designing a fast rowboat

Hit return by mistake. Anyway on the but thing I said "float" and maybe that over states it. And i did mean during power bursts. I suspect that it is more of a indicator that the rower is appliing power than creating power by its self. How do sliding seat rowers stay in the seat in rough water -- Double stick tape? - Nick

 

rw vs sail

I'll check with Tad to see if I can send a copy of his drawing. It is a dedicated rowing boat though posssibly it could have a sail added. All I have is a drawing with no offsets or anything else, more for study than building. Tad was very gracious and drew the lines in response to a question from me about a series of articles he wrote for Wodden boat about 3 years ago. I don't think crew presents any problems staying on the seat. A shell with its great length (maybe 60' for an 8 man shell ?) is strictly a flat water boat so waves aren't a problem. The rowing station keeps the center of effort low and in effect pins the rower down to his seat, or so it looks to me. Plans for Cornish gigs and Flashboats are available. In one of Gardners "Building classic small craft" there is a write up about the gig Lafayette and offsets for it. I'm unsure what the sailing canoe you would like to build would be. Some of the early designs by Rushton and others were superb boats and look as if they would both row and sail well. How committed to sail are you? If it is only as an auxillary to satisfy a raid requirement, then I would build more to the rowing side of things. In the last Wooden Boat small boat regatta, the pure rowing boats were first to their destinations.

 

That would be great . Do you happen to remember what the artiles he wrote were? I might have those. I keep checking the Gardner book out of the library. I have the first one with the whitehall's in it. The DONOUGHUE looks about right. With a Lafayette I would have to come up with 5 people to go rowing(one to steer). I would like to build something I could row by my self but go two up as well. Watland Marine surgests this is about 19 feet. They state that the double at 20 plus feet is too much boat for one person. I guess they mean windage. The sailing canoe would be Yackaboo, but built at 21 feet long with a beam of 48 inches. Wide for a row boat - narrow for a sail boat.

 

ocean rowing

I need help with a row boat. I get on the ocean rowing web sites and read about people crossing large bodies of water. I would like to design and build my own ocean rowboat that will be strong and light. I have a good background in composite and woodworking. just nothing in design. plans are hard to find. any help would be great.

 

Drake Drawings

For those who have been following my Faering project, attached are some drawings. The final sheet, oars, spars and a downwind rig are in the works.

I hope the attachments look good when you open them up...will try to post a pic or two.

Cheers,
Clint

 

Drake Construction Pictures

Finally...here is where I am at. Garboards are on. Middle strakes will be on very soon.

Garboards were very difficult to fit due to the twist in the ends...caused some "wankiness" in the plank...did not come out as fair as I had hoped. However, I'll be able to mask this when I attach the next plank. I am trying to understand why things were difficult. Perhaps from the drawings you can see that the gbd is pretty wide. The ply gbd bent onto the set up with considerable effort and faired to its own developed panel form...the battens told a different story when I was fairing the set up. The plywood would not take the fineness I had drawn nor the twist that would have been required. So I let the garboards do what they wanted. But the result was that I possibly inadvertently edge set the planks or perhaps "tortured" them a bit too much causng the fairness problems. Mind you, the error is not huge, but noticeable to a trained eye and certainly to my perhaps too self-critical eye. I am trying to learn from the project so when I do a mark II version I will prevent any issues. But I have faith in all the ways you can cover up a mistake! And epoxy technology is amazing stuff!

Please let me know what you think and if the pics/drawings are clear and readable. Does it look like a fast boat? That is the topic afterall....

Cheers,
Clint

 

faeringpics

Good work Chase ! I hope you can keep the pictures coming. I'm guessing that the curved hoop in the middle of for your form is a permanent frame. Its not hard to imagine bending over this and also the perpendicular curve of the keel would cause some difficulties. Is this in fact what is happening? As for fast - fast for a 16 footer or in the ultimate sense ? I 'm looking forward to seeing the sail plan. Nick the...

 

Clint,

From the photo of your frames, it appears that your planking must make several compound curves in a relatively sort run. Considering that you claim to be a beginner, and this is a somewhat challenging design, I think you're doing great. Any imperfections are minor at most. I won't attempt to tell you how to improve, as your skill appears to exceed mine already. There are those here who can advise you on the small improvements you might want, but, IMHO, you're doing excellent work!

 

Reading back all the way through this one thread will give some excellent advice, photos, drawings, and links to still other good sites, all focused on light and seaworthy rowing craft. Good luck with your project, and please keep us informed as you go.

 

I think you I see what you guys are seeing regarding the midship frame: the plank only touches (glue joint) the first few inches near the chine. So, I do not believe it is not the frame causing the problem...but you are right about the compound curve...I am asking the plank to bend over these molds and twist inward and down into the stem at the same time. It may simply be a matter of too much transition to fast; perhaps I did not do a good job making the plank pattern and there needs to be some allowance for the twist.

CharmC, thank you for your comments...I like to think of myself as an advanced beginner in design and intermediate in boatbuilding...I am formally trained in building and as I do more of my own projects and build boats for other people (I run a shop for youth where we build dories and skiff...easy to plank! and do them mostly on commission and some on spec) I learn more form every project. This one, because it is my first design-build, I am learning a tremendous amount in a short time.

Where is Jeff...what do you think? i know you've been wanting to see pics. Will post a shot with the middle strakes glued down this weekend.

Happy to hear more thoughts.

Cheers,
Clint

 

Nordvindcrew

Hi. I was looking at my shelf of boat books and pulled down my new "Pete Culler on wooden Boats". Sort of uncanny how close you two agree on stuff. There's a set of lines fo a 20 ft by 4 ft "clipper" Cornish yawl. looks good , like a small gig. It looks a little deeper in the water than the Whitehall's. It would be interesting to see how they compare with the lines Tad sent you. Nick

 

back !!

First, the articles by Tad are in wooden boat # 175 and # 176, entitled sailboat design". I haven't contacted him yet about passing along his drawings but I can tell you that they are of a contemporary design that remind me of a modern planinig dinghy stretched out to 20'. For a single and occasional double, 16' to 17' is a good number. My Nordvind is 16' 8" and is a manageable as a single with shorter oars than I use normally. As a double with 9' 4" oars, two good oarsmen can make her move right along; hull speed plus a bit over a long haul. Clint, YAHOO!!! Thats a faering all right and it warms my soul to see the lines and the construction shots. I hope I can meet you and see her for real some day. RE the garboard plank, I can only echo what you and Charlie said: it is a wide plank and a lot is going on there. Being only novice builders, my brother and I favor batten seam construction because all we have to do is clamp the blank piece of plywood down and trace the exact shape. The garboard plank on our jersey skiff goes through contortions you wouldn't believe and some how came out fair and true. We also like the strength we get with the extra longitudinals. We build with inexpensive materials: luan ply, lumberyard framing stock for ribs abd stringers and polyurethane construction adhesive combined with stainless screws to fasten everything. We don't expect our boats to live more than 5-8 years, so it works for us. Anyway after we've rowed a boat for a year, we always fing things we want to change when we build the next model. Sailing canoe, 4' isn't too wide for a rowing boat to be used in open water. Sure, in protected water less is more but don't get into something that is too small for the conditions you will be usuing it in. Melong likes his boats narow, and they work for him , so I guess it is a bit of opinion as to what is "right". Sunday morning was sunny and seasonally warm. We attatched a temporary keel to the new boat. It is 1-1/2" wide X 2" deep X 18' long. Out on the North River for a brief row, she tracked beautifully, yet still turned responsively. I forgot to bring my GPS, but we both felt that we were making good time and not fighting to hold a straight course. Very encouraging. We rowed through the Seal colony and had one irate male challanging us for the right to be on that piece of water. As he closed with us, we began back-stroking and charged him. He veered away, Pissed off, and only a bit subdued. Back on the rowing machine tonight. The Snow Row (Hull lifesaving Museum ) is scheduled for March 1st at 1PM; 3.75 NM and we'll have to finish in 38 minutes or less to win; depending on weather conditions. I'm in lousy shape and really have to buckle down with some serious training to give the boat the power she deserves

 

I'm am waiting for a response from a faering builder who does plywood boats out west and is doing a gorgeous faering-like RAID boat for a guy I know through the small craft network. He might have insight for me since he planks boat like mine. As I continue to plank, I am realizing that the tension in these highly twisted, wide planks is a lot to ask and they respond by not necessarily bending fairly as a way to even out the tensions. She has been more a challenge to plank than I expected -- which means I am learning a lot. But, I've enjoyed some positive feedback on the drawings and I am getting excited to turn the hull over early March. I'll be asking a lot of questions about finding out where to place my seat and oarlocks, etc. Will keep you all posted. I'd like to come to the snow row this year...does anyone there ever need crew?

Clint

 

thwart and oar lock placement

Pete Culler states that he aims for a thwart 10 inches from the floor and 7 inches from the rail. But admits that he isn't always able to get this and has to mock things up with blocks and sticks. Oarlock set 12 inches from the after edge of the thwart. He finishes by saying"The rough rules of thumb...... are just that - rough guides, somewhere to start" There are other numbers earlier in this thred.

 

nordvind,

Nice to see you here, actually I'm embarrassed to say this is the first time I've looked at this thread.....

You are welcome to pass that lines drawing on to whomever, I consider it a visual aid in talking about these things.

All the best, Tad