Reuel Parker's "Egret"

[pippo]

I think that this design is beautiful:

http://www.parker-marine.com/28shegretpage.htm

I've found only marginal information on this very boat on the net. Do you know of anybody who had built and/or sailed her?

[njcoaster]

His book on sharpies is great. I read it cover to cover.

[imported_Conrad]

Our sponsor, Wooden Boat, has a number of articles about the original, along with a set of plans.

Word is they sail well, and are quite seaworthy, but could use a bit more sail area for light wind areas.

Chappelle's Boat building has plans for a similarly sized sharpie with more reasonable accomodations if cruising is on your agenda. To my eye it's just as attractive, if not a bit more interesting!

[Steve Paskey]

EGRET is indeed a beautiful design, and the exploits of the original boat are legendary. There are some nice pictures here of a finished boat for sale in Michigan:
--
www.yachtworld.com/listing/yw_listing_detail.jsp?checked_boats=945087&curr ency=USD&units=Feet (http://www.yachtworld.com/listing/yw_listing_detail.jsp?checked_boats=945087&currency=USD&units=Feet)
--
I can't speak from experience myself, but I seem to recall reading that Phil Bolger claims his BLACK SKIMMER -- a 25-foot sharpie with leeboards and a cat-yawl rig -- would "sail rings around" an Egret.

[ 02-12-2003, 07:04 PM: Message edited by: Steve Paskey ]

[Snoo973]

a link for u (maybe u already visited it but...)
http://www.woodenboat.net.nz/Boats/Boategret/Boategret.htm

[johnw]

Having sailed an Egret, I don't doubt Bolger was right. On the other hand, it's a marvelously maneuverable boat and legendary for its seakeeping qualities.

[swingking]

From Reuel Parker in "The Sharpie Book":

Commodore Munroe's EGRET (LOA 28'10" 7'6"beam 10"draft) "Lifeboat Sharpie" is widely acknowledged to be the most seaworthy sharpie ever designed and built.

Her narrow, somewhat deep bottom, making her nearly a cross between a dory and sharpie.

Her topsides are flaring and higher than the average sharpie.

She was deeper-bodied than other similar-sized sharpies and carried her ballast lower, making her self-righting.

Her ducks stern, pointed and raised high to separate, and lift to, following seas and breakers.

Her sail plan was low aspect ratio (low center of effort) being gaffed rigged on very short masts.

Minimal sitting headroom in cabin.

500 to 1000 lbs ballast, placed in the absolute lowest part of the hull, as close to the centerline as possible.

Best of luck

Mat

[Dave Carnell]

WB's EGRET is quite different from the real Egret.

Mike O'Brien's "shoal-Draft Sharpies" (WB 114) did not mention
the design that Chapelle described as closest to EGRET. That is
DANDY (Plan No. HIC-116 from the Smithsonian). In BOATS magazine
for August, 1956, he described how he developed the design from
the Munroe half-model and from notes and discussions with Comm.
Munroe. Chapelle increased the length from the 26'-3" of the
half-model to 29'-8". He increased the beam on the bottom about
3" while maintaining the flare of the sides and, because EGRET
required trimming ballast aft, moved the center of buoyancy
forward "a bit" (about 1'-5" it appears). Chapelle's lines
sketch of the EGRET half model is in his papers at the Chesapeake
Bay Maritime Museum.

The Smithsonian has another plan that supplies additional
information about EGRET. The Historic American Merchant Marine
Survey Plan No. 8-58 is of "Egret, a double-ended sharpie hulk,
copy of 1886 vessel". It is of a 32' O.A. boat. If you scale it
to the 29'-8" O.A. of DANDY, the only differences between the
hulls are those Chapelle described making. In 1984 I visited the
National Museum of History and copied the field notes of HAMMS
Survey No. 8-58. There are also photographs of the hulk from
which the lines were taken. The maximum draft measured from "the
existing waterline" of the hulk was 7". This confirms Comm.
Munroe's description of EGRET as having a draft of 8".

The HAMMS EGRET is described as a copy of the original boat built
in 1928. This was probably right after Munroe and Gilpin
finished writing "The Commodore's Story". I found later fromPhil Schwicker that it was
built for Munroe’s daughter. The rig was missing
and the field notes say that the rig was derived from discussions
with the Commodore's son and from the book "The Commodore's
Story". It has a mainmast only 10" shorter than the foremast and
fully-battened sails with sprit booms. This matches Munroe's
description (p. 160 of "The Commodore's Story"), "...regular
sharpie rig, using sails headed by a short gaff and fitted with
several battens across the full width of the sail." The photo of
EGRET facing this page shows that rig clearly. It is the one of
EGRET charging through breaking seas that has inflamed the
passions of so many a sharpie fanatic.

The plans of DANDY, HIC-116, are $12; of the HAMMS EGRET, 8-58,
$5.00. There is a service charge of $5.00 per order from Ship
Plans, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of History,
Division of transportation, Room 5010, Washington, DC 20560.

Anyone interested in "the real EGRET" can get a copy of the BOATS
article and Chapelles sketch of the EGRET half model by sending
me a long SASE and a buck. Dave Carnell, 322 Pages Creek Drive,
Wilmington, NC 28411.

[Jack C]

Pippo,

I know your garage is not big enough to build an EGRET, so why the interest? ;)

How goes the CK17 anyway?

Jack

[pippo]

Jack, nice to hear from you! Is Egia treating you well?

Egret is a bit more than cultural curiosity right now. I'm still - slowly - working on the CK17.

Things have been somehow slower in the last few weeks due to the unusually cold winter we're experiencing -yes, in Southern Italy! We've had snow yesterday, so no epoxy work in my garage where the temperature is 6 degs C. Of course I haven't updated my web page still, though things have progressed since the last update.

If only I could have a few 48 hours long days...

P.S.: my brother's garage is way larger than mine though ;)

[ 02-14-2003, 09:55 AM: Message edited by: pippo ]

[Dave Hadfield]

This artical takes a while to load, but it's about buying a "stock", if heavy, Egret and modifying it with a skeg and a bowsprit for a jib to reduce weather helm. It's PDF. Many photos.

I kind of like what they did.

http://www.smallboatforum.com/PDFfiles/egretschooner.pdf