Duck Boats- sailing & rowing

[bmwbill1]

Water - Lake Superior bays, must cross 3-5 miles of protected shallow water - 3-15 ft deep - large bay - islands
Sailing & rowing
2-3 guys with dog and equipment
poss tent on boom could stay out a night for fun or need
have large shop- never buildt boat , did strip canoe years ago and a few houses.
maybe use in place of kayaks rest of year
need to be able to drop rig to hide easliy
Ideas? PICs? So on
Bill

[boatbear]

Welcome
Dory Book - John Gardner
http://pic50.picturetrail.com/VOL405/8230927/15385054/233164573.jpg

Good range of designs plus enough info to build.
Which Beemer?
Charlie

[peterAustralia]

hi Bill,

If I may I will give a couple of pointers without giving a definitive design. A major consideration is beam. My dory is 4ft beam which is just wide enough for rowlock width. I would suggest a boat around 4.5ft beam. This is still narrow enough for good rowing, but still has a bit of width for some stability under sail.

I would suggest a narrow transom, because if ever you wish to add a small outboard this will be very, very convenient. Now length around 13.5 to 15ft ought be quite nice, which gives a bit of space without being super big and overly heavy.

Construction, I may suggest that good quality 6mm and 9mm marine plywood is easiest to build with, maybe thicker. I prefer to build a frame and then add the plywood after, as I found stitch and glue a little tricky (I do not have enough skill it appears to avoid twist). I have plans for the Otter 16 from Bateau.com but never built it. It is stitch and glue, which many like. I think it may be a fraction narrow for your use, but it does give an idea. I think the boat above may be a chamberlain 14ft skiff.

If you have built by strip planking before, there is a boat called the Ellis Ranglely boat,which is a transom sterned Rangely boat. There are offsets for a 17ft boat is John Gardner's 'Building classic small craft' a fantastic book!!

regards,
n peter evans

[boatbear]

Peter, sorry I should have labelled it. The dory above is the 18' (5.5m) 'Sea Chanty' One Design Swampscott sailing dory from the Dory Book. Built as an open boat rather than the original decked version.

I think 18' is a good size - v. good carrying capacity, roomy and pretty fast. Beam is 1650 (5'4") which suits 2700 (9') oars.

Note that the transom on this type of dory would not suit an outboard due to the rake. But who wants an outboard? Grin.
I use a stayed mast with tabernacle and gaff rig. Perhaps Bill would be better off with an unstayed sprit arrangement for quick stowing.
Of course there are many other boat types suitable for the purpose, and I'm sure others will chime in with good suggestions.
Charlie

[johngsandusky]

My 13' melonseed was designed for duck-gunning. It only holds 2 people, but it sails like a dream. There is a 16' version. I highly recommend the sprit rig.

[djswan]

What kind of boats was James A. Michener describing in his books Chesapeake? They sported the big guns that would blast entire rafts of ducks. I don't have the book anymore so I can't look it up.

[Cuyahoga Chuck]

"Lake Superior bays, must cross 3-5 miles of protected shallow water - 3-15 ft deep - large bay - islands"
Sounds like Cheqamegon Bay. Close?
With the load you are after a rowable boat is out of the question unless you and your friends are strong rowers.
Sail boats have some shortcomings. There's a lot of furniture inside that's necessary for sailing. It takes up space. If you use a tiller there has to be enough room to swing it. So, you are talking about a big boat if you need to accomodate all those people ,dog ,etc.
You could opt for a smaller boat but, if you load it heavily it liable to sail poorly.
Even with all our modern technology the "do-everything" sailboat has not appeared.
On the news last night they said Lake Superior is down 2 feet. Watch your bottom.