I wanted some years ago to build a boat. Seated in a coffee shop, looking at the 200 years floor, with all the mark of the time, and the old nails showing, I feel in love with this simple fact: wood age with grace. My friend Bill was seated with me, and we discuss the project. Bill is a man of wisdom, and he told me: if you want your wife going with you, built a motor boat. It is true that I had s
omewhere lost a lot of my ability to sail myself, since I didn’t do it for many years. A motor boat was the right choice. With some idea what kind of hull will be needed, I went to the drafting board and designed a very simple hull with a lot of natural stability, with a hard chine and a very open V on the bottom. I put some attention in the design to avoid rolling bevels on the frames since I wanted to use v-match pine as planking without need to tapper. And that was my first decision toward simple wood and simple things. The entire design concept and the following construction stayed very true to this philosophy. All the boat is built with Maine pine 4by4, 2 by and 1by. The other decision I took is to use simple fastening, and when I say “simple” it means cheap. Galvanized all along will be fine. I didn’t want anything looking bronzy, or yachty. I love yachts, but I didn’t want a yacht “per se”. I wanted a boat that will age with grace, with all the wrinkle and defect the age will give, but glowing harmoniously in a dark brown natural color and a smell of years of pine tar. Epoxy doesn’t age with grace, or plywood, or enamel paint. Glossy fair and perfect is not in my priorities for this boat. Rough on the edge, over scantling, and let the wood as it is. The hull itself is coated with several coat of coal tar, not the epoxy one, but the moisture cured one, much tougher. The underneath is coated with coal tar also but the red one containing steel powder. A very good coating for underwater. Although it is not an antifouling. As I mentioned, all the other part of the boat is treated with several coat of a mixture of pine tar and linseed oil. It is an en going maintenance been repeated several time a year. The mast, which is also made of pine, is mounted on tabernacle. A small triangular sail help the boat to gain a little speed with the perfect wind condition. The boat as a dagger board to help the hull to be more efficient under sail. But it is not by any mean a sailing boat, nor a motor sailer. Some special equipment is designed to facilitate the manning of the vessel by one person. For example the kedge anchor is manned with the help of a davit equipped with a sn**ch block. On the roof of the pilot house is a winch mounted on a small stand to help to raise the tender on deck fisherman fashion. Accommodation are describe from the aft end. Hatches on the aft deck, give access to the outboard engine, a Tohatsu 15 Hp. The battery, the aluminum 13 gallon gas tank, and the manual waste water pump are also situated there, on each side of the engine. Then comes the pilothouse structure. With a 6’6” headroom under the beams, it contains an enclosed head on the aft end, with a manual toilet bolted directly on top of a 22 gallon waste water tank, and a vitreous china corner sink. The ventilation is done by two opening windows with screens. The wastewater tank is ventilated with a 3” pipe going through the roof and being topped with a galvanized turbine ventilator. A door gives access to the helm station. A bench which is also a chest, and a hanging locker complete the aft bulkhead
In front of the bench and locker is the helm, with an 24” classical wooden wheel, a chromed old style control, and a compass. The two pane windshields are opened with a crank activated system. At each side of the helm is a sliding door with a opening type window with screen, the same as the one in the head. The sliding door gives access to the side deck, with a 22” high bulwark for comfort and safety. The whole pilothouse structure is built on top of the watertight and self bailing deck. A nice 7’2” wide by 3’2” length deck space separates the pilothouse and the fore cabin. In this deck space, off center is the dagger board case. The dagger board is fixed to the front of the pilothouse when not in use. The fore cabin is of full beam type. The headroom inside is 4’6” under beam. The access is from a b***y hatch. On each side at the entrance, from starboard is the wood stove with its fire resistant galvanized shield, and on port a locker. Then are the two the berth with on each is a hatch to access storage compartment. The light and ventilation come from a crank operated opening skylight and four fixed portholes. On the fore deck is the tabernacle with the mast, the heavy cast iron bitt, the anchor crane and the kedge anchor. Specification
Length on deck: 23’8”
Length on waterline: 18’9”
Beam: 8’6”
Draft board up: 1’4”
Draft board down: 3’7”
Displacement: 5,234 Lbs
Sail area: 79 Ft2
