|
*Cost of
study plans will be applied toward the price of full plans
if ordered within one year. Study plans contain 12 full
pages of color drawings, a Bill of Materials and building
text. It is almost the full set of plans but lacking dimensions.
This design is a departure
from what I had told myself about not working on any more
short boats. Most people are looking for a boat somewhere
in the 10 to 14 foot range. This isn't even close to that
ideal. But I gave it a go anyway for the following reasons.
The design came about
after I had gone up to Bellingham, Washington, to look
at a 34 foot steel sailboat. As I was waiting for the
broker to show up, I made a quick stroll up and down the
docks looking at the other boats sitting at their moorings.
As I walked along, I kept seeing all the yacht's tenders
stacked in their dock racks in neat little rows. I then
became more interested in them than their mother ships.
There were prams, skiffs,
and dinghys; some homemade and some production boats.
I was amazed at how short they were and how little volume
they carried at their beams and ends. Some of the more
stylish ones had tiny little wineglass transoms which
carry no load until the boat is 6" deeper in the
water and freeboard is at a premium. For a lot of them,
twelve inches of freeboard sitting empty was stretching
the point.
I decided when I got home
to see what I could come up with that was small enough
to fit on the fore deck, but still carry the captain and
at least one crew member, plus supplies from the docks
to the mothership. I wanted to keep it short, somewhat
narrow in the beam, and with low enough freeboard to be
out of the way of either the main boom or the headsail
on the mothership.
A short narrow boat needs
it's volume where the hull meets the water so to speak.
So I made sure that I carried the volume all the way down
in the stern. A wine glass looks pretty, but doesn't carry
the weight well when more than one person is in the boat.
I puffed out the volume in the bow area to give more displacement
forward to keep the nose up and the extra flare helps
lift her up in waves and keep some of the spray out. I
also gave her some freeboard to keep the seas out when
loaded down with crew and supplies. Sitting on the dock,
her height at the beam is about 16" and this should
help keep her dry. There is enough "V" to the
bottom that I don't think she will need a keel strip to
keep her going in a straight line. If you want to add
a short one along the last two feet of the keel, be my
guest as it can't hurt and can only help. It looks like
six foot oars would work very well and could be stored
in the hull with no overhangs.
I did rake the transom
a little, and put a bit of a curve in the sheer. Nothing
says she has to be practical, and homely. I used a "boxed"
seat system with hatches to act as flotation chambers,
and for storage. The fore and aft center seat with double
oarlock sets, allows the rower to move forward to adjust
the weight in the hull to maintain trim. I was quite pleased
during the "sea trials", to how the boat handled
and rowed. At 6ft 9", you give up some waterline
length for speed, but it was still easy to move along
and tracked well without a keel strip. The sailing rig
is optional, but will keep the captain and kids happy
at anchor. The 36sq ft Opti sail, and the 65 lb hull should
make the PUD-g quick like a bunny. I hope you enjoy building
your PUD-g as much as I did mine.
Plans include the following PDF
files:
- Printable Paper model - FREE
Download
- 50 page instruction manual
- 21 pages of detailed, color drawings
Each set of plans
comes with a printable paper model (click
here),
21 colorful and concise pages of drawings (samples above)
and a 50 page instruction manual - perfect for the first
time builder.
Thanks again for your
comments and ideas.
Warren Messer
Red Barn Boats
P.S. The PUD-g stands for Personal Utility Dingy-model
g. ;)
|
