Recreational light whitehall rowboat

Hi All,
I'm in the process of "designing" and then building a recreational row boat.
The brief to myself is :
MUST be pretty to me.
About 16'
I'd like to be able to row by myself or with a partner.
Reasonable speed .
Reasonable sea worthy.
I'd be rowing mostly in protected waters , such as bays and harbors and inland lakes, but this might include protected/ calm open water. of course I would be aware of possibility of bad weather , and realize that even I could get caught out.
Must be light.
I realize that sometimes weight is and advantage.
I will build at home in resin ( epoxy) composite Kevlar , carbon whatever.
I have a system that will make a very accurate male plug.+ - . 5 mm

Situation to date is :
I have purchased the plans ( from Mystic Sea port ) of the Bailey Whitehall as shown in John Gardner's book on small boats. John Gardner seems to think the world of this very pretty Whitehall ,
For those of you who don't know the boat ( built sometime 1870) the side and bottom are fairly rounded, and it was obviuosly a pleasure gentlemans boat, with a sliding seat, and not a workboat
I have drawn the boat in Rhino software and have firmed up a chine a little bit , in the hope of getting a bit more stability.I have also increased the boyancy at the bow.
The boat looks very pretty, Has a beam of 44" and is 16' 7" long and about 15" deep amidships, this compares almost exactly with the Bailey Whitehall.
The boat will be finished with wood trim.
and launched from the beach ,with very small waves -1 ' or from the local fishing harbor.
I guess what I'd like to do is to try and alter the original design to create a boat that I think is more suited for myself and my conditions. Sailing is not contemplated.
Question , is, this likely to make a nice row boat , not a working boat ,
neither an outright racing boat.

I will be grateful for any comments.
Kind regards to all
Mike

 

This sounds like a great idea. I know the design, and thought about reproducing it, but instead went with a much modified version of Gardner's more "generic" Whitehall instead (epoxy strip built, half and side decks, balance lug, big daggerboard etc.) The main reason was that I wanted a general purpose boat, one that would sail and row quite well, and take a small motor too occasionally.

I suspect that by building really light, you will have a splendid calm water boat, but will suffer a bit when it gets rough. At 44" beam, you might find your oar length a bit restricted.

Always compromises in boat design, but you will have a fine rowboat when done.

Tony.

 

Tony,
thanks for the info . like you I nearly decided to go with the more generic verion , but I wont be sailing or using a motor. I agree that the usual version would make a realy great boat with a light motor.
I am interessted about your comments about rough water , guess you're correct here , maybe I should think of not creating too much of a chine , just a lttle bit, and trying to find a way of introducing water weight/ balast in a one up config.
I re checked the plans and write up in Gardners book . It seems that the owner thought that this boat sailed quite well , that kind of suggests that the stability was OK
yes I am aware that the oars will be limited .. the original used 8' and also had a sliding seat , special oar locks , realy very sophisticated for mid 1870's
Mike

 

I'm building a lapstrake version of that Whitehall to hang from the stern of the "Dennis Sullivan"

 

Gonzo, wow. how far are you ? , what do you estimate the weight to be when finished and what do you figure the original weighed.
I bet that this would be a great lapstrake dinghy.
Mike

 

I got four planks to go. I'll let you know what the weight is.

 

Great idea, it sounds like it's going to be a fabulous boat. One thing, though, if you're concerned about weight: Have you considered skin on frame? Should come in around sixty or so pounds, and still be tough as nails. Cheers, Brian www.dreamcatcherboats.com

 

Mike,
See <www.atkinboatplans.com
See the boats Pixie and Bruce Conklin

Easy Rider

 

Whitehall Boat Plans

This site may have the plans that you are looking for so that you boat will be really tough. Whitehall Boat Plans

Hope this helps and good luck!

 

Another excellent rowboat is Phil Bolger's "Spur". I think it has the best lines of any rowboat.