garvey plans

[offshoreafflicted]

I'm new to the world of boat building. In fact I'v never built a boat, not even a model boat before. I know boats, work on boats, repair them but never built one from scratch.

I am looking for an entry level project I can build in my garage with my 2 sons. I was thinking a barnegate bay style garvey in the 18 to 20 ft range would be relatively easy to build and make a great boat for the bay. problem is I cant find a set of plans anywhere. Does anyone know where I can purchase a set of plans?

Does that make sense as a first attempt at boat building?

[jerry bark]

[/URL]Right here:

[URL]http://www.woodenboatstore.com/prodinfo.asp?number=400-127 (http://www.dhylanboats.com/dhbplan.html)

cheers
jerry

[Boatsmith]

Reuel Parker also has a garvey design

[johngsandusky]

And there are a couple of books with traditional and modified designs. Try Harry V Sucher , Simplified Boatbuilding. Either might be found in your library.

[Richard Jones]

Sam Devlin (on the web) has a nice 17' modified garvey. I built the 14' version years ago and still love it. Enjoy.

[Thad Van Gilder]

I have built several cedar garveys and find them very easy to build.

An inexperienced person can build a traditional cedar garvey quicker than an epoxy/ plywood garvey. Anyone who argues this hasn't built a traditional cedar garvey.

Traditional cedar garveys are also much cheaper than plywood and epoxy. Especially if you live in south Jersey.

you do not need much in the way of plans to build one out of cedar.

Thad

[Peter Belenky]

A bit smaller, but simple.

http://www.dngoodchild.com/divide_for_small_craft.htm

#5241--MULE--A 14-Ft Sailing Garvey
by H. I. Chapelle
We had been sitting around my drafting table talking about small boat designs and Dick, a professional boatbuilder, had been complaining about the lack of plans for a cheap, easily-built boat that would do for both work and pleasure. “These utility boats, now,” he said, “the trouble with the designs I’ve seen is that they are either too expensive to build to be used for the rough work a real utility boat ought to do, or they are too specialized. We call lots of boats utility craft without thinking just what they really are. As I see it, a utility boat ought to be useful for going fishing along the shore or to be used for an afternoon sail. If it is too much trouble to ship a sailing rig or an outboard, then the boat ought to row well enough to be pleasant to use. She ought to be capable of carrying four or five people with at least a reasonable amount of gear, too. The boat should be stable enough to allow you to load and unload without having to do a tight-wire walking act. She ought to be a combination work-boat and pleasue-boat if that is possible, and, man she has GOT to be both cheap and easy to build, as well as being useful in the greatest variety of ways."


http://dngoodchild.com/5241.jpg

[offshoreafflicted]

Thanks guys. I do live in jersey and building a traditional cedar garvey sounds like a plan. Now i just need to read a few books and get a good look at a few garveys and figure out how.

[Thad Van Gilder]

My shop is 8 miles inland of Ocean City, Let me know if I can help you.

I used to teach traditional boatbuilding classes at Cape May Tech

-Thad

[sshep]

Thomas Firth Jones has plans for a 14' ply version in his book"Low Resistance Boats".Its based on a cedar planked Russ Adams garvey whose plans were in #34 Small Boat Journal 1984.Jones also has plans for a 12'+ sailing cedar garvey in same book.I have copy of Russ Adams garvey plans from SBJ if your interested in it. Tom S

[jwel14]

One of Gardner's books has 2 Garveys in about the 19-22 foot range.

[johnw]

Are you wanting a sailing garvey or a power garvey? If a sailing one, there's a very nice design in American Small Sailing Craft for a 17 footer.

[luckystrike118]

Hi Offshoreaflickted,

if you have never built a boat before, do a minisharpie first. It' a so called one-sheet-boat and you can find free plans on www.simplicityboats.com

It gives you an eye for the worksteps in boatbuilding and your kids too. Looking at a blog and finding it logical is somethimg different than doing it. It's also is a motivating factor for your kids, having a small project and a boat for themselves.

All you need for the minisharpie is one sheet of 1/4' good quality Exterior plywood, 1 kg of Epoxy for gluing and one or two weekends for building. Even if it is very small, it will carry one or two kids on the water and makes a good figure as a maritime shelf in your workshop.

Grrreetings from the North Sea Coast, Michel

[Breakaway]

I have built several cedar garveys and find them very easy to build.Got any pics of a cedar garvey? Love to see what you mean!

[Thad Van Gilder]

I have pictures of a lil 9 footer I have been using as a dinghy, I could email them to you.

I also have pictures of a 16, two 14's, and a smaller one somewhere. I'll try to find them. I also have the lines for a 30 footer I designed for a group of students to build. Never got built.

The process is the same regardless of size. make two side pieces. I have made these of 2, 3, and 4 planks. I have edge glued the planks, batten seamed the joints, and in my lil 9 footer, I just butted them together. Inside, I attach frames, which I like to use 2 by 2's for. These fit on top of the chine log, although for my lil 9 footer I didn't use a chine log, I just fit doublers between the frames after the bottom was planked. I shape the bow with a batten to look like a garvey in the bow, and if the boat is to be rowed or sailed, the bottom would sweep up to where I think the water like will be in the stern. If its an outboard boat, I leave the bottom flat.

After the side pieces are done, I get out a strong back that is 2 feet longer than the boat, but narrower than the bow and transom. The transom is attached to the strongback in the normal fashion, but in the bow, I usually use what amounts to a horizontal stem. This is fastened to the strongback and I create a shadow mold for the center of the boat.

The side pieces are clamped to the shadow mold and bent towards the horizontal stem. I attach the side pieces to it with beefy knees, well bedded.

I then bend the side pieces to the transom and screw it in place, again with beefy knees.

The chine log is faired, a heavy transom knee is fitted and bolted to the transom and a keelson, which is bent over the shadow mold and stops before the shape in the forward bottom precludes easy fitting. I have stem bent keelsons to fit the inside of the forward bow, and laminated, either works.

I tend to fit the bottom planking to the bottom of the boat about 1/3 of the way back from the bow first. Then I work forward. This tightens up the forward piece of the keelson that you made up, that is all loose in there. Then I work aft.

When the bottom is planked, an outer keelson goes on, and its time to flip her over and fit her out.

Easy. you can make yourself think its hard, but if you just try it the way I described, a rank amateur can throw a decent garvey together in a week.

Thad

[Mike Vogdes]

Thad...
Could you post some pixs of your 14' and 16' Garvey's? I would like to see how things go together and finish out. I see you batten the topside planks but how do you treat the cross planked bottom? Do you traditionally caulk with oakum and cotton, or some other method? I remember as a kid, Cedar Garvey's always having some problems keeping dry, hence the reason many Waterman glassing the bottoms. Rarely do you find a Garvey nowadays without glass on the bottom.

[Steve Paskey]

I have a set of plans for a 17-foot sailing garvey from Paul Fisher at www.selway.fisher.com (his Kingfisher design) that I'm willing to give away. (Tried to give them away a year ago, but had no takers.) Send a PM if you're interested.

[Thad Van Gilder]

I have them down the shore mike, I'll dig up the pictures when I get down there.

I am 33. When I was a kid there were almost no Garveys around. I gained my opinions on what Garveys should look like from years of climbing on derelict Garveys that would wash up on the meadows from time to time. I would spend hours looking at the sides and bottoms and the shape of their sides. I imagine my feelings on what a Garvey should look like are heavily flavored from those early experiences. I imagine they were locally built around the Great Egg Harbor Bay, so the ones I built probably look like the ones that were in fact built in that area.

To answer your question, I put nothing on the bottom seams, but the boat has to stay in the water all summer. As long as it stays in the water, she will stay dry. The problem is when they are trailered.

The other problem is when they stay in the water, but aren't used, the seams on the bottom above the waterline tend to open, like on all wood boats. This can be combated by using it frequently. I have also thought about splining the bottom planking up forward (above the waterline), but never did it. maybe on the next one.

The 9' garvey I built 2 years ago, didn't have battens on the side planks. the planks were just put together, and seam compound put over the seam. It stays tight, but when she gets old enough, I imagine Ill roll some cotton in there.

I fit out the Garveys just like all the smallcraft I built. Inwales inside the frames, riveted through the knees at the transom and the bow, or the bresthook. Seat riser about halfway from the chine to the sheer. usually seats are made of a single plank, but sometimes I make them from 4 inch wide stock fastened into the seat riser 1/2 inch or so apart. I have always put in a middle seat, a seat at the stern, and usually a bow seat. I am restoring a 16 foot Old Town for a woman right now, and it has two separate bench seats at the quarters. That is a neat layout... I might try it someday.

I don't know what happened to the other garveys I made. I saw a 14 in south seaville in someone's yard a few years ago, but it hasn't been there in a while. I imagine they are all still in south Jersey somewhere.

But you never know. I recently heard that a 10 foot dinghy I made was in Annapolis.

-Thad

[Mike Vogdes]

I remember boats like this as a kid.
http://www.loving-long-island.com/life-on-a-garvey.html
They would range 16'-23' or so, many would have a small house just aft of midship where you could duck in and get out of the weather. Some would have a culling board/table mounted on the front of the house. Mostly outboard powered, with inboards in the bigger boats. I have an old friend in Absecon who has a 16' Cedar Garvey in original condition thats never been asaulted with glass, it always has a few inches of water in it, and when he uses it he just bails occasionally, no big deal. I'm getting the itch to build another one, maybe 21' or so, set up for working.

[Thad Van Gilder]

I remember clamers that had little houses in the back of their clam boats when I was a kid. usually the were square plywood things with no back. the always had outboards with a tiller.

one particular guy kept his boat at the boat ramp in Beasley's point. for a long time he had a plastic child's playhouse for a house. That fascinated me!

I actually never saw a Garvey with an inboard until I was older. There was a chickenbreast Garvey that I have seen out at Thompson's hauled for the winter with an inboard.

There was also a huge chickenbreast Garvey up in Pleasantville that this guy wanted me to turn into a cruising sailboat. That must have been 26 or 28 feet but I really don't remember anymore as its been years. I worked up a gaff ketch rig with a single headsail and leeboards. It had engine bearers but not engine. the plan was to push it with a 4 hp seagull. As time went on, I realized that the guy had no money, and the project ended. Shame. That was a neat boat.

Then there was the giant garvey type buoy tender hauled at yanks... maybe 65 feet and cross planked like the small garveys ( but with 3 inch or so planking)

And the 30 foot or so Chicken breast Garvey that the state used to use to put those cedar pole channel markers in. Maybe they still use i - who knows.

It was only maybe 5 years ago I saw my first racing Garvey. Prior to that I could count the inboard Garveys I had seen on one hand.

I don't know anything about the chickenbreast Garveys other than what the old guys in Upper Township have told me. If they are correct, there was someone up by Atlantic City making them that came up from the Chincoteague area. I had never seen one as a kid, so I don't think there were many of them around. The flat bottom Garveys seamed to be what what used in that area.

Mike, do you know anything about the chickenbreast Garveys. as the bow is herringbone planked it would make sense to me that they descended from a Chesapeake bay area boatbuilder.

Let me know if you really want to throw one together... I have been thinking of making a 15 footer for my family and me to use. maybe we could take a week in june and plank two of them up.

-Thad

[Mike Vogdes]

Mike, do you know anything about the chickenbreast Garveys. as the bow is herringbone planked it would make sense to me that they descended from a Chesapeake bay area boatbuilder.

Let me know if you really want to throw one together... I have been thinking of making a 15 footer for my family and me to use. maybe we could take a week in june and plank two of them up.

-Thad

A WEEK !!! Jeez... it just took me nearly a month to build a baby cradle.

I would like that but I need to get back to work, got layed off and been sitting on the bench for a while now, construction work is dead around here. I spent a month on a tug on the Mississippi between Thanksgiving and Christmas, thinking about maybe going back out again.

Your probably right about the chickenbreast Garvey coming from the south, Oyster Mike always said they originated down that way. They were popular up in New York as well. I know this guy builds a nice one. http://www.longislandtraditions.org/artistprofiles/maritime/pickerell.html

[erster]

There are several old timers on the bay that built the chicken breasted garveys that I am aware of. The first person or family and the earliest that I personally witnessed and know of were these two folks. The Hudson family and later on the Jesters coming along after the war around the late 1940s, IIRC. There was one more well known fellow, Simpson, which built the straight sided hulls unlike the flared ones of Jester. Simpson hulls were for the most part straight everything, bottom and sides. There were several others but not to the extent of these two fellows that I personally witnessed.

http://hudsonlegends.home.netcom.com/artist_ira_12-30-02.htm

Herb Jester also was featured in number 49 WB magazine and lived in Chincoteague Va. . If you built the cross planked ones herringbone style, then the technigue that I use is "Japanese fan blade" and cut the opposing backs at each landing simular to the skipjack bow staves or barrelstaves.

[Thad Van Gilder]

Yes Mike, A week.

a week of ten hour days, and no beer until lunch, but a week none the less.

-Thad

[SScoville]

Two from the Atkins.

http://www.boat-links.com/Atkinco/Utilities/images/Sprat-1.gif

http://www.boat-links.com/Atkinco/Utilities/images/Barnegat-1.gifhttp://www.boat-links.com/Atkinco/Utilities/images/Barnegat-1.gif

[flyinwall]

Two from the Atkins.

http://www.boat-links.com/Atkinco/Utilities/images/Sprat-1.gif

http://www.boat-links.com/Atkinco/Utilities/images/Barnegat-1.gifhttp://www.boat-links.com/Atkinco/Utilities/images/Barnegat-1.gif

has anyone got pics of one of these that has been build
would be good to see what it looks like finished

[calfee20]

I think this garvey is one of the neatest boats I have seen in a while

http://www.emcrosbyboatworks.com/production.php

.......................Tom C

[boylesboats]

I think this garvey is one of the neatest boats I have seen in a while

http://www.emcrosbyboatworks.com/production.php

.......................Tom C

Cool idea of "walk off" bow section...

[Ross Lillistone]

I am currently finishing off a set of plans for a 17' 6" x 6' 8" lee-board Praam (some would call her a Garvey), which is rigged as a balanced lug cat-yawl - 170.7 sq. ft. total sail area with 144 sq. ft in the main. The main mast is in a tabernacle, and when lowered it is inside the over-all length (between transoms).

Internal arrangement is set up with two full-sized bunks in the cuddy-cabin and under the bridge-deck, with room for other gear, plus cockpit seats sized to take a full-sized adult on each side of the cockpit under a tent rigged over the lowered mast or the furled main slung between the two masts.

Detailed design work three-quarters complete. Stitch-and-glue plywood construction - 1/2" bottom, and 3/8" topsides. Rudder doesn't appear in the current outboard profile, because I haven't drawn it yet, but it will be transom-hung, with an auxilliary outboard mounted in a self-draining slop well set into the short aft deck.http://www.baysidewoodenboats.com.au/Whimbrel%20Sail%20Plan.GIF

I don't know whether you would consider this an entry-level project for what you intend doing, but I mention her as being a possibility given your stated requirement.

Plans will be a month or so yet, as I have other work which is taking priority - but I really like this boat.

Ross Lillistone

[Mike Vogdes]

Growing up on LI there were tons of Garveys- they were all clam boats to us. Anyone know who the builders were on LI?

Go to post 22 for one of them.

[johngsandusky]

A lot of clammers built their own. Some still do.

[Breakaway]

And a lot of them use Carolina Skiffs and other FRP garvey knock-offs, shallow draft boats.

[abalone2023]

try Dave Gerr - Gerrmarine website...3.3m sailing garvey
'pippin' or 'nestor' dink.......

[John Birmingham]

1233
Thomas Firth Jones has plans for a 14' ply version in his book"Low Resistance Boats".Its based on a cedar planked Russ Adams garvey whose plans were in #34 Small Boat Journal 1984.Jones also has plans for a 12'+ sailing cedar garvey in same book.I have copy of Russ Adams garvey plans from SBJ if your interested in it. Tom S

Tom,

I sent you a pm about the plans. I would like to take a look at those plans as I am working on a 15' garvey built by Russ Adams and would like to see the plans of the transom. In particular, I am interested in the transom knees and other supports and reinforcement.

John Birmingham

[Robert Meyer]

I am currently finishing off a set of plans for a 17' 6" x 6' 8" lee-board Praam (some would call her a Garvey), which is rigged as a balanced lug cat-yawl - 170.7 sq. ft. total sail area with 144 sq. ft in the main. The main mast is in a tabernacle, and when lowered it is inside the over-all length (between transoms).

Internal arrangement is set up with two full-sized bunks in the cuddy-cabin and under the bridge-deck, with room for other gear, plus cockpit seats sized to take a full-sized adult on each side of the cockpit under a tent rigged over the lowered mast or the furled main slung between the two masts.

Detailed design work three-quarters complete. Stitch-and-glue plywood construction - 1/2" bottom, and 3/8" topsides. Rudder doesn't appear in the current outboard profile, because I haven't drawn it yet, but it will be transom-hung, with an auxilliary outboard mounted in a self-draining slop well set into the short aft deck.http://www.baysidewoodenboats.com.au/Whimbrel%20Sail%20Plan.GIF

I don't know whether you would consider this an entry-level project for what you intend doing, but I mention her as being a possibility given your stated requirement.

Plans will be a month or so yet, as I have other work which is taking priority - but I really like this boat.

Ross Lillistone

As usual, I find your designs intriguing. However, will there be a problem with the forward transom right at the waterline?
Most designs for prams and garveys have the transom above the WL.
http://www.woodenboatstore.com/images/400126.jpg