Curlew - a made-to-measure, stitch & glue, nesting dinghy

Hi all,

Well, it's taken some time but I have finished designing, building and developing detailed plans, for Curlew - a made-to-measure, stitch & glue, nesting dinghy.

We have been delighted with her and plans are now available at modest cost for anyone who wants to build one.

A copy of free study plans is attached. I'll add some pictures later.

 

John,

I guess I should say congratulations on all your effort, but it is just another big mac "fast food" version of a real boat, been there, done that (in the 60's).

When can we start making real boats again that do not rely on "stitch'n'glue". I am sick of it. If you want something of value, either commercially of asthetically, it takes time, time to design correctly, time to build successfully and time to use the end product.

This is just "another one".

Sorry to deflate all your efforts, I guess I am shitty today, maybe tomorrow I will find some merit in your work.

 

Down Boy!

It is nice to log on and see threads about boat design, with pics and plans.
I wish there were lots more...original or not. How many posts do you read that have nothing to do with boat design...50%? Thats probably conservative!

Mike

 

Ah well! What is a 'real' boat? This one floats, transports you across the water. I great fun on weekends. Makes it a real boat in my book.

Given that this forum is headed.. Construction > Boatbuilding > Wooden Boat Building and Restoration > I presume we would not be talking about plastic boats - would we?

Hard to understand why a boat that requires careful cutting out of each component part should draw criticism as a 'Mac' boat.

Anyway, I share some of Landlubbers objection to plywood stitch-and-glue however practical and durable it may be these days. To me it doesn't have the same satisfaction as a traditional clinker craft, but we have to start somewhere.

I hope my next project will be a traditional clinker sailing dinghy but that also has it's problems. For starters, where does one find suitable timber for stems, knees etc these days?

Perhaps that won't be a 'real' boat either if its less than 60 ft, or travels at less than 10 knots.

My purpose in starting this thread is to share a most enjoyable boat building project. No admiration of my work is required.

 

I think your project is great. I wish you all the success in the world with it. If people dont like it, then they can just ignore it and move on with thier life. Or they can DESIGN and BUILD something of thier OWN and then post it here for us to critique.

K9

 

Full ten points for a great idea and execution. Wonderfull innovation and concept development.
"Real" wooden boats like clinker built etc are wonderfull projects, but reality means the quicker, easier methods are a much more efficient way to get in the water quickly without mastering a lot of specialist skills.
Anyway, you couldnt have this kind of innovation in a traditional build method nearly as easily.
Once again - well done!

 

"If you want something of value, either commercially of asthetically, it takes time, time to design correctly, time to build successfully and time to use the end product."

I have just noticed that I had reputation points deducted for my "not constructive" comments. So be it. I thought that forums where sites where we can have our opinions expressed freely. So, if someone does not agree with my opinion, then I get my head chopped off....strange.

I would have thought that my opening comments here were constructive, it is a fact of life that good things take time, I know of nothing that is made instantly that is worth keeping, how many of the worlds great works were ever done in 5 minutes?

I can certainly see merit in stitch and glue for those that are not interested in formal boatbuilding, or otherwise have not the skills required to complete a boat design as has been traditionally conceived, but why would someone then want to try and sell something that, as I previously stated, has been pushed to the limits previously in copy cat designs for decades.

yeah, sure, the poor fella has been to all this effort to build his bloody boat, designed it himself (? really, i thought that there were hundreds of these), built it and then set up his own web pages to promote it, big deal, it is still "just another big mac"......I rest my case.

 

Head chopped off Landlubber? you are a sensitive little soul!

I reckon there arn't that many dinghys that can be packed into each other, even Bolger only got as far as connecting them in his Brick design and the Folding Schooner, oh, and of course the Nesting Dinghy by Kilwinning in the "Similar Threads" below, and that got a patent!

Just to upset you some more - let me say that "Traditional" boats are overrated! They are time consuming to build, use up rare timbers from shrinking forests and are high maintenance if you actually use them and dont just keep them on a trailer as a status symbol.

I am not sure if the "Mac" boats you keep referring to are derived from MacDonalds hamburgers or Macgregor yachts. In either case, they are both producing affordable goods quickly with effective systems, for use by the average Joe.
For people who want to get out in the water in the same season they start building, and not breath wood chips and paint fumes for months on end - stitch and glue is a winner all round.

 

It's horses for courses really. There was no other boat, or plan, available that would satisfy our primary design criteria, i.e. that we could fit her in our (rather small) caravan. (She does that perfectly:!: )

That being the case she obviously had to be within my capacity to firstly design, then to build. I can't see that there was any alternative to stitch and glue. As it is it took exactly 12 months (very part-time) from conception to completion. It's taken another 12 months (and many hours) to develop the detailed plans that would enable an even less experienced builder than me to build one if they wanted to.

The other point is that, in the 12 months since she was launched we have had so much fun with her and found many benefits that we had not anticipated. My wife just LOVES her.

As a customer of my own boat design service I am very satisfied and will definitely come to me for my next design and build project (currently being concieved).

What more can I say :?:

Cheers,

 

purists

don't be discouraged by those who defne a boat to only their own standards. For me, it's the fun of doing one of your own, even if it is similar to a lot of other boats. I think the idea has merit for someone who needs an easily transported boat and wants to build it himself. Museum Quality is good if you can afford it. I can't, and will continue to design and build "big mac" boats. The way I see it, there's only so many different hulls out there and all are varients of some thing or some one elses design and unless you get VERY lucky you won't make a miraculous break through on design or preformance. That doesn' stop me from building just for the satisfaction of it. Small boats do not need the skills of a professional designer to be serviceable and useful.

 

OK goolawa,

Looks like most people here agree that I am wrong, I guess we all have our own standards and thoughts about such emotional things as boats, so let me apologise if I have offended you, it was not directed as being personal, just on the subject, and again I say, it was a lot of work anyhow.

I am sincerely glad that your family appreciates all you have done, and in the end, that is all that matters anyhow.

I shall just go down to the local Maccas and have a bite to eat, sort of like swallowing himble pie, only it is instant!

 

The missus's views on Curlew

I claim to be very biassed, but having been around the small wooden boat world for quite a few years now and one of the few local wives who do go out on messabouts, attend meetings, and have even been part of making boats in 3 winning 'quick-and-dirty' comps, I can truly say Curlew is my absolute favorite non-sailing boat. Bolger's folding schooner is my favorite sailing boat. In Curlew I can sit right up front and take photos, not get wet at all, nap in the front half or the back in superb comfort, fit heaps and heaps of gear (I'm a bit inclined to bring the 'kitchen sink', or at least fishing gear, painting gear, a picnic hamper, books, mozzie and sun stuff, and so on). I can hop in and out of her without feeling she is going to rock like mad or I'll fall in. We tried her out in the swimming pool and she floats full of water and each half can hold an adult when it is full of water. She is very easy to slither into when she is full of water and then bail out. I wipe her out after a trip and she is very easy to keep clean. I can carry each half myself (usually don't as hubbie claims that job). We put her in the water in all sorts of unlikely places, because she doesn't need a ramp. She is so comfy to curl up in that I've even slept in her when she was on-shore! We usually put a 3.5hp outboard on her, but she works very well to row or paddle like a canoe. She is very stable - I can stand up in her to throw a line or move about the boat without her rocking. She is close to the water, but amazing the way she rides over the wakes of big power boats. I'm not recommending overdoing it, but we have tested her in some pretty busy waterways and she has handled outstandingly. She's designed to slip in the caravan door, but equally she carries easily on our ordinary trailer (doesn't need a boat trailer) or on the car rooftop. She stores standing on end nested together in a very small space against a wall in our garage. Equally she could store against a wall in a townhouse, meaning that people in quite small homes could have room for a boat. I've absolutely loved watching hubbie play with boat design software and CAD software which he is really expert at. Equally of course, boat-building is such a good activity for entertaining husbands safely and for little cost.

The Missus

 

Hey mate, bugger the boat, how much do you want for the missus?

 

I assume she can cook and dig worms?

 

A pearl beyond price, that one :!:
Couldn't have done better if I'd designed her myself, but I can't take credit for that!