Best design for GRP sailing/rowing boat for 5 people

[Becandalex]

Anthony. I grew up in Vladivostok until i turned 16. Best place in the world at the time. I sailed those wooden six oar boats for years and that was best fun. They behaved like soap dishes. Downwind ok but absolute piggy to turn. You had to hold the front sail by hand upwind to help bow cross the wind and then let it go to another side. Very simple. Mast held in place with use of metal plate and a pin plus two shrouds. No winches, couple of cleats. Natural fibre ropes. Manila. Loved it.
I am not a boat builder. I enjoyed sailing but my dad is a real enthusiast. He has been sailing all his life all over russia and many parts of the world.
I talked with him through various designs that were suggested and there were many great ones but due to GRP requirement we had to drop lovely designs. We currently looking at Drascombe Longboat. Seems a comfortable good sailing boat. Plenty of bench seats for rowing. Will not set any records under oars but that is not a requirement. So far so good. I think challenge will be getting plans for the boat because it is built by particular company.
By the way I have just come back from Vladivostok. It snowed while I was there . Literally thousands of small power boats lined up along the shore side. Not many yachts, mostly power boats.
Thank you for all your help and advice.

Michael. This is great step by step on how to build a boat. We already have set process of building boats out of GRP (i don't know details but i know it works). Thank you kindly for advice as well.

So far we are leaning towards Drascombe Longboat. If we can get the plans.
Thank you again to everyone for great help and wish that you get same fantastic support and answers to questions you may ask.
Cheers
Alexei

 

[philSweet]

outward bound 30 by Roger Martin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVXdGar5OHg

 

[Becandalex]

PhilSweet.
Mate. I nearly fell out of my chair! This s unbelivably perfect. I hope two things. My dad loves it as much as i did. I hope we can get plans.
This is amasing boat in my view. Especially for training.
Perfect! Whoooow! Thank you.
I am sending my dad links and looking for type and design!

 

[AnthonyW]

Phil - Gorgeous looking open boat!

 

[SukiSolo]

Here in the UK we used to have the ASC (Admiralty Sailing Craft) a heavy rather tubby GRP boat 16' long. Better was the longer and lighter and narrower gig used by the Sea Scouts in particular. I believe it is around 18'6" and the url beneath should link to a pic of one sailing on the Thames at Kingston.

http://sealionscouts.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=137879606

The Trinity 500 (designed by Jo Richards) is now used by the Scouts as a more modern craft. I have rowed and sailed both ASC and the scout gig and the latter is a better boat. You can even single scull it with fair speed. Scull as in one oar from the stern (there is a yoke/rowlock for this) and sails reasonably.
I do not think the 500 is a sailing vessel though.

If you get a bit longer the old Naval Whalers at 27' were multi purpose with a lugsail rig and mizzen. Not too bad but probably a bit too long and of course they are wooden. Similar to a double ended version of the craft you have linked to.

The Outward bound is also a sweet looking boat but at 30' may be a bit long?

The modern Cornish gigs are quite interesting but few now have the ability to sail as well. The Dutch design above is a good take on it, there used to be loads of those steel hard chine boats in Holland. The Drascombe luggers are well proven if a bit traditional, it also matter which size you get ie some are better behaved than others according to some I have spoken to who have seriously sailed these things.

Can't be too hard to draw something up along similar lines about 6 -7 meters or so. Worth building a one off say as a strip planked prototype. Prove everything then use as a plug for GRP/FRP build.

 

[Becandalex]

Gents,
Thank you for your input. With your help I now see that there are many options in the area of sea scouts. Many countries: uk, us, ireland, holland, australia etc... Have sea scouts who use sailing rowing boats for training. Exactly what i was after.
Please find attached links to south australian sea scout boats. I still ave not decided which one is more suitable but south australian certanly meets all criteria.

https://picasaweb.google.com/markct...authkey=Gv1sRgCOuyyKKV-vmloQE&feat=directlink

http://www.seascouts.sa.scouts.com.au/photos/2007_pt-vincent/

https://picasaweb.google.com/HawkeSeaScouts/PtChevWinterSailing02

http://www.hawke.org.nz/gallery.html

 

[Becandalex]

Gents,
Not suitable for myself due to wooden design but may be useful for others

http://www.boatplans.dk/boat_plans.asp?id=2

For mysel i am currently talking to south australia sea scouts and nz sea scouts to see if i can use/buy copy of their designs. Both are suitable. I am very thankful to this forum that through a lot of ideas and searching helped me identify perfect area for searching - sea scouts. Now its a matter of getting agreement on use of boat plans.
Cheers
Alexei

 

[AnthonyW]

Also very nice:

http://www.tantonyachts.com/images6.htm#image941

 

[Ilan Voyager]

Gents,
Not suitable for myself due to wooden design but may be useful for others

http://www.boatplans.dk/boat_plans.asp?id=2

For mysel i am currently talking to south australia sea scouts and nz sea scouts to see if i can use/buy copy of their designs. Both are suitable. I am very thankful to this forum that through a lot of ideas and searching helped me identify perfect area for searching - sea scouts. Now its a matter of getting agreement on use of boat plans.
Cheers
Alexei

The Danish boat can be very easily done in polyester plates with a female jig and a simple table for stratifying the plates. The final weight will be just a bit over the plywood design with simple cheap technics.

In France the method is called placo plastic (plastic plates), a very old low tech method for small hard chine GRP boats. The great advantage is that exterior side is already finished.

All depends on the number of boats you plan to make. Under three to five boats, mold or worst the set of molds (hull, decks and several pieces) are a costly thing and add up significantly to the final cost.

 

[AnthonyW]

Hi IV

Do you happen to have a link to a sight that shows this process? Would be much appreciated.

Kind regards

Anthony

 

[Becandalex]

Gents,
I posted the same question on a different site (link below) and one gentlemen posted an amazing story that I would like to share. Story is below as well as at the attached link. Enjoy.

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthrea...-which-boat-is-suitable&p=4485053#post4485053


If you could lay your hands on this design and build it, it would be fantastic because of the historical link!!

see http://www.sebcoulthard.com/the-james-caird.html


The voyage of the 'James Caird' was an open boat journey from Elephant Island in Antarctica to South Georgia in the southern Atlantic Ocean, a distance of approximately 800 nautical miles (1,500 km; 920 mi). Undertaken by Sir Ernest Shackleton and five companions, their objective was to obtain rescue for the main body of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–17, marooned on Elephant Island after the loss of their ship Endurance. History has come to know the voyage of the James Caird as one of the greatest small-boat journeys of all time.

This looks ideal for your purpose but not sure where you may get plans Seb may be able to help.

On January 23, 2013 Seb Coulthard set sail on an 800 nautical mile voyage across the Southern Ocean, but this was no ordinary voyage. Seb was a member of Shackleton Epic Expedition, an expedition which set out to re-discover the legendary feat of seamanship accomplished by Sir Ernest Shackleton, Frank Worsley, Tom Crean, Tim McCarthy, John Vincent and 'Chippy' McNeish.

Using a replica of the 'James Caird' lifeboat, woolen clothing, sextant and compass, the crew of 'Shackleton Epic Expedition' successfully retraced the legendary open boat journey across the Southern Ocean. After 12 days of 'hell on high water' they became the first people to successfully re-enact Sir Ernest Shackleton’s lifeboat voyage using authentic equipment from the Heroic Age of Polar Exploration.

The original boat can be seen at Dulwich College UK 4 rowing positions and three sails

There is also a James Caird Society Google them to see their web site

Best of luck

Peter
Last edited by peterhull; 30-11-13 at 17:39.

 

[susho]

Gents,

Susho. What an unusual, modern design. I was after 4+1 but this is very interesting concept. I tend to lean towards tried and tested by someone else and as this in new design, there is unknown but very interesting. How would I go about obtaining detailed plans if this was the boat of choice?

Contact the designer, Willem Nieland, www.willemnieland.nl

Very interesting boats in this tread!

a drascombe is used by a sea cadet corps here too. They seem to be pretty happy with it. I doubt you will get plans. maybe something similar can be designed.

That outward bound looks like a great boat too. A bit more refined than the boats the seacadets can lend from the navy once a year, althoug nice to sail too.

 

[Ilan Voyager]

Hi IV

Do you happen to have a link to a sight that shows this process? Would be much appreciated.

Kind regards

Anthony

Sorry for being too late but I has been very busy.
I had a very old link about "placo plastic" that I checked a few days ago: more than dead. So I wrote to an old friend of mine if he has in his pictures collection some pics. I hope that this old bear will feel the urge to answer...
Unhappily I have not personal pics as my archives has been destroyed, but I have somewhere in the house an old book with drawings I'll scan. Let me the time.
Some of the boats shown in the thread are major projects by their size and weight. I'm afraid that boats of such a size are not very convenient if you have small means.
Smaller boats that you can beach, put on trailer by 2 or 3 persons, winterize easily in some backyard, and build in a "garage", lighter so easily rowed and sailed are for me more convenient for a small structure.
My personal experience is there is more fun for young people to learn in several small groups of 4 on light boats (you get emulation between the groups), and it's surer as you can get assistance from the other boats and the security tender in case of problem. Rescuing 4 chaps and righting up a small boat of 20 feet 250 kg is matter of minutes by 2 adults, the same task with 8-12 chaps and a +30 feet more than one ton boat it's not as easy. With a 250-300 kg boat 30 cm draft any beach is a haven in case of sudden bad weather...
Small boats, small problems also; the hardware of a 250 kg boat is cheap and simple, the dacron sails can be sewed with an ordinary tarp sewer machine, the mast is a simple aluminium tube or a wooden post, the rows are lighter. Smaller boats are also easier to make unsinkable.
Having several small boats, if one is on reparation it's not a drama, if there is less people than thought just take one boat less. The initial investment is smaller so if the operation is successful you have only to build more boats from the mold.