Selecting a Small Sailboat Design

I've looked into various design plans for a 14' to 18' small sailboat that will take a 10 hp outboard - to use for coastal cruising and island hopping. I prefer an open deck design and one that can take some rough sea. I looked at Sevenson's Weekender (lot of if's there), Welsford's Pathfinder, the Coresound 17, Arch Davis' Penobscot, and Kurylko's Alaskan amongst others. Does anyone have opinions to offer on which of these boats or other designs in this general range are most seaworthy eg. say to venture across a 15 mile channel in choppy seas? I know this is a bit broad, but I need some advice in narrowing down the choices.

Newfie

 

If you are a really from the Granite Planet, you probably are already familiar with my suggestion ... a Grand Banks / St. Pierre dory. Newfoundland's fishing industry trusted dories for a good reason - great sea boats, good cargo capacity, beach launching possible and stable.

14 feet is pretty small - I'd consider around 18-20' for 15 mile passages about minimum. 10hp is pretty low - you'd get around 5-6 knots cruising speed max out of it running flat out, where with 20-25hp you'd be running at half throttle and probably using less gas. Reliability is important when making runs that long - a 20hp run at half throttle three hours will be a lot more reliable than a 10hp run flat out for the same time span.

One major point about dories is that you can man the sweeps and get where you need to if there is an engine failure - not something other designs do well. A dory can be rowed to 2-3 knots for hours.

Newfoundland & Labrador are not like cruising down the Intercoastal waterway with marinas every ten feet. Waters are cold, fogs blinding and reefs are everywhere. You just can't afford to take the same level of chances as weekend warriors do down south.

You have to take a hard look at where you are - and a couple hundred years of tough evolution has led to the dory as the best boat for the job.

--
Bill

 

You did say sailboat, so I'm going to go the other way and suggest you stay below 5 hp to keep weight out of the stern and save fuel.
If the sailboat you choose is really a sailboat, it has a displacement type hull---- meaning it won't plane. It's under a ton displacement. 5 hp is all you need to make it go displacement speed.
Bill is right about the dory, though the one he's talking about is really a power boat. some have been made into sailers, but with the condition that they are comprimise boats as far as sailing goes, as they carry little sail because they are too narrow-bottomed to stand up under a real press of sail.
I'm wondering why you chose the 10 hp motor. Why not decide on the boat first and then size the motor?
Judging by what you've said, the Weekender will be a little inadaquate. I don't believe it is suited to rough water offshore, even if within 15 miles. For island hopping involving somewhat rough water, you need a tough little boat.
There are a few boats I think might fill the bill. Dories top the list, and if you're going to sail, an Alpha dory is a good choice at around 20 ft.
Also, check out the Caldonia yawl, Swampscot dory, and similar boats.
There are also keel boats of all kinds, but they will cost a lot more to build as they use up to six times as much material, with bigger rigs and hardware.

 

http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/03/r/reviews/tinkerbell/index.htm

This site describes that in the summer of 1965, Robert Manry, a 48-year-old Cleveland, Ohio newspaperman, made a single-handed, 78-day, 3,200-mile crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in a 13-foot centerboard sailboat named Tinkerbelle. At the end of the article, there is the URL for a site that describes plans available for a stitch and glue version with improvements that is relatively easy to build.

David

 

Thanks for the feedback! I should have been more specific with respect to needs and limitations. First, I'll not pretend than most of my boating experience was in OB driven wooden boats on the coast of Newfoundland. I've been in a couple of 30' (?) pleasure schooners but only as guest and helping hand. I'd like a small sailboat 1) to build it and 2) learn to sail it. The likelihood of doing this in the Philippines is a distinct possibility. Use will be for 2 to 4 people max, yet easily sailed by one crew. This will include coastal inshore cruising/camping/fishing and some island hopping (thus the question on the 15 mile channel).

By the way, thanks Bill for sorting out the OB issue. I have studied (web only) various sailboats including a Newfie skiff adapted to sail. Thanks Alan and Bill for the references to the Caledonia Yawl and the Tinkerbelle, respectively. I reading up on the Ness Yawl (a little leaner, whaler like). The Vivier Lilou and Ebihan boats remind me of NF skiff - the latter I assisted in building via carvel method and by 'modified' strip plank method that used hot water bent larch ribs and that skips the edge nailing and need for chalking. The Vivier boats noted here have ribs, can be strip planked or built with plywood. It includes steel keel and centerboard, a balanced 'in the center design' for OB and rudder. I have a lot of trust in fishermen elders of old and the boats they built. I think these designs can take a good level of choppy sea. Maybe the 18' foot is best for a 15 mile channel?

Another less traditional looking boat I am looking at is the Bayraider by Swallowboats. Unfortunately, they don't sell plans. Perhaps, this post with the extra information might prompt a few more suggestions.

 

This is one of my small cruiser designs. It has two draft configurations, three different rigs and two different cabin profile arrangements.



If interested , click on my name and drop me an email. I have others in this size range as well. RYD-14.11 is a real little ship, not a puddle duck and she's capable of voyaging in comfort.

 

Small boat design

Newfie,

if your still in selection process, I can say that the John welsford Pathfinder works well on the newfoundland coastline. I built and launched my own last summer.

P

http://buildingpathfinder.blogspot.com/

 

It isn't unusual for these sorts of decisions to take a long time though I suspect the original poster may have made his choice by now!

Nice blog btw. My old man got into pathfinders the easy way (buying not building) and it is indeed a lovely craft. We're just going through the process of tweaking some of the systems to our liking. It would have been an interesting picture to capture us sailing past the moored wild oats x at rpayc two weeks ago. Completely opposite ends of the sailing spectrum!

 

PAR...that is a sweet little boat...still shoal draft enough for gunkholing...probably very nice motion compared to most other boats in her size range...simple rig...probably moves along very well in afternoon winds to get you home quickly while stiff enough to keep the rails dry...strong tracking afforded from the full keel ...this is very much what I'd like someday....the only change I'd make for my type of use right now would be a longer cabin/shorter cockpit.....she's a looker...

 

She (RYD-14.11) comes in several configurations, drafts and rigs.