500 rowing boat designs

hello all,

I have just spent many hours updating my list of all rowboat designs that are in the public domain. I have checked and where necessary updated and fixed every link. Two years ago the list had 512 individual designs. This time around I deleted a few because the link appeared dead, only managed to add a couple more, but have not looked hard.

The idea is to create an index, a resource that can be used when selecting what boat to build. Just go through the list and choose the one that suits best

The list is open source, you are free to copy and post elsewhere.

Free list of 500 plus rowing boat plans http://www.tackingoutrigger.com/rowboat3.html

 

well, thank you
And 500 times thanks again

 

Thanks very much Peter, most helpful.
Here below in case of, a short list from a similar search in French & some Europe, my excuse by advance if they are already on your list, builders with usually several models in their catalog :
Liteboat :
LiteSport 1X - Liteboat - Light, stable, easy rowing boats http://liteboat.fr/fr/portfolio-items/litesport-1x/?portfolioCats=50
Virusboats :
Nos yoles : bateau d'aviron pour mer, rivière, lac https://www.virusboats.com/nos-yoles/
Plasmor :
Yoles / Bateaux aviron de loisir, faciles, pour la mer, les lacs, les rivières - Plasmor http://www.plasmor.fr/yoles-aviron
Wing systems :
View Product http://www.wingsystemssmallcraft.com/product.aspx?pid=36cc249b-56ca-462e-bd37-fdf5ed8e2c5d
Little river :
Heritage 12 Classic Yacht Tender | Little River Marine - Rowing, Rowing Shells, Row Boat, Rowboats, Rowing Boats http://www.littlerivermarine.com/heritage-12-classic/
Devlinboat :
https://www.devlinboat.com/2015/12/duckling-14-sail/
Crescent boat AB :
http://crescent-boats.se/bat.php?prod=34
Skipperland Rower, Skipperland Adriano :
http://www.skipperland.de/eigene-boote

 

thanks Dolfiman

I already had the Ducking 14, Heritage 12 and VirusBoat Yole, but not the others. I have now added these to the list

I think the new trend is to long narrow low windage boats with outriggers. These give high performance. Downside is that low freeboard can allow water to come aboard. Seems this is alleviated by massive flotation, with the fore, aft and side decks all decked over, just leaving a small area for the rower to sit. Low freeboard means little protection for the rower, so idea of laying down and getting a few hours rest under a tarpaulin is not going to happen.

Traditional boats tended to be open and have little buoyancy. Maybe that was because they needed the space for fishing, stores etc, maybe also because it was harder without plywood, and without foam to make inbuilt buoyancy?

If you have a sail and oar boat, and you want buoyancy as well, how do you achieve that. On my boat the middle thwart is fixed and acts as a buoyancy compartment. If say I had a 50 sqr feet sprit sail and I wanted to stow the spars low down when not rowing, then I would probably have to make the center thwart removable, alternatively put them to the side.

Jim Mikalak likes to have large buoyancy compartments fore and aft, going all the way up the gunnel. The downside is that when you go aft or forward to tie a line or get ashore you lift yourself up high, making the boat tippy.

With my boat I found the main issue with performance was not hullshape but windage. My second boat I made a lot lower, I compensated with lots of inbuilt air flotation, probably over did it as then I cut down on storage space

Changing tack, was reading the Zeigler family post about rowing boats (From Triloboats), they originally had a Bolger Glouchester Gull. Great boat but more optimised for one person and rougher weather, For their second boat they increased max bottom panel width from 24 inches to 36 inches. Also when the bottom panel aft meets the the transom, instead of being very narrow, an inch or so, they widened it out to 12 inches or so. Obviously the new boat is slower and probably not as good in rough weather but seems to suit them well.

The first boat I built, Little Sister from Hannu Vartalia also had a 24 inch max bottom panel width and although I found it OK, my less agile friends found it very tippy. Also I found the double ended bottom panel very tippy when I went aft, on my second boat the bottom panel was about 14 inches wide when it met the transom which I found to be better, I widened the max bottom panel width to about 27 inches, and found it better. I aslo shortened the boat by 4.5ft and lowered the freeboard especially at the ends and it has turned out a much better boat though just a bit slower it still air

To do again would probably go a fraction wider again, maybe to 29 inches, and also increase overall beam from 48 inches to 49 or 50 inches for better spacing between rowlocks and more carrying capacity. Probably end up a boat very much like a narrower version of Pete Culler's Good Skiff Stewart River Boatworks: Good Skiff http://www.stewartriver.com/rowingboats/goodskiff.html or something like the Caravelle by Clint Chase Caravelle Skiff http://www.chase-small-craft.com/caravelle-skiff/