What's your favorite Atkin design?

[AngWood]

Given the attention John and William Atkin's designs get in issue 168 of our illustrious sponsors' publication and given the staggering number of Atkin designs out there, this seems like a good time to ask this question.

Mine is Russell R., a 22x6 day-cruiser, for its easily driven hull and classic lapstrake looks. It's one of those "maybe someday" things for me.

http://www.boat-links.com/Ideal/images/RussellR.gif

[Dave Fleming]

Easy....MAGPIE a motor sailer, though the Atkins Jersey Seaskiff iterations are not too shabby either.

[G. Schollmeier]

Easy for me to, Big Surprise, a motor sailer, one of the Atkins version of a Sea Bright Skiff.
Gary

[rbgarr]

The Atkins design that Alex hadden built and showed at the Maine Boatbuilder's Show (power) and (sail) a Tally Ho! design that a guy refurbished and sailed to the Caribbean and back from Maine.

[Kermit]

XLNC probably tops the list of Atkin's designs I'd like to build one day. And if I ever get my buddy to part with his Kermath Sea Pup, it'll HAVE to happen. It's a loooong and narrow open skiff with a wee inboard and a long tiller to an outboard rudder. It looks like the perfect way to waste--I mean spend--some time. Some of the simple old-timey designs are not to be beat.

[Bernadette]

Easy one for us too...we built and owned a 32' double ender Dragon design (named PEQUOT). I loved that boat when we had her..small but very worth sea craft. Photos of her are on the cover of the re published "Of yachts & Men".
Bernadette.
PS Does anyone know how Mrs Pat Atkin is these days?

[ 08-23-2002, 06:13 AM: Message edited by: Bernadette & David Hedger ]

[TonyH]

I love his small ketches and schooners - Milford, Silver Heels, America Junior and Coot. All look as salty and seaworthy as ships twice their size and more.

[AngWood]

You mean this Silverheels?
http://www.boat-links.com/Ideal/images/Silverheels.gif

[AngWood]

And this America Junior?
http://www.boat-links.com/Ideal/images/AmericaJunior.gif

[Rosebud]

We love the Atkin design boats and for our personal use we are building ourselves an Atkin Ingrid Sailing vessel. We have liked the lines and the way she was designed and have decided to cold mold as it will take a long time in our spare time. We are extremely happy to see Atkin get his fame as we consider him one of the best designers ever.

Best of wishes to all,

Rosebud

[Bernadette]

Rosebud, you won't be dissapointed with the Ingrid design. We met two when we briefly cruised in Pequot. (Pilar was one and the other I can't remember her name). All up in general terms...just a bigger version of our Pequot and so I might say, a jolly good boat to be in! Hope your building goes well and please do keep us posted.
Bernadette.

[TonyH]

Thanks Angwood! Yep, they're the ones, mate. Now are they salty looking little ships or what? They are two versions of the same design, in effect, different rigs plus America Junior is a skipjack (vee bottom although the underwater sections toward the stern are sort of wineglassed to give more depth) while Silverheels is conventional round bilge.

Tony

[ 08-25-2002, 02:34 AM: Message edited by: TonyH ]

[Marcio Moreira]

Mr. William Atkin drew "Clione" for Motor Boating Mag.

http://www.terra.com.br/fotos/foto.cgi/XmwNKOW56LqrEJh$_KxYfv1l|7_Ss7EFGHwo|zV$LesUu/atkinclione1copy.jpg

She's in my Dream boats list
;)

[ 11-09-2002, 06:26 AM: Message edited by: Marcio Moreira ]

[A. Mason]

Does anyone know what happened to Bill Atkin's 40-foot auxiliary cruising ketch BLUE WATERS? The last known port I have for her is CT in 1977.

She is the only accidental collaboration between Bill Atkins and Al Mason. Bill designed the boat and Al designed the rigging. Bill was not pleased but it was the client who jumped ship. Al asked for Bill's okay before taking on the job. Bill's friendship was more important than the client's money.

BLUE WATERS was built by Joel J. Johnson of CT.

Thanks, Anita

[TonyH]

And does anyone know if a vessel was ever built to the "Silverheels" design? I've come across a number of "Coot"s and "America Junior"s but I never heard of a "Silverheels".

[LisaS]

My favorite is the Maid of Endor. John was also a friend and J.P. and performed our wedding 20 years ago, and I really wish he was around these days so that I could talk to him directly about this boat. I talked to his wife Pat recently, and she's doing great.

Lisa

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

FORE N'AFT

or one of her sisters.

[AngWood]

Gotta love stuff like this, too.

http://www.boat-links.com/Ideal/images/Elcarujo.gif

[Pete Dorr]

AngWood - Are these photos online or are you scanning them in ? If online let us know the URL.

Thanks
Pete

[AngWood]

Pete--They're online at http://www.boat-links.com/Ideal/

[Keith Wilson]

Thanks AngWood, I may have found my next boat. Russel R. looks like just about the perfect thing for the upper Mississippi River and larger lakes around here, at least if built in plywood - the thought of a cross-planked bottom on a trailer isn't pleasant. And, amazingly enough, my local library had a copy of Motor Boating's Ideal Series Volume 32! Now I wonder how it would work with a lobsterboat style cabin/shelter? Next spring, with luck . . .

[AngWood]

You say you're going to build Russell R.--I'm going to hold you to it!

I agree that a plywood bottom (and maybe glue plywood strakes) would be mighty convenient, and to my mind detract not a bit from the wonderful aesthetics.

[Keith Wilson]

Well, there are now 23,812 boats I've said at one time or another that I'd like to build, and I've only built five. However, I really am going to build a powerboat. There's just too much interesting water around here that's no good for sailing, and this one looks like just the thing (plywood bottom and glued plywood lapstrake, definitely). The other leading contender is the Hand/Bryan Handy Billy, which would probably be better in rough water but is significantly more complex to build. I should be able to post pictures by then.

[John G]

Well I still am quite happy with our Eric gaff ketch "Erica", a small Colin Archer style design like Ingrid & Dragon

http://media18.hypernet.com/mywb/icache/item373.jpg

I also like the Bristol pilot cutter designs like Fore n' Aft, and once looked at one up in SF called "Pilgrim" Don't know who finally bought Pilgrim, but they hauled her and shipped her to the East coast somewhere. She was getting run down & rotted, but hope they got her sailing again.

[Shalfleet]

Gretchen - I love the way she looks and I think the leeboards are really cute. Joan is also a nice looking little boat.

[ChrisRogers1]

How about "Ben Bow"? The lines and picture in Of Yachts and Men look pretty sharp. With the 50' mast, the marconi main, and the lighter displacement she looks like a more speedy sailer than Fore an Aft or Eric. Does anybody know if one of these is around?

[AngWood]

I'm starting to think the Atkins are the only designers I'll ever need. In every category--small row, big row, small sail, big sail, small motor, big motor--I find an Atkin design I love. Masterful simplicity!

http://www.boat-links.com/Ideal/images/Ration.gif

[ 11-11-2002, 07:38 PM: Message edited by: AngWood ]

[Peter Belenky]

I grew up with a treasured copy of "Thirty Easy to Build Sail Boats With Auxiliary Power," and Ben Bow was always my favorite. Once in the 1950s I saw her hauled out at City Island. The fine entrance and long keel made for a lot of exquisitely sweet reverse curves. The published design had a gaff rig, which was much more attractive than the actual marconi rig. A plumb stem demands a bowsprit.

[Scott Haddad]

I happen to own volume #46 a treasury of inboard cruiser designs-----I have been oogling the SNAPDRAGON design and am considering to build it... Edited to add picture http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid88/p819ac78da91d743293f5e22d52afb2da/fa9193e0.jpg

[ 11-13-2003, 03:58 PM: Message edited by: Scott Haddad ]

[Keith Wilson]

I've been looking at a bunch of power launch desgns, and Russell R. is looking better and better, although it didn't happen this spring, and may not next spring either. . . OTOH. . .

[Frank E. Price]

Here's another vote for Clione. The photo book that the photographer Peter Barlow published (in the early '80's?) has a couple of great pix of a Clione named Pendragon .

Frank

[htom]

I'm not even sure that I could choose one for a "least favorite" list!

[Steve Paskey]

Two thoughts:

1) SHORELINER, a 24-foot cutter-rigged flat-bottomed skiff for inshore cruising. Elegant for what it is, and when I look at the plans I think, gee, I really could build that traditionally.

2) RETREAT, the quintessential small shantyboat.

[ 11-14-2003, 07:25 AM: Message edited by: Steve Paskey ]

[Norske3]

Attention Mr. Andrew Craig-Bennet.......the original "Fore and Aft" still sails....home port, Salem, just north of Boston, Massachusetts. The present owner was the chief rigger on the major reconstruction of "Old Ironside"..the "Constitution" a few years ago.(Fate took a hand in his search for her). He bought her about 8(?) years ago in the state of Maine.When he decided to buy a sailboat, a friend of a friend mention there was a nice old wood sailboat he knew of that was available...he nor his friends knew anything about the history of the boat or the designer...this was just a nice old sailboat. So one day he took a ride north seeking the boat...he knew what town it was in but had no address.He drove all over with no luck. At the end of the day on his way out of town he stop at a food store and just happened to mention he was looking for an old sailboat that looked like "such and such" for sale..."Oh", said the store clerk, "I saw a boat like that a few weeks ago being trailered up a side road not far from here".So off he drove, all the way to the dead end of the road...no boat.But on the return ride he spotted her sitting behind a barn just sticking her nose out to be seen by him.("Here I am, "Fore and Aft" said,I've been waiting for a guy just like you." smile.gif ) ....when I happened to meet him for the first time I told him what he had ... it made his find all that much sweeter. smile.gif

[ 11-14-2003, 10:23 AM: Message edited by: Norske3 ]

[Jon Etheredge]

Here is another nice power boat from the board of John Atkin.

LOA 22' 1/4"
LWL 20'
Beam 6' 8"
Draft 1'

30HP outboard provides > 18 MPH

http://www.smallboatforum.com/SBF%20Image%20File/Ninigret.jpg

[John Bell]

Ninigret has been my favorite for a couple of years. I badly want one someday.

[Nora Lee]

MAGPIE of course! Had an old german friend, who was building one in Marlboro NY on the Hudson, most of the wood for the strip plank hull,(with epoxy satuation) floated down the river to him. My husband put a lot of work into her too. Too bad our llife did not allow us to own her at the time she was for sale.

Alas our friend did not finish her. He did the hull and the topside, and masts and sold her just before he died, to a great finish carpenter, who again sold her before finishing.

The last I saw her, she was on the hard in Newburgh NY, but she has disappeared again and I know not who or where she is now being worked on. Our son would like to own her, but not build her, so if anyone knows her whereabouts please let me know. We want to keep track of her.

This same man also built a 32 foot hard chined ketch by John Atkin, her name is "Salambo",in a court yard in Brooklyn NY. I would love to find her. I think she is somewhere on Long Island Sound, last known location was on the Conn shore.

She is powered by a Detroit Diesel from a Lobster boat on the Cape.

John Atkins work was so amazing, and Sooo traditional!

Nora Lee

[Murray Campbell]

I'm fixing up an atkin's "thistle"...a 32' colin archer type...stout..

i've grown quite fond of it...would be interested in hearing from any other thistles out there..

m

[TimH]

Ingrid !

Ingrid 38 (http://hood.hctc.com/~esteve/)

:D

[Northernguy59]

Can someone here direct me to a link that shows "Fore and Aft". Line drawings or photos??

I like Atkins schooner "Chantey". This boat was featured in WB #166 last year named "Winfield Lash". Owner Dave Clark did a wonerful job on her.

Thanks

[Wilson Fitt]

I guess that my favorite Atkin is our own boat, design #433 "Jerry Colemore". Here is the original lines drawing and sail plan.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid89/p12fe426319f68b3128bf4a134008455b/fa795f9f.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid89/p809e33dc3547bab0c9d6dd5ac0d6d3f8/fa795fa6.jpg

Here is a letter that John Atkin sent me. Probably not legible, unfortunately.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid89/p0dc92568767e7ed91e2d0d4ac8f1ab9b/fa79511d.jpg

We built to the lines but changed the rig to a cutter and, of course, made a new deck plan to suit ourselves with the following result.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid42/p858c940336a255103ebf89e82ee9f5ab/fcf24bd1.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid10/p0ac5e1545d61fa7109a99bf217141d3b/fe033782.jpg

I have always liked the look of "Erin" a 36 foot double ender.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid89/pd921a08db943ca411c9011563080afe6/fa795f98.jpg

Unfortunately, my little scanner has chopped the rudder off.