Sunday 20 September 2015

A Dog's Life

We used to have a lovely little dog, Mitzi. She could never make her mind up. If you put two dishes of dinner in front of her she'd could die of starvation: darting between them but unable to choose. 
I've been very much the same as Mitzi in choosing which boat to build.

First I chose the Power22, but then I found out about the strip plank method of boat construction - which appealed more to me - and  led to me choosing the lobster boat. 

However, it didn't end there for my wife, Pat, and I got carried away with the romance of it all wouldn't it be nice to have...

...the cabin, the galley etc, and sailing off into the sunset.....

... and so we picked out a larger strip-plank build, the Rathlin, which has all these facilities.

So I sent off for the plans of the Rathlin. £250 (US $ 390) - well, it was our 56th Wedding Anniversary yesterday, so it was a mutual present.

In the early hours of this morning, logic cut in. This was a big build:
Rathlin 20 MY Particulars
LOA20'4"6.2m
Beam7'4"2.24m
Hull Mid Depth2'11"0.88m
Draft2'4"0.7m
Maximum Headroom5'10" (Wheelhouse)
4' (Cabin)
1.77m (Wheelhouse)
1.2m (Cabin)
Displacement3528 lbs1600 kg
Engine10-30 hp inboard 
Hull Shape
Round bilge
Construction MethodsStrip plank
Major strip wood requirements for hull1970' of 3/4" x 1 1/4" (600m of 18x30mm) WRC
How was I going to turn a boat weighing about a ton? Was it really too big for the garage and so forth, as I turned into Mitzi.

The answer is simple - build the smaller boat and gain the experience. This would allow me to try the Rathlin later. We would have the option to sell the lobster boat to fund the Rathlin build ... or have two boats!

So it's going to be the lobster boat - I sent off for the plans, £75 (US$ 115). 






15' Lobster Boat Particulars
LOA14'11"4.57m
Beam5'11"1.8m
Hull Mid Depth2'3"0.68m
Draft8"0.2m
Approx. Dry Weight250 lbs113 kg
Engine5-30 hp 
 20 knots with 20 hp 
Hull Shape
Round bilge with tumblehome aft
Construction MethodsStrip plank
Major strip wood requirements for hull2460' of 3/8" x 3/4" (750m of 10x19mm) WRC
Guidance Use4-6 adults - estuary/coastal
Drawing/Design Package4 x A1 drawings + 4 x A4 instruction/spec sheets
Additions and alterations included with the plans














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