woensdag 26 november 2014

My own lugger


This spring I launched my own boat. I was inspired by the midframe shape of Joel White's Shellback dinghy, and made a rough drawing of a multichine boat. A narrow flat bottom, three strakes above it, a kind of Swampscott Dory with a wider transom and a plumb bow, so it looked a bit like a Whitehall Dinghy,  and then Klaas Bes, naval architect, got it all on his drawing board or computer. He faired the lines and did the necessary calculations.Moreover, he printed the halfstations on paper, so transferring them to moulds was easy. I built the boat over more then a years spare time in my garage, using 8 mm occoume plywood, for the bottom and 6 mm ply for the 3 strakes. The transom was made out of a piece of birch plywood of 12 mm.
I made the transom slightly hollow wher the first strake landed and since I was not sure how much would look better I gave starboard more hollow than the other. That is the nice thing when you build your own boat: You can do what you like.
I glued the strakes in our living room in winter, using the template I made directly on the moulds. It made laying out the ply easier.
 I took the hull of the moulds and...

...and after some time I had a boat. The mast was a polyester flagpole, the sail was the same as a Ness Yawls main, balanced lug, as I hope to compare the boat with them. The rest of the birch went into a daggerboard and  case.
 


She sails as I wished she would and than a bit better. Fingertip controll, turns so fast that I win most tacking duels. The rudder is cannibalised from a deceased OK Dinghy, which may explain the odd helm.
 And she is a fine rowing boat

And we also use her till I got the St. Ayels Skiff finished.

maandag 11 augustus 2014

New sail for a Cornish Crabber



Wilko Braam who owns a Sailing School obught a Crabber for his expeditions on shallow water. We both thought the existing old sails had shrunk or the possible lenth of the spars was not optimal used, so we measured it up.
Resulting sails were made in Tanbark Supercruise, crosscut with battens, and bent on. All that is left is the topsail. I used to sail on Falmouth Working Boats with my friend Patrick Selman on his gaff cutter and remembered the often striped topsails the boats had. I ordered some blue and white 4 oz. cloth and hopefully the 'Walvis' with show it soon. Meanwhile she sails very well with her working sails.