Large Sailing Scow

Check the lines and you'll see that junks/sampans and scows are very different.

 

I acually find junks extremely attractive vessels, and I happen to know where (Fall River, Ma) there's a REALLY nice one for sale; but a scow bottom and a junk bottom are vastly different from one another. A junk has a much rounder shape and a keel. Sampans (as I recall from Viet Nam) are much more scow-like, but thery are usua;;uy smaller than what I have in mind

 

Another area to find that type of vessel is NE Brazil. The "saveiros" are descendants of dutch coastal traders. However, they evolved to something similar to junks with different rig. Usually they are planked in mahogany. I've sailed a few of them. They are OK but built for work; no yacht finish.

 

To keep it going - a 'swampscot' and a 'cape ann' are both dory's.......

the Walrus

 

Reull B. Parker has some interesting plans for a 44' (if I remember correctly) sailing scow in his book. Looks lovely, lots of room, interesting build, too, since it's mostly straight lines and gentle curves.

 

40' x 16' scow

Forty foot box with ends courtesy of Alma. Looks a little better than first effort.

Bow is in the foreground, just in case you're not sure.

About 4 1/2' deep, and a 2' draft. 29 tons so far.

 

Hi,
Scows were intended for close inshore and protected waters. They will capsize in the right conditions and do not have the ability to recover from much more than a 90 degree knockdown. If intending to do more than the inshore passages then they are not a safe craft to use. However as a liveaboard and to sail in the aforementioned protected waters, they are a reasonable choice. I am in the process of designing a boat for myself which has many of the characteristcs of a scow but has ballasted bilge keels to provide stability in a knockdown. My design owes quite a lot to the English Thames Barges and there is a modern interpretation of these being built in steel in Norfolk, England by Charley Ward. Google search for Thames Barges and Charley Ward and you can see what they look like. I believe that there are plans for Thames Barges available, but do not recall where. Phil Bolger has done some interesting designs that owe a lot to barge heritage. Many of his designs have internal concrete ballast, how about a boat with a reinforced concrete bottom to just above the waterline, and composite wood topsides and deck?? I did a study for something like this thirty or more years ago.
Best of luck with the project.
David

 

I am building a scow. 16' sloop rigged, ballasted dagger
board. 20' mast with polytarp sails.

I found some plans for a 14 and just upped the percentages
by .14.

Flat bottom, straight sides, 70" beam! Hope to have it done
by spring!

I am working to keep it as light as is safe. Laminated frames
from cedar, luan board skin, no glass, just paint!
Hoping for about 400lbs!

It will carry about 40lbs of lead in the bottom third of
a 48"X3/4" dagger board.

May have some pictures next week!

 

Freeship Tillicum

Had a good run with the 'puter today, and got a developable set of lines done.

Hard 'transverse' chines on the bottom of the hull, and curved deck and 'side' chines.
Whew!

Will start to draw in the keel, stringers and so forth tonight.

 

Stringers

Got these done today, will get onto the chine logs tomorrow.

 

Scows, in general

The Wooden Boat Magazine has an on-line store that has building plans for a scow schooner in the 45 foot length. You may want to check it out. This thread is really interesting in that I think many people, myself included, have entained building a sailing scow, or scow houseboat at one time or another. So far, all input to the thread appears to be quite positive and helpful to those interested. Good thread, good writers. Keep it going!

 

Posting links to a scow.

I think I found that Wooden Boat Magazine scow that was mentioned.

Here are some of the links.

http://www.woodenboat.net.nz/Boats/Boatscows/Scows.html

http://www.woodenboat.net.nz/Stories/Achievablecruiserf/Achievablecruiser2.html

​

 

Hi, all.

I just got done sketching a cruising size scow sloop based on a 'Puddle Duck Racer', a 4 x 8ft straight sided scow (see www.pdracer.com). I changed the proportions a bit by making the Beam smaller in relation to the Length and by keeping the Rocker in proportion to the Length.

What I ended up with was a 20 x 7 ft gaff sloop that is essentially half decked with an aft house for the cabin. Flotation chambers would be built along the sides and there would be a raised deck in the bow (for storage of bicycles). That would be its last claim to sea worthiness. If turtled, it would stay turtled.

But the more I thought about it, thee more I liked it. I could imagine living aboard such a craft and just knocking about the Gulf Coast (lots of sand there, I understand.) The boat would be narrow enough for legal trailering and could be taken to other suitable cruising grounds. My guess is that the hull and rig would come in in the neighborhood of 1000 to 1500 lbs. That would leave room for at least 1500lbs of provisions. Its all up displacement would be 2400 to 3200 lbs. It would have no ballast.

The pdracer.com site is somewhere anyone interested in scows should go at least once. The 'Puddle Duck Racer' class has been in existence since 2003 and a lot of experimentation has been done with these boats. A trio of them recently participated in the 'Texas 200' and sailed up the Texas gulf coast. They did surprisingly well despite being arguably over loaded and way out of their element.

Attached are the sketches and, if possible, the essay on how the rocker is drawn and how the boat is proportioned and why.

Feel free to comment.

 

Geometry and boats.

Nice little Puddle-Ducks.
I am partial to elegant geometry in multi-chine hulls too.
Sort of fun designing to rules, my favourite is developing chines for 30'-40' steel boats. Plates that drape over the hull (in the office anyway).

Well, I got the chine logs done this morning on my project. Stayed up all night to do it too. Feeling quite rooted now. Me eat. Sleep.

 

Scow project

Got the sides done this afternoon, and sat the shear log in there too.
Sort of avoiding the port stringer thing for now, waiting for it to come to me.
Will have to sort the bow and stern out too, before I get too carried away decking it over.

The computer is starting to groan and creak now when I bring up all the layers at the same time. Lagging about 5 seconds for each increment of rotation. I upped the processor priority for the Freeship programme before I started, so I hope that is helping.
Being very gentle with the model now. Freeship/computer packs a sad when the computations get extreme.
"Uh-oh, Access Violation 3X7836GB0947693. That means the model has been turned into a nest of spiky lines stretching to infinity again".
Hasn't happened yet, but I am being careful, saving copies regularly as I work.