Eric Hvalsoe and the HV-16

[James McMullen]

It seems awfully silly for both Rowan and Big Food to have their own threads and then leave out Eric's lovely boat, especially since it is A) older than either of them, B) was totally designed by Eric himself, and C) is built to a higher level of fit and craftsmanship than both of them together.

So what do you say, Eric? Can you tell us the history of your boat? How you came to design her? What her "mission statement" is?



I know you've just upgraded your sailing rig, what other improvements and changes have you made over the years to fine-tune her to your specific needs? What would you do different, if anything, if you were starting from scratch right now, today?



How many of them have you built? And where are they all scattered? Do you only build them to order, or would you sell plans to an interested amateur who wanted to build one for himself?



Here's a video of the old, obsolete sailing rig. We'll have to work on getting a new, improved one up--with the proper theme-song, of course.

[David G]

Eric,

Another question. A burning issue... actually. We all will be wondering how much you had to bribe McMullen to comment favorably on a boat with only one pointy end??? <G>

Seriously - your boats are gorgeous, and I too am curious about them. I hope - at some point - to row the H13 that lives here in Portland. Please do fill us in with all the details.

[Gerarddm]

Its progenitor the HV13 was featured in WoodenBoat awhile back.

[potomac]

These three boats, James' Sooty Tern, Yeadon's Peapod, and Eric's HV16 do the work in tough conditions. I am such a fan of the boats, the images, and the videos. I can't wait to hear more about the HV16 from Eric.

[Eric Hvalsoe]

Yippee! I managed to transfer from Flickr . . .

I did not pay James anything I swear. What are sailing buddies for but to prompt tasks overdue?

At the risk of going into more detail than anybody cares to know, in drips and drabs, the story of the Hvalsoe 16 starts here . . .


This first picture is from LH Bates voc tech in Tacoma WA, 1980. They have, or used to have, a two year boatbuilding program. The second year there I was introduced to Jerry Brown, a tugboat skipper who wanted a rowing and sailing dinghy. So I designed one for him, and put my name on it, the Hvalsoe 13. Influences included all the standard references - Culler, Simmons, Gardner, and books specifically about yacht design including Douglas Phillips Birt. All dues paid, she went through a couple of revisions, the boat is an original. Fair to suggest some serendipity in coming up with an enduring round bottom design first time out of the barn, but then I've been absorbing boat lines and detail since a wee child.



HV 13 #1 launch


This boat still exists. A while back Jerry's widow sold her to a gentleman in Eastern Washington. Steve brought her to Cama Breach a couple years ago.

[Eric Hvalsoe]

You'll notice the boat is planked over frames and ribbands. I think my instructor, God bless him, knew no better. He was more of a plywood and big boat carvel guy. I still build the 13 with these original molds in this manner. While quite unusual, there are some convenient aspects to this approach. The 16 is planked as per normal over molds.

[skaraborgcraft]

And......??????

[Eric Hvalsoe]

. . . and the 13 was designed with a sprit rig because . . . well, that seemed to be a common theme in the aforementioned small craft references. Remember Barry Thomas's study of the Hereshoff Columbia Dinghy?

[Eric Hvalsoe]

Later I was approached by a client who wanted a somewhat bigger boat. I stretched the 13, but kept it just under 16 ft to avoid registration issues etc. This was designated the 15. Same sections, transom, stem profile etc. I refaired the lines nicely. She is a long lean cup of water.

There are a handful of 15's around. There have been a couple of class builds at CWB, a couple of amatuer builds in Europe from my plans, a couple out of my shop over years past.

[St.J]

This is getting good.
Don't stop now.

St.John

[potomac]

Jimminy Christmas that's a pretty boat.

[James McMullen]

I'm just glad I caught myself in time from titling this thread "HVALSOE envy/lust" like that goofy Scamp thread.

[Clinton B Chase]

I'm just glad I caught myself in time from titling this thread "HVALSOE envy/lust" like that goofy Scamp thread.

James, you rock. I'll second that!

This boat, the H16, is one of those that you just think about out of the blue on a beautiful day.

[potomac]

Are all Eric's boats built traditionally? Are plans available? They don't look easy to build, but that picture above is... timeless. That's a no excuse, no "good enough," no "next time," no "would have, should have, could have," beauty.

[Yeadon]

And now, some random HV16 images to enjoy.

[Yeadon]

Also, back in 2005, Eric taught me how to build a boat at CWB. It took eight days or so, but we planked and framed an HV16. Here's a few photos.









I'm pretty sure that the photos in my previous post are of the same boat ... so, apparently, we did a nice job.

[Paul Girouard]

Nice work Eric!

That you lay-in down on the job Yeadon

[callsign222]

I've mentioned this before and I'll mention it again-- You can easily take a HV13/15 out at the CWB on Lake Union in Seattle. A total dream to row. You can take them sailing too, if I remember right, though I was always bashing around in the Beetle Cats (and I was very happy doing it, thank you very much). You don't have to imagine these boats, you just have to get to SEA and head down to the CWB and take one out. Easy as pie. Not everyone knows what they are talking about at the CWB, however. What length oars, Eric, do you recommend for the uninitiated?

[Eric Hvalsoe]

I've mentioned this before and I'll mention it again-- You can easily take a HV13/15 out at the CWB on Lake Union in Seattle. A total dream to row. You can take them sailing too, if I remember right, though I was always bashing around in the Beetle Cats (and I was very happy doing it, thank you very much). You don't have to imagine these boats, you just have to get to SEA and head down to the CWB and take one out. Easy as pie. Not everyone knows what they are talking about at the CWB, however. What length oars, Eric, do you recommend for the uninitiated?

I use 8's, some people have used 81/2. 8's are good for open water varied conditions. 41/2' beam.

Thanks all, I'll keep rolling keep along with story. More answers forthcoming.

About the year 2000, Don Chisum commissioned a boat from me. He wanted the bigger model. Now that 15 may look mighty pretty but ulitmately I felt it could use some jiggering. She was just a tad lean in the haunches a touch too fine in the bow. I don't think I explained all this to Don - I just sat down with the original loft and redrew some of the sections by eye. I made the ends a little fuller. Same
midsection, heart shaped transom, raking bow etc. And when I set the molds and backbone up I filled her out just a little bit more. I called her the 16, hull #1. If you must know, 15' 10" LOA, same as the previous model.




Well, that's just a pretty picture of Ian with #3. Ian, by the way, drove all the out to Seattle from his home in Toronto, Canada, and all the way back with his new boat, about 4 years ago now. There have been several 16's built since hull #1 in 2000.

There are a couple more interesting bits about that first 16. Former CWB assistant director, now Maritime Heritage Center boss in PT Jake Beatty took her from Lake Union to Port Townsend a few years back, I mean rowed and sailed her. Don just loaned his boat to a perfect stranger, albiet with an introduction from me. What a guy. I understand Jake had a little bit of an adventure. Back then some of us were just starting to think about such things.


One day Don called and said he needed to find a new home for the boat, he was moving away. What was it worth, could I find a buyer. Sure I said. I told him what I thought it was worth. Hoping he would give me a little extra consideration as the builder, I sheepishly made a lowball offer. Don took it.
I owned HV 16 hull #1, about 8 years after I built her.

[Gerarddm]

That 15 down at the CWB looks like a wee slicket beastie, as Robbie Burns might say. In person it is wonderful.

[Eric Hvalsoe]

That 15 down at the CWB looks like a wee slicket beastie, as Robbie Burns might say. In person it is wonderful.

It is possible somebody might prefer the 15 to the 16 (same length, one a little fuller than the other).
I am really happy with the way the 16 filled out. I wanted a little more bouyancy, particularly in the stern. A practiced eye will see the difference between the two. You might say the 15 is no longer in production. But she does yoeman service in the CWB livery and there are a still few private happy owners out there.

the 16 again

Bellow Denis chose a more open seating arrangement, with his loyal pooch





Denis is a big fella, uses his 16 on the high mountain lakes of the sawtooth range in Idaho. Says he has gotten comfortable with the big puffs, and often stands, riding the boat almost like a big surfboard.



I digress . . . but I just love the mountain shot. Yes we are still dealing with a spritsail.

[Eric Hvalsoe]

Are all Eric's boats built traditionally? Are plans available? They don't look easy to build, but that picture above is... timeless. That's a no excuse, no "good enough," no "next time," no "would have, should have, could have," beauty.

To date I've built the 13 and 16 traditional plank and frame. I would build ply lap if requested to do so.
I think the traditional aesthetic has been part of the draw for my clients. Cedar on oak looks, feels, and sounds different. The relative merits are worthy of further discussion.

In regard to plans https://sites.google.com/site/erichvalsoe/ I prefer to target home builders, if it is a 2nd party deal I would like to at least have a crack at the commission myself. In any case plans are available, currently oriented towards plank on frame. I expect there will be glued lap versions.

Can't say the boats are easy to build. A well executed round bottom design immediately puts you into the upper echelon of building skill and boat performance. Plank on frame demands a bit more skill I think than glued lap, arguably as do many vs fewer strakes. The 13 and 16 have been built with 9 or 10 strakes - planks per side.

On the other hand, complexity is relative. The 13 or 16 are less complex than an authentic whitehall construction. I do not use a sternpost, the backbone is not overly complex, the curves by and large are not difficult to work with, and the planking flows easily. The crux perhaps is getting the garboard into the stem. Cedar plank - no problem with steam and the correct nailing strategy. You've just got to force a thinner skin ply.

FYI - I build other kinds of boats on commission, and frankly much of my business is boat repair and maintainence. If I just crossed the line my apologies to the moderator.


Back to the chronology.
It is now around the year 2008. Although I have been building my designs for over two decades, I now possess my own boat with the original spritsail rig and interior arrangement. The learning curve is about to go way up.

[Eric Hvalsoe]

When Shelly Randal reviewed the HV 16 for Small Boats 2009, it was still pretty much in the original format. I had some great adventures, overnighters to Blake Island, the San Juans, circumnavigation of Fidalgo Island by that time. The boat has two rowing stations, but I realized they were not well balanced for tandem rowing. So I doubled the main thwart and added another set of oarlocks just aft.




It is still fun to pull with a partner once in a while, I don't do it often anymore. Turns out that the aftmost rowing position also balances nicely with anchor and ground tackle in the forepeak. If I am out for a casual row without any freight I might move forward, about a foot, to the original primary rowing position.

FYI - All the HV's will be at the Center For Wooden Boats on Lake Union in Seattle beginning this weekend through the 4th - my boat, the two others already in the livery, for the wooden boat festival.

[Paul Pless]

Another really pleasant thing about Eric, is that he doesn't get all preachy about the supposed 'excesses' of powerboats!

[James McMullen]

No, no. He's horrified and embarrassed at that unpleasant episode in his life. He never mentions it. . .come let us never speak of it again ourselves. Everyone deserves at least one second chance.

[Yeadon]

Actually James, that was his second chance ... here is the result of Hvalsoe's first go-round in the world of step-hydros. More here.

[James McMullen]

Oh dear lord! This thread is getting derailed by satanic influences. Quick, Eric! Tell us about your plank scantlings or your revised mast step or something pronto before this disintegrates any further!

[Paul Pless]

check this out:

Aurora plans available in 2008

I remember reading that article and wondering if he would ever sell those plans.

[Lew Barrett]

I should not be absent from a Hvalsoe thread, and that is what I have to say about that!

[Eric Hvalsoe]

Yah, I'm a little behind the ball. I have drawings for Aurora, I just think they need more work to be a 'product'. I'm such a frigging perfectionist. That can kill you. I need a bigger drawing table or to invest in CAD. My brain seems to work in threes. Aurora, as first expressed with Hacker's hull form in the Little Miss Canada IV replica, could use a bigger sister. Can you imagine, a larger Aurora, with a big block V8, about 26' . . . So you've got an 18 footer (LMC IV), 22' (Aurora), and a 26 foot mother of all stilletos. I know LMC and Aurora been imitated. How these unusual powerboats came to be is fairly well documented in the WoodenBoat article. Just one more observation - Nothing has ever produced the kind of reaction as that which I have seen with Aurora. The biggest, broadest most spontainious high fiving smiles. Can't help it. The thing is outragious, an affront to the senses, sculpture with muscle on a high order. Some people get it, some don't. It's not about being a runabout fan vs an oarsman. She does not even fit with the marqee runabout folks. Before I die I hope for one more opportunity to build a boat like this. I wish I could show off some of Rabinowitz's spectacular shots, but he is a bit protective of his the work.

So before returning to lapstrake and lugsails, here are a couple of rare shots of Aurora under construction. Yes James, we'll get back to it!

[James McMullen]

It's too late, Eric. This thread is dead to me now. I'm so disappointed.

[Paul Pless]

Reminds me as much of airplane construction as it does boat.

[Eric Hvalsoe]

Reminds me as much of airplane construction as it does boat.

Yes it is rather like an airplane.

Well now perhaps everybody has wandered off. Here is a 'real' boat under construction.


My 16 and the new yawl rig is in the water at the Center For Wooden Boats in Seattle for their wooden boat festival - the next 4 or 5 days. There are a few nice boats. Worth a visit if you are in the neighborhood.

I'll get more pictures loaded up soon and talk about some of the details of my boat and the rig conversion.

[Gerarddm]

Most interested, thanks.

[Eric Hvalsoe]

Most interested, thanks.

I utterly agree with Gerard's subtext. Returning to boats,

That 16 hull Tim worked on went back to Toronto with Ian. Wonder how Tim would compare builds - 1st time transom stern 16, 2nd time double ended peapod.

Here is a sneak peak at CWB of the new rig with bare spars, you at least get an idea of mast rake. The camera may be exaggerating things a little bit, but the mizzen in particular is heavily tilted. I'll be tinkering just so with the mainmast.


Stepping back several years, one of changes I made after getting to know my own boat much better was to go with a pushstick. Tim was most encouraging in this regard.
You must be able to operate these kinds of boats by shifting your weight appropriately, sometimes quite far forward, when solo.




Eventually I figured out how to tend the pushstick, that was a tough little problem. For me wrapping rope or shock was not satisfactory. Instead, the stick can sit in a saddle on the thwart knee. In the saddle is a small pin. The pin indexes along a perforated strip of brass secured to the underside of the pushstick. Midships is marked on the top of the stick.
The purpleheart crossarm is turned on a lathe. The pushstick is secured to the crossarm with a simple length of low stretch cord. I thick rubber washer sits between stick and crossarm. I find this system to be as, or more satisfactory, than universal joint hardware.
This is a very simple universal joint. The indexing pin gives the rudder several degrees of trim port or starboard. The back up shock cord on the knee is seldom necessary. I most often use it when launching.

Up to this point I've used the pushstick when solo, a tiller with company. Now with the mizzen it is pushstick all the way. The stick just takes a little getting used to. Can't see laminating a big ole wrap around tiller.