Outriggers

Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by SeanSwede, Nov 13, 2010.

  1. SeanSwede
    Joined: Nov 2010
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    Location: Norrland, Sweden

    SeanSwede Junior Member

    I am currently working on an outrigger for my rowboat. My plans eventually will be to also build a sail on the rowboat. I will however have to take away the oarlocks and use paddles instead seeing that I dont think that I will be able to have enough space to row anymore, unless anyone may have a suggestion on how I could solv that.

    Having finished building my first flat-bottom outrigger, I am now in the process of painting it and sealing it with resin. I have so far not seen any flat-bottom outrigger attachments and I am hoping that mine will work. Next time I would like to hew one out of a log.

    Please feel free to share your thoughts and experiences on the subject on outriggers, building and sailing with them.

    I would like to know if it is normal or functional to use a flat-bottom outrigger for my rowboat.
     

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  2. peterAustralia
    Joined: Mar 2006
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    Location: Melbourne Australia

    peterAustralia Senior Member

    I was silly enough to attach an outrigger to a rowboat.

    I cant say I was happy with it.

    Yes it did allow me to get out on the bay, and get through some rough stuff, but it was not fun.

    Something designed from scratch makes more sense. A narrower deeper hull will pound less. Less flare in the main hull will allow for strong paddle strokes. A narrower hull is faster, especially at speed.

    In big waves, the stresses from the outrigger via crossbeams onto the main hull are very strong. If a outrigger canoe is built to be an outrigger from day one, bulkheads at crossbeam connectives make sense.

    Thats the negatives. The positives are that in good conditions it was really stress free and relaxing.

    to see more
    www.tacking-outrigger.com
     
  3. SeanSwede
    Joined: Nov 2010
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    Location: Norrland, Sweden

    SeanSwede Junior Member

    Outrigger

    My intention is to sail it along the river here where I live. The river is called Ljungan and it stretches for miles and runs thru several lakes along the way. There are no waves though save for perhaps stronger currents at various points and windy days. I thought about what you said about "A narrower deeper hull will pound less." I can see that happening if I were sailing at an ocean with my current rig. I can`t say too much though as I haven`t even tried this yet, but I am guessing there will be little or no pounding as I sail along this river, or am I mistaken perhaps in my presumptions?
    I`ve added a couple of pictures of the river here.
     

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  4. peterAustralia
    Joined: Mar 2006
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    Location: Melbourne Australia

    peterAustralia Senior Member

    oh ok, good points that you are making.

    I guess if it work well it can be fun. I suppose I am a bit dissillusioned with my boat, as it did not work out as well as I had hoped. In protected conditions it went well. It does have the positives of combining the carrying capacity of the dory, with the speed and stability of the outrigger canoe.

    You may have a better starting point than what I had. If your main hull has a flat bottom, then matching it with a flat bottommed outrigger cant be that bad.

    Give it a go and see what happens. From my earlier link you should have a lot of information that tells you what other people have done.

    you have the main hull and outrigger. Now you need a pair of crossbeams and a rig. My guess is something in the order of 60 to 70 sqr feet. I broke my daggerboard, so I have bad feelings with those, maybe leeboards are better.

    you have a nice rowboat there, with a more vertical stem and stern, should work a bit better than mine, more waterline lenght vs weight.

    There are lots of lakes in Finland? If it goes well on the rivers then progressing to lakes may be woth it. Can you still row with 2 crossbeams? they may get in the way. Getting a nice paddle may have to be done, but rowing imparts more energy than paddling, so you could be at risk of getting blown into a corner and not being able to get out.
     
  5. SeanSwede
    Joined: Nov 2010
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    Location: Norrland, Sweden

    SeanSwede Junior Member

    Outrigger

    Well, I dont know about Finland but here in Sweden there are countless amounts of lakes in various sizes and shapes. I do plan on using paddles instead of oars.
    My rowboat does not have a flatbottom but it is not very deep. It is quite unstable and that is why I built this outrigg to stablize it and that after I had actually tipped over into the river out here. It wasnt really good for useing oars. I believe that seeing that the boat was so wobbley and useing the oars presented it even more of a risk of it capsizing, which it did. I believe it was because, in this particular case I happened to have had my left oar the wrong way in the water and as the boat was moving it caused the boat to be dragged over to its side and nothing I did to stop it helped. Thanks to the float-tanks that I had in the boat it did not sink. I was able to paddle myself with my left hand and hold the side of the boat with my right untill I came ashore. Thanks to my lifesuit I was kept warm seeing that it was cold in the water and this only happend a few weeks ago :D As I got myself up I had to work hard to tip over the boat to empty it of water seeing that it was completely filled to the brim with water. Luckely enough I didnt loose any of my belongings or oars during that adventure. :)

    By the way, I ve added several new pictures where you can see and read about my type of boat and a map of the river under the first post.
     

  6. peterAustralia
    Joined: Mar 2006
    Posts: 443
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    Location: Melbourne Australia

    peterAustralia Senior Member

    Hi Sean,

    your photos look very nice. Please forgive me mixing up Finland and Sweden, was just a silly error.

    Rowing stability and technique. My guess is that if you should choose to carry on rowing, you would get better and better at it. That was my experience. Even with a narrow boat, you learn how to move, learn how to use your oars, learn balance, and with time, even a narrow boat can be rowed. My dory has a bottom width of only 66cm from memory, and yes it is tippy. One thing with such a narrow rowboat, is that when I took it on the bay, with large fast moving side on waves, it handled much, much better than I expected.

    Sorry I did not reply earlier, I was interstate for work.

    So, what is next, crossbeams, rig and leeboard?
    there is a lot of information out there, should you choose to see what other people have attempted before. Good luck.
     
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