Gozzo boats

[crowdypooster]

I am enamoured by an Italian type of boat known as "gozzo". Living on the east coast of the US, I have not seen many examples of this style. So far, I have compiled a brief list of gozzo designers/builders:

Apreamare
Mimi Libeccio
Sciallino
Menorquin
Navalplastica
Dasamarine Cantieri
Co.Me.Na
Bani

I found boatdesign.net when searching for more information. This is an example from an earlier post by user 'daiquiri':


I am mostly interested in reading about the history of this design and learning about their behavior. The aft-plates, from what I understand, allow he boat to behave as a displacement hull at low speeds and a semi-displacement at higher speeds.

I also find this design to be visually graceful and attractive.

Does anyone have any comments on this design? Why is it not more popular outside of the Mediterranean? Any input would be appreciated.

Ty

[peter radclyffe]

i think some were made by italian fishermen around san francisco about 80 years ago, here is one i designed & made this year

[michael pierzga]

Those boats are all remnants of the "vela latina " " caiques",. The small work boat from the past centuries. All over the Med they are much loved. The design is very evolved. Most are double ended..occasionally a wineglass transoms .

The planing boards aft are naturally a modern development. I never see the modern ones outside the Med. Generally small diesel powered...not fast, economical.

I cant remember all the names... The Falkusa in Croatia with its removable " sides. there is a Caiques style in Greece that is constructed with splined seams, no metal fastenings and no frames.


http://www.morsko-prase.hr/putopisi_8.htm

http://www.velalatinacircuit.it/

http://www.museuvalenciaetnologia.es...TINA.%2006.pdf

http://modelshipworld.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2145

[crowdypooster]

Excellent information and links. Thanks to both of you.

Peter, that is a beautiful boat you have designed/built. Do you know of anyone producing plans for such a boat? I would be interested in incorporating the aft planing boards, if possible. A small cabin would be nice as well.

It's a shame that there are not many copies of these boats on the US east coast. I have heard that there are some modern examples in South Florida.

Thanks again,
Ty

[peter radclyffe]

thank you,i dont know

[philSweet]

Ive never seen any in south Florida, but if I were looking for them I'd look in New Port Richie on Florida's west coast. A lot of Mediterranean tradition in that town.

[michael pierzga]

Originally Posted by crowdypooster

Excellent information and links. Thanks to both of you.

Peter, that is a beautiful boat you have designed/built. Do you know of anyone producing plans for such a boat? I would be interested in incorporating the aft planing boards, if possible. A small cabin would be nice as well.

It's a shame that there are not many copies of these boats on the US east coast. I have heard that there are some modern examples in South Florida.

Thanks again,
Ty

I had a quick internet surf and I couldnt find any lines drawings of modern ...planning board....Gozzo boat styles. I searched in english...perhaps search in Spanish or Italian.

[michael pierzga]

I North America you can look to the design of George Calkins....the much admired "Bartender"...for inspiration.


http://bartenderboats.com/

[daiquiri]

Crowdypooster,

I'm glad that you got interested in this kind of boats thanks to my posts.

Yes, they are beautiful boats, particularily (imho) when equipped with sails and oars and coloured with traditional mediterranean live colors. I love them and don't miss an occasion to take photos and measures and possibly to exchange few words with their owners, when I see one in a marina.

The world of mediterranean double-enders is very vast and nearly every country has it's version of this form. But at the end, whether you happen to be in an italian, french, spanish, croatian or greek marina, you will easily recognize the extreme similarities between various national versions of these colorful wooden beauties, once equipped with latin sails and today with small inboard diesels. It is not easy to retrieve a consistent info about these boats, and the reason is simple: Mediterranean Sea is big and weather conditions and sea states can vary significantly over a relatively small areas. So each place you go, you'll find a different variation of the common theme - sometimes the construction is heavier, sometimes is lighter; some have fully-closed watertight decks, some have them open, some are beachable, others are not, some have been built for stronger winds, some for lighter ones, other for rowing, etc. They are generally considered to be seaworthy boats, which handle well in coastal sea conditions. Those with an open or partially closed deck, of course, are intended for more protected waters - so the term "seaworthy" has to be considered with local weather conditions in mind.

We can distinguish essentially 3 common types of double-ender boats which can be found (with slight variations) in each of the above mentioned countries:

1) smaller ones, with full sections and sometimes very flat bottoms (Italy), lengths usually between 4 and 9 meters, L/B ratio usually around 3:1, usually latin sail with forward-raked unstayed mast. called:
- gozzo (Italy)
- gourse (France, also generically called "pointu")
- guc (Croatia)
- trehantiri (Greece)
- ........ (you fill the empty line)



These are good candidates for aft planing plates, particularily the italian family of boats, which have fuller sections. Of course, the final result (in terms of speed) will be mostly influenced by the weight of the boat. For example, if you manage to keep the weight under 1.5-1.7 tonnes for a 21 ft craft, you can expect to obtain a good semi-displacement speed with just 30-40 HP.

2) bigger double enders, with less full sections (loa is considerably bigger than lwl), lengths between 7 and 15 meters, L/B ratio similar to the above, usually latin sail with forward raked stayed mast, called:
- leudo (Italy)
- leut (Croatia)
- llagut or llaüt (in spanish Catalunya region)
- pointu (France)
- trehantiri, again (Greece)
- ............



However, due to the fact that their forms are so similar and that bigger leudo boats have become rare, in Italy it has become a common practice to (improperly) call them all "gozzo". In Croatia, they are still more traditional and tend to distinguish between the two types.

3) In Croatia and in Greece there is also another similar type of boats, length between 5 and 9 meters, with wide deck and much narrower waterline, called:
- gaeta (in Greece and Italy)
- gajeta (in Croatia)
- ...............



The boat mentioned by M. Pierzga, called "gajeta falkusa" (in italian: "gaeta falcata") is typical of croatian Komiza island, and it's name derives from the word "falka" (italian: "falca"), which means "gunwale". The caracteristics of this boat is that it's gunwales could be easily dismantled when sea conditions would allow it or when the fishing nets had to be maneuvered along the side of the boat. It might as well be one of the first examples of modular boats, which could be transformed to best suit the intended mission:



Gajeta falkusa is an efficient and fast sailboat, which has been used throughout the centuries by the fishermen and by the pirates (which doesn't necessarily mean that we are talking about two distinct parties). A 9 meters (30 ft) boats have reportedly been able to reach 40 nm distant fishing spots around Palagruza island in around 5 hours, which means 8 kts average speed:



The race from Komiza to Palagruza islands for best fishing spots has eventually transformed into a yearly regatta between the crews, with tens (and sometimes up to 100) boats partecipating. Unfortunately, that tradition had died at the beginning of the WWII and by the advent of IC engines.

You asked "Why is it (gozzo boats) not more popular outside of the Mediterranean?" Well, I believe that, since every coastal country in the world has it's own double-ended traditional boat, each one has preferred its' own. Because, just as there are many local variations of gozzo boats inside the Med basin, there will be tens of times more variations of a basic double-ender model at the global scale - each one optimized for local conditions. If an Italian gozzo is a seaworthy boat for Italian climate conditions, it doesn't mean that it will be as good and suitable boat in seas around Norway or Canada, for example. On the other hand, if the expected sea-states in two locations are similar, then a gozzo will probably perform equally well, so it will be a matter of personal aesthetic preferences. But then again, given two locations with similar weather conditions, it is very probable that generations of local sailors will eventually produce their traditional boat similar to gozzo... Which will then become the aesthetic standard for that particular population.

As about gozzo boats in America, they have been introduced in San Francisco area by Italian immigrants in the 19th century, where they have been (still are?) commonly and in a somewhat contemptuous way called "dago boats".

Hope that helps you a bit.

Cheers!

[daiquiri]

Originally Posted by michael pierzga

I North America you can look to the design of George Calkins....the much admired "Bartender"...for inspiration.
http://bartenderboats.com/

Apart the fact that it is a double-ender, I fail to see anything else in common with gozzo boats. Not the underwater hullform, not the construction technique, nor the materials used...
Probably has the same amount of affinity with gozzo as this one:

[michael pierzga]

I see the gajeta falkuša in Regatta's off Sibenik and Muerter during summer. very fast. Fantastic to watch on a windy reach. Ive always heard them refered to as "Vis boats". I have a beautiful tee shirt from Komisa with the silk screened construction details of a gajeta falkuša on its back. Almost enough to start construction !!!!

http://www.cmj.hr/2000/41/1/410101.pdf

And sure...the bartender is double ended with planning boards...just like many modern fiberglass powered Med craft . Im surprised that you dont see this simple outboard powered small craft in the Med.

[Knut Sand]

Marex "duckie" is a Norwegian boatbuilder (company) that have taken this concept a bit further, twisted it a tiny bit, so to say. Sorry for the Norwegian language...

http://www.klikk.no/motor/baat/article301798.ece

http://www.marex.no/index_engels.html#/boten/6/

They managed to make deplacement hull to act like a planing hull... So, at slow speed, you'll still have the steering ability, and (pretty) economical behaviour of a deplacement hull. But still with the ability to get you home at the speed required if the boss tells you get get your a** home swiftly...

Not a bad concept, in my opinion...

[daiquiri]

Originally Posted by michael pierzga

I see the gajeta falkuša in Regatta's off Sibenik and Muerter during summer. very fast. Fantastic to watch on a windy reach. Ive always heard them refered to as "Vis boats". I have a beautiful tee shirt from Komisa with the silk screened construction details of a gajeta falkuša on its back. Almost enough to start construction !!!!
http://www.cmj.hr/2000/41/1/410101.pdf

That pdf contains some excellent info, thank you very much!

Currently there are some vigorous efforts to bring back to life the old fishermen's regatta, thanks to an association of volunteers and sea-lovers in Croatia called "Ars Halieutica". They have already rebuilt two Gajeta falkusa boats, and use them to actively partecipate in regattas for traditional boats around the Europe.

In general, there is a big revival of latin-sail wooden boats, both in Italy and in Croatia. It makes me really happy, because I consider them among the most beautiful boatbuilding artworks. A perfect example of how beauty and functionality can live together in a perfect symbiosis.

[daiquiri]

Originally Posted by michael pierzga

And sure...the bartender is double ended with planning boards...just like many modern fiberglass powered Med craft. Im surprised that you dont see this simple outboard powered small craft in the Med.

We have gozzos, leuds and gajetas here. They usually all have a box of beer or a few bottles of wine on board, which are served by the captain in person.
So I guess there's really no need for bartenders.

[michael pierzga]

I understand that boats based out of the fishing ports of Starigrad and Milna " Mil Navi" would actually sail down the Adriatic and fish the waters off Lampedusa. This is a very long voyage for small open craft.

The island and shelf area of Palagruža islands is very special. The Adriatic fish populations migrate past this island. This summer, anchored on the coast of Palagruža in 10 meters of gin clear water, I watched as of a school of big Bluefin tuna chased sardines under the yacht.. They looked like 100 kg torpedoes are they chased the sardines who were trying to hide under the yachts shadow. I regularly see swordwish on the surface as I sail that area. Very beautiful place forthe very beautiful Gajeta falkusa