boat plans in chapelles book boatbuilding

[siberianswampdonkey]

Just wondering has anyone here ever actually built any of these designs?

[Venchka]

Be careful. There is a horror story floating around about a man who bought plans from the Smithsonian, spent years building and the darn thing didn't float right. Way wrong to be exact. He took the boat (25' schooner I think) to Rockport Marine and they had to re-build it. It seems that this was the first one ever built.

If you want to build one, make sure somebody else built one first. Mystic Seaport might be able to help.

Nice boats for sure.

[siberianswampdonkey]

Yes I was thinking about building the 15' peapod in it. It's on page 402 if anyone cares to look at it. Does anyone here know if it's been built before? Thanks for the info Venchka.

~wayne

[Venchka]

Ah, the Peapod. Lovely craft.

My wife gave me the complete collection of John Gardner's books last Christmas. I got them out when I read your last message. If you can get your hands on John Gardner's books, there are several peapods shown. I would trust Gardner.

Mystic Seaport Museum, Mystic CT can sell you the books and I think they sell plans for several peapods.

Good luck!

[SailBoatDude]

Though his service to American nautical history is rather valued, Howard sometimes changed the lines he'd pulled off an old wreck or redrawn from badly deteriorated originals, often to correct for the distorted condition the craft was found in, or to make her prettier to his eye. We really don't know which designs he doctored, so finding one that has some friends afloat is wise.

[PugetSound]

The thing to remember about yacht/boat designers (and Nav Archs) is that unless they are designing a boat specifically for a client (that is: designing the boat to the client's specifications) they are somewhat inclined to push the design envelope. Most will readily acknowledge that some of their designs are a bit chancey and may not work as well as they hope. It would be unusual for a book of a designers' work to be published without some of these untried designs.

[Thad]

I haven't built any boats from BOATBUILDING plans nor know of any, but I have built a couple of boats from Chapelle drawings and have more plans from the Smithsonian collection. My buildings worked out fine and I know of quite a few boats built to those and other Chapelle plans. You have to recognize that these plans were mostly taken from old boats. These boats show the genius of time, but also the hazards of time. Measuring boats can be tricky so lofting is especially important; you have to approach the lofting as a builder, boatman, and historian. Still you will be building a replica of a boat built by one individual working in one tradition measured by another. All these people were doing what they thought best with what they had. You can do the same. There is a treasure of boats in the Smithsonian plans and you can build a great boat from them if you do your best with a plan that appeals to you.

[rbgarr]

Wayne- The peapod you're looking at resembles the one on p. 218 of Chapelle's American Small Sailing Craft. It might be a good sailer, even without a centerboard. I've sailed the one on page 222. I wish someone would build the Jonesport model on p. 221 and compare them on the water.

[siberianswampdonkey]

Thanks rbgarr. Unfortunately I don't have american small sailing craft, its on my wish list but I don't have it yet. I think once I get some money to buy the lumber I'm going to build the peapod.

[siberianswampdonkey]

I just remebered in the plans catalog 40 wooden boats on page 18-19 theres a design called a beach pea peapod designed by Doug Hylan and It says you can actually steer the boat by just leaning on one side. Do you think the peapod I'm thinking of building would be able to do that? I'm a little new at sailing so I'm no really sure on these things. thanks ~wayne

[Venchka]

Go to the library. You may have to use interlibrary loan, and request the Chapelle books and John Gardner's book also. This works-if I can get these books here in the Third World, Dallas libraries will find them.

Building Classic Small Craft, vol. 1 (there is a later edition combining vol. 1 & 2 under the title Building Classic Small Craft) Peapod plans are in either book.

John Gardner was too practical and too many of his boats have been built for there to be a clinker in the lot.

I still think you should contact Mystic Seaport Museum, talk to the boat builders there and purchase plans which they say meet your requirements.

The Beach Pea works. I saw several on the water in Maine last summer under oars. I can't comment on their sailing qualities. Nice boats.

[Bear's Oil]

Just for the heck of it, a wbforumite by the name of Fritz, from Alaska, had a 22 foot "Dutch
Type" scow from BOATBUILDING, I believe it was built by a gent in Seattle. There are pics under "My Wooden Boat"

[Jim M]

I strongly recommend making a scale model. I find it difficult to read the tables of offsets when they are so small, so there is a chance of misreading it. Better to find out on a 16" model than a 16' boat.

[rbgarr]

Wayne- It's a bit hard to say how well that design from 'Boatbuilding' will sail. Is it a design drawn by Chapelle based on a hull he found or an original design? The book doesn't say. Sometimes working peapods were rowed upwind and sailed downwind with an oar used for steering. Joel White wrote an article about sailing Jim Steele peapods without rudders. You might want to get a copy of that through WB. I've sailed one of Gardner's double-ended peapods and it doesn't do as well as the Washington County model.

[Philip Maynard]

I'm building a plywood version of the melonseed but I'm more interested in is the Kingston Lobster boat on page 159, that looks fairly easy to build and was reputed to be a good salor. I believe you can get plans reprinted from the smithsonian for any of the designs for $5 each which would be well worth it.