thwart placement and such

[njcoaster]

If you have a 12 foot boat, and you want to row it alone, the rowing thwart might reasonably go right at the midpoint, or slightly behind. But, if you add a 200 lb friend for a fishing trip, you might want it moved up by a couple of feet.

My question is, are there conventions for thwart placement if you are designing on the fly? For simplicity, I'd rather not get into building removable seats. Will a small boat settle down in a reasonable way even if considerable extra weight is added aft?

Also - How do you know if your design will sail well? My boat has a narrow bottom, flared sides, 2 inches of rocker, and a very raked bow and transom. I'd hate to make spars and a rudder, and then have it be a lousy sailer. Any signs to look for?

I'm full of questions, aint I?

[Pete Dorr]

Trade in your big friend for 2 smaller friends.

Or you could make a second rowing station from the bow thwart and sit there while your buddy is in the back.

To get a more accurate reponse on the sailing question you will need to give more details about the boat.

[N. Scheuer]

A movavle rowing seat, along with more than one pair of oarlock sockets makes a lot of sense. In a small dinghy, plunking a passenger onto a strern seat will always trim the boat down by the stern, unless you move the rower forward at the same time.

If you dislike a movable center seat, and the boat's length permits, you might try two rowing positions from separate thwarts, with the forward rowing thwart intended for use with a passenger in the stern.

If you intend to row very far, or with a reasonable sense of style, it makes no sense at all to depress the stern with extra weight just to save lumber.

Another idea would be to have a large dog possesing some boat sense, and train it to maintain proper trim both with and without a passenger.

Moby Nick

[jason stumpf]

nj coaster,
i row a 16' wherry along that same nj coast, and here's my thoughts: trim is very, very important to a skiff. i remember reading (maybe in culler) about the old fishing dory's having 3 rowwing thwarts. middle for even loads and even weather; front for heading into the wind, rear for running downwind. the reason is that the boat will tend to weather-vane. if you are in the wrong seat, you will have a terrible time keeping her straight. (the alternative is to trim with movable ballast.) believe me, i've tested the theory. that said, i've used weight for ballast, and even a little dog. both are recommended, but tend to infringe on carrying capacity. my wherry has 2 permanant rowwing positions, and on any given row, i use them both. i'd guess if you could fit only one then midships with movable ballast would be the broadest comprimise.
jason

[videoguy]

Njcoster I use 3 rowing positions in my dory's. when I row alone I use the center seat. and when swmbo comes along she stts forward and I sit aft. http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid10/p618d8a5c8fa0b0af88051249cacec85a/fe08adf3.jpg Gee with all the new jersey guys on this thred we should get together for a row . or a elbow bending session like thay did in mistic .......Phil

[Mike Vogdes]

OK, one more Jersey guy....

I built a small tender last year with two rowing stations, fairly typical layout.
Single pasenger sits on a thwart fixed slightly forward of midship facing aft.
Two passenger positions, rower sits on after thwart facing forward, and passenger sits on forward thwart.

This was an 8' dink, usually something in the 12' range will have 3 thwarts.

[njcoaster]

Gee Videoguy, I'm in TV too (ABC News).

I guess I'll put in a front thwart a little farther back than I had planned and add extra oarlocks. How much leg clearance is needed between rowing stations?

East Windsor - My sister lives there.

Mr. Vodges, I'm Cherry Hill East class of 84, though I now live in Maplewood, Essex County.

My project is only 12' 5", so I'm cautious about the idea of ocean rowing. I want to try her in the Shrewbury and Raritan and see how it goes.

Paddling.net has a NJ section with good descriptions of different outings. It's designed for kayaks, but pretty helpful for winter daydreaming.

[Mike Vogdes]

Small world indeed....
I'm Cherry Hill East class of 73.

There are lots of rowers on this forum, I'm sure you will get plenty of ideas. Good luck