small boat for camping plan

[switters]

The practice OSS is almost done and I was thinking about how tight the garage is around the boat with all of my other stuff in there. So I measured the garage (renting for a least another year) and found it to be 22' x 9.5', rather small. I had originally thought to build the GIS, but think that the space is going to be too cramped because the tools have to live out there. So a summer breeze is next on the build list. The GIs will get built in a friends barn this fall, he wants a share of it.

But, next winter I want to build something with a small cabin for overnight camping on some local lakes, in my tiny garage. The GF isnt fond of what I think is possible on the water in a canoe, something about privacy and space.

The important stuff:

1. 14' loa, 6feet of cabin.
2. getting comfortable with chine log construction and boat building. lets say intermediate in build difficulty.
3. Sheltered lakes.
4. Trailerable, can tow anything up to 5,000 lbs.
5. Sleeps two, drinks four. weekend camping. beachable would be nice, not required.
6. beginner sailor, pretty serious fisherman, rowable would be good, it will employ an electric trolling motor.
7. S-F simplicty 14 looks about right or at least close. The 2-feet really makes a difference because I have 30" of my 22' taken up by the bench and table saw etc. Oh, and a fat arse.

Thanks, links are great, pictures are better.

[Paul Pless]

Boy, this thread has JimD written all over it.

I like the concept of small camping boats and have done alot of it over the years, but never with a boat that small (14' loa, 6feet of cabin) that also had a cabin on it. I don't really like the concept of a permanent cabin that small and cramped, but would much rather go for something like this solution:

How about something like this:

A boomtent
http://www.dhkurylko-yachtdesign.com/alaska_images/Boomtent%201.jpg

cozy and dry
http://www.dhkurylko-yachtdesign.com/alaska_images/Boomtent%206.jpg

that doubles as an awning


with removable folding benches and access to stowage beneath for gear, etc.
http://www.dhkurylko-yachtdesign.com/alaska_images/Alaska%20022x.jpg

An arrangement like this can be totally self-sufficient and self contained. It is simple and easy to set up and provides adequate shelter in most conditions encountered on a summer cruise. Best of all, it provides a measure of independence from the ever increasing tyranny of private property!

I was also really impressed with the Norseboat after seeing it at the WoodenBoat Show. It has a three part, dodger, tent, bimini, where each part can be used individual or together to form various shelter configurations as shown here:

http://www.norseboat.com/images/tent_600.jpg

http://www.norseboat.com/images/gallery/DSC08063.jpg

http://www.norseboat.com/images/gallery/Floridakeys05-071.jpg

[JimD]

Boy, this thread has JimD written all over it.



:D Yup. And a bare bones Paul Fisher design in the running without me even prompting it! I have study plans for Simplicity 14, btw. One would be hard pressed to find a simpler, cheaper, quicker build with as much room inside and dare I say seaworthiness. Heron 14 would be another, more time and effort to build but nicer looking. Probably not as big inside, though:

Heron 14

http://www.selway-fisher.com/Heron14p1.jpg

And Simplicity 14:

http://www.selway-fisher.com/Simp14d1.gif

[neilm]

Nancy's China
http://www.devlinboat.com/nancyschina.htm

[Woxbox]

I'll put in a word for Bolger's Cynthia J. It's a 14'6" catboat, a very straightforward build but very roomy for its length. It doesn't have the ballast of the much heavier Micro, and has a shallower hull, too. You don't see them in this photo, but she carries leeboards to keep the interior wide open.


http://duckworksmagazine.com/00/DM2000/articles/martin/cyn%20j3.jpg

[Woxbox]

I'll put in a word for Bolger's Cynthia J. It's a 14'6" catboat, a very straightforward build but very roomy for its length. It doesn't have the ballast of the much heavier Micro, and has a shallower hull, too. You don't see them in this photo, but she carries leeboards to keep the interior wide open.


http://duckworksmagazine.com/00/DM2000/articles/martin/cyn%20j3.jpg

[Thorne]

I concur -- the desired dimensions sure sound like a catboat to me! Lots to choose from....but few at that length with a cabin.

http://www.catboats.org/popular_lines/linesfra.htm

[Alex Low]

Ahoy,

I know, I know... its not hard chine... I know, I know... its nae plywood. But the time will pass anyway - why not make something beautiful while you can - the real wood is running out. Mr. Gartside was involved with these back in the UK - perhaps he has drawn some plans or knows where to get them? Apparently they really are L.O.A. 16' with full 6' cabin that looks huge - that is one hot ride.

I found this one on yachtworld. The design is the Oysterman 16.

http://www.dc004.com/1831079_1.jpg

Alex

[switters]

16 feet doesn't leave me much room from end to end, other wise I would build the GIS with a boom tent. I have always like the lines on the China though, another someday boat.

one of the things I learned on the practice boat is not to crowd yourself up against the wall or you will bump it and knock things out of place or pick up epoxy on your clothes. Right now i have the oss up on 4' high sawhorses so I can store the table saw underneath, but thats not going to work on the next one so I will need the extra two feet for tool storage.

Thanks for all of the suggestions though, JimD, is the bunk really 6'?
I was guessing based on some info I had for the lynx.

[JimD]

... JimD, is the bunk really 6'?
I was guessing based on some info I had for the lynx.

Switters, yes, Simplicity 14 has a good six feet for the bunks.

[dirtsailor]

Short, Fat, beachable easy to build and chock full of storage:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3150/2417219360_a59ae00321.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3003/2417210618_3bcb2665f8.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3040/2416411905_eea382169e.jpg

[David G]

Dirt - you forgot to tell 'em what it is. It's a Pelican. I saw Louie's Great Pelican at Depoe Bay recently. It's HUGE inside, and only 16' overall. Still may be just a tad too much boat for switters to fit into the shop. Certainly a lot more work than a Goat Island Skiff... but a lot more boat, too.

"Advertising is legalized lying" -- H.G. Wells

[boylesboats]

22' x 9.5' is big enough to build a 16' catboat.. If you're only one in there building it by yourself..

[Steve Paskey]

Dirt - you forgot to tell 'em what it is. It's a Pelican. I saw Louie's Great Pelican at Depoe Bay recently. It's HUGE inside, and only 16' overall. Still may be just a tad too much boat for switters to fit into the shop. Certainly a lot more work than a Goat Island Skiff... but a lot more boat, too.

There are also 12-foot and 18-foot versions of the Pelican. (The 12-footer is an open boat.) Any reason why the 16 couldn't be scaled down a bit? A 1/8 reduction across the board (12.5%, 1-1/2 inches per foot) would be 14 feet long.

[Daniel Noyes]

[quote=switters;1829586]The practice OSS is almost done and I was thinking about how tight the garage is around the boat with all of my other stuff in there. So I measured the garage (renting for a least another year) and found it to be 22' x 9.5', rather small. I had originally thought to build the GIS, but think that the space is going to be too cramped because the tools have to live out there. So a summer breeze is next on the build list. The GIs will get built in a friends barn this fall, he wants a share of it.

But, next winter I want to build something with a small cabin for overnight camping on some local lakes, in my tiny garage. The GF isnt fond of what I think is possible on the water in a canoe, something about privacy and space.


Not enough room for a open skiff so you are looking to build a cruising sailboat with over night accomodations in the same space instead?:eek: how about asking the friend for use of the barn for both projects or shoe-horn in the GIS and do the cruiser in the barn?

[Wiley Baggins]

I previously posted PHOEBE in another thread. You may find it worth a look.

The thread - http://www.woodenboat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=73471

The boat - http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/06/contest/4/index.htm

[JimD]

Another 14er you might like to take a look at is Stevenson's catboat (catboatish, perhaps). Very beamy, and motors or sails passably enough, it seems. Don't know if the babe comes with it:

http://www.stevproj.com/PC8.jpg

http://www.stevproj.com/PC10.jpg

http://www.stevproj.com/PocketYachts.html

[grange]

You may want to look at CLC's newest baby. . .

http://www.amateurboatbuilding.com/articles/design/clc/pocketship/index.html

If you want to try stitch and glue, I think it'd be a contender.

[switters]

22' x 9.5' is big enough to build a 16' catboat.. If you're only one in there building it by yourself..

thanks for your confidence, but I got a beardfull of gorilla glue working on the row boat. There is the theoretical space of the professional and then there is the reality of an klutz.

Thanks JimD, that helps. I have looked at the pocket cruiser before and after a second look I wonder if the build might be faster/easier? But, will those things go upwind? my first impression is that they wont point as well as the simplicity.

Grange that boat you posted is great, but at 6.5' wide and a another 1 feet for the cradle I don't think I can work around it well enough in the cave I have. probably the most modern looking of the contenders, although I think the pocket cruiser is kind of salty in a character boat sort of way.

Thanks everyone, now its down to the Stephens or the S-F simplicity. I was reminded yesterday in my canoe that it is nice to be able to run to shore and beach when the wind gets crazy here in Colorado. not sure if the Stephens is beachable. What happens when you lay the boat over on the keel and the chine?

[JimD]

... I have looked at the pocket cruiser before and after a second look I wonder if the build might be faster/easier? But, will those things go upwind? my first impression is that they wont point as well as the simplicity... its down to the Stephens or the S-F simplicity. I was reminded yesterday in my canoe that it is nice to be able to run to shore and beach when the wind gets crazy here in Colorado. not sure if the Stephens is beachable. What happens when you lay the boat over on the keel and the chine?

I don't think anything could be easier to build than the Simplicity, and the unusual way the cabin sides continue up at the same cant as the hull sides means there is going to be relatively huge space inside - far more than Stevensons. Yes, I doubt the Stevenson boat would point all that well and I wonder about a hull that is only 14 feet long and close to 7 feet wide that is flat or very nearly so and unballasted from what I can see:

http://www.stevproj.com/PCLnDrg.jpg

Without bilge keels she'll lean over quite a bit on the beach with the tide out. Simplicity otoh will stand upright, is ballasted, and narrower at the waterline. The cabin will catch the wind but would also provide a huge amount of reserve stability if she ever went over on her side due to wind and wave.

[Swidm]

The first boat I built was a Stevenson Pocket Cruiser. The wide flat bottom would pound in some conditions and you bobbed like a cork in motorboat chop on no-wind days (don't know many boats that are comfortable in those conditions). However, my PC modified with a centerboard could point quite well. Well enough to outpoint some production boats one memorable afternoon on Seneca Lake. The boat is incredibly roomy down below and the hard chine and flat bottom made her more stable to walk around than the MacGregor 26D I own now. That is more stability in a 14' boat than a 26' boat. It is a good first time build boat though I would be tempted to stear you towards a multichine boat because of rough-water handling.

Pictures of my Pocket Cruiser:
http://gallery.bateau2.com/albums/userpics/12812/normal_suitsus6.jpg
I sold that boat when I left Ohio for Georgia but kept my bateau.com V12 which I have since rigged as an open beach camper. Though it is smaller, it handles rough water better than the Pocket Cruiser with the V bottom acting as a shock absorber.

http://gallery.bateau2.com/albums/userpics/12812/normal_1193774801.jpg http://gallery.bateau2.com/albums/userpics/12812/normal_js1024_IMAG0014.jpg

I highly support a beamy boat for being able to carry 4 people and sleep 2 comfortably within the length constraints you have. I would look at Mickalaki's FatCat2: http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/jim/fatcat2/index.htm . A little more complex but beautiful would be Welsford Navigator: http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/jw/navigator/index.htm
http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/jw/navigator/stern_2.jpg
A little more capable with a cabin would be Adelie 14 or 16 :http://www.bateau.com/products.php?cat=14

Of course, if I wanted speed with a capacity for 2 to camp/cruise and 4 to sail for the day I would look at the i550 sportboat which is a relatively simple build except for the rig and the daggerboard: http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/beckwith/i550/index.htm
http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/beckwith/i550/sailing019.jpg http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/beckwith/i550/efbc.jpg

[mike hanyi]

as your boat length is limited to your building space have you considered building a longer boat in 2 pieces and connecting them after the construction?

consider this.
find a plan that could be built this way, ask the designer about it,

construct the shell in one piece in the summer, and split it before winter, pull in the section you are working on and then swap them when needed, near completion put the pieces together and complet the boat.

ships are built in sections, small craft can also