Almost done

[alan white]

I bought this boat last August and sailed her for the last of the season. !4' 11", full long shoal keel, guessing weight at about 1000#, displacement about 1500#. 22" depth, 5' 6" beam. Designer unknown.
The hull is fiberglass, but the rig is all wood. As purchased, the boat was a cat rig of 155 sq ft. I have moved the mast aft 12" and added a bowsprit for a 25 sq ft jib on a boom. A lot of sail, but easily reefed, and later i'll likely shorten boom and gaff and make the main smaller (120 sq ft) and add a small mizzen, so she'll be a yawl with a total of about 175 sq ft.

Most all you see is redone. I replaced the rudder, tiller, all spar parts except the actual sticks, lengthened the mast (was deck-stepped), built deck and coamings, replaced sheer clamps, rub rails, and built a bowsprit and jib boom of sitka spruce (the other spars are fir).

Though not a fast boat, she sails very well, particularly when the sea is rough and most other small boats are heading in. Very much like a Herreshoff 12 1/2 footer in feel and capability.

I hope to get her in next week.

Alan

[lewisboats]

Nice...looks like it was designed with the bow sprit.

Steve

Ah me ole mate Alan, looks like Cornish lugger, , I think I would relish, sailing her, running ashore soem pine clad beach, , smokin ' some fish, , sipping wee dram Scotch, such is the staff of life

[alan white]

Thanks for the interest and comments. I have looked high and low for some indication that the boat had roots somewhere. Cornish lugger, you say?

Alan

[timgoz]

Very nice Alan. She looks to be a steady ride that would really "grip" the water. Good sailing.

[longliner45]

nice boat allen ,,but it must be swing keel?

[alan white]

Answering Tim and Longliner---- she feels as if "on rails", but no, there is neither swing keel or leeboards. A GPS would help me to figure out her leeway, how high she'd point, and maybe I'll measure that this year.
You would think the boat wouldn't do well to windward, but there is no sense that she struggles to go to windward. If I had to guess I'd say she tacks through 100 degrees.
I love the simplicity, the totally open cockpit, the lack of a mechanism under the boat. Boats used to be built this way all the time. Now, having said that, I wonder how long before I stick leeboard on the sides?

A.

[longliner45]

allen I cant see 4" 11 draft,,,but still a neato boat ,,what is the ballast?

[alan white]

Draft is about 22". Boat is 14' 11" length. Ballast is probably lead, probably about 400 lbs.

A.

[longliner45]

sorry al I miss read,,,,longliner /////and what kind of wood is it?

[alan white]

The hull is fiberglass---- the spars, fir. sheer clamps red cedar, breasthook mahogany. Deck frames, coamings, gaff and boom jaws, white oak. Rudder and bulkhead plywood.
More than you wanted to know, I'm sure. I go to sea with the boat I've got (like Rumsfeld might say). If it is not a wood boat, I do my best to fake it.

a.

[alan white]

This weekend I'll have some pictures in the water. Boat goes in tomorrow, just in time for Halloween.

[longliner45]

no allen,not more than I wanted to know ,,but good enough ,,never heard ofbreasthook mahogony ,,tell me more ,,,,please,longliner

[alan white]

Oops------ my bad grammar---- I meant to say the breasthook, the vee-shaped chunk that ties the two sheer clamps together at the bow, is mahogany. In this case, it went under the sheer clamps to allow the bowsprit to drop in.
There's a lot to be said about marrying a fiberglass hull to a wooden top structure. I don't know if you've ever heard of the Cape George Cutter series, based on Atkin's designs, but they are built exactly that way (google the name and see), and there is not a better built boat in the world. Fiberglass decks and cabins always look molded, and wooden hulls just about all leak somewhere. But with a fiberglass hull and the rest wood, the boat looks georgeous and no worries with the hull.

A.

[seasailor55]

Originally Posted by alan white

There's a lot to be said about marrying a fiberglass hull to a wooden top structure. I don't know if you've ever heard of the Cape George Cutter series, based on Atkin's designs, but they are built exactly that way (google the name and see), and there is not a better built boat in the world. Fiberglass decks and cabins always look molded, and wooden hulls just about all leak somewhere. But with a fiberglass hull and the rest wood, the boat looks georgeous and no worries with the hull.

A.

Alan,

Thanks for the validation on marrying a wooden deck to a fiberglass hull. This is exactly what I'm trying to accomplish with my derelict Ensign (bare hull, missing deck, everything wood rotted away).