Selway Fisher Simplicity 20

[JimD]

This looks like a really roomy boat inside. Beam is almost 8 feet, no side decks, and headroom looks to be around five feet. Simple to build, flat bottom, plenty of ballast. Hmmmm...

SIMPLICITY 20'
http://www.selway-fisher.com/Simp20d1.gif Following along the same lines as her smaller sister, this cruiser is an ultra simple boat with plenty of space and performance for her size. She has room for 3 or 4 berths plus galley and portable wc. Construction simply involves fixing pre-shaped side panels to ply frames, adding chine and gunwale stringers on the outside and then applying a double thickness of ply to the bottom. Other pre-shaped pieces are then added before fixing a ply ballast box filled with scrap iron and cement. Centreboard or bilge keels may be fitted and she has 4 berths, space for a galley and wc and a handy gunter rig. She is simple but immensely strong and efficient. LOA 20’; LWL 18’9’’; Beam 7’8’’; Draft 2’/3’8’’; Displ. 3750 lbs; Ballast 1600 lbs; Sail Area 206 sq.ft.

[John Turpin]

Many of Paul Fisher's designs come with round-bilge, strip planking details as well. I'm not sure if Simplicity does or not. I like Fisher's plans and the gunter rig that he often uses.

I've purchased several sets of study plans from S-F over the years and one set of build plans. Potential S-F builders be warned; the plans are somewhat minimal. Don't expect dozens of sheets and instructions. My Sandgrouse plans included four sheets. At first, this intimidated me, but it really is enough detail for a confident builder.

There is a Selway-Fisher user group on Yahoo. You might drop in there sometime and ask if anyone has built this boat.

[barrington]

Jim' have you looked at the White and Black Swan also from Selway. Nice looking solid boats. I'm just about to build a Highlander from that company, lots of construction info. I was going to build a Chebacco but changed my mind after reading instructions like 'build mast'. I could probably do it but I like the kind of detail that Selway fisher offers. Are you thinking of building?

Chris

[JimD]

John, I think the Simplicity is kept simple with hard chines only. I have four or five study plans from him, too. The dory is another one that has my interest as I'm in the market for a quick build small boat with enough seaworthiness to take off shore or at least make long coastal passages. I'd like to do the Vancouver Island to Alaska trip one day.

[JimD]

Chris, I've been 'thinking' of building for a couple years now. Have study plans for Evening and White Swan so far but not Black Swan, which feels just a bit outside the size range I need. I expect to start building one or another SF design next year. Just can't seem to quite make up my mind which one. I thought I had decided on one of the Swan boats but the cabin room in Simplicty or the dory is hard to resist, too.

[JimD]

The other flat bottom Selway Fisher design I like is the dory, 20' 6" x 7' 4".

http://www.selway-fisher.com/Pioneerd1.gif

I don't like the flush deck all the way to the stem so I would give it a foredeck, and break down the rig into two sails, either yawl, ketch, or schooner, although a schooner rig might be hard to balance with the hull's lateral resistance.




















That would leave it looking quite a bit like the Benford sailing dories, kinda like this only smaller and with a transom:

http://www.benford.us/images/34dory-badger-profile-large.gif
http://www.andy-smith-boatworks.com/wharram/images/Annie-Hill/annie-hill-th.jpg

http://www.benford.us/images/badger-stbd-side-large.jpg
http://www.benford.us/images/badger-slings-large.jpg
A twenty foot version of this would suit me just fine.

It doesn't get much easier to build:

http://ca.geocities.com/easygo12003/60.jpg

On goes the fiberglass:

http://ca.geocities.com/easygo12003/71.jpg


http://ca.geocities.com/easygo12003/95.jpg

Fit out the insides and add a cabin:

http://ca.geocities.com/easygo12003/354.jpg

And so on...
Pics taken from this Benford builder's website: http://ca.geocities.com/easygo12003/new_boat.html