Gallery Designs....WOW!

That's my Cooper Jr. design, the little brother to Cooper, which developed into a series of boats. The big brother does have an elliptical stern option, with an outboard in a well (all the full size Coopers have well mounted outboards), plus several other "options".

I wouldn't encumber this boat with a cabin as described above, as there are plenty of houseboats to choose from (I have a few of those too).

The hull form is a typical warped bottom for a reasonable turn of speed, quick "get up-ness" and reasonable lower speed handling characteristics. The pilothouse was designed for a cold weather skipper and is fully enclosed, with a stand up head too.

Styling wasn't as big a consideration as function on this design, so cabin heights, visibility over the bow, height off the water (the stick folds down), following seas, cockpit sole heights, side deck scuppers and other considerations dominate the styling more so then stylish bow profiles, raked windshields and radar arches from hell, that serve no useful purpose. If you want radar, put it on the cabin roof or the mast.

Currently this boat (Cooper Jr.) has only one hull form and 2 build methods, plywood over frames and taped seam plywood. It can also be build with a raised (broken) sheer, which makes the little trunk portion of the cabin a flush deck. This greatly improves interior volume and an openness feel, but at the cost of some (slight) forward visibility. This is a low cost stock plan, if interested, contact me privately.

. . . and thanks to those that enjoyed it's posting . . .

 

thanks PAR ...

with the "changes" my thinking was fresh water lakes only ... live in the DESERT and the sea is a day or 2 away ... but the lake is a half hour ...

 

PAR has a great gallery!

OK, I think I have seen them all now, it's time for the community to review their pics and load up some new ones!!!

 

Another interesting one from the gallery




http://www.boatdesign.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/10078

 

Another one, as gunship said, wonderful:



http://www.boatdesign.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/15904

 

I must confess that I too browse through the gallery on a regular basis, admiring in particular the work of students.

Can anyone recall if even one of these has become a set of plans or a real boat?

Otherwise it's just an art class, I'd suggest.

 

I've never noticed the gallery? Thanks for the tip.

This was my favorite design in the gallery. Nice chine lines, ample bow, and a stout stern. The tinted glass is classy but the sail's a little skimpy though.

 

ddrdan has just raised the bar.

I took the challenge personally and was about to respond with some images of my boat, but my boat informed me that my balls would be given to stray dogs and cats, if I did that... And she said it with the calmest and sweetest voice ever.

Sent some shivers up and down my spine.

Damned be those boats...

 

Wow indeed!

 

A boat very similar to that has been built and is available to be built in NZ. Check out Steve Dashew at Setsail.com.

 

ddrdan, that's probably one of the highest maintenance rides in the gallery! I'd certainly take her on a cruise, not sure how fast she'd be...

We have some new pics up too! I have spent hours messing about in there, fansatastic!

PAR, love the Cooper, just wish I had the talent, time, shop and $$$ to build a nice one!

 

PAR is currently finishing up plans for my 28' (8.5m) Egress, in between gigs that pay better or have time constraints (not a problem; that was the deal).

Egress is a narrow, shallow-draft riverboat that I'll be using on the Colorado River and its lakes, although it'll be home-ported in California instead of Arizona. It's designed to sip fuel, while I slide along in style at about 8 knots admiring the scenery. It's also a comfortable 'bed and breakfast' for a couple, and a sturdy fishing or swimming platform. Eat your heart out....

You can get a look at her here:

http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/wooden-boat-building-restoration/head-turner-par-39763.html

 

LOL, Troy, is that in lieu of the sharpie build? Just re-read much of the old thread on sharpies.....

 

Another interesting boat in the gallery


http://www.boatdesign.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/7916

 

Egress could be considered a sharpie hull of sorts. Her beam/length ratio is not quite right, but she's flat bottomed and a lot of folks think this is all it takes to be a sharpie. She's actually a big skiff, but with an elliptical transom, she'd sure look like a sharpie. Being outboard powered tends to mess up the elliptical look, but after some thought, maybe a bracket mounted outboard on a curved, elliptical transom might work. This would preserve the roundness of the transom (no flat spot or big cutout) and possably hold enough of the transom's visual appeal to work. I'll play with it and see if it'll work, but don't hold your breath. It would open up some space in the fairly small cockpit too, which would be welcome.