Month: May 2009

Paul Connor builds a model of the double-ended skiff from Practical Boatbuilding

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Paul Connor’s model of the double-ender from
Practical Boatbuilding for Amateurs

Intheboatshed.net reader Paul Connor is building a model of the attractive double-ended 10ft skiff from Practical Boatbuilding for Amateurs, which we posted some time ago.

The original post is here and a follow-up photograph of a similar boat built in the traditional way and seen at the Beale Park Boat Show is here.

At the time I described the plans as presenting a challenge, and said I was tempted to create a computer model in order to work up plans for building in ply epoxy. I’ve never got around to it, but Paul has taken up the gauntlet and is forging ahead with a sophisticated computer model from which he’s building the scale model (see above) and plans to go on to build the real thing.

Software-wise, he used Catia v5 for his initial modeling and a trial version of Rhino to develop the plank surfaces, and intends to make plans available for others wishing to make the model.

I think this is an interesting project and I will be very interested to see how it goes. In the meantime, Paul is posting his progress at the Wooden Boat Forum.

A challenge for boatbuilders: a sweet 10ft clinker-built double-ended skiff

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A Paradox, up close and personal

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The Dinghy Cruising Association’s boats assembled at Beale, with
Al Law’s Paradox Little Jim in the foreground

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A highlight of the Beale Park Boat Show last year was meeting Al Law and seeing his home-built Matt Layden-designed Paradox named Little Jim close up.

Yes, this little 14-footer is the boat he sailed to the Scillies and back in company with another Paradox owner, Bill Serjeant. Some say the heavy displacement Paradox is a small sharpie, while others say it can’t be  a sharpie because it’s under 19ft. Both views are correct, of course, in the mad logic of boat nomenclature.

I say that it has an interesting n some ways it’s more like a model of a small modern ship.But whatever one calls them, they’re certainly interesting, and perhaps of particular interest to someone who has come to realise their family is unlikely to sail with them, and finds sailing a small, easily managed boat alone an agreeable alternative. See the study plans here and Al’s record of building and sailing his boat here. And if you’re wondering how a boat like this can sail, check this video and also this one of Bill’s boat Faith. Bill, I should add, had sailed his little boat right round the coast from Essex: see earlier posts.

Little Jim sailing at Beale Park

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Drawings for building a model of the 14ft stitch and glue Sunny skiff

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Drawings for making a model of the Sunny skiff

I’m pleased to say that we’ve now got a pdf file of the drawings needed to make a simple model of the Sunny skiff ready to be downloaded and printed out.

If you’re interested in her, I’d strongly suggest making a model. All you need to do to make a model is to take a printout, stick it to a piece of cereal packet, cut out the various panels and make up the model with sticky tape. Here’s one example of how this kind of model can look; here’s a second example made by the excellent Ben Crawshaw; and here’s a third example made by Woody Jones, and complete with little wire figures made to scale.

The two stern panels aren’t a mistake, by the way – there was a bit of space left and because it’s often useful to double up on stern thickness (because it’s good to have it robust) I thought the opportunity to have double-thickness stern too good to miss. In the model, as in the real thing, doubling the stern is optional unless you’re making a sailing boat or using an outboard.

If anyone out there makes a model of this little boat, I’d be very grateful to see them, and to be able to post them here at intheboatshed.net!

Plans for the full-sized boat are to come!

PS Woody made a model overnight, so good for him:

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