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lightweight runabout in the classical style
The lapstrake sides and classical looks
of “Rifleman” were an accident more or less,
Frank Perry had been on the beach at a popular resort when
He had seen Roger Davies in his beautifully presented “Rogue”
sailing dinghy.
Intrigued by the boat, Frank was soon
talking to the owner and boatbuilder Roger, keen to make
a sale soon had him out on the water. Frank bought a set
of Rogue plans from me and intended to have his new friend
build the boat the following winter but after some study
decided that a craft intended primarily for sail and oar
would not be fast enough to get him to and from his favourite
fishing spots along Wellingtons ironbound, windy coast,
so after several to’s and fro’s on the phone
we decided to design a completely new boat to suit.
My client described himself as “not
as young as he once was” and arthritis means he cannot
tolerate a cold, cramped seating position for long. His
boat needed to be faster than Rogue could be pushed with
an outboard, her shape being wrong for planing speeds with
a bigger outboard motor. But the advantages of the unusually
light weight with the consequent ease of handling was to
be retained, along with the practical interior, ease of
building and not least the lapstrake or “clinker”
sides. So, starting with a blank sheet of paper I started
drawing up Rifleman, an outboard motor powered planing hull
with a designed serviced speed under normal conditions of
18 - 20 knots. This should mean a top speed in flat water
of about 25 knots, not super boat performance but a comfortable
cruising speed for a fisherman who doesn’t have to
cover a huge mileage to his pet spot.
To obtain this performance with the modified
dory hull form I used for Rifleman a 20 hp motor should
be adequate for those cruising two up, while a “25”
should be quick enough for most even when loaded up a bit.
At the gentler end of the scale an 8hp motor should push
her along nicely, and a 15hp plane her comfortably with
two aboard. One has been fitted with a four stroke Honda
15 and is a particularly smooth and quiet boat in use (and
no oily rainbow sheen on the water!)
An oversize planing shoe enables the boat to carry a large
load at planing speed on moderate power, or to plane under
full control at comparatively low speeds. This gives low
fuel consumption and easy handling, even in quite rough
conditions.
The steeply rising bottom panels soften
the ride, and give good directional stability while the
long fine entry eases through the waves and keeps the spray
down in a way that the more common wide beam can rarely
achieve.
Inside there is room for four to ride
in comfort, and to fish without tangling lines. There is
adequate storage under the foredeck and under the centreline
of the seats, while the space under the side seats and forward
thwart is sealed off providing sufficient air tank buoyancy
to float her stable and baleable fully swamped. This space
can be accessed through plastic hatches if required and
is a good place to keep spare clothing, matches, food and
other essential small items. ( Don’t put the bait
in the same one as the food!)
Steered from the console on the centre thwart the boat is
easier to trim, and generally will provide a more comfortable
ride with the weight out of the ends. With the motors normal
remote control kit and a simple cord and pulley steering
system it is possible to rig the controls without having
to spend too much on hardware.
Frank intended to launch the boat from
beaches and rocky shelves that were barred to him with his
heavy fibreglass speedboat, and looked forward not only
to the convenience of the smaller boat but also the economies
of the 18hp Tohatsu outboard motor he’d chosen, not
to mention the prospect of owning a more economical towing
vehicle.
Towards the end of the design process a couple of my letters
went unanswered, and when a telephone message got not response
I carried on with the drawing process but did not send the
plans off for fear of them going astray. (he’d paid
so I figured that one way or another he’d get back
to me).
Two years or so later, and after selling quite a number
of plans I heard from a very apologetic Frank. Roger had
talked him into a more conventional 14 ft deep vee from
a very well known designer. They’d built it and it
fumed out that the thing had been less than adequate in
the conditions that prevailed in Cook Straight! There was
nothing really wrong with the boat, it was just the wrong
one for the job!
With several “Riflemen” in
the water by then I was able to reassure Frank that the
boat performed pretty much as advertised and sent off the
plan set. He’s building this one at home by himself
and I hope to hear from him sometime to see how she has
performed.
LOA - 4.5m -14ft 9in
Beam - 1.5metres - 5ft
Weight - 90kg 200lb approx bare
Power - 7.5 -20hp outboard
Speed range up to 25kts
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