How Do I Design a 3' Draft Boat to Be Seaworthy ?

[bob perry]

This thread is getting really weird.
Carry on.

[boatman61]

Is this the part where you suddenly disappear from the Cruisers Forum and pop up somewhere on a Canal Boat Forum...
Or talk to Anjou... she's done it... but being a girl she was/is seriously inspired and dedicated... and she's come out the other end a winner...

[NormanMartin]

Great reading.

My mom and dad took a six month voyage aboard a partially decked over US Navy sailing lifeboat. It was one of the Monomoy-style rigs that used to be launched off the Cape Cod beaches to rescue stranded vessel's crews.

The boat drew all of eight inches with board up and the rudder unshipped, steering with a 12 foot sweep. I reckon it would be hard to find a much more seaworthy boat than an old whaleboat. I got to sail the boat as a teenager.

By the way, they had a great time. My birth is evidence of that.

It is damn cold in Boston and you guys have me dreaming of a tropical sail on warm blue seas.

[Thames]

Hey boatman61 where can I find out about Anjou's boat?

I took a trip to Lyme Regis in Dorset today to visit the Boat Building Academy. The students were launching their finished boats on a calm, sunny day - they were gorgeous! (the boats)

They had a good chuckle about my human powered houseboat idea. They gave me a lot of advice and recommended some short courses in boat building. They were a lovely bunch and were thoroughly enjoying their work.

Here's one of their workshops:

[boatman61]

She's not about as much these days... but do a search on her name for threads posted and she has a link to her blog at the bottom of each post... mind she went steel...
Or just PM her and ask...

[Thames]

Found her blog at http://amy-artimis.blogspot.com - but dude that's like 100 tons of steel with a diesel motor and a washing machine! I don't think human power would move that anywhere in a hurry...but thanks anyway interesting project nuff respect to her she's got guts alright!

[Surrymark]

Originally Posted by bob perry

This thread is getting really weird.
Carry on.

If anybody needs more serial reading, I suggest digging up the old locked-prop vs freewheeling prop thread at capedory.org. The discussion has equal endurance, but is limited by a subject, however many the variations.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Thames

Found her blog at Artimis - but dude that's like 100 tons of steel with a diesel motor and a washing machine! I don't think human power would move that anywhere in a hurry...but thanks anyway interesting project nuff respect to her she's got guts alright!

I know....lol
I was having one of my silly moments....

[Thames]

Well I was beginning to think I'd never be taken seriously, when I found the Escargot! Brilliant! A human powered houseboat!

It's designed by Phil Thiel of Seattle, diagrams and more images here http://www.habiter-autrement.org/34_...on-humaine.pdf

That's very encouraging because the main doubt was whether I could propel it upstream but there's a fleet of Escargot in Germany (Grüne Flotte * Home * Charterboote im Revier) used on the river Ruhr which has an average discharge 20% more volume than the Thames.

upper Ruhr in Germany:

This pedal & propeller boat is great, however I'm looking for a boat more suited to rowing/sculling/punting. This is because I already do a huge amount of cycling every week to get to my piano tuning jobs, my knees complain and I'd like to work different muscles. I'll keep the bicycle on the boat and cycle up to jobs within 20 miles or so from the river.

For maximum efficiency, what kind of hull shape am I looking for? Would it be like a giant canoe with decking? I suppose the stern couldn't be pointed if I want stand there and use a punting pole. And assuming one should row sitting amidships, on my 15-20' houseboat that would have to be 5' above the water on deck - is it possible to row at this angle?

[Prerequisite]

Well I don't think that's going to sail to Argentina or be 'blue water capable', but it fits some of your requirements! How you were able to draw the great Bob Perry into this thread will always be an enigma to me, but best of luck to you. I think you've got a ways to go before you iron out exactly what you are looking for.

-Boats are fun- even when they are confusing.

[dennisail]

I had one of these. Its called a Binks 25. Not sure if it is available outside of Australia. I have seen them for as low as $12000aud, but all boats cost twice as much here as anywhere else in the world. I have a thing for trailerable and beachable yachts. The swing keel is really the only option here as drop keels usually have a bulb sticking out the bottom of the hull making beaching impossible. Someone was ridiculing beaching boats in this thread, but I beached it all the time. In fact in these pics the boat will be high and dry in a couple of hours as you can see by the shin deep water. No need for a dink. I would like to design my own trailerable beachable yacht one day too.

It does not have a massive amount of room inside but it has one foot draft with boards up and 5 foot draft with the keel down. It is a hydraulically operated swing keel with a lead bulb. So if you hit something it swings up, but you can lock it down so the boat is fully self righting. It was given the OK to do offshore racing when it first came out. And with such a deep draft this boat sails VERY well. Its a fast boat in all directions and with the keel up and weight all the way to the rear she surfs and planes down wind thanks to her flat rear sections.

We always seemed to be sailing when other boats were motoring. I never got the chance to take it in real ocean conditions but I would have not hesitated given the chance it felt very seaworthy.



Here is my old one















Binks 25,1987: Trailer Boats | Boats Online for Sale | Fibreglass | Western Australia (WA) - Geraldton

http://yachthub.com/list/ed.html?de=75007

http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=6063

[Surrymark]

The old Alacrity. English design, some built in Spain. 18' x about 8'. Twin bilge keels. Draws about 28". MORC rated. Stories of trans-Atlantic crossings. Typical English quart in a pint pot. Misnamed.

The Signet 20. Was built in the old Hurley yards. Said to be a Hurley favorite. Bilge keels. Prettier than Alacrity, but less room. Also draws less than 30". Owners say they sail in heavy weather in North Sea, off Australia, etc.

[Blue Crab]

Originally Posted by sandy daugherty

... That has not kept enthusiastic novices from pouring their lives into ill-fated efforts. Boaty places all over the world are littered with the dead dreams of every one of them. No such dreamer has yet come up with a new design that works the first (or fifth) time without borrowing from older designs.
... Look at a lot of boats; get on them, crawl thru them, imagine yourself fixing them, imagine yourself keeping them afloat in a cold gale at night off a hostile lee shore. Look up all those salty phrases, and learn to sift first hand reports from tenth-hand rumors and cherished mis-information. and start NOW!

It was too painful to read this whole thread that has been rehashed so often so I stopped at #55 when I read the above. I'd just like to add my 2 cents that the great voyages we've all read about in very small boats like Shrimpy, Trekka, Tinkerbell, Felicity and sooo many others say much more about the hands on the tillers than the boats in my opinion.

[bljones]

Originally Posted by Thames

Well I was beginning to think I'd never be taken seriously, when I found the Escargot! Brilliant! A human powered houseboat!

It's designed by Phil Thiel of Seattle, diagrams and more images here http://www.habiter-autrement.org/34_...on-humaine.pdf

That's very encouraging because the main doubt was whether I could propel it upstream but there's a fleet of Escargot in Germany (Grüne Flotte * Home * Charterboote im Revier) used on the river Ruhr which has an average discharge 20% more volume than the Thames.

upper Ruhr in Germany:

This pedal & propeller boat is great, however I'm looking for a boat more suited to rowing/sculling/punting. This is because I already do a huge amount of cycling every week to get to my piano tuning jobs, my knees complain and I'd like to work different muscles. I'll keep the bicycle on the boat and cycle up to jobs within 20 miles or so from the river.

For maximum efficiency, what kind of hull shape am I looking for? Would it be like a giant canoe with decking? I suppose the stern couldn't be pointed if I want stand there and use a punting pole. And assuming one should row sitting amidships, on my 15-20' houseboat that would have to be 5' above the water on deck - is it possible to row at this angle?

You might want to read that German website closely. One of the points made is that the Escargot vitesse with a motor was developed to be able to travel into the wind, something that would be damn tough for human thighs to do with a boat that heavy with that much windage. Even the original designer admits that his design is difficult to propel by pedalling. Interesting concept, though, from a packaging standpoint- very Bolger-esque, and might be the perfect use for a Torqueedo outboard.

[Blue Crab]

Here's what some use to travel the wonderful waterways of America. I'm guessing it was not professionally designed, but I could be wrong.
I'd bet somewhere there's an Englishman who could take it across the North Sea, and maybe all the way to Argentina to boot. In fact, there's probably a 13 year old girl somewhere prepping for that trip right now.