I love it when a plan comes together - RUTH launched!

[DGentry]

I thought instant photo gratification was in order, so I'm starting a new thread with the finished boat.

It's my SOF sliding seat rowing wherry, RUTH, which I started building last week. 18' x 33", about 47lbs. WRC stringers with marine ply frames. 9oz polyester skin, coated in polyurethane varnish.

I haven't got the sliding seat in, yet, but she rows just dandy from the fixed thwart.


The oarlock spreaders are removable for transport.

See the building thread here: http://www.woodenboat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99017

RUTH rows like a dream, accelerating effortlessly. Stable, comfortable, and nonchalant in lots of powerboat chop. And she sits exactly on her lines as designed. It's very rewarding to see this come to fruition after dreaming it up 9 months ago (I've had other projects).

Props to Tom Yost for his kayak builder's manual (www.yostwerks.com (http://www.yostwerks.com)), from which I extrapolated this building method. Also to Carlson's HULLS boat design software, which I played around with until I came up with the design I wanted.

Questions and comment welcome!
Dave Gentry

Here are some pics!

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/alias1719/Wherry032a.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/alias1719/Wherry025a.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/alias1719/Wherry022-1.jpg

[The Bigfella]

Fabulous

[David G]

Mr. Gentry,

Get that thing out of the water!!!!

It's way too pretty to risk getting it scummy, or scratching it, or dripping sweat all over it. Just hang it over the mantel and admire your handiwork ;)

Seriously... she's just lovely. Good to hear she rows well, even without the slider.

Prosit,
David G
http://www.harborwoodworking.com/


"You have to have confidence in your ability, then be tough enough to follow through" -- Rosalyn Carter

[Spokaloo]

Too dang pretty. Gonna have to squeeze a SOF project or two into the fray between the Clippercraft job this winter.

E

[Larks]

Lovely job Dave, both in the design and the ONE WEEK BUILD!!!!

[2MeterTroll]

good work Mr gentry

[DGentry]

and the ONE WEEK BUILD!!!!
One and a half weeks, actually - there was plenty of head scratching involved.

Thanks, everyone!

And call me "Dave" - "Mr Gentry" makes me feel like I'm teaching school again.

[Arko]

I love SOF boats and that is a fine example. Great work.

[Peter Malcolm Jardine]

Lovely boat.;)

[PaulT]

By golly that'll work! Very nice looking boat. Can't wait to get the offsets to build an east coast version :)

Regards:
Paul T

[donald branscom]

Beautiful job, but those boats with that kind of covering always scare me.
One wrong move or accident and you have a hole in the boat.

[Lew Barrett]

I bet she really rocks!

[oznabrag]

By golly that'll work! Very nice looking boat. Can't wait to get the offsets to build an east coast version :)

Regards:
Paul T


I'll take the offsets for a 'third coast' version!

AWESOME!

[oznabrag]

Beautiful job, but those boats with that kind of covering always scare me.
One wrong move or accident and you have a hole in the boat.

Not true, my man, not true.

Very tough stuff.

[Wiley Baggins]

Very nice! :)

[Canoez]

Nice work!

How did the oarlock arrangement work out in terms of rigidity? The gunnels look pretty beefy.

[River Sailor]

Very, very nice work, Dave.

I now know what my next build will be. (I'm anxiously waiting for you to make the plans available — hint, hint.)

Please post more pics, especially when the slider is in place.

[DGentry]

Thanks, everyone!

No gunwale flex was noted - the boat is up and moving very easily, with little stress on the frame, apparently. Yay!

I'm happy to make the offsets/.HULL file available to anyone (PM me), but I wouldn't call those "plans." I was winging all the details when building this boat, based on my prior SOF experience. I'm happy to help, but if anyone wants to build a RUTH, they would be well advised to thoroughly digest Tom Yost's wooden framed kayak building instruction manual, available here: http://yostwerks.com/WoodSOFFrameMenu.html
{hint: to navigate this site, one often has to click "next page" or "last page" at the top right of each screen}

I'll be on the road, driving back to Boulder for the next few days, so forgive me if I don't respond for a while.

Here are a few more pics. The gorgeous viking canoe - solid wood planks, riveted lapstrake - was built by my pal Eric Friberg - "EMF" here on the forum. I'm sure he'd appreciate questions about it. You can also see one of his faerings - unattributed - in the launchings section of one of the latest WB magazines. He's got talent.

Anyway, thanks again!
Dave

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/alias1719/Wherry013.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/alias1719/Wherry014.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/alias1719/DSC_0308comp.jpg

[River Sailor]

Thanks for the extra pics and correcting my interest from plans to offsets!

I looked over Tom Yost's SOF site you mentioned — that's very helpful.

I sent a PM for the offsets. Thank you.

Happy Trails as you travel.

[swab]

magnificent Dave

[Three Cedars]

RUTH is so pretty in that side shot photo . I know you built it to watch the kayakers panting away , getting smaller as they try to catch you :)

OK when is the "how to build video and manual" coming out ?

Good Work !

[Woxbox]

Most impressive.

[Hwyl]

I'm still postulating the "Almost perfect tender" and you build another boat before I even get my tools out.

[keck314]

What exactly is she covered in? I love the translucent effect!

[DGentry]

The skin is 9oz polyester, coated with ZAR exterior, oil based polyurethane varnish. One can add colors to this for a colored skin, but I wanted the translucent effect.

I am actually working on a rough building guide for anyone who might be interested. Again, PM me and I'll send the offsets and such.

Thanks everybody - I'm pretty darn happy with how RUTH came out!

Dave

More pics;
The oarlock base - it slots into the gunwales. The spreaders were then screwed to this base, and the whole thing clamps to an under-gunwale base plate with wing nuts.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/alias1719/Wherry009-1.jpg

And the current fleet (RUTH, my new baidarka, and a "kidarka" for a friend's kid), having just arrived here in Boulder, Colorado. All 3 were strapped to the roof of my Subaru . . . .
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/alias1719/Wherry002.jpg

[WX]

That's a fine bit of work there Mr gentry.

[keck314]

The skin is 9oz polyester, coated with ZAR exterior, oil based polyurethane varnish.

Is this the same stuff as the "Coverene" I've been reading about, or some other vinyl-coated polyester? The more I read about the various options for SOF construction, the more confused I get...

[Dan Payne]

you should be vey proud. I would be if I had a fraction of your skill and patience. Great Work!

[DGentry]

Keck - Coverene is similar to truck tarp material. It's just vinyl, with a polyester core. This polyester is just fabric, like dacron sailcloth. Tom Yost's website doesn't really talk about fabric covering, just the vinyl. You can find skinning options, ad nauseam, on the qajaq usa forum.

Dan - thanks, but I'm not so sure about my skill level, and I'm positive I don't have much patience! That's one of the reasons I've built a whole pile of SOF boats - I definitely love the instant gratification!

WX and everyone else - thanks!! It's very gratifying to get praise from all you guys!

Dave Gentry

[Garrett Lowell]

Looks great! Congratulations-what are you building next?

[Bob Adams]

Well done! Your face says it all.

[Hallvardur]

Wow. Nice work.

[Old Lure Collector]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Waterdown]

Really, I don't know how I missed this for nearly two weeks, but...


Yow!

What a beauty! So compact! so perfect -- if she rows as well as she looks, good on you and have lots of fun.

The triskelion is *very* classy, & nice oars too.


Cheers, Chris


By the way, has she a name yet?

[Concordia...41]

Wow! I'm impressed (and a 10 on the jealous scale) ;)

Amazing work!

- M

[DGentry]

Thanks ya'll!
I should have the sliding seat done before too long, and I'll post pics and whether or not she actually rows well with one (I'm pretty confident).
Next is a pair of 9'(+?) sculls from a nice piece of sitka spruce I brought with me from WA.
After that I think I'll take a break for a bit and actually use some of these boats. Another canoe might be in the works, though, for some friends.
Thanks again, everyone!
Dave Gentry

[Longbow]

I'd like to build a canoe using the same method that you used for your pulling boat. I've seen several plans that use lots of ribs, but I like the way you used the horizontal stringers with a few frames. Do you know of a source of plans for something like that or were you going to design your own?

[Three Cedars]

Check out a plywood form " Little Chief " canoe at the yahoo group below, it is under " files " then " skin on frame "

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kayakcanoeplans/