designing a fast rowboat

This may be dumb, but I can't figure out the SOF acronym. Special Operations Forces? To fulfill actical rowing supply needs? Thanks, Jeremy.

 

Skin On Frame

It's a construction method that involves stretching a fabric skin over s rigid frame.

 

http://www.northbayboatworks.com/
These guys are in a tiny waterfront shop in Sausalito, just across the bay from the SF rowing clubs, and build/repair some of the most gorgeous traditional boats you could imagine, at competitive prices.
I rowed a piano-finish Herreshoff yacht tender they built and it was absolutely the best 12 footer I ever put to oars.
They are a great resource to know, even if you don't hire them.

 

Thanks, Bataan, I don't think I've seen North Bay boatworks. Indeed good to know about them.

I went by the clubs, but it was a little dark and the photos could be better. Here's the best shot, the Viking named 'Kohlenberg' from the Dolphin Club. I don't know the specs but would guess it to be 18' and about 160-190lbs:

ps Jeff, there's a two-man Viking next to it named the Liftthrasir. I don't know what it means, but I always thought it was a cool (scandinavian) name:

 

Hi dcnblues,
that single viking looks very interresting,,,,, where can I find out more about them.
Mike

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Líf_and_Lífþrasir

 

WoodenBoat magazine
May/June 2011, Number 220
Cover: KOHLENBERG, an 18-footer launched in fall 2010, is Jeremy Fisher-Smith’s fifth variation on VIKING, a historic and much-admired San Francisco Bay boat with which the builder has had a three-decade relationship. Photograph by Abner Kingman.



Nick, thanks for the tip.

 

Ha! Gotcha! The builder is up on Tomales Bay:

FISHER-SMITH WOODEN BOATS
For over a quarter-century FISHER-SMITH WOODEN BOATS have been acknowledged for their quality and durability as among the finest handcrafted wooden boats available anywhere.
http://fishersmithwoodenboats.com/category/portfolio/

ps thanks, Noeyedeer.

 

OK, the singles are called by their builder 'Viking's Daughter' class:

http://fishersmithwoodenboats.com/2011/04/14/vikings-daughter/

The original boat ('Viking') seems to have been a unique double from the 19th Century:

Interesting reading. Specs confirmed at Length: 18′; Beam 36.″ I really should have brought a tape measure and gotten the spread.

Here's the South End Rowing Club's THOR:

 

And some more shots of the Viking's Daughter class Kohlenberg. Again, sorry for the dark blur. Note the movable foot stretchers and quality of woodwork / brightwork. As I said earlier, I haven't been a member in 5 years, and they didn't have this single available then, so I never got to row it. These boats require some care in handling, and when they return from being out in saltwater they get hosed off and toweled dry. It can take some time but club rowers love these boats and it shows:

 

Just because I think the people on this thread would be interested, here are (bad) shots of the two main boat rooms at the Dolphin Club:

ps for the record, these Viking's Daughters look pretty fast, so this falls under 'on topic,' I think.

 

Well thanks for posting those pictures - they look great - gave me goose bumps. There is also an older Woodenboat article on the viking class boats people could search for. I was going to go through my Files to find some photo's from when I was last there to do the Bridge to Bridge Race. Somehow we set a course record for the mixed doubles on the short course. I say somehow as I was feeling fairly crappy - of course that could have been why I was feeling fairly crappy! The next year I did the long course in a Surfski. Lots of fun. Incidentally the Bay areas fastest Surfski Paddler beat all the single rowers and it was really a close call for the double rowboat ( a MAAS ). And now that is really off topic.
But as I was yesterday paddling off Berkeley in a howling wind the question of windage was brought home to me as I crested waves. The wind would actually grab the bow and swing it sideways. As I had limited forward speed (3.5 - 4 mph max) it was hard to turn back into the wind. And that a fairly low bow. Not as low as an open water racer, but much lower than a more traditional row boat. Not that I imagine any kind of row boat would have chosen to be out in that amount of wind. Straight down wind would about be the only option. A famous Bay area open water rower ( Gordie Nash ) designed a boat specifically for the Catalina - Marina Del Ray Race ( 35 miles ?). After much thought and work with Navel architects at the last minute they cut an inch off the freeboard - this apparently "made the boat".
My point is only that low windage is a must and that leads to foredecks and afterdecks; water tight compartments - as water is going to come onboard; and, that then also requires suction bailers. It is not only on open water that water comes on board. A couple of years ago I was doing my annual Petaluma River (27 miles) row in a Maas 24. On the return up the river I was bucking a horrendous head wind blowing against the tide, resulting in short steep waves that just kept the footwell full of water. Luckily it a small footwell. But it was quite a battle and that in a boat that has essentially no windage - most of it was under water. - Nicholas

 

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthr...boat-for-SF-bay-(warning-rambling-post)/page2

Here is another discussion on rowboats.

 

And some thing intriguingly off topic

http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/11/projects/blueskies/index.htm

But a lot of windage.

 

My interpretation of the GPS "data" is that with the sliding seat his stroke rate dropped by 33% while his speed went up by 20 %. A good deal. Especially as you get to "rest" for half the time with a sliding seat.
If I lived in SF I would be a member of one of those clubs - it is a terrific deal. Do you need the space to keep your boat to build it too?
IF you come up to Petaluma Sunday June 5 th the TSCA will be at the Heritage Center. Last year there were some great boats and you could meet the builders too. It will also be Day on the River - a day of free boating for the public. It should be a great scene on the River. _ nicholas