car topper rowboat advice

FHS, are you still looking for a design to build, or is it already under way or even in the water? If you are still looking for ideas I’ll post a few thoughts of my own to add to the mix.

Purpose: primary purpose is fishing; this is a time-consuming activity so it implies comfort. You’ll want extra stability for safety, casting and retrieving the catch over the side. You will want primary stability, which shows up as soon as the boat starts to heel.

Shape: a rowboat is designed to be move well under limited power. The hull is long and well rounded to reduce wetted area and wave drag at speed, which does not make for a lot of stability but that is not a problem under way as the oars have a stabilizing effect. Such a boat will feel unstable if you want to move around, however.

Weight: a stable boat that is really light will feel unstable when you stand, no matter what shape, as it tends to move from under your feet like standing on a skateboard. I have one, I know from experience.

Capacity: you mentioned a double kayak but that would mean spending all your time in the boat sitting down. Something else I know from experience, that can soon become uncomfortable. Do you want double occupancy?

Simple construction: the simpler type of rowboat such as a dory or skiff will try to achieve a rounded minimum wetted area shape in 3 planks, by having a narrow bottom with sheers well flared for a comfortable width for rowing without using outriggers. That creates a lot of stability, but it is secondary, and will appear only when the boat is heeled: when level the boat will still feel tippy. This is a nice thing to have in a heavy sea and I design my canoes like that so the waves a passing powerboat will pass under the boat without throwing it around. But it’s not a good fishing boat.

So your requirements of an easy row, easy build, lots of stability, comfort, capacity and lightweight are conflicting. A compromise is called for in this situation. If you follow the designs in Yipster’s link that are listed as suitable for fishing, you will find flat-bottomed boats with plenty of bottom width and relatively upright sheers, for stability.

Back to my own experience: my flat-bottomed sailing skiff is similar to the ones in AnalogKid’s links. It was originally designed as a rowing tender for a small yacht so it has heaps of primary stability for that all-important transfer between tender and yacht; it is 10' long, 4-1/2' beam which is carried down to a bottom almost 4' wide, so there’s not much flare in the sheers, and was very easy to build.It came out at 60 lb, using 4 mm sides and 6 mm bottom plank, marine ply. It rows very easily, not very fast but effortless. It will carry 2 but is a bit small for 2 to fish from IMHO.

I still have the problem of a lightweight boat wanting to go the opposite way when I move around. Sideways is not the problem because the hard chines bite into the water, it's fore-and-aft that's the trouble. Something to hang down in the water to damp the motion might help.

I would agree with Peter that a simple rowing skiff would meet your needs best, and his suggestion of 12' length is spot on. Much longer and it will be a problem to cartop. You could go for a wider boat than mine but that one cartops very nicely; if it had been much wider it might be harder to get the cross straps to hold it properly.

A word on the PDR. I looked at it long and hard for a while back then. I doubt it is as easy to row as my little boat. It’s main advantage would be the ability to store upright in a regular height room. Ultimately I decided I wanted a real boat. BTW, I got the plans from PAR.

Well, I’ve run out of ideas: imagine that! Good luck whatever you decide.