Category: Modern boatbuilding

Modern and plywood boatbuilding and plans

Percy Dalton’s Fal Estuary oyster dredging boat plans available from bookseller

[ad name=”intheboatshed-post”]

St Melorus plans on sale from Dalton Young

Plans for Percy Dalton’s Fal Estuary oyster dredging boat St Melorus are
available from booksellers Dalton Young

Looking at the 2008 Beale Park Show exhibitors’ websites I noticed this drawing of the St Melorus on the Dalton Young site. The company is a specialist bookseller, I’m delighted to see my book Ultrasimple Boatbuilding appears to have pride of place on its virtual shelves.

On looking around, I also noticed it also sells a set of plans for a Fal Estuary oyster dredging boat drawn up by Percy Dalton.

Drawn up originally for local boatbuilder Terry Heard to build in wood at his yard near Mylor, the St Melorus design is 28ft long, 26ft on the waterline, has a beam of 9ft and a relatively shallow draft of 4ft 4in, all under an impressive sail area of 700sqft.

As drawn, the St Melorus has a large open working cockpit and no engine, as these were are banned by local bye-laws still in effect today.

However, Heard’s yard, Gaffers & Luggers, went on to use the wooden boat as a plug for a GRP version, though I gather the hull has been adapted somewhat to create a cruising version complete with an engine and coach-roof.

Percy Dalton Fal estuary oyster dredger painting

One of Percy Dalton’s small paintings. The boat may not be of St Melorus,
but there’s clearly a strong family resemblance! Thanks go to Stuart
Young of Dalton Young for allowing us to use this image. Click in the image
for a full-sized version of thissmall painting. There are more samples here

See the list of exhibitors at the Beale Park Thames Boat Show web pages. Take a look at our extensive coverage of last year’s event.

Share this with friends using the Share this link below.

Book a room in South-East England

Chappelle’s 14ft skiff – another candidate for the 2008 boatbuilding season?

[ad name=”intheboatshed-post”]

Chappelle’s 14ft sharpie skiff

Chappelle’s 14ft sharpie skiff has a distinctive clubbed
leg of mutton sailing rig

Talking of sharpies, I’ve just noticed this article at Duckworks. Edited by the excellent Craig O’Donnell, it provides all the drawings and information needed to build a traditional skiff of 14ft.

Chappelle called it a ‘sharpie skiff‘, and thought that the boat should be built heavily for easy maintenance. He also gave it a sizeable leg of mutton rig on its 18ft mast – though you may feel that the club at the end of the boom-sprit is aptly named, it does allow a good sized sail on relatively short spars.

Download article from Duckworksmagazine.com .

Chappelle’s 14ft sharpie skiff

Redmond’s Elver – is it related to Southwind?

[ad name=”intheboatshed-post”]

Elver sail plan

Steve Redmond’s Elver

Any resemblance seems to be accidental!

In response to my request for information about whether Chappelle’s intriguing Southwind had ever been built, today I received an email suggesting I have another look at Steve Redmond’s Elver. The email’s author suggested that the two boats might be very closely related, and that one might have been redrawn from the other.

The comparison is interesting. The Elver has something in common with the earlier Southwind design, including a flat bottom, fairly similar proportions, and sides shaped by a master curve. And both boats are better suited to day sailing than to extended cruising.

However, they are far from being the same boat:

– the Elver has relatively more no rocker where the Chappelle boat has a significant amount

– the Elver is lightly built and unballasted, while the Southwind is designed to be heavily built with many frames, and is certainly intended to carry ballast

– relatively speaking, the Elver has rather more freeboard than Southwind

– the Southwind’s widest beam is relatively forward of Elver’s

– and the two boats have different rig and cuddy arrangements

All in all, while the Elver is like a big dinghy with a lid (in the British English sense), the Southwind is a workboat-derived yacht, and it could be argued that each boat reflects the interests and background of its designer.

As if to eliminate any lingering doubts, not so very long ago at the Woodenboat forum Redmond himself made clear that his boat was not redrawn from Chappelle’s, and seems not to have known of its existence before it was pointed out to him quite recently.

Having settled that question, it’s clear we can’t assume the Elver’s performance is any sort of guide to that of the Southwind’s. Although various people have raised concerns about the stability of the Chappelle boat, even without making any calculations, I’d suggest that even with internal ballast a boat that lived in an area of reasonably light winds, measured 22ft in length with modest overhangs and was 8ft in beam might be expected to stand up to sails just over 200sqft much of the time. I’m quite sure, however, that it wouldn’t have the self-righting characteristics we expect from modern boats, however.

I have come across a tantalising link suggesting that Southwind has been built at least once.

In the meantime, intheboatshed.net readers may be interested in the following links featuring the Elver:

– Short video clip of sailing a home-built Elver.

– A tour of the same Elver.

– Another video clip showing an Elver boat building project.

– Photos and commentary about another home-built Elver, together with some reflections on the boat’s merits and some alternatives that potential builders might consider.

– Another Elver boat building project.

– The Elver builders Yahoogroup

– Elver plans from designer Steve Redmond’s site.

I should declare an interest – I’ve been harbouring an urge to find time build Redmond’s skiff Whisp for years, and have mentioned it once or twice on this weblog.

Share this with interested friends using the Share this link below.