Foot Brace in First Mate

All of the hull panels in First Mate, including the narrow flat bottom panel, are made from 6mm/1/4" marine plywood. Wayne Jorgensen, who helped build the first boat from the design to hit the water, expressed some concern about the stiffness of such a thin bottom panel. I wasnt particularly concerned, as the panel is only 856mm/34" wide at the widest point, and is very well supported by the centreboard case, 6 bulkheads and frames, and most importantly, by a 66mm x 19mm (2-9/16" x 3/4") external keel batten firmly glued to the bottom of the boat. In addition, I sheathed the boat Im building with 200gsm/6oz glass cloth in epoxy.

In a beach-cruiser, light weight is of critical importance for a solo sailor, and I also wanted to economise on plywood, getting the most possible out of standard sheets - it made sense to use a standard thickness for all panels. Having said that, there is nothing to prevent you from using 9mm/3/8" ply for the bottom panel if you wish.

As part of the design, I drew an adjustable set of foot braces to make rowing more efficient, and also to give something against which to lock your heel to prevent sliding across the boat when heeling under sail. These foot braces gave me yet another opportunity to stiffen the bottom panel. Following are a few images of the set Ive just installed in the First Mate which I am (slowly) building: -

An overview showing how the side rails of the braces are glued to the bottom of the boat, and extend forward and aft to teminate against the bulkheads. This is very important, because terminating a stiffner in the middle of a sheet of plywood risks the formation of a crack in the plywood eventually. Note how the side-deck knees in the background are tapered and lead all the way down to terminate on the chine between the bilge panel and the topside panel.

Blocks to locate the foot brace. In this photo the longitudinal rails had been glued into position, but the blocks were just dry-fitted. They were subsequently glued to both the rails and the bottom panel

??????

Three photos showing the foot brace dropped into the three different locations. The longitudinal rails are rounded down at the forward and aft ends to allow drainage of water - sort of like an open limber.

With these longitudinal foot-brace rails in place, along with the external keel batten on the other side, the maximum un-supported width of the plywood and external glass sheathing is about 210mm/8-1/4"

Read More..

Caravelle A 14 1 2 foot rowing skiff after the Echo Bay Dory Skiff

 

Well, Spring is springing here on the Maine Coast so it is time to start unveiling some new designs at Clint Chase Boatbuilder. The pictures are of a scale model of a new skiff design by Eric Risch. We have been collaborating for years on the Echo Bay Dory Skiff and when a couple on Marthas Vineyard said, "We want a bigger version of the Echo Bay", I went to Eric and said, "We have a project!". This is the result of a redrawing of his old design, Caravelle. The result will be a stable but slippery rowing skiff with a transom that well clears the water, an immersed stem to prevent slapping/pounding in harbor chop, and space for two to row with their dog. Moreover, shell weight 90 pounds and be easily cartopped with a custom canvas cartopping cover. We plan to start construction on two skiffs May 1 and launch after July 4th.



More to come about Caravelle and the Echo Bay DOry Skiff Kit packages.

Read More..

A Fabulous 15 foot Rowboat

One of the most unique aspects of the St. Lawrence River Skiff (SLRS) is its hull shape which we believe derives from the bark canoes, at least partly. Both hull forms feature a very fine entry and exit to the waterlines. However, on nearly all the St. Lawrence River Skiffs, their after sections are finer than the forward sections.

The bow of an 18-footer, Annie.

Many rowboats show the opposite, with the aft sections being fuller. The reasoning behind this SLRS hull form regards how the boat trims when under power (oar power, of course). Once the boat is up to speed, the aft part of the hull settles into the water creating a skeg-type effect. A skeg improves tracking of the hull through the water. But by making the hull itself behave as a skeg, we eliminate the extra wetted surface area (WSA in designer speak) that a skeg creates. Any rower knows one tenet of making a rowboat fast: reduce the wetted surface area! This is one reason the SLRS glides along effortlessly with a single stroke of an oar, creating a feeling of flying.

Here is a shot showing the Fry 15 being stripped up. We built the Fry Skiff in 2013 at WoodenBoat using strip-composite construction. A builder by the name of Fry built these circa 1910 in Clayton, NY. The first shot (left) is the bow. The second (right) is the stern view.

You can see (right) how the strips are fairing into the stern with slight concave curvature even before weve stripped to the designed waterline. The strips are not showing this hollow curvature quite yet in the bow (left). This 15-foot model, shows a pronounced hollow even for a SLRS, partly because the boat is pretty short for a Skiff. (In fact, it is the shortest Id recommend for fast rowing. I chose the Fry 15-footer because it is going to be the cartopper in my catalog.)




So this is the fineness or hollow in the stern that I am asserting is a classic feature of the SLRS hull form, making the it such a slippery, fast rowboat.

Two other SLRSs that I am working with, the Bobby at 20 1/2 (which was strip-built in 2012) and Clotilde at 18, are true double-enders, meaning they are symmetrical. So one end is not finer than the other, but their waterlines still show a strong hollow fore and aft. Clotilde is unique because its hull is fairly full in the ends compared to the other SLRS, which has me interested because it may be a faster boat and better in a seaway. So I plan to also model this hull and develop mold kits for Clotilde as well. Bobby mold kits are available.

For the first time, the Fry Skiff is newly updated and ready to cut as a mold kit. She strips up perfectly and produces a hull that is fairer than any hand-lofted set of lines could hope to produce, I dare say. The molds receive a roundovered edge so the soft cedar is not dented. A dado is routed into the molds to make a place for squeeze clamps to hold strips in place. The stems are laminated on fore-aft molds. An alignment batten slots all the molds together in place to ensure squareness and proper spacing. The kit is $750 which includes plans package and the molds.

Read More..

Instant get 14 foot sailboat plans

Get 14 foot sailboat plans nowadays i came across the particular 14 foot sailboat plans Finding results for 14 foot sailboat plans you have found it on my blog below is information relating to 14 foot sailboat plans a bit review Pictures 14 foot sailboat plans Wooden Fishing Boat Plans Classic Wooden Runabout Boat Plans

Read More..

Learn 8 foot plywood skiff plans

Pontoon Boat Plans Free Skiff Boat Plans Free Skiff Boat Plans Free 8 FT Plywood Boat Plans Free Boat Plans Houseboat images

Read More..

Instant get 10 foot jon boat plans

For Free 10 foot jon boat plans right now i ran across your 10 foot jon boat plans Find here about 10 foot jon boat plans you have found it on my blog In the survey I get that not a few people who need a pdf version for 10 foot jon boat plans check this article Some images on 10 foot jon boat plans Flat Bottom Jon Boat Flat Bottom Boat

Read More..

Topic 8 foot sailboat plans

Stitch and Glue Boat Plans 8 Foot Jon Boat Plans Fishing Boat Plans 17 Foot Fishing Boat Plans How to build 8 foot outboard runabout boat plans

Read More..