Meijer Garden Ayubune
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The Richard & Helen DeVos Japanese Garden, part of the Meijer Gardens of Grand Rapids, Michigan, commissioned me to build them a boat. Based on their needs I chose the design of an ayubune, a type of small fishing boat found on the Hozu River outside of Kyoto. I based my design on previous research I have done on these boats, including taking measurements of three sizes of ayubune and interviewing the last builder.
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Ayu are a popular sweetfish found throughout Japan’s rivers, and every major river has a distinct type of fishing boat, called ayubune. Because these boats often navigate white water they typically have a bow plank instead of a sharp stem. The added buoyancy forward prevents the bow from diving traveling down a fast-moving river.
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This boat is built out of southern cypress while in Japan these boats are made of Japanese cedar. Otherwise the construction was absolutely authentic, with edge-nailed planking and specific joinery attaching the beams.
The ayubune under its shelter in the Garden pond.
The hardwood pad is for the sculling oar and the copper plates cover nail heads.
Beams in Japanese boats often employ a half-lap dovetail joint.
Note the grain running vertically in the transom, ensuring it will swell and shrink the same as the bottom.
The boat moved by sculling oar in the Garden pond.
