mack.php
Travis Wade recently launched his Wye River Garvey Dory. Here's what he had to say about it: "Hi Jeff, I'm from Michigan and launched the boat in September. I use it for fishing and duck and goose hunting. It holds all my gear and 4 guys with ease! It's very very stable. It's even big enough to put my little grill and hot plate while hunting. It's a great design. Thanks,... Travis" Looking great Travis! Hope you have lots of fun with it. More information and free study prints may be found at: https://spirainternational.com/hp_wyer.php
Kelvin Jubb just posted these pictures of his Wye River dory in New South Wales Australia. Nice job! More information and free study prints may be found at: https://spirainternational.com/hp_wyer.php
Ralph Puertas just completed and launched his home built 18' Carolinian Carolina style Dory in Traverse City, Michigan. He sent me this email, these pictures: Hi Jeff, I wanted to send you some pictures of my completed project. The project was really fun and fulfilling. Here’s some building highlights. The floorboards were made to be removable. The fuel cell is located under the center console front seat. I ran all of the wires through 1/2 plastic tubing running under the f...loor boards and through the drain channels. This keeps the wires from getting wet and I didn’t need to drill through the frames. The bottom was covered in two layers of 6oz cloth and then protected with three more coats of a graphite/epoxy mixture. The exterior hull was covered with one coat of glass and the bow has several coats and layers. Any exterior hole into the hull or internal hole in the frames (steering and throttle) were all sealed with epoxy. I’ll be doing the same thing with the garboards that arrived today. A local supply house was going out of business so I got a great deal on the steering, epoxy and radio. I had the Lowrance and VHF. I purchased a new Suzuki 25hp which needs to be broken in. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to go full throttle today, so I’m still anxious to see what the boat can do. Overall, it handled well and took waves well too. Thanks for the plans and also for all the help you provided during the build. Safe boating! Ralph Puertas Traverse City, MI It came out great! More information and free study prints may be found at: https://spirainternational.com/hp_caro.php
Daniel Helft launched his home built 18' Carolinian Carolina style Dory in Argentina. He sent me this email, these pictures, and a video which I'll publish on YouTube:
Hi Jeff, I wanted to send you some pictures and videos of the completed Carolinian. Her name is Ruperta and she will navigate the waters of the Tigre delta just outside the city of Buenos Aires. Daniel... More information and free study prints may be found at: https://spirainternational.com/hp_caro.phpMike Vigorita just finished and launched his home built 15' Glousterman Ultralight Dory in New Jersey. He sent me this note and these pictures: Hi Jeff, Finished up the Glousterman. Great little boat. Like folks have said, rows nicely, certainly tender but secondary stability is good. A lot of fun working on her. Thanks for your help.... Here are some pictures. Mike Vigorita New Jersey Very nice build! More information and free study prints may be found at: https://spirainternational.com/hp_glou.php
Mark Menesale just completed his 14' Seneca Pacific Power Dory, named "Coast Card" in Massachusetts. He sent me these pictures and brief note: Hi Jeff, It is complete and floats. More than enough power with a 25 hp.... Mark I think it came out great. Love the colors. More information and free study prints may be found at: https://spirainternational.com/hp_sene.php
Matthew Sanders just launched his Veracruz Panga. He sent me this note and pictures: Hi Jeff, Earlier in the year I purchased a set of your plans to make the "Veracruz". The Coronavirus lockdown gave me a very good opportunity to build up my first boat. I had a ton of fun building it and am having even more fun taking family out fishing or just trips to the beach. I got a 50hp Yamaha for the power and outfitted it with a tiller kit (opting for the most deck space). I di...d end up having to put on some trim tabs to keep the boat from porpoising. Full throttle she does 32mph but loves to cruise between 20-25 mph. Most of the boating/fishing I do is in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, where you can usually find me out there, on the weekends. She is a very comfortable boat out on the bay, it soaks up the rough water with ease. Thank you for making this possible. Cheers! Matthew Sanders More information and free study prints may be found at: https://spirainternational.com/hp_vera.php
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