Sharpies...more than just something to write with.

[Maximus]

I found a free edition of some writing from Chapelle about sharpies. These really are amazing craft. I think it would be a wonderful sight to see them converted to some sort of light hauling of goods similar to the work boat thread that you can find under "misc".

If you have good examples of some sharpies; pics, stories, linesplans anything, plz share them. I thought this would be a good thread to bring "sharpie people" together to discuss them and checkout some things they may have not known.

Brent Schutz (Maximus)


Link to Article: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/29285/29285-h/29285-h.htm


Some sharpie pics from above...

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/29285/29285-h/images/145.png


http://www.gutenberg.org/files/29285/29285-h/images/hr142a.png


http://www.gutenberg.org/files/29285/29285-h/images/152.png

[James McMullen]

Word to the wise--try one before you build one. Sharpies are compromises, just like every other type of boat. Take advertising copy about their amazingness with a grain of salt. There are very compelling reasons why they are not the most common type of boat around, despite being so simple to build.

[johnw]

I regularly sail a New Haven sharpie and an Egret replica. These boats are great for some uses, but I wouldn't say they are all that great at hauling. The fellow who built the first sharpie I owned thought he could make money with it that way, and failed. Well, what sort of sailboat could make money hauling?

I've designed my own sharpie and built it for my own use. I like the type, but I'm not so sure they could revive working sail.

Here's something I wrote about sailing sharpies, for a class I teach at the Center for Wooden Boats.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/20074759/Joy-of-Sharpies

Here's something about building my own.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/21456843/Building-the-Sharpie-Black-Swan

I certainly recommend sharpies as a type of boat to sail for pleasure, and they can carry far more than they weigh, but for modern commercial use? Well, I'm skeptical.

But if you want a boat that will sail well and carry you safely, and you need to build it with skills no better than mine, they are great.

[Maximus]

Wonderful John, just awesome. Thx for the stories!

[johnw]

Keep in mind the limitations of the type, and you can have a lot of fun with them. Forget the limitations, and I will sic Sesquipedalia bombasticus on you.

[Maximus]

Sounds fair, I certainly am not a bluewater sailor like some on here. I love the gunk-holing ability, swift;simple and inexpensive construction, simple rigs, fair speed and I think they look cool!

[P.L.Lenihan]

There are very compelling reasons why they are not the most common type of boat around, despite being so simple to build.

I will dare to suggest, amongst others, one of the most compelling reasons "they are not the most common" has more to do with the writings of Slocum, Knox-Johnston,Chichester,Blackburn,the Pardeys et al ,along with a big tip-o-the-hat to Colin Archer, than it does to any particular compromise or implied deficiency of the sharpie type. That is to say, these folks inspired and fed some awfully wonderful romantic dreams! Their writings fed our psychic hunger for the "hero", the "adventurer", the "discoverer" etc....We became entrapped and convinced that in order to break away from the pack and live out our dreams, then our magic carpet escape vehicle must ressemble one of"their" iconic boats. You know the type always hyped;deep keel,lots of ballast,"double enders are best",split rigs...... (excuse me,I just yawned)...

Confounding matters further, the introduction of fiberglass...(excuse me, I just burped)...production boats and the marketing hype surrounding them, furthered the idea that a true or real vessel had to have all those curves and deep keels, just like in the grand age of sail, if one were to well and truly cast off the lines and head out over the horizon.

Reality is however austere.Amongst all us well fed dreamers, only a small number have the means necessary to really live a pelagic life-style. Fewer still will actually do it for more than 7 years before the desire to return to a land based life becomes primordial.

But dreaming is fun and even if the proud owner of a Westsail 32 never leaves the dock of his land-locked lake, I bet he feels great when out sailing on weekends or after work.Pretty much the same way a sharpie sailor feels too,I suspect. It is just a shame the Westsail chap can't beach his boat like the sharpie chap:)


Cheers!


Peter, just one seriously seduced sharpie sucker, some savvy sailor suggested some time ago to moi.......

[mizzenman]

I have been looking at this one from the WB shop, as something that could sail the baltics. And take you down to the Med through the canals
http://www.woodenboatstore.com/images/400055.jpg

[ChaseKenyon]

I agree with most of what has been posted here already on the type.

Having lived on both the CT and Chesapeake shorelines I am familiar with both variants and the local conditions.

More with the CT type though. Shallow draft necessary for a coast with sand bars that can shift daily and seem go from 5 ft deep to 1 ft deep in a day. most of the CT Long Island sound sharpies were used by watermen who lived and made their living on the sound waters.

******Squalls can come racing up the shoreline so fast that it is difficult to get from 1 mile offshore to harbor in a modern overpowered ski boat in time. THese old watermen could and needed to read the sky constantly. if you get caught in the presquall waves as you head into the river, CT, Housatonic or any of them, you can get swamped by a following wave when going 30 mph in Boston Whaler. The way the shallows shoal in a geometric curve like the north beach in Oahu the waves can get Really big at the entrance to the channel. (My Folks lived and had the dock in the back yard in the middle of the salt marsh in Old Saybrook)

This is part of the reason for the stern design not only load capacity but even more designed to lift on a following swell. Similar to a true Junk Stern's designed in emergency lift on following waves. Over done just for the local conditions.

Sharpies are good in their element but as has been said they are steered mostly with the sails. They come in all sail arrangements from sloop to yawl. most common is the twin same size with at least one reef cat ketch style.

If you live on a shoal coast like that they can be the perfect weekender in modern times. They can go anywhere and beach anywhere (unoccupied Islands in the sound) thus avoiding marina fees. They can handle a nice sized group sitting on boat cushions seat and back. I like them.:cool:

just remember they were designed/developed to head for the nearest beach Whether that was CT side or Long Island side in the event of approaching squalls.:eek:

Chase:D

[ChaseKenyon]

Keep in mind the limitations of the type, and you can have a lot of fun with them. Forget the limitations, and I will sic Sesquipedalia bombasticus on you.


hey just because my HS English teacher called me names does not mean you can call me that name. :)

[George Ray]

We have a Meadowlark and an Egret in this area.

From Tom Colvin website:
http://www.thomasecolvin.com/images/10.jpg
At 60’, with the centerboard up, in light conditions, these vessels draw 3’3” of water. They are narrow, being around 13’ 6” of beam. Some are three-masted, but most are two-masted. These are very, very swift sailers and excellent sea boats. They are used mostly for package freight; however, one was designed for lumber carrying as the owner had a portable bandsaw mill aboard that he could set up on shore. In the 60’ and above size, headroom is easily obtained. With this shoal draft, they do inherit a very large centerboard, always made of wood, which dictates the interior arrangements that can be possible. These vessels are usually built of steel construction; however, the one shown in the photo (LUCAYA) is aluminum.
(they may be building these in India: http://kondosyokai-marine.com/ )

[SBrookman]

Great, another sharpie thread! Having just launched a 19' Sharpie this summer, I can say that it is a great introduction to boat building. Not being much of wood worker, her simple design allowed me to build a boat that is very stable (at least initially), fun to sail, and draws a lot of attention, while not drawing a lot of water.
Now that I am (to the amazement of family and friends) a boatbuilder, I'm spending lots of time researching plans for the next boat. In the meantime I have a list of fixes and improvements for this one to do before spring and then there is lots of sailing to be done.
While the Sharpie design has many limitations, it is an ideal introduction for a novice to get his/her hands dirty/sticky and get out on the water with not a large investment in time or money.

http://otterwater.com/Sharpie/Sail2-1.jpg

[Mark Van]

My Dad built this colvin Sharpie in 1982.
http://markvdesigns.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/pilgrim3.jpg

[weedeater64]

Word to the wise--try one before you build one. Sharpies are compromises, just like every other type of boat. Take advertising copy about their amazingness with a grain of salt. There are very compelling reasons why they are not the most common type of boat around, despite being so simple to build.


Interesting, how much advertising copy can be associated with any other boat, especially something that requires more materials to build?

[johngsandusky]

Wow, Steve, what a beauty. I'm envious. After I build a skin on frame tender and a smaller sailing dory, I want one.
Is she dry in a chop?

[davebrown]

love'em love'em love'em. they are a great learning craft. and elegant to look at.

[johnw]

My Dad built this colvin Sharpie in 1982.
http://markvdesigns.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/pilgrim3.jpg
Always liked that one.

[trefor]

nice boat, steve! that thing is really pretty in it's simplicity. i'm only tackling an elegant punt for my first build, but i've already got my mind set on building something like your sharpie for my second.

[matoi]

According to Dave Gerr, a sharpie based design with the most significant worldwide impact... her Majesty the Star. Certainly far more than just something to write with :-)

http://www.sportnet.hr/media9/0000000000366029.jpg

http://www.starclass.org/pictures/ISCYRA/2009nassmith.jpg

And how about Harry Pidgeon's Islander, does she qualify as a sharpie?

[Susanne@PB&F]

Isn't the STAR just about 100 ?

Notice the evolution of America's Cuppers towards arc-bottoms, de facto chines, matching bottom and bow-profiles, and with those massive head-boards (or whatever they call them in Techno-speak?!) aiming 'squarely' at four-sided sail-advantages - to perhaps arrive back at the STAR in short order ??

[sailboy3]

Great, another sharpie thread! Having just launched a 19' Sharpie this summer, I can say that it is a great introduction to boat building. Not being much of wood worker, her simple design allowed me to build a boat that is very stable (at least initially), fun to sail, and draws a lot of attention, while not drawing a lot of water.
Now that I am (to the amazement of family and friends) a boatbuilder, I'm spending lots of time researching plans for the next boat. In the meantime I have a list of fixes and improvements for this one to do before spring and then there is lots of sailing to be done.
While the Sharpie design has many limitations, it is an ideal introduction for a novice to get his/her hands dirty/sticky and get out on the water with not a large investment in time or money.

http://otterwater.com/Sharpie/Sail2-1.jpg

beautiful!!!

[Maximus]

Great, another sharpie thread! Having just launched a 19' Sharpie this summer, I can say that it is a great introduction to boat building. Not being much of wood worker, her simple design allowed me to build a boat that is very stable (at least initially), fun to sail, and draws a lot of attention, while not drawing a lot of water.
Now that I am (to the amazement of family and friends) a boatbuilder, I'm spending lots of time researching plans for the next boat. In the meantime I have a list of fixes and improvements for this one to do before spring and then there is lots of sailing to be done.
While the Sharpie design has many limitations, it is an ideal introduction for a novice to get his/her hands dirty/sticky and get out on the water with not a large investment in time or money.

http://otterwater.com/Sharpie/Sail2-1.jpg


I have checked out your boat a number of times, just love it! Make sure to tell your wife that the sails look wonderful!

[James McMullen]

Look, I really tried to love sharpies, honestly. I've built and owned a half-dozen different ones, for pete's sake. Lots of us are attracted to what seems to be a very simple and cost-effective way to get out on the water.


Curvaceous hulls, deep keels, ballast. . .all of these have great advantages, or we wouldn't go to all the extra trouble to build them or have them. I know that my tastes have changed as my personal preferences sort themselves out over time with experience. I'm no longer attracted much by the limitations of sharpies, despite their various advantages. Your mileage may vary, especially depending on where and how you sail.

[Lincoln C]

http://images.kruez17.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/Sbgu6goKCI8AAHS@iT01/SH204520Sail20Plan.jpghttp://images.kruez17.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/Sbgu6goKCI8AAHS@iT01/SH204520Sail20Plan.jpg?et=hhnHV%2CLMqntwafiFfVdWDQ&nmid=0
'http://images.kruez17.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/SbgvAAoKCI8AAAEzskw1/SH204520Plan.jpg?et=yyBUHlDl9sDZ4GLTphVZbA&nmid=0
Reuel Parker's Ibis: 45' on deck, 10' beam, 2'6" draft, 15,000 lbs displacement, with an unladen trailer weight of 12,000 lbs.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/29285/29285-h/images/139.png

27 feet LOD. "Boats of this type had a square stern, a curved stem in profile, a strong flare, a flat bottom, a sharply raking transom, and a center board of the "daggerboard" form. They were rigged with two leg-of-mutton sails. Sprits were used instead of booms, and there was sometimes a short bowsprit, carrying a jib. The rudder was outboard on a skeg. These skiffs ranged in length from about 18 feet to 28 feet. Those in the 24-to 28-foot range were half-decked; the smaller ones were entirely open."

[SBrookman]

Wow, Steve, what a beauty. I'm envious. After I build a skin on frame tender and a smaller sailing dory, I want one.
Is she dry in a chop?
We've only had a half dozen sails in her since her launch in late August and all of those were on the local reservoirs where the winds were typically fluky, light then gusts. A couple of times it was steady enough to experiment with JohnW's method of steering with the sails, pretty neat. But we haven't had her out in any sort of real chop, so we'll wait for spring for further sea (reservoir) trials. Hope to have a removable cuddy on her by then.
Also trying to see if sculling is practical since she sails in almost any breeze and paddles ok too. But it seemed a good drill to make a Bahamian oar, and it's nice to stand while attempting to get her to move.
http://otterwater.com/Sharpie/Sculling.JPG

[ahp]

The Star Class is a very highly developed sharpie, but it has become an expensive class to race. The reason is that the class rules were written loose. It started as the Bug class with a sliding gunter rig, and intended for backyard boat builders and to be raced by a husband and wife crew.

[johngsandusky]

Thanks Steve, she's a beauty, good luck with her. I'm interested in sculling, though I haven't tried it. I would think she'd row fine with one or two oars. I used to row my Pennant (20' keel sloop) with one, using the rudder to balance it. I have a fat 19' dory that rows fine with two, though not fast. I put a removable rowing thwart in her and row steadily. I've done it for over an hour.

[johnw]

I've owned a sharpie this size and it rowed quite well. It helps to use a pongy cord to tie off the tiller so that the rudder always returns to the right line.

[ahp]

Right now I am drawing full scale, the molds/frames for the 19 ft Ohio Sharpie. I better stop wasting time and get back to it. My wife has already accepted (I think) the idea that half the garage will be taken by this project. Please guys, bug me on this once in a while.

[johnw]

What a great project, ahp. Have fun with it!

[SBrookman]

Right now I am drawing full scale, the molds/frames for the 19 ft Ohio Sharpie. I better stop wasting time and get back to it. My wife has already accepted (I think) the idea that half the garage will be taken by this project. Please guys, bug me on this once in a while.
You're doing good if you can keep it in half the garage. I managed to use all 2 1/2 bays of ours. But since it's a bit from the house I didn't rattle the wife.
Enjoy the build, and take lots of photos. I can't wait to get back to tweaking our sharpie but there are a few other projects in the way.

[ishmael]

I'm no expert on terminology, but I don't think of a Star as a sharpie. A sharpie has a flat bottom, not a V bottom.

[Maximus]

http://www.woodenboatstore.com/325-Sharpie-Ketch-Two-Lucies/productinfo/400-055/

Two Lucies is a v-bottom sharpie, indeed sharpies were typically flatbottomed for ease of construction and cost, but there are exceptions. As for the Star, I don't think I've ever considered it a sharpie either, but Id rather not make this forum a rant about what is or isn't a sharpie.

Does anyone know of a sharpie that could be found in the midwest? I'd love to get a chance to sail one before I get more wrapped up in the design and building prep for one.

Max

[johnw]

I'm no expert on terminology, but I don't think of a Star as a sharpie. A sharpie has a flat bottom, not a V bottom.
The original sharpies were flat bottomed. V-bottomed sharpies were developed in the Chesapeake. Two designers who experimented with sharpies for yachting were Thomas Clapham and Larry Huntington. Clapham was an advocate of V-bottomed sharpies and Huntington designed some very successful racing sharpies with arc bottoms. The Lightning is an arc-bottomed sharpie.

The Star is not V-bottomed. It is arc-bottomed, like the Huntington racing sharpies.

[Daniel Noyes]

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/29285/29285-h/images/145.png


Wow what an exciting immage! Is this boat schooner rigged? looks like it to me, possibly a racing yacht, quite a flat run aft this must have been a very fast boat off the wind.
Beautiful

I have never thought of the Star as a sharpie... I think when we get away from the classic lenght to beam, light displacement (center board) , transom, and cross planked bottom, the term Sharpie looses some of it's meaning.

Here's a sharpie I drew recently... it's really a scow inspired board boat but has many proportional similarities...and easy to build
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2474/4053634429_89a99cf42f_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dansdories/4053634429/)
and my own schooner rigged sharpie from WB Lumberyard Skiff
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2749/4054373614_7e5cc9b8d6_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dansdories/4054373614/)
Dan

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by Maximus http://www.woodenboat.com/forum/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.woodenboat.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2374138#post2374138)

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/29285/29285-h/images/145.png
Wow what an exciting immage! Is this boat schooner rigged? looks like it to me, possibly a racing yacht, quite a flat run aft this must have been a very fast boat off the wind.
Beautiful

I have never thought of the Star as a sharpie... I think when we get away from the classic lenght to beam, light displacement (center board) , transom, and cross planked bottom, the term Sharpie looses some of it's meaning.



I think she's stunning! Yes indeed she is a schooner. If fact I've started to run across a number of examples where schooner rigs were used, however the new haven sharpie seemed to belong to the cat-ketch setup. There's no doubt that these where fast boats, part of their charter was speed it's self.

When thinking of sharpies myself, I tend to think about the length and width. The form of construction is more varied, but when speaking of classic sharpies then I agree with you stance.

All I have to build is a simple single car garage, there's not really enough room for what I do build in there let alone building anything that's more complicated, so my dream sharpie would be plywood (I'm not a purist) and wooden spars. In fact, you can see just how tight things are for yourself here...

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brents-Boat/104119274923?ref=mf

http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs090.snc1/4645_112737924923_104119274923_2885021_330958_n.jp g

[ishmael]

"The original sharpies were flat bottomed. V-bottomed sharpies were developed in the Chesapeake. Two designers who experimented with sharpies for yachting were Thomas Clapham and Larry Huntington. Clapham was an advocate of V-bottomed sharpies and Huntington designed some very successful racing sharpies with arc bottoms. The Lightning is an arc-bottomed sharpie.

The Star is not V-bottomed. It is arc-bottomed, like the Huntington racing sharpies."

Hm. I've only seen a star on the hard a few times, and that was years back, so I guess my memory is faulty. It wouldn't be the first time.

My memory of the lightning, perhaps equally fuzzy, is of a chine boat with the bottom in the shape of a V, quite a flat run aft. Next time I have a chance I'll take a better look.

Sure are purty. An acquaintance once built one of the Chapelle variations on the Egret and took off for awhile. He was a skilled boat carpenter, and the boat went together lickety split, partly because he fastened her with galvy boat nails. There was some chin wagging about that at the local egg and coffee joint, let me tell ya! LOL. Native pine and oak he'd sawn off his own property, he built the boat for next to nothing save a lot of sweat.

[johnw]

"The original sharpies were flat bottomed. V-bottomed sharpies were developed in the Chesapeake. Two designers who experimented with sharpies for yachting were Thomas Clapham and Larry Huntington. Clapham was an advocate of V-bottomed sharpies and Huntington designed some very successful racing sharpies with arc bottoms. The Lightning is an arc-bottomed sharpie.

The Star is not V-bottomed. It is arc-bottomed, like the Huntington racing sharpies."

Hm. I've only seen a star on the hard a few times, and that was years back, so I guess my memory is faulty. It wouldn't be the first time.

My memory of the lightning, perhaps equally fuzzy, is of a chine boat with the bottom in the shape of a V, quite a flat run aft. Next time I have a chance I'll take a better look.

Sure are purty. An acquaintance once built one of the Chapelle variations on the Egret and took off for awhile. He was a skilled boat carpenter, and the boat went together lickety split, partly because he fastened her with galvy boat nails. There was some chin wagging about that at the local egg and coffee joint, let me tell ya! LOL. Native pine and oak he'd sawn off his own property, he built the boat for next to nothing save a lot of sweat.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Qk62rRa2hGc/SoCiR3NWa6I/AAAAAAAABH0/7dTQ5slxLrA/Top-5.jpg

Lightning lines. There's some arc at all the sections, but some V as well, especially at the stern.

[J. Jumonville]

Anyone here know who designed this sharpie? It was built in 1993 by Zirlott in Mobile, AL and is now owned by the Maritime and Seafood Museum in Biloxi.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e141/jumonv/100_2231.jpg

This sharpie is cross planked and V - bottom.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e141/jumonv/100_2873.jpg

[Zane Lewis]

No idea who's that one is but if they ever want rid of it I'll take her.
Shipping to NZ could be an issue so she would have to be free.

Do you have any more info.
Design, Size, displacement, sail area, etc etc.

Does the Museum have a web site with any links?

Cheer's
Zane

[ShagRock]

Anyone here know who designed this sharpie? It was built in 1993 by Zirlott in Mobile, AL and is now owned by the Maritime and Seafood Museum in Biloxi.

Not sure as I'm just learning about sharpies, but the 5th boat down (the Fontaine) shown at the link below looks to be the same one. Designed by H.I. Chappelle in 1938 and built by Zirlott in 1992. 38' in Spanish cedar.

http://www.perdidowoodboat.org/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=47&MMN_position=55:47

[J. Jumonville]

Shag

Thanks for the link. That is the same boat.

Zane

The boat will go on the hard soon for repairs. The museum is going to keep the boat, I tried to buy her when she first arrived here.

Here is the link to the museum.

http://www.maritimemuseum.org/

[Maximus]

Would anyone have some examples of sharpies under 25 feet that have a nice setup for accommodations, even if it's a tent type for camp cruising.

[ahp]

Howard Chapelle in his book "Boatbuilding" has the plans of a sharpie for pleasure sailing, with a "summer cabin". I bought the plans many years ago from the Smithsonian, but I don't plan to build from them. I believe I still have them if you are interested. I am now intending to build the 19 ft Ohio sharpie that was designed by Ruael Parker.

One reason that I was hesitant was that I wondered if I could right this boat if I capsized. My calculations indicated that I can with the Ohio sharpie.

One other thing is that the 24 ft sharpie is shown with traditional construction, cross planked on the bottom. I asked John Gardiner once if it would be possible to use plywood. He said it would but he would add some stringers parallel to the keelson.

[johnw]

Not much headroom in that size sharpie. Go up to 28 feet, and Chapelle's Rising Gale, an Egret replica, looks pretty good. When I cruised an 18' sharpie, I used a boom tent. Roomier than a cabin and more headroom.

[DGentry]

Chapelle's Rising Gale, an Egret replica, looks pretty good.


Does anyone know of a source for all the Chapelle designs - a catalogue perhaps - or does one have to just search through his books? I know that American Small Sailing Craft has some . . . .

Where can you find info on Rising Gale, and his other sharpies, for instance?

Thanks!
Dave Gentry

[johngsandusky]

Dave, the Smithsonian Ship Plans catalog contains a great number of plans drawn by HIC. Very basic details, but worth having. The copies are reasonably priced.

[Maximus]

Besides the Ohio sharpie...what over designs are out there for a sharpie that's less that 22ft?

[johnw]

In American Small Sailing Craft, you'll find an 18' sharpie skiff, a 21' Hooper Island crab skiff, and a couple modified sharpies, 19' and 21', with V-bottoms. There's a 22-foot sharpie in Chapelle's Boatbuilding, and there are several in Ruell Parker's The Sharpie Book. There's also a nice little 22' cruising yawl in Simplified Boatbuilding: The Flat-Bottomed Boat, by Sucher.

That's a start, anyway.

[leaotis]

Here's Reuel's 18' Modified Sharpie Skiff:


http://mackhorton.com/Sharpie%20web/in%20the%20water/Nov%2026,%202nd%20sail.jpg

http://mackhorton.com/Sharpie%20web/launching.htm

[Zane Lewis]

Thanks Shag,
I do have the plans for that one, now that I know I will be going to dig them out and have another look.

J Jumonville
Any chance of getting more photo's of Fontaine, at some time
Inside, outside when on the hard and any pics showing additional rigging details,
hardwear, around bowsprit and jib boom, Center board and rudder details.
And any comments from people who sail her about her abilities, upwind and down, light and heavy air.

Sorry for highjacking this thread a little.

Cheer's
ZAne

[Rapelapente]

Some sharpies inspired designs from Anthéa's designer:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2533/4112106188_16c650a25a_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2630/4111339575_5ea713950d_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2532/4111339469_9e2d2f2472_o.jpg

[P.L.Lenihan]

Bonjour Gerard,

More skipjack than sharpie,non? It seems to me I remember Daniel referring to his boats as inspired from le skipjack.


Cheers!


Peter

[Rapelapente]

You're right, here is a quote from his words about these designs


It was in America, seeing Chesapeake Bay boats such as "Sharpies", "Bugeyes", and "Skipiaks" that this architectural idea come to me.
These working boats which go back 2 centuries and represent all the American adventure at its beginnings, managed to achieve elegance based on a hard chine construction. They were built in traditional wood in a simple style, without frills, but efficient and economical. It was easy for me to transpose them into marine ply construction. This is how the idea of the LADIES was born.
Actually I didn't simply copy them in order to metamorphose them into present day materials. I redesigned them to be suitable for modern yachting and while trying to improve their beauty I found that it was possible to design them with a horizontal chine at water level.

[GregW]

Here's a nice one from cmd boats.

http://www.cmdboats.com/images/sharpie36.gif

[Rapelapente]

some pics of "miss simplette":

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2766/4111450935_1d1d2f47b0_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2746/4112217288_6af43342ac_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2753/4111451031_7e98d4ab18_o.jpg

[johnw]

There are some modified sharpies that blur the line between skipjack and sharpie. This is especially true of some of the Chesapeake crab skiffs, but I would say Miss Simplette is definitely on the skipjack side of the line.

[Lincoln C]

Miss Simplette is definitely on the skipjack side of the line.

This Presto version of the sharpie is on another line altogether:
http://www.rodgermartindesign.com/images/Image/124/124-P-30-SAIL-PLAN-RM-AUG-6.jpghttp://www.rodgermartindesign.com/images/Image/124/124-P-30-COMPOSITE-6-AUG-09.jpg
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Kiys7DNkjIM/SwLxN9qg-YI/AAAAAAAAAGU/Q94WxAaQSKA/s512/P30_Sail_4_mod2-392x600.jpg
http://c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000Wk.s5TrstA0/t/200

Rodger Martin's Presto 30:
http://www.unionriverboat.com/index.html

[johnw]

Nice one. I've always liked the Presto type.

[Maximus]

I must say, I like the Presto, I bet it a swift sailor or semi protected waters. I was also reading in WB about the sharp end 900. Doesn't it seem to make sense to develop the sharpie more? It seems like a very useful concept of design, beachable, shallow draft, swift. Most people where I live would never go blue water cruising, but they buy these big heavy keeled boats...I just scratch my head.

So the Presto and the 900 and nice examples of newer sharpies that seem to cruise well, does anyone else know of other examples?

[huisjen]

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Qk62rRa2hGc/SoCiR3NWa6I/AAAAAAAABH0/7dTQ5slxLrA/Top-5.jpg

Lightning lines. There's some arc at all the sections, but some V as well, especially at the stern.

Not according to the plans. It's supposed to be the same arc for all frames.

Dan

[huisjen]

...and my own schooner rigged sharpie from WB Lumberyard Skiff
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2749/4054373614_7e5cc9b8d6_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dansdories/4054373614/)
Dan

I wanna know more.

Dan

[npbarker]

What a great thread. I built an 18-foot modified Chesapeake Bay sharpie (Parker's plans) with my father when I was in middle school and high school. We launched her in 2000 but were hasty about it--we cut corners on finish (especially the cockpit) and didn't keep her out of the elements well enough. While I was in college from '03 - '07 the bottom softened with rot, and the finished surfaces were in bad shape.

After visiting the CBMM Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival in Oct '08 my father, girlfriend and I resolved to repair the boat--a partial rebuild, really. For a year I drove from my home in Washington DC to my parents place on the Eastern Shore of MD to do the work, a little at a time. We removed and replaced bottom planking (plywood) and refinished it with epoxy and polyester cloth. Once the hull was flipped we replaced the wale (the beautiful ash was blackened and breeding fungus), refinished the hull, decks, brightwork and cockpit.

A year after beginning work we launched the sharpie at MASCF in October. We had some challenges with our rig during those first two sails (since corrected and learned from), but it's been a great boat.

Here she is in St. Michaels in October:

http://marylandgis.shutterfly.com/320

Sailing and rowing off of Ganey's Wharf on the Choptank River--last Saturday. 20mph winds made for an interesting day on a narrow river!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_pSOb9pow4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8BdC0z4cfw

I'm not expert enough to give a detailed critique of the sharpie when compared to other designs--put me in a small pretty boat on a broad river and I won't have too much trouble having a good time. For anyone with a similar outlook and an enjoyment of building, I think that sharpies are great.

I spent a lot of time on Mack Horton's and Steve Brookman's sharpie build websites during my own rebuild. Those sites were a great source of daydreams and envy! Steve--I'm glad to see that you got the Ohio sharpie in the water. I had been checking the status of your build over the summer and was wondering if you'd beat the winter (I was worrying the same for myself).

-Nathan

[pipefitter]

Great video and picture. That above shot shows the shape of that 18 nicely. Thanks for posting them.

[SBrookman]

Nathan, congratulations on your rebuild and relaunching, and welcome to forum. She looks great! And what timing, to get it in the water for the MASCF! One of these years I'll make it there. I've just put Vika to bed for the winter, but look forward to repairing, tweaking and getting her back out early next spring. Enjoy the sailing and keep the progress reports and pictures/videos coming.

Is your spar solid, and do you know it's weight?

[johnw]

Nicely done, npbarker!

[Maximus]

Very nice boat! You did a wonderful job with the rebuild, she seems to shine!

[npbarker]

Nathan, congratulations on your rebuild and relaunching, and welcome to forum. She looks great! And what timing, to get it in the water for the MASCF! One of these years I'll make it there. I've just put Vika to bed for the winter, but look forward to repairing, tweaking and getting her back out early next spring. Enjoy the sailing and keep the progress reports and pictures/videos coming.

Is your spar solid, and do you know it's weight?

Hi Steve-

The mast is epoxy laminated 2x4--nothing special but it gets the job done! I believe that it's just under 20', 3.25 to 3.5 inches at the partner, though we built it just about a decade ago so the particulars are no longer on the top of my head.

I haven't weighed the mast, but it can be easily stepped and un-stepped by a moderately strong, able person. Try doing that out on the water and you'll run into some difficulty, but it's been done in a pinch (and with assistance from the crew).

I hope you haven't been suffering from too much withdrawl with the boat being completed--it can be difficult to re-adjust to normal life!

My project over Thanksgiving was building a boat shed so that we don't repeat the same mistakes that let to the sharpie being upside-down without a bottom for years. I'm leaving the country for a year starting in February, so I'll try to sneak in a few more sails in the next few months if the weather isn't too bad. It breaks my heart that I'll have to wait a year and a half for a full summer on the water, but I'll take as much as I can before I leave!

[Maximus]

Would anyone consider the Sea Pearl 21 a sharpie?

[James McMullen]

Nope. Sea Pearl is based on Herreshoff's Carpenter, featured in Sensible Cruising Designs, and is sort of a whaleboat crossed with a dory. Other than the cat-ketch rig, a Sea Pearl is awfully different from a flat-bottomed, hard-chined sharpie.

[jwel14]

Sharpies are a compromise. But, what boat isn't? They aren't as common these days. But, in this tuperware world.(hurts whenever I say that) So are wood boats.

[donald branscom]

Anyone here know who designed this sharpie? It was built in 1993 by Zirlott in Mobile, AL and is now owned by the Maritime and Seafood Museum in Biloxi.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e141/jumonv/100_2231.jpg

This sharpie is cross planked and V - bottom.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e141/jumonv/100_2873.jpg


Thank you so much for those photos of the design from page 57 of Howard Chappelle's book (BOATBUILDING). First I have ever seen.
I built a model of that boat. Most beautiful model I have.
http://i47.tinypic.com/2ih349k.jpg

[donald branscom]

I must say, I like the Presto, I bet it a swift sailor or semi protected waters. I was also reading in WB about the sharp end 900. Doesn't it seem to make sense to develop the sharpie more? It seems like a very useful concept of design, beachable, shallow draft, swift. Most people where I live would never go blue water cruising, but they buy these big heavy keeled boats...I just scratch my head.

So the Presto and the 900 and nice examples of newer sharpies that seem to cruise well, does anyone else know of other examples?

Sharpie's have crossed the ocean and at least one made a rescue at sea.
You can read about that in AMERICAN SMALL SAILING CRAFT by Howard Chappelle. Finistaire which was well known tripped over her own keel and rolled, and it performed better without the keel down.

[donald branscom]

There are some modified sharpies that blur the line between skipjack and sharpie. This is especially true of some of the Chesapeake crab skiffs, but I would say Miss Simplette is definitely on the skipjack side of the line.

The "V" bottom was NOT an "improvement" as stated. It just caused the hull to pound more when heeled. The whole concept of a sharpie was that when it is heeled that a V is presented instead of a flat surface. Think about it.

[RodB]

Thank you so much for those photos of the design from page 57 of Howard Chappelle's book (BOATBUILDING). First I have ever seen.
I built a model of that boat. Most beautiful model I have.

Just took a look in Chapelle's book...

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e239/Prestoboat/Misc%202009%20Aug/chapellelines-72.jpg

Wow, I think this is one of the best looking sharpies I have seen... Where are the plans available...? shes a beauty.

RodB

[donald branscom]

Just took a look in Chapelle's book...

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e239/Prestoboat/Misc%202009%20Aug/chapellelines-72.jpg

Wow, I think this is one of the best looking sharpies I have seen... Where are the plans available...? shes a beauty.

RodB

I built the model from that drawing on that page, and the offsets shown.
Scale 1"= 1foot

[johngsandusky]

Plans are available from the Smithsonian Ship Plans.

[donald branscom]

Plans are available from the Smithsonian Ship Plans.

Are you sure they have the plans for THIS particular boat?
What about the rig? a lot of those plans are incomplete. Some have photos and some do not. I was under the impression there were no drawings other than this one which has no drawing of the rig.
By the way I gave a complete book of the Smithsonian Plans to the Sausalito, Ca Library. I hope they kept it.
I told them it was valuable. They did not seem that interested and that worried me.

[johngsandusky]

I'm not sure, but I think I have a set from there. If you (or anyone) check the book against the catalog, you'll know. I haven't the time right now.

[Harbormaster]

If they can be modified that much, at what point does it cease to be a sharpie and become a v-bottom?

Islander was Harry Pidgeon's boat- too much a v to really be a sharpie, but she's got a nicer bow than the Chappelle sharpie.

Yes she also has a keel, so I think that leaves her out of the sharpie class - but so does the Star, so that may be sharpie derived, but no longer a sharpie. And since Islander is a bigger version of the Seabird - before she had a keel added, was she a sharpie?
http://www.mcallen.lib.tx.us/books/circumna/ci_isl2.jpg

[johnw]

Islander looks more like a northern skipjack.

[Zane Lewis]

Re Plans for Sharpie schooner.
Smithsonian does have plans for a 38 ft sharpie schooner by Chapelle (Acutally only 36' something". I have these.
They do have a sail plan & construction details. Overall the boats are very simallar within a few inches all around. The main difference is that the 38'er is a little deeper and wider in the chine and hence less vee'ed and higher displacement.
The sail plan does not look origional as the drawing style is very amatureish while the hull and deck etc are Chapelle.

Zane

[Zane Lewis]

Chapelle 38' Sharpie Plan's

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii39/zqlewis/Odds%20and%20sods/23122009025.jpg?t=1261553048

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii39/zqlewis/Odds%20and%20sods/23122009026.jpg?t=1261553142

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii39/zqlewis/Odds%20and%20sods/23122009027.jpg?t=1261553187

there you go.

Cheer's
Zane

[Boston]

way to go
I just read this thread word for word
loved it
thanks
B

( sneaks back in and asks a question )
these things have got to knock the stuffing out of the crew in hard conditions
if you do find yourself stuck out in a squall
how much slamming do they really do
oh
and how are they as coasters rather than river or bay boats
( ducks for cover )

[J. Jumonville]

She will be ready to sail sometime around April.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e141/jumonv/100_4929.jpg

[RodB]

Thanks Zane and Jumonville... the Chapelle you posted is sweet. What a marvelous looking sharpie even if not flat bottomed.

I have the catalog from the Smithsonian, its a few years old. It does contain some nice designs.

I have long been interested in Munroe's "Presto" and have considered it to be the most capable of all of the sharpies. One cannot read the two books... "The Good Little Ship" by Gilpin... and ""The Commodore's Story" by Gilpin and Munroe without getting a feel for the capabilities of the original "Presto" . I actually negotiated with Reuel Parker to modernize Presto with what has been learned over the past many years. The following is what He came up with,... I was interested in the stem shape being a spoon bow as seen here. I actually visited a build of his 37 foot Presto, being built by a guy in Houston. I did not like the clipper bow and the stern could be much prettier. I drew up my suggestions and submitted them to Reuel for a possible update on the original "Presto".

http://www.parker-marine.com/P30page.html

The following is Parker's version of "Presto" in a 36' LOD... I actually saw this boat in the flesh...

http://www.parker-marine.com/presto36page.htm

A thread about Presto in the past...

http://www.woodenboat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14833&highlight=Presto

RodB

[donald branscom]

Chapelle 38' Sharpie Plan's
(PHOTOS OMITTED)

there you go.

Cheer's
Zane

Thanks ZANE. I just guessed about the rig and got the front mast correct.
But the rear mast Did not show a Gaff rigg boom so I made it a Marconi rig.
The boom jaws were different. Anyway thanks for showing us the actual plans.

[Boston]

Zane
Im having trouble making out some of the information on those prints
but am fast developing an urge to build one of these
can you post an improved version with slightly better resolution
its torture only being able to make out half of it
thanks
B

[Boston]

anyone else notice on those prints that main mast is slightly offset in order to get Past the keel box

[Zane Lewis]

Boston
Yep that main mast is of set.

re Higher resolution. I'm off tomorrow morning so possibly PM and I'l send a pic through in a week/10 days time.

Try going to my photobucket album and zoom in.
I only took them with my cell phone camera as I could not find my digital Camera at the time.
http://s260.photobucket.com/albums/ii39/zqlewis/Odds%20and%20sods/


Cheer's
Zane

[Joe B.]

It's interesting how much this Chapelle sharpie seems to be influenced by Clapham and his type sharpies.

[JimD]

I see Spira International has gotten their sharpie page up on their website. I hope somebody builds one as they look really nice. Seems like essentially the same design scaled in a few different lengths from 14' to 27'. Only change I could see making straight off the bat is a kick up rudder http://www.spirainternational.com/ :

http://www.spirainternational.com/gl_andr.gif

[grange]

Don't forget the CLC "John's Sharpie" . . .

http://www.clcboats.com/shop/boats/boat-plans/johns-sharpie-wooden-sail-boat-plans.html

[Boston]

that is a really nice looking boat there grange
B