Small pulling boat.

[Hal Forsen]

I have decided to build a small boat before I tackle my offshore fishing boat. I would like to build a light weight(cartoppable?) rowboat that could maybe have a small motor used now and again. I want it to look pretty,be fairly easily built, safe for two+, weigh less than 100lbs.and must have good rowing performance. What do you recommend?
HF

[ 09-01-2003, 08:02 PM: Message edited by: Hal Forsen ]

[JimD]

Probably dozens of such boats, many designed for sailing/rowing/small outboard use. If you don't intend to sail just don't add a rudder or center/dagger board. Glen-L has a flat bottom 10 footer called Imp, dead simple to build, and also a very nifty looking multichine called Topper, 10' 8". Arch Davis' Sand Dollar is 11 ft. I built Glen-Ls 11 foot utility outboard fitted with oars as well but that's getting a bit on the heavy side for you, over 150#s

[Nicholas Carey]

Check out the Cosine Wherry.

http://www.tm-arts.com/kerr/rboat.jpg

http://www.bam.on.ca/brum/boat1.jpg

14 feet, 95 pound cedar strip/'glass. Construction plans and instructions in the book Rip, Strip, and Row: A Builder's Guide to the Cosine Wherry (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0917436024/ref=ase_personwebsiteabo/103-4042311-6023038?v=glance&s=books), by J. D. Brown and John Hartsock (Tamal Vista Publications 222 Madrone Ave., Larkspur, CA 94939. ISBN: 0-917436-02-4).

Rip, Strip and Row is available from Flounder Bay Boat Lumber (http://www.flounderbay.com/), as well as a complete kit for the Cosine Wherry, or just lumber, parts and advice (Bob and Erica Picket, Flounder Bay's proprietors, were involved in the development of the Cosine Wherry).

[Steve Lansdowne]

Whisp by Steve Redmond plans are now again available. The prototype was 68 lbs. but it can be built heavier of course. OK for 2 adults but no more. Light enough to cartop easily. It is a 15 1/2 foot sharpie skiff that rows well and will take an electric motor. It is glued lapstrake built without a strongback. A sailing version is also possible. It is rather tender, as the beam is fairly narrow. See sredmond.com.

[ 09-02-2003, 09:11 PM: Message edited by: Steve Lansdowne ]

[warthog5]

You said small. How about this?
http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/designs/blackberry/index.htm

[Ian McColgin]

Except for wanting to add a motor, the Glouster Gull fills your bill. And she rows so easily at the speed a motor could push her, that you absolutely don't need the hassel.

Very easy to build and easy to carry about. Given the shear, you'll want to have the forward bar on your roofrack a bit elevated. Even so, the bow may make it a little hard to see the stop light go to green.

The Gull is quite tender initially, especially light, and if you put the rail under she'll swamp easily. But, once your used to her ways, you'll find her quite seaworthy and easy to handle in up to about 2-1/2' steep chop, which is every bit as big as you want to be in. (Most small boaters will call stuff that's objectivly about 1' at least 3'.)

Make her with two or three rowing stations so you can row with one person, move forward if you have a passenger in the stern, and also can double bank if your passenger wants to stay warm and avoid boredom.

G'luck

[Bruce Taylor]

Blackfly, here, weighs ~80 lbs. Without the daggerboard trunk, mast partner, and wide keelson (for bedding the DB trunk), it would likely weigh somewhat less than 70 lbs. It sails very well, but hasn't been tried under oars. A friend in North Carolina is planning to build one for use w/ an electric trolling motor.

Drawings & offsets will be free to anyone who is interested in building her.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid69/p934c47f45392a49fbf35ea670eba25d5/fba70d66.jpg

[ 09-03-2003, 11:54 AM: Message edited by: Bruce Taylor ]

[RonW]

I would make the suggestion that you are limiting yourself too much.A 90 lb boat is a real pain for a man and woman to load and unload on top of a car, or worse yet a truck.For the most part capable boats in this weight range generally end up being either canoes or kayaks.If you will conclude to use a trailer, and you can find a used one and modify it cheaply, then a whole world of small boats in the 150 to 400 pound range opens up to you, with a much more capable boat.Look at glen-l at the sissy do or boatdesign.com from ken hankinson at his row and power skiff models, one plan and you can build 6 different size boats.Plus a ton more options, you just need to add a trailer.I wasted 25 years of my life screwing with canoes, a boat on a trailer is a boat.

[Bob Smalser]

Small trailer a whole lot easier....

...but why not a Grand Laker canoe?

This one is 95lbs, and you could easily fabricate a rear rollered support that mounts in your Class II hitch if you insist on cartopping.

http://www.newfound.com/minigrandlaker.htm

[Hal Forsen]

Keep them coming folks; No trailer boats accepted. So far I like the Whisp, the Wherry and the Gull. I always thought that rowboats having a central seat that runs fore and aft made alot of sense. What about that?

[JimD]

Keep in mind if you're going to clamp a motor on the trasom that's rather a lot of weight on the end of a small boat and a wide stern with plenty of boyancy is a good idea. Those lovely narrow wineglass transoms look awesome but may not be the right boat to be hanging any horsepower on.

[John Bell]

Originally posted by Hal Forsen:
I always thought that rowboats having a central seat that runs fore and aft made alot of sense. What about that?I recently spent two weeks using daily a boat with a fore and aft thwart, Bolger's NYMPH. It worked out ok I suppose, but it's a solution in search of a problem in my opinion. In theory, you have infinite trim adjustment. In practice, unless you put oar sockets every couple of inches on the gunwales, you are still constrained where you can sit. In NYMPH, the framing needed to hold the rowing thwart off the bottom was very uncomfortable on the backs of my legs. In a boat over 9' long I can't see where it is a better solution to a more convenitional transverse seat.

Also, your desire to have a good rowing boat that is also capable of handling a motor means you'll probably have to get a boat boat that's not very good at either. Several others have already explained why, I just want to agree with them. I don't recommend that anyone strap a motor on one of my Blackberries. It would be unsafe, uncomfortable, and unwise.

[Hal Forsen]

Let's forget the motor altogether. Rowing only.
HF

[ 09-03-2003, 10:11 PM: Message edited by: Hal Forsen ]

[Ben Fuller]

Forget motors? Great. Now you are in serious lightweight boat land. And of course the star is an Adirondack Guideboat, small St. Lawrence skiff, Rushton 109 and small Rangeley boats.

These can be stripped and I belive that someone sells a kit to do so. One also should think about CLC's lapstich Annapolis wherry.

[ 09-03-2003, 11:10 PM: Message edited by: Ben Fuller ]

[JimD]

Being a Glen-L fan, take a look at Fife, 12 feet long, 44" beam, quite a graceful multichine, weight approx 100#s including fiberglass.

[Ian McColgin]

I'm a tough guy but I'm loath to hoist 100# of boat on a car.

Couple of thoughts:

A boat like the gull is light enough that it's easily dragged 100' or more across a beach.

I don't think you can adapt the commercial transom wheels to the gull but I have put such on my light dink. It drags easily but I didn't want to abrade the paint so dragging it about 150' twice a day. The wheels are tres-slick.

For loading, it's pretty easy to put a boat on a wagon or the back of a pick-up. Hard to do alone on a sedan.

If you've a wagon type, you just invert over the stern and push it along.

G'luck.

[JimD]

Also check out Robb White's boats, featured in WB mag #160, though I don't know if you can buy plans only

[Kermit]

Hey, Bob, didn't Hazen's book, the one that sorta started all this stripper stuff, include patterns for a 20' or so squarestern canoe? As I recall, he said it was big enough for about four guys going moose hunting. Too big for cartopping, but I'm with those who recommend trailers. I'm getting too old for hoisting boats up onto the roof after a day on the water. I just want to get home, take off the wet clothes, and pour a beer. Trailer it.

[Keith Wilson]

I'd concur about the trailer; MUCH better than trying to hoist a boat on top of the car. You can have a more comfortable and useful boat if you go just a little bigger.

[Lazy Jack]

I would definately second the adirondack guideboat idea. I dug back into an old issue of Wooden Boat and found an article featuring the type. Illustrated was the lines for the Warren Cole guideboat. I eyeballed the sections printed in the magazine onto some vellum, compressed the design to 14 feet, cut out some plywood moulds and built it just like a strip canoe. What a delightfully fast, competent boat to row! I made a pair of 8' spruce adirondack style oars that can be used from one of two rowing stations depending on how many are on board. Painted an ugly drab dark green, darkened down almost to flat black on the outside, the wildlife tends to ignore it. At 45 lbs it is easy to carry inverted like a canoe and is a joke to toss up on the top of the truck. And being so ugly (unless you're colorblind) no one would steal it!
I used to think my gunning dory was such a delight to row... and I'm sure it still is, but I seldom row it anymore. Total cost from start to finish was around $650 and it took about a week from lines to launch.

[Hal Forsen]

Thanks for all the comments. I believe I will build a Cosine Wherry.
HF