Jeff, Egress is a plywood over frame build, while Chiusa is a taped seam. I've been working on a smaller version, the smallest I can put standing headroom in, without it looking like a Winnebago parked on a barge.
Intended to be available as both plywood over frame or taped seam, I've made the cabin as big as practical, pushing the sides right out to the rail, essentially making them an extension of the hull sides. Trumpy was noted for this trick, to gain interior volume too. I've buried the bow to keep her from slapping and her shape will permit low power to push her past the theoretical hull speed limits, by a little bit. Her theoretical hull speed should be about 6.8 MPH, but she can be driven to over 8, with modest power. She's just too fat to do much else, without significantly changing her stern rocker (which is a possibility). She draws 9" at 1.27 tons, though she'll float (light ship) a fair bit less than this when launched empty. The aft deck is big enough to sunbath and fish, plus is self draining. The foredeck is pretty small, but docking duties and lounging are possible. Headroom on the drawing above is just over 6' and she could easily take a couple more inches, if desired. An easy to plank hull, with a tough bottom, so wayward skippers can putter around without fear. She'd be easily trailered and launch/recovered. Not as efficient as other, longer, proportionally more narrow designs in the series, a fine weekend getaway or cruiser.
I love the shanty boat style, but I want the cruiser performance. They seem mutually exclusive though. PAR's riverboat series has come closest to what I want so far. I may go ahead and order the study plans this weekend and start discussing specifics with the wife.
