Interesting Design and Suggestion

[Ken Bascom]

I just stumbled across the website of a French designer who has some interesting designs, including a very pretty little 19' beach cruiser called "Miss Simplette". (http://www.classic-yacht-design.com/3ladies/3-miss-simplette/ms.html
) He says he designed it for Lance Lee of the Apprenticeshop in Rockport, Maine, so I was wondering if any of you gentlepersons had been involved in building and/or sailing one. I would be most interested in hearing (well, reading) a report on this design.

If nobody has, one of you guys needs to get busy and build one as a public service for us lurkers who are still trying to talk SWMBO into that first dinghy...

[Steve Souther]

Ken,

Nice boat! Can it be possible? All that in a simple to build trailor sailor. I'd build one in a minute if I could sell my H16. After yesterday's work-out, I'm ready. Ever try rigging a Hobie?

Steve

[Mike Field]

Ah, that's a nice little boat, Ken. No doubt about the bobstay being the most important bit of standing rigging here, is there?

This is our friend Daniel Z Bombigher, the guy who makes sort-of "faux replicas." You know, like a scaled-down version of Victory that's got Rolls Royce Merlin engines driving jets under each quarter, polycarbonate teak decks, a fibreglass figurehead, twenty-four-pounders that blow up party balloons, and roller reefing in all the yards. Or something.

Beautiful artwork, though. Here's another of his --

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1231924&a=10671402&p=51646460

Not really large enough to see the detail here, but for a big version, go to --

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=1231924&a=10671402&p=51646460&f=0

and click on the photo.

Pelicans are his lietmotiv, apparently.

By the way, shouldn't you have said "guypersons" in that last sentence?


[This message has been edited by Mike Field (edited 07-11-2001).]

[Stephen Hutchins]

Wow! This guy's illustrations are superb! Really fires the imagination. Somebody ought to get this guy to make a book!
The giant sail rig pictured on "Miss- Simplette" demands athletic/experienced sailors. Of couse, you could always design a smaller rig.

[Keith Wilson]

Yep, Mr. Bombigher is a wonderful artist. I have a sneaking suspicion that he's a better artist than boat designer. Miss Simplette is lovely, but a heavily ballasted open boat (ballasted with stones, no less) with that big a rig makes me a little nervous. The very shallow keel with no centerboard, despite the fins, makes one speculate that progress to windward even in flat water would be, um, leisurely, and nonexistent in a blow. Sure is pretty, though.

As I recall, there was an article about one of his larger boats in WB a while back. The were some realy spectacular drawings of things like cabinet doors, drawn down to the last detail, in several different optional aesthetic styles - specs for things like upholstery patterns, trailboard carvings, etc. Performance of the boat resembled a Tahiti Ketch on a bad day. Sure was pretty, though.

Reading the above, there's perhaps a little more venom than I intended. I've had too many dealings with "Industrial Designers" who didn't care whether something worked or not as long as it looked good, and Mr Bombigher's work has that smell about it. I could be wrong, though.

[Chris Lasdauskas]

The website is very interesting, full of nice designs and interesting claims. I found one site showing construction of a couple of his schooners (for sale), but has anyone here actually seen one or know anyone who has? How do they rate?