Strip and Stitch?

[Lewisboats]

What do you think? Strip bottom to get a nice rounded hull to present to the water but a stitched ply side panel for a bit easier and quicker (and perhaps stronger) finish. 18' 4" loa with a strip bottom but solid ply sides. Reduction in surface area over stitched ply bottom is around 3 sq ft. Strips of Cedar or ripped ply...Cedar being preferable for weight. A light glassing (4oz) of the bottom for structural and abrasion reasons.

A row boat with a transom for an electric trolling motor boost if the old arms (or more likely back) putter out or the desire is for fish rather than exercise. Design weight is around 475 lbs but the boat should end up around 200-220 lbs if built with care and attention to detail and weight. Beam is 45" so you might want to add short outriggers for longer oars. Beam on the waterline is about 33.5" for a nice smooth water flow in all directions. Stability on the other hand isn't the greatest...so some care would be needed when landing that large mouth or stripper but a net would do wonders in helping.
A design for one hefty or two lighter persons to enjoy a speedy row in.


http://www.angelfire.com/ego/lewisboatworks/Stuff/Designs/Rapier/Rapier_stripandstitch.JPG

[keyhavenpotterer]

I think your design is a very nice concept, and would work very well.

Keith Callaghan in the UK designs his trailer sailors to be built this way, and some of his dinghies.

http://www.bluelightning.co.uk/ts/106-0629s.jpg

http://www.bluelightning.co.uk/ts/schmidt003.jpg

http://www.bluelightning.co.uk/ts/schmidt005.jpg

Keith is also a leading Merlin Rocket designer. A very beautiful class of epoxy ply racing dinghy. Here in build

http://www.bluelightning.co.uk/Merlins/Haz170-09%20300244s.jpg

and finished

http://www.bluelightning.co.uk/Merlins/1D3F6290s.JPG

http://www.bluelightning.co.uk/

Brian

[Lewisboats]

OHHH...nice stuff! I knew I couldn't be the first to think of it!

[moTthediesel]

Here's one the other way (ply bottom, strip topsides), and IMHO a nice looking one too --

http://www.sredmond.com/elver.htm

[huisjen]

Nice looking above the waterline, but not below.

Dan

[Hwyl]

Dudley Dix strips just the chines.

Nice lookin' Merlin BTW

[rbgarr]

Cy Hamlin's Amphibi-ettes, designed in the 1950s, were strip planked from keel to the turn of the bilge and plywood on the topsides.

[Thorne]

Not sure I like the uber-narrow transom, even though it would be easy to build. OK for a dory, but why not go for a wider wineglass transom since the wider parts won't be immersed anyway under a normal load?

Do you plan on a standard design skeg? Sure seems like you'd need one as that round bottom and mostly-out-of-the-water stem won't provide much directional stability.

[keyhavenpotterer]

Steve, could the S&T sides and frames be assembled to create the structure of the hull that is then strip planked on the bottom? That would be pretty cool, and very efficient way of building a very efficient boat!

Brian

[luckystrike118]

I think this is a excellent concept that would work for a variety of modern designs. For example a lot of the "Open" planning hulls have develloped a chine above the DWL. Working with ply and cedar and a little glass it could be an alternative to glass and foam, which is surely more expensive.

Grrreetings from the North Sea Coast, Michel

[paladin]

Lewisboats...that scheme works just fine...we built a few dozen boats using that technique. We have also strip planked bottoms and ply lapped sides, ply bottoms and lapped strake sides, and ply bottoms, ply sides and strip planked bilges....all worked just fine. We did a 21 foot strip planked "Hess type cutter", a ply bottom and strip planked topside version, and a strip planked bottom and ply lapped topsides for one person with a gaff rig. No difficulty with any versions.

[Daniel Noyes]

http://sites.google.com/site/dansdories/_/rsrc/1256977467040/Slide7small-large.jpg (http://javascript<b></b>:void(0);)
Ply bottom, strip planked sides.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2703/4140758735_66b0155f10_o.jpg