Sketching Moored Boats

Moored Boat Sketches

At first glance, sketching boats in the water seems difficult; they move around so much. Here's a tip: when boats are on a mooring, they swing back and forth in response to the wind (the side of the boat acts as a sail, catching the wind), the current, and the restraint of the mooring line. What that gives us sketchers is at least two views of the boat, the extremes as it swings back and forth. Just ignore what happens in the middle and wait for the extremes, the boat always comes back to the same place. Here's a page in my sketch book with a few quick sketches of a friend's lobster boat on its mooring.