Atkin designs suitable (almost) for plywood

[JimD]

Looks like a little cold molding required for Hearts Desire II but mostly flat or very near flat runs suitable for plywood.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid153/p45ee90e6ad42b05e286cb728e90f579b/f58ac066.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid153/p6333ad63f20e28a82d199eccb1140387/f58abd7b.jpg

A Double-Ended Auxiliary Cutter

It is no small problem to provide comfortable headroom in any type of wholesome cruiser in which the overall length is limited to as little as, say, 23 feet. And this problem is especially difficult if the draft of the 23-footer must be kept to something less than three feet. Within reasonable limits generous freeboard is a most desirable feature; but it is a feature which is often overdone. I have often heard it said that the more freeboard a small boat has the more seaworthy she will be. This, to say the least, is an overstatement. Any boat can have too much freeboard just as she can have too little freeboard.

Heart's Desire II is rigged as a jib-headed cutter. The area of the mainsail is 184 square feet; the staysail 45 square feet; and the jib 59 square feet; total area 288 square feet. Just a nice handful for a boat of this size and displacement.

In the design of Heart's Desire II I have attempted to solve the headroom problem in a small boat by combining the excellent underwater form of the Sea Bright skiff with the sections and topsides of a V-bottom, plumb-stem and plumb-stern, double-ender. In dimensions the design shows a pleasing little packet 22 feet 10 inches over all; 21 feet on the waterline; 7 feet 8 inches in breadth; and 2 feet 7 inches draft. The freeboard to the edge of the deck at the bow is 3 feet 4 inches, the least freeboard is 2 feet l 1/4 inches, and the freeboard at the stern is 2 feet 6 inches. Added to this is the height of the bulwark rail, to the top of the rail cap, another 4 7/8 inches. This adds up to wholesome and normal freeboard for a craft of this size and character.


Below deck Heart's Desire II is laid out for the comfortable accommodation of a crew of two. A third member might sleep on the cabin floor but it must be remembered this is a little vessel and that three grown people take up a great deal of space and that three will crowd the accommodations both below deck and in the cockpit. The broad double-end keel permits the cabin floor to be placed very low in the boat, and this without at all cramping its breadth. The result is that we have under the cabin-top beams 5 feet 3 inches of headroom, and under the companionway slide 5 feet 9 inches of standing room. And all this height without an excessively high cabin house. The forward hatchway coamings are high; this gives full sitting over toilet and adds considerably to the dryness when the hatch is open to the space below.

Stepping down the three-tread companionway ladder we find on the starboard side working space for a singleburner stove, ice box and handy dish shelves; on the port side similar space for sink, lockers and a 2-foot 7-inch shelf. Right here, in the galley part of the interior, we have 5 feet 7 inches of headroom. Two sofa-berths, under part of which are two 15-gallon water tanks with room left over for locker space. The walking space between the galley work tables is 32 inches; the walking space between the cabin berths, 24 inches. Ye that build Heart's Desire II can thank the Sea Bright skiff keel for these ample walking areas. Forward of the bunks twin lockers and two stowage bins have a share in the pump closet compartment and the ground tackle locker; all these are hidden in the forepeak.

The motor shown on the plans is a single cylinder 6 h.p. Baby Huskie Palmer. It should be fitted with reverse gear and clutch but without a reduction gear. This motor will give the cutter a speed of approximately 6 m.p.h., which is about the maximum speed which can be expected in a boat of this size and type. Motor revolutions will be close to 1,500 turns a minute. It will be seen that the motor is tucked in under the bridge deck and cockpit floor. It is, however, readily accessible through the opening abaft the ladder.

How about sailing this little beauty from Vancouver to Australia?

[JimD]

Or how about this one?

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid153/p8308ecf4f4a0ce5a8e97a503dd3c0601/f58aafa4.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid153/p631d488eee06d2f1fde2255f6548b0a1/f58aad72.jpg

East Riding
A 25' 3" V-Bottom Cruising Knockabout
By William & John Atkin

A Simple Cruising Craft

In East Riding we have a modest and simple craft that will be easy to take care of, reasonably easy to build, and easy to handle single-handed if ever the need arises. The overall length is 25 feet 3 inches; the water line length is 22 feet; the breadth is 7 feet 10 inches; and the draft is 2 feet 7 1/2 inches. Based on experience and data collected from the performance of some of my other shallow draft keel boats one can expect very good sailing qualities, even when sailing on the wind. Shallow draft within reason is a very good feature, and a long straight keel has its advantages, especially for the owner who does his own hauling out and overhauling. And I rather suspect that yacht yard men would rather handle craft of this type than the long, graceful and long-legged models; less blocking and poppets, less work.

The rig is handy with jib-head mainsail and staysail. The former has an area of 245 square feet; the latter an area of 62 feet; 307 square feet in all. The rig is all inboard and about as easy to go shipmates with as any. The staysail carries a boom eliminating the trouble of shifting staysail sheets every time the little hooker changes tacks. Over-lapping jibs and staysails are fine, efficient, and so on but not handy for a singlehanded cruiser.

The deck shows a house 7 feet long by 4 feet 8 inches wide; the house-top crown will provide 4 feet 8 inches headroom under the carlins with 5 feet 3 inches under the companionway hatch slide, And this is not bad for a small and shallow draft boat. The cockpit is 3 feet 11 inches long by slightly more than 4 feet 6 inches wide. There is a bridge deck of comfortable size and area between cockpit and cabin house; this is 2 feet long and gives Strength to the hull and provides room below for the installation of a small motor and room for shelves in the galley part of the cabin.

The hull of East Riding is of V-bottom form and has straight sections below the chines and moulded sections above these corners. The stern extends straight across which is easier, to build than the crowned kind and satisfactory in every respect. The slight flam in the forward sections and the tumble home abaft station 7 is more difficult to build than all straight, sections; but worth the bother from the standpoint of shipshapeness and general appearance. The keel extends well below the line of the rabbet the entire length of the bottom and there is ample area of lateral plane here to prevent the boat from sliding to leeward. The rudder is of generous area which is necessary for a sailing craft of this type and model. Ballast is carried outside. This should be made from lead and will weigh very close to 1,200 pounds. For a boat only 22 feet on the water line East Riding is a big boat. The depth from the bottom of the keel at station 7 to the sheer line is 4 feet 3 inches; the freeboard at the stem is 3 feet 5 1/2 inches; the freeboard at the stern 2 feet 7 1/2 inches; and the least freeboard, 2 feet 3 3/8 inches. There will be a lot of room inside, and on deck as well. She has ample initial stability and will be well balanced if built very much as shown in the plans.

[RodB]

From Atkin Site:

Amos Brown
A 22' 4 3/4" V-Bottomed Sloop
By John Atkin

Seldom have I had the opportunity to design a boat purely without the influence of a client, but Amos Brown is such a craft -- one designed just for fun.

While she may not look it, the boat was developed from the schooner Florence Oakland. Amos Brown evolved as I removed the schooner's billethead and trailboards and laid in a conventional stem. I feel that the result is an attractive -- if not altogether practical -- tabloid cruising boat. Her freeboard amidships is low and the trunk cabin is relatively low. Together, these features destroyed any possibility of sitting headroom. To overcome this, I borrowed a page from an early Stone Horse auxiliary with a trunk cabin and have shown sprung battens covered by a removable canvas. Without the "house top," one has the heavens for a ceiling and loses all concern about headroom of any kind.

The arrangement of Amos Brown includes berths port and starboard. A white enameled bucket equipped with a comfortable seat is tucked between these, and, while the bucket may not conform to present EPA regulations, it makes for a much more simple life. The boat's galley is located at the companionway opening, with a sink to port and a two-burner alcohol stove to starboard -- both arranged in proper lockers. Indeed, her accommodations are quite nice for a 22-footer.

Principal dimensions of Amos Brown are 22 feet 4 3/4 inches overall by 20 feet on the waterline by 7 feet 8 inches beam and 3 feet draft. Her construction plan calls for 1/2 inch thick waterproof plywood. (I have often used Permaply fir plywood with a phenol overlay and have had encouraging results.) Also specified is outside lead ballast -- 1,200 pounds of it.
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http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid153/p71184b1273495cf61bd3137496c30cac/f58a3c06.jpg

RB

[ 01-09-2005, 03:31 PM: Message edited by: RodB ]

[JimD]

I bet this would make it to Australia:

Ensenada
A 27' 2" V-Bottom Jib-Headed Cutter
By William & John Atkin

A Vee Bottom Auxiliary Cutter

Twenty-six years ago I designed for MoToR BoatinG a little skipjack schooner. Small for a schooner but never-the-less a shipshape and very practical vessel. Reminiscent of older times she has a clipper bow, trailboards, sharp rake to her masts, and a rather shapely overhanging counter stern. Her magazine name is Coot. In June a letter concerning a West Coast Coot came. It was from Stanley 0. Jacobs, of Los Angeles, California. Mr. Jacobs' edition of Coot is named, Hurricane. The neat little hooker was entered in the Third Annual Newport Harbor to Ensenada International Race in which 133 yachts were checked across the finishing line at Ensenada, Mexico. Hurricane finished first in the Arbitrary Handicap Class winning the President of U. S. A. Trophy. Hurricane was one of the smallest boats in the race. Not bad, Shipmates, for a little auxiliary designed primarily for comfortable cruising.

It may be of interest to know that Coot is a development of the centerboard schooner Fairwind which I designed several years before the lines of Coot took form on my drawing table. Then during the war came the design of America Junior. Here are a trio of little skipjack bottom schooners alike in some respects but very different in many. And now appears the fourth of the family, Ensenada (whence came the name is obvious), this one rigged as a jib-head cutter. The latest of the fleet in addition to a different sail plan has a differently modeled stern, this being without crown and much more narrow on deck than its predecessors with two inches greater beam and a lot more freeboard. And then there is a much longer cabin trunk to say nothing of the so-called dog house and turned stanchioned taffrail. The construction of the new one calls for steam bent frames, a lighter iron keel, and various other desirable changes.

Ensenada is 27 feet 2 inches over all; 21 feet 6 inches on the water line; 9 feet 10 inches breadth; and 4 feet draft. The freeboard at the bow is 3 feet 3 inches, the least 1 foot 10 3/4 inches, the stern 2 feet 5 inches. The iron keel weighs 1,850 pounds, and inside there will be 600 pounds of ballast.

The cutter rig carries a total area of 309 square feet. Be sure to insist that your sail maker provide reefing points, proper cringles, and long nettles. This is not a racing boat. And if you expect to be comfortable in bad weather tuck in a reef or two; don't lug sail!


Looking below the cabin plan shows a galley length of a little over 3 feet 9 inches which provides a lot of room for stove, work table, ice box, dish lockers, and lockers. The headroom under the hatch in the galley is 5 feet 9 inches. This, of course, in the dog house. There are two berths in the main cabin and lockers under these. The headroom in the cabin varies from 5 feet 7 inches in its after end to 4 feet 4 inches in the forward end. The width between the berth fronts is 3 feet which is comfortable room in any boat. The pump water closet is installed forward beneath the forward deck house the latter giving decent headroom in the forecastle. There is also plenty of storage room here and with ingenuity it would be very easy to provide comfortable sleeping quarters for one. Ground tackle has its place forward of the low bulkhead in the ship's eyes.

The motor is installed under the bridge deck -- a single cylinder 5 h.p. Universal Fisherman. A Palmer Baby Huskie of 6 h.p. might also be used or a motor having similar characteristics to these two.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid153/p2ffcb4a38d015d34a2c871e33376f4b2/f58a31a2.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid153/pf6a203d3ff2704b751ce7c13053010a8/f58a2eb3.jpg

[JimD]

I have a question about the bottom of Ensenada. According to the station drawing the entire boat is flat sided, including the transom, except for for a few a few aft sections. Anyone know why Atkin would design it this way? Seems to me for ease of construction the bottom could be run in a straight line from the chine to the keel.

[Venchka]

Jim & Ex-Oceangoddess,

How big is too big? How much trouble is a wide load permit in Alberta and British Columbia or Mont.-Idaho-Wash. for an 8'-10" maximum beam? How much trouble would it be to haul in a few frames to get the beam down to 8'-6"?

Talk to Bill Garden about his SEABIRD II design #598 for The Rudder. Yawl rig, 390 sq.ft. The working jib is mounted on a club and is self-tacking. 26'-0" LOA x 22'-0" waterline. Draft is 3'-5" and headroom is 5'-10". 1,850 pounds of outside cast iron ballast. Room to stow a pram on the boomkin. Fiberglass over plywood planking. Inboard motor-I can't seem to find any mention of h.p. on the plans. I figure this boat would be one of those that basically lives in the water but luggable back home for winter storage.

Give me a shout if you need more information.

Wayne
In the Swamp. :D

[ 01-10-2005, 05:35 PM: Message edited by: Venchka ]

[JimD]

Wayne, got a pic of Seabird? 9 foot beam is ok with me. Only trouble with Garden's designs is finding info on them.

[Jack Heinlen]

FWIW Atkin, both Billy and John, label boats that are plankable in ply.

Hearts, oh what a boat. There are a number here that lust after her. Gorgeous. I've been trying to talk Dave, old and obstreperous West coast, into building the bottom cold molded and the topsides traditional.

Oh, be still my heart. smile.gif

[ 01-09-2005, 07:11 PM: Message edited by: Jack Heinlen ]

[Venchka]

Since Mr. Garden came out of hiding recently with Tom Cat, a WoodenBoat article and the building book, I would think that he is approachable. Toad Hall isn't that far away. Hurry. Neither of you are getting any younger. WoodenBoat magazine should have contact information.

I have one scanned image at the office. I'll put it up tomorrow. Warning, while more pleasing than the Glen-L 25, SEABIRD II does look more like a plastic boat from the 70s than anything the Atkins did. The Pearson yawl from that era comes to mind. Not ugly, but not traditional.
Her pedigree is good.

With Ted Brewer, William Garden and Paul Gartside all within a stones throw of each other, go get your perfect boat designed just for you.

Wayne
In the Swamp. :D

[JimD]

Originally posted by Venchka:
...
With Ted Brewer, William Garden and Paul Gartside all within a stones throw of each other, go get your perfect boat designed just for you.

Wayne
In the Swamp. :D I can't afford 'em! But looking forward to seeing Seabird - quick, before I have another birthday. Thanks.

And I bet it wouldn't be hard at all to redraw Hearts Desire for plywood. The lines are almost straight except the bottom aft where I would add a second chine. And discretely raise the cabin roof about 2 inches.

[Tim Mooney]

National Fisherman had a longish article on a Heart's Desire, built in steel, if I remember correctly, back in the mid seventies. I used to want one because I thought the way of getting headroom was ingenious. I'm sure the garboard was changed to a sharp corner. It goes without saying that if flat steel can be bent around, plywood will.
I like this design more than some of Atkin's heavy small gaff rigged sloops. A friend built a Maid of Endor. I went sailing once on it and thought she was a bear to sail; always babying the big gaff headed main in a breeze to keep the weather helm reasonable, even having to oversheet the jib on a reach for help. All the while, because of her displacement and short waterline, there was not any more speed to be had compared to overreefing. I am exaggerating, but not by much, to make a point that I believe is real.

I believe that a conscientious liar can exaggerate and more nearly tell the truth than a strictly honest person, since so much is lost in the communication. By exaggerating there's more hope of the gist of the thing getting across.

Anyway, Heart's Desire looks like a balanced hull with less weather helm from the rig than a big gaff headed main.

Tim Mooney Peace Dale, RI

[ 01-09-2005, 09:55 PM: Message edited by: Tim Mooney ]

[JimD]

I thought the way of getting headroom was ingenious I often wonder about this with some frustration. Why don't more designers offer this hull shape in chined boats? There are at least two examples of soft bilge boats only 22 ft long with 6 feet of headroom, and one of them, Lyle Hess's Falmouth cutter is a well proven blue water pocket cruiser. Glen-L's Amigo is very similar but must be strip planked. Hearts Desire is the only deep V'd chined design I have ever come across that offers considerable headroom in a small package. :confused:

[Venchka]

Jim,

Check your email RE: SEABIRD II.

Check this too:

William Garden Yacht Designs (http://www.columbiatrading.com/cgi-bin/columbia/5542.html)

Wayne
In the Swamp. :D

[ 01-10-2005, 05:37 PM: Message edited by: Venchka ]

[Boomkin Joe]

From uncle Sam (http://www.devlinboat.com/dcsootytern.htm)

http://www.devlinboat.com/sootytern.gif

[ 01-10-2005, 05:59 PM: Message edited by: Boomkin Joe ]

[JimD]

Originally posted by Venchka:
Jim,

Check your email RE: SEABIRD II.

Check this too:

William Garden Yacht Designs (http://www.columbiatrading.com/cgi-bin/columbia/5542.html)

Wayne
In the Swamp. :D Wayne, thank you. Its worth keeping in mind. As you say not exactly a character boat but plenty big enough.

[JimD]

Joe, purdy, aren't they? I think I like Arctic Tern better, with its inboard sail plan, though. But I have this thing about headroom so the Devlin design I like best is still the Oysta 25 motor sailer, plans not for sale for some reason.

[boatlover]

Originally posted by Jack Heinlen:

FWIW Atkin, both Billy and John, label boats that are plankable in ply.

I know that the cirled plus sign designates the "suitable for plywood" designs, but what does the shark/fish symbol on some of the designs imply ?

(Maybe John Khonen has the answer.)

Regards,

Ed R