SCAMP envy/lust

[Pete54]

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Josh Colvin of Small Craft Advisor Magazine taking guests out for a SCAMP cruise at the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding's 31st Anniversary Rendezvous August 4th, 2012. www.nwboatschool.org

[Julie]

These photos make my heart happy. Here's another to add to the collection:



So thrilled that there will be 10 more SCAMPs in the water soon. I'd love to sail in a fleet of them one day.

[Old Dryfoot]

I was wondering how many of the SCAMPS being built are going to reside in the PNW? Is the the beginning of a local fleet?

[Howard Rice]

A few photos from the Northwest School For Wooden Boatbuilding SCAMP CAMP.
John Welsford, me, Scott Jones and Jason Bledsoe are the instructors for this ten SCAMP build. So far excellent progress after three days of genuine fun building. Our twelve students are great folks who are charging forward toward a SCAMP of their own. I will be instructing another SCAMP CAMP (smaller) in October in the Great Lakes (still room for one builder).
We have had a steady stream of visitors by the hundreds all amazed at the boat and the good cheer in the shop.

The first picture is of my partner in crime the pesky John Welsford. John and I will be facilitating the September 1st-7th Small Craft Skills Academy and then staying on to present at the Northwest Woodenboat Festival.

I will keep posting photos here as I find time during the build.
Best to all,
howard
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Quite the group with participants from the US, Germany and even Japan. A great bunch of comrades and small boat chuckle heads! We are having some genuine fun while taking the task of building very seriously. The attention to detail and craftsmanship demonstrated by our students is inspiring.
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[Julie]

Such great progress!! Thanks for sharing your photos and filling us in on the SCAMP camp- looks like quite a team you guys have there. There'll be a formidable scheme of SCAMPs in no time at all!

[switters]

Thank you so much for the build photos, looking good.

[Howard Rice]

Another update from the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding SCAMP build. The school folks have been fantastic in making this happen. They are supportive and very much involved. Each day School Director Pete Leenhouts comes to the build, which is happening at the Northwest Maritime Center. I am pleased at the attention and support the School has demonstrated. There are numerous volunteers helping out and many local boat builders, sailmakers and others have been stopping by.

This project (the SCAMP Camp) is an excellent collaboration build between two top notch organizations focused on wooden boats. It is a pleasure and honor to be one of the instructors alongside, John, Scott and Jason. Each of us bring particular skills to the build and these have seamlessly complemented each other and hopefully have been of benefit to our students. The group of students gelled into a team on day one and all hands are on deck at all times to help one another.

Ten boats are well on their way. After five days we have garboard planks on and a bunch of very happy, dedicated builders. The next group build is slated for October. This one will be in the Great Lakes.

I just received this photo of SCAMP #1 under sail taken during capsize testing and thought folks here might appreciate SCAMP from her aft port quarter. 48 degree water and fifty degree air hence the dry suit and gloves. A cold day, perfect for testing. SCAMP is a purposeful small boat, simple, stout and seaworthy. Not bad for 11' 11"
Photo credit- Debra Colvin.
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Here is a video link to a short clip shot at the conclusion of todays work. A celebration of garboards planks hung!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv1_jN3j1-4&feature=plcp

[kenjamin]

What a great shot of SCAMP! You guys are having way too much fun. Wish I could have attended. Thanks for the pic.

[IanHowick]

Would one of these cleats or similar on the deck beside the mast partner to secure the halyard make sense?

(Looking at the picture above, perhaps this or similar is how you do have it set up?)


I'm thinking of solutions to getting the lug rig down quickly, getting a reef in, getting it up again when solo and without a mizzen to keep it pointing into the wind.

Dropping the rig would be very quick with one of these, once the rig is down the boat should sit happily enough while you get that reef in. Re hoisting, you should be able to get back to the tiller, a one handed heave on the halyard and it will jam at that point. As the rig goes up, the boat will start making way, a few small luffs and a one handed heaves and the rig will be back up, while you can maintain control throughout with the tiller.

Maybe another one on the downhaul so you can get that tight again once the rig is up without letting go the tiller.

Ian

Another question for Howard:

There was talk some time ago of heavy weather options, including drogues and a smaller trysail to replace the lug in heavy weather. Have you had a chance to try any of these out, and or do you have any further opinions on what makes sense, works or doesn't work?

Thanks

[Howard Rice]

Hi Ian
I have given considerable thought to the points and questions you posted above. I am revisiting the rig while here instructing at the SCAMP build and will make a note to answer you when I can, which I hope will be soon. John Welsford is here with me and next week we are setting sail for a cruise together. This will be a good chance for us to take a breath and get some answers together. There are a number of small refinements we are making based on the group build. So please stand by.
Best,
howard
ps: The build is going very well, ten builds that are looking like boats after one week.

[Howard Rice]

Hello All. I have managed to sneak out of the shop to post a new Small Craft Advisor magazine Blog thread pertaining to the in process SCAMP Camp, "Updates From The Shop Floor." This is an ongoing build experience for both our twelve builders (building ten boats) and the four instructors. I am very happy to be here as an instructor on a team (Scott Jones, Jason Bledsoe, John Welsford, Howard Rice) that is smooth because our builders are open minded and mutually supportive. This is no group build, the SCAMP Camp is a team build. John and I volunteered our time for this and both of us are very happy we did. The feel of this SCAMP Camp is very similar to the Small Craft Skills Academy (in fact many of our builders are either Academy graduates or are taking the Academy this fall or next year). SCAMP #1, B Frank and the Red SCAMP have played a key role in Academies to date as the go to boat for instructional purposes. Thanks to owners Josh Colvin, Steve Haines, Dan Phy and Mike Monies! I have acquired a depth of knowledge and belief in the design because I have had the chance to act as test pilot and to sail on all three boats. The future looks great for this newly registered US Sailing class (yes it's true). I have to to go now to get back in the shop to assist in hanging final planks on two boats and wanted to let folks here know I will do my best to post photos and answer questions pertaining to photos. One observation all of us have made including John Welsford (this is his first SCAMP build) is this, the kit is a very smart way to go. Building from it is a tremendous time saver as it goes together easily. Not to worry as building from the kit is a genuine boat building experience. The question is "What's your time worth?" SCAMP Camp is looking like a real success and future SCAMP Camps are booking now through the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding (contact info on line). The next SCAMP Camp is slated for this October in the Great Lakes (already fully booked) with additional Camps in 2013. I am very pleased to know a design I got behind early on (I have kits #2 and #3 purchased before number one was completed) is taking off so fast. I figure SCAMP is a new category of small boat. She will keep you safe and smiling because she is fun to sail, very stable, loves light air and stands up to a blow. Not bad for 11' 11". Last Sunday I spent the afternoon taking some of our group of SCAMP builders out sailing. On one sail there were four adult males aboard (we calculated a 900 pound payload including water ballast) and SCAMP sailed just fine. Let me know if any of you folks have questions pertaining to specific photos I have posted on the SCA blog or here. I will try to get some photo descriptions posted on the SCA blog later. That's it for now, back to the shop. howard

Cliff from Germany and Lloyd from Port Townsend teaming up on Lloyd's boat. John in the background with Chuck who is with us from Boulder CO.
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Jason, howard and Keith (and the photographers thumb) gluing up a gang of planks.
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Jason Bledsoe has a fine eye and a very steady hand.
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Here I am with John and Lloyd. Lloyd is one of the good guys in life. He had to depart early for a wedding and the build group is pushing on with his boat. SCAMP Camp is that kind of experience. Lloyd presented the group with bottles of champagne to celebrate pulling boats out of the shop on Saturday. Amazing what we have accomplished in eight days. Thanks to the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding for all their support. There staff is a fine easy going bunch of folks who have supported this effort at every turn teaming up with the Northwest Maritime Center. Our build venue is the Center.
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Keith, howard, Scott and John teaming up on drilling a centerboard pin.
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John in hands on mode. If you join in a future SCAMP Camp you will get instructors hands on side by side with you building your boat. We help but you build it.

[Howard Rice]

For Inspiration
I have her going in a bit of air. Test pilot fun.

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[john welsford]

SCAMP CAMP has been a wonderful experience so far, great people, very good teamwork from both the students and the instructors, all good humoured and working hard together. The kit from Turnpoint Design is brilliant, everything fits and when you walk up to a boat with a plank and it wraps around and sits in perfectly in place with a couple of brads from the nail gun, no fiddling, no adjustment, just line it up with the marks and there it is, its just great.

We've all but one fully planked, decks ready to go on, cabin sides ready to go and the pile of parts stored under the jigs are getting much smaller.
You have no idea how great it is to just pick up a pre cut part and know that its going to drop right in place, I know that its not "true boatbuilding" by some standards, but in this case we're looking to get 10 boats up to "transportable " within two weeks, and that with some of the builders having had very little experienec with woodworking let alone boatbuilding. We're getting very close, two more days then cleanup day and we are there.

We've had SCAMP #1 out taking all the crew out to make sure that they are familiar with the boats sailing characteristics, and today the plan is to take SCAMP out on the water near the dock and demonstrate capsize and recovery to the guys, I cant think of any kit build class ever that has gone that far to ensure that the participants are well prepared. Its Howard thats going in the water rather than me, but I'd be willing. ( But dont tell Howard that until afterwards)

John Welsford

[Howard Rice]

SCAMP news update.
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It is official- SCAMP is a US Sailing recognized One Design Class.

In May I proposed the idea to Josh Colvin. He liked the idea so I contacted my friend Lee Parks the Inshore Director at US Sailing and now it's done. Lee and I knew each other from many years ago when I was the Mistral One Design Director and Race Team Manager. It was quite a pleasant surprise for both of us after so long. She was very supportive of class recognition by US Sailing.

One Design class registration can mean allot but does not necessarily mean SCAMP will have to be positioned solely as a racing class. I have volunteered to author the SCAMP class constitution and bylaws this winter with the aim of developing the class as owner driven with the purpose of linking SCAMP sailors together for a number of purposes. I have offered to use my experience as a former US OD class director to help form and move the class forward. Events, gatherings, one design cruises and even racing (both fleet and match racing) can happen if owners want to participate.

This could be fun.
howard

[JimD]

It is official- SCAMP is now a US Sailing recognized One Design Class.
This could be fun.

It already is

[Howard Rice]

Thats right it happened in early June.

[Yeadon]

Looks like a great experience for everybody participating. I once took an eight day apstrake class at CWB and enjoyed it immensely.

[kenjamin]

SCAMP news update.
.
It is official- SCAMP is a US Sailing recognized One Design Class.

In May I proposed the idea to Josh Colvin. He liked the idea so I contacted my friend Lee Parks the Inshore Director at US Sailing and now it's done. Lee and I knew each other from many years ago when I was the Mistral One Design Director and Race Team Manager. It was quite a pleasant surprise for both of us after so long. She was very supportive of class recognition by US Sailing.

One Design class registration can mean allot but does not necessarily mean SCAMP will have to be positioned solely as a racing class. I have volunteered to author the SCAMP class constitution and bylaws this winter with the aim of developing the class as owner driven with the purpose of linking SCAMP sailors together for a number of purposes. I have offered to use my experience as a former US OD class director to help form and move the class forward. Events, gatherings, one design cruises and even racing (both fleet and match racing) can happen if owners want to participate.

This could be fun.
howard

Hello Howard,

Please excuse my ignorance about one-design racing but I am curious about how that affects the "radical element" of the SCAMP fleet who want to experiment with alternate experimental rigs and (dare I say it) daggerboards? I realize that I will always be able to race another SCAMP for informal fun but for the possibility of actually holding a winning trophy, will I have to step the lug rig and use a centerboard? I can't honestly say it would affect my experiments at all but I am kind of curious about how tightly the racing SCAMP will have to conform to the original design. I will be glassing in my centerboard case and it will be there if I ever chose to use it but stepping a lug rig on my SCAMP would be a bit of a problem. Where I live I will always be racing the 2 to 3 knot tidal current of Matanzas Bay and I will always do battle with that with no restrictions but I am curious about formal SCAMP one design racing and what it would take to participate. Thanks in advance, Howard. As always, I appreciate your comments.

Fair winds, kenjamin

[Howard Rice]

SCAMP Group Build Has Concluded
A fine experience.
The next SCAMP group build is slated for October 16th in Michigan.
Not quite sure how to post a utube video here so............if interested check the title below as a Utube search.

"SCAMP Piped Out The Door after SCAMPCamp group build"

Here is a boat being bag piped out the Northwest maritime Center shop door.
The group build has been quite the experience and a good one at that.

[leroadrunner]

So, forgive me for asking...even if SCAMP looks real salty...I cant help but to wonder why is the fuss about this boat? I dont understand why everyone loves it so much?!

Let me review my thoughts:
- Not enough room for protected overnight camping or full protection for the elements
- So, we choose to sail, therefore we have already chosen to go slow...SCAMP is slower than anything in that size range from my calcs, any open boat (and since she is not protected she should be considered an open-boat!) with as much safety feature as her will sail much faster

Am I missing something? besides the cuteness factor? :-)

[Dryfeet]

So, forgive me for asking...even if SCAMP looks real salty...I cant help but to wonder why is the fuss about this boat? I dont understand why everyone loves it so much?!

Let me review my thoughts:
- Not enough room for protected overnight camping or full protection for the elements
- So, we choose to sail, therefore we have already chosen to go slow...SCAMP is slower than anything in that size range from my calcs, any open boat (and since she is not protected she should be considered an open-boat!) with as much safety feature as her will sail much faster

Am I missing something? besides the cuteness factor? :-)

Aaahhh, sacrilege! And in the Scamp thread at that!!! ;-)

She's attainable!
She's buildable!
She has the attributes of a great seaworthy little ship!
She has none of the drawbacks of a great seaworthy little ship (weight, size, complexity)
She's far, far more boat than the average little 12'er!
She's not for everybody!
She evokes much of what we dream of small boats for and is Everyman's boat that the missus won't complain about you having, building, sailing...!

Wanna go fast? Buy a runabout with a 225 hp outdrive and go fast.

But then, I needn't defend her as she has many who lover her and who will step up directly I suspect....

[callsign222]

Here you go, Howard.

[kenjamin]

So, forgive me for asking...even if SCAMP looks real salty...I cant help but to wonder why is the fuss about this boat? I dont understand why everyone loves it so much?!

Let me review my thoughts:
- Not enough room for protected overnight camping or full protection for the elements
- So, we choose to sail, therefore we have already chosen to go slow...SCAMP is slower than anything in that size range from my calcs, any open boat (and since she is not protected she should be considered an open-boat!) with as much safety feature as her will sail much faster

Am I missing something? besides the cuteness factor? :-)

SCAMP is a total chick magnet. I think women like the scale of it. I believe they may think that here is a boat that they can handle no matter what, whether righting it or dragging it up on a beach or whatever. It also has that tiny bit of privacy that women look for and us guys don't care much about. It is beyond cute. It is puppy cute. It also helps that you can tow it with just about anything – probably even a bicycle if it were geared properly. It's self bailing. It doesn't cut much into the family budget, fits great in the garage, easy to launch and retrieve, it's incredibly stable for it's length, can be rowed or motored or sailed or even paddled and did I mention it's cute? It sort of takes the very popular 12' San Francisco Pelican design to a new much higher level of performance and creature comforts. And it's pretty darn easy to build especially if you buy the kit. Going slow is not for everyone but I look forward to going slow in mine. I own a Caledonia Yawl but for solo work I think I'll prefer the SCAMP. I'm retired and not in a hurry anymore – just out to enjoy the scenery, catch a few fish, sail around some, and field questions about it at the boat landing. Life could be good in a SCAMP.

[James McMullen]

Leroadrunner, I think the answer is that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

SCAMP is a very capable boat for a 12' boat.

I don't want one myself, but I think I understand why some people would want one. If I were stuck with no room for anything longer I might consider one, I suppose.

But unlike my dear comrade Kenjamin, I do not yet enjoy going slow. Haven't had any chance to get used to doing that since I launched Rowan!

[Howard Rice]

Hello
The one design class constitution and bylaws have yet to be penned (this coming winter). The hull and appendages will be the tightest in the OD control wording, perhaps the sail a little less so. The philosophy behind OD and certainly embraced by the SCAMP folks is to avoid a check book race. The SCAMP OD class is meant to be an owners voice class and one centered not so much on racing but on information sharing, get togethers, one design cruising and then one design racing.
You are an owner and as such your voice will be heard as the class parameters are formed. Let me know more of your thoughts as we go forward.

OD purposely eliminates radical design changes in order to keep parity between boats. As far as being in the class you are welcome as is any one who owns a SCAMP. It may be that your boat doesn't qualify for certain kinds of racing but does for others and certainly if OD cruises are planned.

Just to early to say what the OD parameters will be and how strict or not they will be.

[Howard Rice]

Leadrunner, great questions.

1. If founded with some forethought tiny boats can be handled by a solo sailor (the sailor ends up being about 1/3 of the equation, sailor, hull and rig) meaning you can have a big influence on handling and performance by using your body weight.

2. I do not mind pram bows, not my favorite shape but quite functional if one looks at function as important, I do. Excellent buoyancy way forward, which helps the boat off wind. When sailing on SCAMP I do not notice nor think of her pram bow. She is a boat that sails faster than she should and she has a really big cockpit. In essence a fifteen foot boat that is under 12 feet. My favorite shapes tend to have pointed bows but I can like a pram bow too.

3. SCAMP is designed as an open boat platform optimized for easy tenting in and sleeping aboard, something I like to do on small boats. Her cuddy should not be mistaken for a cabin, it isn't. I stay away from small cabins on small boats as I feel from experience they are potentially dangerous to get out of on hard chance and end up cluttered with gear compounding ingress/egress problems. Watch as SCAMP sailors design and deploy cockpit tents, this should be interesting.

4. SCAMP is an interesting little boat in that she is much faster than one would expect and I am not being hopeful here. I have empirical evidence having sailed on three different SCAMPs and having raced one in an open event against boats as large as 28ft. She beat many larger boats. SCAMP is a superb handling small boat. She will just about turn around her own length and is smooth and easy to jibe even in wind. I have gybed SCAMP more times than I can remember in 28-30 knots. She will tack speed to speed meaning she is quick to tack and holds her speed through the tack. This is a key feature when sailing engineless in tight harbors, etc.

5. She has 175 pounds of easily filled and dumped on board water ballast. She can be sailed with or without it. She loves heavy air and ghosts nicely in a zephyr.

6. SCAMP is no ordinary 12 ft boat, she has volume and mass on her side and she can sail.

In closing I am a nice lines and pointed bow kind of person but I do admire function that is also functionally beautiful.

Why complicate a build and have the extra (pointed bow) boat sticking out there essentially unused. The Scandinavians, Chinese, British and many others have long embraced the pram bow. Not for everyone and only a few pram types are for me as some are just awkward looking. SCAMP works for me as a form/function design. Heck a Guinness Stout is a fine beer but an acquired taste. Try to sail the boat sometime, you may be very surprised.

[kenjamin]

Hello
The one design class constitution and bylaws have yet to be penned (this coming winter). The hull and appendages will be the tightest in the OD control wording, perhaps the sail a little less so. The philosophy behind OD and certainly embraced by the SCAMP folks is to avoid a check book race. ...

I was standing there in the West Marine showroom holding a $72 twelve foot roll of 3" carbon fiber tape and I put it back on the shelf. I decided right then and there that I don't care enough who gets the trophy or who wins the race. In the great scheme of things, it matters so darn little. I do, however, appreciate the humor of racing an 11' 11" boat with another 11' 11" boat. Sounds like some fun to me but as a retired guy on a fixed income, I've got other things to spend money on than carbon fiber tape. It will be interesting to see how the rules could be penned to prevent the owner with the deepest pockets from winning the class races.

Thanks for the information, Howard.

[Howard Rice]

SCAMP photo from the group build here in Port Townsend. She has a bit of small yacht in her genes.
I am sailing with one of our student builders and his wife.
Photo credit to Pete Leenhouts, Director of the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding
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[skaraborgcraft]

One design class rules can be tricky things. I recall one of the class rules for a S.C.O.D (south coast one design) that states all yachts must must carry the same amount (4) sets of china plates and steel cutlery, so no-onw has an advantage with plastic plates and throw away forks.......maybe a bit extreme,but fair is fair. I have never taken racing seriously,as in my experience,some people will take risks in order to win,in situations that normally would not be considered good seamanship. Single-handed racing is another matter entirely, you make your own calls as its your neck on the line,i can live with that.

I have found some peoples competitivness a real turn off to take part in even so called "friendly races". I look forward to hearing about the development of such rules. Where will you be intending to discuss such things Howard? I am assuming at some point there will be an official SCAMP owners club and registry.

Personally im inclined as Ken to just go out and relax and have fun. But to each their own. Cheers

[kenjamin]

Here is the SCAMP forum at Small Craft Advisor magazine:

http://smallcraftadvisor.com/message...wforum.php?f=3

They are the folks that commissioned the Welsford SCAMP design and built the first boat.

As for racing SCAMP, it's true that I'll be more in it for the fun but as a designer of an experimental mast, I'd like to see how my rig stacks up against the as drawn lug rig for the boat. The birdwing mast for my SCAMP was supposed to be a mizzen for my Caledonia Yawl but I didn't like the way it looked on Xena so it has just been hanging around the carport until I decided to try to apply it to a SCAMP. I commissioned a drawing from Mr. Welsford to help locate the mast step and to get educated dimensions for the bowsprit and jib that I thought I needed to compete with the big lug. Being quite a bit under-sized, my birdwing rig will not be able to keep up with the lug in light air but I'm hopeful that after the lug needs a reef or two the birdwing mast with its jib may become competitive. It will be fun to race in the so-called "friendly" races but I'll try not to get too bummed out if I lose. After all, experimental is experimental. You try to learn from past experiments and look forward to improvements in the future. I've only built three birdwing masts but they have gotten quite a bit better each time. This third prototype I'll be using on my SCAMP has a much more controlled taper to it, is fairly light and easy to handle, plus its sail is cut fuller than Xena's main and uses only partial battens. A couple of days ago it was 70° F in the morning and that kind of weather will get me back in the shop and gluing again. My nephew who was helping a little on my SCAMP build went off to college but his brother has shown an interest in coming over after school and doing some boat building so that should help too. While I'm standing there scratching my head, admiring my work, I mainly need someone to say, "what do we do next?"

[Howard Rice]

The one design class we envision for SCAMP will be developed with owner input. It will be small boat skills education and social event (get togethers) focused, one design cruising. One design racing will be down the list and meant for the folks who might be interested. This is a bit the opposite of most OD classes. One of the foundations for all SCAMP related class activities will be shared seamanship knowledge and safe sailing.

The competitiveness will be there for some sailors but we intend to offer events that can be competitive and at the same time simply participatory and therefore good fun for everyone.

We have a few new ideas in the hopper for how to do this. Yes there will be an official SCAMP owners club and registry. This winter I will be authoring the class constitution and bylaws. I am interested in doing this as I was the former OD class director for a large and quite successful OD class that eventually gained Olympic status.

[Yeadon]

I'd enjoy a SCAMP sail during the upcoming PT Festival. For all I've read she's a rather big small boat.

Also, what is the Scamp's waterline?

[kenjamin]

Hey Yeadon,

I looked at my SCAMP build this afternoon with your question in mind. Looks like 3 in. of overhang at the transom and 2 in. of overhang at the forward transom so roughly 11' 6". Wait a minute, that's not right because at the bow the waterline is not at the bottom of the forward transom but rather becomes a pointed bow boat below the forward transom. The waterline is actually at the bottom of the pointed part and that's about another eight inches back so the correct answer is more like 11' even or maybe a little less. I'll try to get the official word on that there waterline for you, but it should be somewhere close to that 11' even mark. Not a very fast boat but I hear it's very responsive and sails better than it should from most reports. It's light, stiff, wide and fun to sail from what I hear.

[Yeadon]

Hey Yeadon,

I looked at my SCAMP build this afternoon with your question in mind. Looks like 3 in. of overhang at the transom and 2 in. of overhang at the forward transom so roughly 11' 6". Wait a minute, that's not right because at the bow the waterline is not at the bottom of the forward transom but rather becomes a pointed bow boat below the forward transom. The waterline is actually at the bottom of the pointed part and that's about another eight inches back so the correct answer is more like 11' even or maybe a little less. I'll try to get the official word on that there waterline for you, but it should be somewhere close to that 11' even mark. Not a very fast boat but I hear it's very responsive and sails better than it should from most reports. It's light, stiff, wide and fun to sail from what I hear.

Just for fun ... at 11' of waterline, this means your hull speed is 4.47744346697979 knots. So over 24 hours of cruising you should be able to travel upwards of 107 miles - or once around the San Juan Islands.

[kenjamin]

Hey but trailering over there would be a real adventure!!!

[James McMullen]

You should do it, comrade. We'll take you under our wing and show you how to catch Dungeness crabs. It'll be great! Plus we have these things called "mountains" here (they're like these big piles of rocks and stuff that stick up) so you always have something to use to aim for when you're sailing around--makes it really easy!

[Yeadon]

Mmmmm, crab.

[kenjamin]

My nephew has dreams of biking across the USA on his CAD 10 Cannondale and guess what retired guy he's picked out to run support for him? I would love to trailer the SCAMP out there, meet you guys and the guys at Small Craft Advisor who got the whole SCAMP thing started. I already know about the mountain thingies. They're the things that make you get speeding tickets when you go barreling down them in your Mini Cooper. I had to send North Carolina $220. Ouch!

Those crabs look double yummy. My other hobby is eating seafood and I'm much better at that than sailing.

I'll bring my stealth electric assist so I can keep up with you guys. Don't worry, James, I'll leave the Yammy in the carport in St. Aug.

To stay on task with the thread, SCAMP is the kind of boat that you could consider dipping in the Atlantic one day and sliding her into the Pacific a week or so later.

[Howard Rice]

SCAMP with approximately 1000 pounds of payload both human and ballast. She sailed just fine just a little slower.
Two weeks ago I did a capsize demonstration with the forward floor flooded and the cockpit partially filled. Figured there was about 1000 or so pounds of free surface effect water aboard in all the wrong places. Still able to right her in fifteen seconds, board and sail away. An interesting and informative demonstration to the students in the SCAMP Camp build. I did this in a boat that weighs in at 425 pounds. Not bad.


SCAMP moves well in really light air.
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SCAMP goes well in heavy air. Florida Small Craft Skills Academy last April aboard #6
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[dsimonson]

Howard had quite a bit of trouble to get her to lay over that afternoon at Scamp Camp, this was their second (or third?) attempt:


Howard and Derek both stand on gunwale to try to capsize Scamp by Dale Simonson, on Flickr

[Bozkashi Jones]

Well, I've posted a couple of threads on 'the next boat', so I might as well throw my lot in here

Putting the 'next' boat aside and looking at the current one; I've got the plans and I'm marking out a Stornoway 9 at the moment (but of course life, and sailing, get in the way). Now I must admit I keep looking at the Scamp and thinking "hmmm..."

Reasons are simple really; she's designed to a specific brief - easily trailered, easily single-handed, stable for the kids, possible to weekend, designed for a first time builder - and that brief is, well, exactly what I wanted but didn't think I'd get with the space and money I had right now. So now Scamp has me thinking that it's not to late to put the ply towards something else.

As to Scamp's appeal I'm not a great fan of prams but she just 'works'. Essentially, for me, when something is built to a specific brief it has an appeal of it's own. If it also turns out also to be aesthetically pleasing - like the Routemaster bus, the Willy's jeep or the Douglas DC3 - then you have a design classic.

And for me that's what she is.

Boz

[Boater14]

I'd just advise if your going to post a picture.....sit down. Lots of standing up skippers. I'm not too old to build it but I'm too old to sail it standing up.

[Howard Rice]

Got It.
My fault. Happens to be a sailing style I employ when sailing some small boats, not all. SCAMP is so stable that I often stand and move around in her cockpit. I stand in some cases so I can see better and stand in some cases as a balance move. Please don't infer from photos that standing is what all sailors do when sailing SCAMP. Big boat sailors often stand and SCAMP has a big boat feel for under twelve feet so I end up standing.

[Howard Rice]

A few interesting photos from the just concluded Port Townsend Small Craft Skills Academy.

I was asked to take SCAMP out for a capsize, recovery and re-entry demonstration, so I did.

Light air had me literally standing on her coaming and jumping up and down as in violently jumping up and down. After numerous attempts I couldn't get her over. Finally after some real jumping in a hot dry suit I managed to get her over, serious work. Righting and re-entry was as usual, about 15 seconds up and 30 seconds in with little effort.

Thought she had me beat this time with the Academy students observing along with a growing crowd of onlookers on the pier of the Northwest Maritime Center. Hate to be defeated by any boat but happy to be almost defeated by SCAMP. She is as depicted stiff, hard to capsize and when over she snaps right up. Re-entry is so easy because she is so stable.

An observation: I sure hope sailors don't get the wrong impression about this boat. What I mean is that she has a reputation for being capsized when in reality she is actually so "hard to capsize if not almost impossible in some circumstances" meaning she is now seen in photos and in the utube "SCAMP Capsize" video on her side when in reality she may hardly if ever get there.

A unique boat that fools a few sailors on first glance. Don't be fooled she may be cherubic in shape but she goes in both light air and in a hard blow. If she is dumped in a blow she will keep you safe so I reckon being defeated in capsizing isn't such a bad thing after all.

Tomorrow (Sunday) I have been asked to take SCAMP #1 out in the midst of thousands of onlookers mid Northwest Woodenboat Festival (Port Townsend) to do a capsize demonstration mid harbor (Point Hudson Marina) literally in the middle of the Festival. It is planned for 11am. Sure hope I can get her over but if I can't then still a good outcome. Small boats capsize and this is always an issue for those of us who sail and love them. This one doesn't go over so easy and that's a very good thing.

SCAMP #1 can be viewed and climbed on at the Small Craft Advisor magazine booth. There are actually four at this years Festival. One under construction at the Northwest Wooden Boatbuilding School booth, Arlie Blankenship's just finished boat plus one other under construction at the Maritime Center.


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[kenjamin]

Howard,

I for one appreciate all your capsize testing. The video of the testing was what made me pull the trigger on buying the SCAMP plans. I wanted a boat that I could handle by myself and that video convinced me that the SCAMP was the boat for me – that and the chance to put a birdwing mast on a Welsford boat. After a long hot wet summer I'm looking forward to getting back to my SCAMP build. Thanks again for the testing.

[skaraborgcraft]

I will second Kens words. I realised in that first capsize vid that you had to fight Scamps natrual tendancy to round up and worked hard to get her over into a capsize;as you say Howard, i think its unlikely Scamp will be capsized under normal conditions and good handling.

[MMonies]

The only time we came close to capsizing or taking on water during the Everglades Challenge in the Red Scamp was when we were sailing around Cape Romano in a small craft advisory, directly into the storm. Andrew Linn and I were both trying to put in additional reefing and we got hit by a wind gust over 40 mph that tried to knock us down. We dipped the rail into water, seas were very high and confused, she took on maybe a quart or two of water over gunnels, we got main unsheeted and she came back up straight without going over.

If you read this month's Small Craft Advisor, which has an excellent article by our friend Doug Cameron, you will see that something similar happened to them in their Coresound 20 while he and Michael Collins were trying to reef their main and they were knocked down by high winds in similar circumstances, I was frankly very glad to be awaiting my grandson's delivery in Illinois and not out enjoying the weather this year!

Michael Monies- The Red Scamp

[KMacDonald]

Tomorrow (Sunday) I have been asked to take SCAMP #1 out in the midst of thousands of onlookers mid Northwest Woodenboat Festival (Port Townsend) to do a capsize demonstration mid harbor (Point Hudson Marina) literally in the middle of the Festival. It is planned for 11am. Sure hope I can get her over but if I can't then still a good outcome. Small boats capsize and this is always an issue for those of us who sail and love them. This one doesn't go over so easy and that's a very good thing.

Maybe a flashing neon sign might go well with your drysuit. Just a thought.

[Howard Rice]

A flashing neon sign, hmmm. Better yet is having my pal Richard go out and do the capsize demo in my place, I'm working on it. I didn't want anyone other than a pick up boat to view the capsize testing when I did it several years ago and now this one.

[KMacDonald]

A flashing neon sign, hmmm. Better yet is having my pal Richard go out and do the capsize demo in my place, I'm working on it. I didn't want anyone other than a pick up boat to view the capsize testing when I did it several years ago and now this one.

I'm sure Kenjamin would be more that happy to help you out.