RESCUE MINOR: A shallow-draft motorboat -- article by Robb White in Mar/Apr '06

[kengrome]

Does anyone have a copy of this article they could send me?

A colleague of mine referred me to some statements Robb White made in this article ... apparently about oyster bars and the thickness of fiberglass on the bottom of his boat.

My thought is that the oyster bars of the Gulf Coast can tear up a bottom pretty quickly if there is not enough fiberglass down there to protect it. I'm hoping to see what Robb White had to say about this in regards to his Rescue Minor since I'm building a similar boat for use along the Gulf Coast.

Thanks in advance.

[Tom Lathrop]

I don't remember what Robb had to say about this. I have found that Xynole or Vectra is far better for this purpose than fiberglass. In my personal experience, a single layer of either of these synthetic sheaths will survive lots groundings and dragging over oyster shells.

[Hwyl]

Did you see this http://www.robbwhite.com/rescue.minor.html

[pipefitter]

I live on the Gulf coast and boat frequently around oysters but I couldn't imagine building a boat around that function. For one,they are easily avoidable for the most part and no matter how many layers of glass I had on the bottom of my boat,I would still avoid them and choose a sandy spot to beach on or leave my boat afloat. If you gouge the bottom of your boat on oysters it isn't going to sink it or knock a hole in it(oysters crush rather easily under a boat) but is going to scratch it which you would repair anyway. No matter what the bottom of your boat is made of,you just don't beach on oysters. I fish for the most part entirely around shell beds and even if a boat floats in 4" of water,the oysters are visible by then and sporadic at that depth. Most fishermen treat oyster beds like alot of others treat coral reefs and tread lightly just for not damaging the beds.A chance encounter with a lone clump of them will break them apart before it does damage to the boat much beyond the paint.Purposely running thru oyster beds is going to uglify the bottom of your boat no matter what it is made of. I also got the feeling that Robb White,when cruising at speed in 6" of water,knew where he was at. The Rescue Minor was a boat which top speed was 22 mph(?) but better cruised at like 17? Plenty of time to see that shallow bed approaching and if you don't know your waters,caution and much lower speeds are required.I have yet to breach the barrier coat paint on the bottom of my boat.

[Tylerdurden]

I am Building a Rescue Minor and have considered the bottom dragging on rough surfaces. The thought I have had is installing some stainless skids on the flat bottom on top of the covering.
Some 1/2 x 1/8 flat stock with countersunk screws should cure scraping issues.

I have a copy of the article and can scan it for you or copy it and snail mail it. Pop me a PM. Mark

[Tylerdurden]

I live on the Gulf coast and boat frequently around oysters but I couldn't imagine building a boat around that function. For one,they are easily avoidable for the most part and no matter how many layers of glass I had on the bottom of my boat,I would still avoid them and choose a sandy spot to beach on or leave my boat afloat. If you gouge the bottom of your boat on oysters it isn't going to sink it or knock a hole in it(oysters crush rather easily under a boat) but is going to scratch it which you would repair anyway. No matter what the bottom of your boat is made of,you just don't beach on oysters. I fish for the most part entirely around shell beds and even if a boat floats in 4" of water,the oysters are visible by then and sporadic at that depth. Most fishermen treat oyster beds like alot of others treat coral reefs and tread lightly just for not damaging the beds.A chance encounter with a lone clump of them will break them apart before it does damage to the boat much beyond the paint.Purposely running thru oyster beds is going to uglify the bottom of your boat no matter what it is made of. I also got the feeling that Robb White,when cruising at speed in 6" of water,knew where he was at. The Rescue Minor was a boat which top speed was 22 mph(?) but better cruised at like 17? Plenty of time to see that shallow bed approaching and if you don't know your waters,caution and much lower speeds are required.I have yet to breach the barrier coat paint on the bottom of my boat.

My worry is someone going full bore and launching themselves through the air on contact. 17 knts and a sudden stop make good airborne adventures.

[pipefitter]

My worry is someone going full bore and launching themselves through the air on contact. 17 knts and a sudden stop make good airborne adventures.

You would have to hit something pretty blunt. Oysters won't do it nor will a sand bar unless it is out of the water and even then the boat will run a ways before it stops. I used to watch the mercury test boats in Boca Grande run into sandbars wide open. I ran the Simmons aground at speed because the water has changed since the hurricane seasons a couple years back but I just gradually rubbed to a stop. There used to be a narrow cut back to a redfish hole of mine and it had filled in.

Post pictures of the progress when you start. Should be an interesting project.

[The Bigfella]

17 knts and a sudden stop make good airborne adventures.

A friend of mine broke his back that way - they hit something solid (he was a passenger) and he landed on the bank.

[kengrome]

I was offline for a couple of days so I have chosen to respond to everyone's posts here:

I have found that Xynole or Vectra is far better for this purpose than fiberglass. In my personal experience, a single layer of either of these synthetic sheaths will survive lots groundings and dragging over oyster shells.No doubt that Xynole or Vectra would be more abrasion resistant than glass. However, I have a huge roll of 18 oz woven roving in my shop already, so I plan to use this glass instead, at least for my first build. My colleague said I might want to use two layers after reading what Robb White said about it, that's why I asked about his article.

I am Building a Rescue Minor and have considered the bottom dragging on rough surfaces. The thought I have had is installing some stainless skids on the flat bottom on top of the covering. Some 1/2 x 1/8 flat stock with countersunk screws should cure scraping issues.That it would! My only problem with this solution is that I want the bottom to be truly flat, and I don't want to put any holes through the bottom layer of glass if I can help it. I think I would rather put an extra layer of glass on the bottom instead.

I'm going to mix graphite powder into the epoxy I use to finish the bottom anyways. This should help the boat to slip over underwater obstacles better than regular paint.

Post pictures of the progress when you start. Should be an interesting project.I'm not building a Rescue Minor, I'm actually building a Tolman Seabright Skiff. It has a Rescue Minor bottom on it, but the bow and topsides are classic Tolman Skiff. Here are my first pictures:

http://www.tolmanskiffs.com/seabright/

I have a copy of the article and can scan it for you or copy it and snail mail it. Pop me a PM. MarkHi Mark, I sent you a PM with my email address in it so you can just scan and email me the article. Thanks for offering to help me with this!

[Spokaloo]

Kenneth, I am VERY excited to see your boat on the water. I am very curious how closely his hull works to what Atkin set out for. Plus, Ive always been a Tolman fan.

E