Caledonia Yawl as a beach cruiser

[John Shin]

I am considering Iain Oughtred's Caledonia Yawl for beach cruising. Does anyone have experience beach cruising in this boat? I would like to hear what others have learned from it. My thought is to use the balanced lug main sail rig and an open boat (no decks). How has the outboard motor well worked?

[Meerkat]

No personal experience with the CY, but this site is a hotbed of enthusiasts smile.gif

http://www.mavc2002.com/caledoniayawl/index.html

[John Shin]

That's a great Web site - lots of information for anyone with or considering a Caledonia Yawl. Lots of interesting stuff too. Thanks

[Venchka]

John,

Bill Boyd in Maine built his Caledonia Yawl for the Maine Island Trail. I am having mine built to cruise the Gulf Coast to start. I hope to go anywhere in North America that has access to a shoreline.

This time next year I hope to have had my boat on several beaches along the Gulf Coast.

The boat has all the requirements to be a great coastal cruiser. Simple rig, seaworthy, 500-600 pounds dry weight, 1,300 maximum displacement, easily trailered, simple construction.

I also thought I wanted the open version until I gave some serious thought to the added safety of the built in flotation in an offshore environment. I honestly believe I will sail more confidently knowing that the boat has flotation I can't forget at the dock.

Ironically, the sails are already finished and waiting for the boat.

Cheers & Good Luck!

It is a great boat!

Wayne
30N, 90W

[Don Olney]

I agree that for crusing purposes the Caledonia Yawl should be built decked with flotation. Not only is it safer and sturdier, but the decking provides usable space in the ends of the boat. In the open boat layout, the areas forward of the mainmast and aft of the mizzenmast are basically useless. In addition, the decking provides bulkheads to which rigging hardware can be attached.

With decking and a steel centerboard, the Caledonia Yawl is a very capable boat.

[ahp]

ANYONE! The Caldonia Yawl maybe just what I have been looking for. Is there a place on the web where I can see a plan?

I followed the link in Meerkat's post. It had some nice photos but no plan.

[Meerkat]

http://www.duckflatwoodenboats.com/dfwbphp/boatINDEX.php?ID=1031

Woodenboat Store:
19'6" Caledonia Yawl
Derived from traditional Norwegian small craft, this handsome double-ender performs as well as a daysailer and beach cruiser. Clean, frameless, glued-lapstrake plywood hull means, easy construction, happy trailering, and low maintainence.
LOA - 19' 6"
Beam - 6' 2"
Draft (cb up) - 11"
(cb down) - 3' 6"
Weight - about 340 lbs.
Sail Area:
Balanced lug - 164 sq. ft.
Gaff yawl - 170 sq. ft.
No lofting is required
Skill level: Intermediate to Advanced
Plans include 8 sheets.

Study plans are show in "Forty Wooden Boats."

[ 10-16-2002, 10:22 AM: Message edited by: Meerkat ]

[ahp]

Thank you, Meerkat

[Venchka]

I would like to clear up one item in Iain's description of the boat in his catalog.

"Hull Weight 340 pounds". That may be true of just the hull, open version. However, the on the trailer, ready to sail weight is more like 500-600 depending on materials used and how much ballast you want to use. One of the builders at the Crazybird site listed his boat at 475 pounds minus some essential parts.

As for a plan on the internet, a Google search will turn up line drawings for the Ness Yawl. Don Olney's Highlander photo gallery for one. The Caledonia is a foot wider, a few inches deeper, but otherwise similar.

Wayne
30N, 90W

[Meerkat]

I have an article in a competing magazine about the Jennie II (aka "JII"), which is described as a refinement of the Caledonia Yawl. A bit shorter and with more planks/side IIRC.

From Duckflatwoodenboats:

JII Yawl
Six planks a side makes her finer looking than the Whilly and Ness boats, from whom she draws her lineage.

Her beam makes her an occasional rower to get you home, or a fair rower with two oarsmen, side by side.

If all else fails, stick the small outboard in the designed well, and let the Iron Topsail do the hard yards.

The gunter sloop rig should see her flying along in open water, and the canoe stern means that she will be happy with a range of loads.

Sail option: Balanced Lug. Balanced Lug Yawl. This last rig should allow self steering.

Type Double-ended Beach Boat
Length OA 5.52 m 18' 1"
Beam 1.57 m 5' 1"
Weight 110.00 kg 242 lbs
Draught 0.54 m 1' 9"
Total Sail Area 11.43 sq m 122.99 sqf
Construction Method glued lap plywood
(long and relatively skinny - ought to be fast!)

The Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle has a lug-yawl CY, and they complain that no matter what they've done, they can't get the boat balanced and she has "fierce weather helm". Alas, the craft is out of service with a cracked mast partner, so I couldn't tell you of my own knowledge. Who knows, the boat may not have been built to plans correctly or... don't take this as a reason not to build a CY!

[ 10-16-2002, 07:21 PM: Message edited by: Meerkat ]

[John Shin]

The comments about flotation make sense to me. After posting my last comment I began to wonder about that, but what does that do to my intention to include the outboard well? Am I stuck with one of those afterthought-looking brackets on the back to hold the outboard engine? I have long wondered why no no one has not placed an engine in some convenient spot on the boat with a hydraulic pump connected. Then an hydraulic motor mounted underneath could drive the propeller (screw) directly - no moving parts through the hull! Perhaps it's time to investigate.

The business about the hard weather helm needs my looking into. No one reported this in //www.mavc2002.com/caledoniayawl/index.html. Anyone have firsthand experience?

[Don Maurer]

The Jeannie II is a 95% version of the Ness Yawl, not the Caledonia Yawl. The Ness Yawl and J II are lighter, leaner and narrower than the Caledonia Yawl. The Caledonia is a very substantial boat, very much like a lifeboat. The Ness Yawl is built for speed, more like a whale boat.

[Meerkat]

WRT the JII, I was going on Mr. Oughtred's article in Water Craft...

I think you can both build an afterdeck and an outboard well - the well just subtracts from the sealed storage/bouancy space.

[ 10-17-2002, 01:23 AM: Message edited by: Meerkat ]

[Venchka]

Iain's Clinker Boatbuilding book (a must own if you are building) shows examples of the stern deck/motor well arrangement.

You can order the book and plans together from Iain or the Wooden Boat Store.

Wayne
30N, 90W

[ahp]

Does anyone have a comment or experiance concerning the seaworthyness of a Caladonia Yawl vs a sharpie, say Reul Parker's 19 ft, or Chappelle's 24 ft sharpie, or any sharpie?