Atkin's Fore AN' Aft-- free--WBRF

[OEX]

Here's another great Falmouth Workboat baseed Atkin design. Please take a look and see if you can take her on!!!
http://www.woodenboatrescue.org/carview.php?view=139

Cheers, Bruce
WBRF Admin

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

Anybody looking at a Lyle Hess boat should take note of this one, which can be considered as their grandparent. Besides, she is a very famous little boat in her own right.

A very attractive boat indeed and were she this side of the pond I would be tempted to say "snap"!

[PeterSibley]

You're right Andrew ,very lovely indeed.In fact I bought plans once,even lofted them before opting for something slightly bigger.

[Ethan]

Can anybody expound upon their impressions/dealings/experiences with this boat? I have a cousin who is considering ponying up and saving her - but information on the web is scarce. He has, of course, read the page on the Atkin site and also the article there that mentions this design. However, none of us can find anything else.

My biggest concern is that he and his wife will probably use her to cruise in the Gulf of Mexico - up and down the western FL coast - and she looks a little drafty to me for that purpose. But then again, maybe the affection they develop for the boat during the resto will mitigate the "inconveniences" of adapting to those limitations.

Anyway, if anybody can add to our knowledge about the boat, it sure would be appreciated!

Thanks, Ethan

[PeterSibley]

I can't comment on the draft issue, but there is a more complete discussion of the boat in William Atkins ,"Of Yachts and Men"...quite a bit actually and a photo or two I think.The issues of WB that detailed Atkins work had a good photo too ,I think it was the first of the series .

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

Atkin was working from British prototypes, adding some Colin Archer influence, when he developed the series of boats of which "Fore 'n Aft" is one. I have not sailed in the actual boat, but from looking at her, I would say that she will be an excellent boat at sea, and well behaved in tight corners.

Sir Robin Knox-Johnson's "Suhaili" is an Atkin design from his Colin Archer-influenced period, though Sir Robin did not know that when he built her. She has covered a few miles...

[PeterSibley]

Andrew, the British designer who designed balanced fore and aft (?) hulls , Harrison Butler? Is there a similarity?

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

I'm not enough of an Atkin expert to say if he was influenced by the metacentric shelf theory, but William Atkin and Harrison Butler were contemporaries and would certainly have known of each others' work, as they both tended to publish designs, and they both read a lot of yachting magazines. Whether they knew each other directly, I don't know, but its certainly possible.

[OEX]

Personally I think the Atkin group (Ben Bow, Wild Duck, Fore an' Aft) are all very capable boats that are based on tried and true designs like the Itchen Ferries, Falmouth workboats, Bristol Channel Pilot Cutters, etc. Just look at the raise in the interest in these types of boats again---i.e Lyle Hess, Working Sails Cutters, Ashley Butler Heard 28 (very similar to Fore an Aft). Andrew may be able to fill in what I missed or got wrong better than I.

Draft, well I think you hit it...when you love a boat for her speed in light air, comfort and speed in a sea, ease to handle at 28 ft... a bit of Draft will not be an issue unless you really want it for gunking, etc. I do not know too much about this area though!

Of course I may not be the best to say since I want someone to take this boat and fix her up very soon....I run the WBRF :-)

The Wild Duck we had on the site was in very very nice shape and will be something to see when she is in the water. The fact that we have had three of these types of boats on the WBRF site and there were not many made attest to the fact that they were well liked and lasted a long time (almost 70 years). Ben Bow (on our site, but in tough shape) was converted to an identical rig to Fore an Aft---this is a good hint Billy Atkin thought it was a better rig since he did the conversion and Ben Bow was his personal boat for sometime!

I would be neat if someone that know how to post pix here, could post the three Atkin types on the WBRF site her for all to see and compare---yes I know I should know how to do this by now---but life does not seem to slow down for me :-)

Cheers, Bruce

[Mark Giegel]

Looked at the boat yesterday from the outside. Will need a good amount of work as indicated on the link. Boat appears to be iron fastened and has an iron keel. Hull appears fair and has held shape well. Owner says boat built in 1955 by a builder named Parche ? Not sure if I got that correct. Rick (owner) says someone looked at her day before I got there and has agreed to take her. Glad she has found a home.
Sincerely,
Mark

[ishmael]

It's a lovely boat, and saving it will be hard. It's probably fastened with iron nails. That was my first impression from the photos, and Mark adds weight to it.

The work done so far seems dubious. When did scarfs at plank ends become acceptable practice? The bad planks should be cut back to acceptable places for butts.

But the nail sickness is the huge issue. There is no easy way to fix it. The boat was built with a thirty year service in mind. And here it is sixty years on.

But, it is free. Does anyone know a good way to deal with sixty year old galvanized boat nails? Assuming they aren't screws, which aren't much easier.

[ishmael]

I've been thinking about this. Assuming it is fastened with iron nails, and has never been refastened, how about sealing the old iron with epoxy, and then refastening with either iron screws or nails driven in along side. Replace the bad frames and planks in the process. That might be the best solution, and could get quite a few more years out of the old gal. Maybe this is obvious to those who do this work regularly. Sorry.

I think copper rivets are probably the best fastening ever devised. When their useful life is up, time to refasten, grind off the rove, back the old fasteing out, and drive a new one. It does mean having inside access, which can mean quite a bit of demolition.