Famous Kiwi, John Welsford. of JW Boat Designs has many fantastic backyard boatbuilding designs to his credit. John is already legendary 'Down Under' (a living legend, that is) and is fast becoming well known in our part of the world too. We are putting many of his very best designs in here with some mighty good photos of those that have been 'backyard built'. There's some interesting info in here about a number of new boats that are either just released as plans or still on his drawing board. More inside ...

The vBulletin Blog software does not interact directly with the forum software (pity!). To keep members apprised of what you are blogging, use this forum to draw attention to your latest entries. We strongly recommend you post a link directly to the blog in question. If you need help doing that, give us a shout.

This new forum is for discussion on the somewhat thorny issue of the EC's Recreational Craft Directive, or 'the RCD'. We saw in the thread now moved here that our members' level of interest in this topic was so remarkable that it deserves its own forum. The full text of the EC Directive is now available here for download. Please note that we are not now drafting a petition seeking amendment as we think it would fall on totally stone deaf ears.

If you have a boatbuilding question to put to the membership, please post in here. Please keep this forum directed toward technical questions on how to build a better backyard boat.

If you have general questions, suggestions, or issues to raise on any subject at all, please post them here in this sub-forum.

Post a few words of greeting to your fellow members. After all, it's only good manners to do so. No need to be shy here coz we're a very friendly bunch, us backyard boaties.

You can post on just about anything you like in here, within reason of course. Try to keep it moderate and, preferably, relevant to backyard boatbuilding in some way, however remote!

Have a cruising yarn to share with the rest of us backyardies? Nothing quite like a ripping yarn or two to get the juices flowing. Go for it. "There I was ... " Hehe.

If you are not blogging your build in our Blogs section, it would help others if you post here on how to make the various bits and pieces of a boat. Post your best tips here, with photos, drawings, or any relevant details.

We will post some good boatbuilding articles in here, plus we will eventually - when time permits - set up links to other great boatbuilding sites.

Post here on any materials sources you would recommend to other boatbuilders. You are welcome to post a single link to the source/s in question.

Please feel free to contribute posts here on any reliable, reasonably priced, sources of tools and/or machinery you would recommend to others. Again, it's fine to provide a link if you wish.