Jim Hood Posted August 2, 2003 Report Share Posted August 2, 2003 Interesting to look at the discussions regarding the various projects you are all undertaking. I wish the forum had existed when I was building my Spindrift 10N last year. Far from the madding crowd as I am it would have been good to vent on the occasions when my building skills let me down. I chose the Spindrift when our old blow up tender deflated for the last time and went shopping for plans on the internet. In my opinion anyone else in the market for a nesting hard dinghy is not doing themselves any favours if they don't take a long look at the B&B designs. The choice alone leaves their competition looking rather inadequate. Building in Panama presented certain problems since there is no marine ply available here, however a friend successfully constructed a 17' Wharram cat using a local exterior ply made of tropical ceder so I used that. Although the plans call for 1/4" ply I decide to use 3/16 for the hull since I was going to sheath it outside and in with epoxy and 6oz cloth for abrasion resistance but other than that I stuck pretty much to the design. I built tank seats at the stern for floatation but want to make a drop in seat between them so that a stern a passenger will be on the centre line when I am rowing. On the subject of rowing I find the height difference between the center thwart and the oarlocks a little skimpy when using my admittedly "huge" 7' oars, but that may have more than a little to do with my long legs - I'm 6' 4". There is a discrepency of about one inch in the plans regarding the height of the center thwart and the dagger board casing. Bearing in mind my rowing "problem" I would recommend building both to the lower height (the dagger board casing). So far I am delighted with the boat. It rows well, sails very well and scoots along fine with two people powered by an old Mercury/Tohatu 2.2hp. (For fun I took it out on a lake with an 8hp with a friend on board. Bottom line, if you can handle it the boat can!) The only suggestions I have regarding changes to the plans relate to my particular use of the Spindrift. That is as a small (34') cruising yacht's tender. Most of the time I will be using the boat alone or two up with a motor and as such it would be useful to have a removeable fore and aft bench seat T'ed off the central bulkhead so that I can start and drive the motor whilst seated centrally. This would be possible if the central thwart were permanently mounted forward of the join. It would also increase the bracing of the daggerboard casing and the central bulkheads. The fore/aft bench set up would also help acommodate rowers with different arm lengths ie Kids and Adults. In the future I may also add a couple of low profile skegs at the stern with sacrificial rubbing strips to protect the chines since I expect there to be a few beach landings in the South Pacific where soft sand will be in short supply! That's it except to say thanks to B&B for a great little boat and wish all those currently in construction the best of luck. Jim Hood SV Charmer Rep of Panama (for now) [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P Doug (WA) Posted August 2, 2003 Report Share Posted August 2, 2003 That is one pretty little boat. Explain where your building skills let you down. I just don't see it. I love the design in the deck. Great job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Hood Posted August 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2003 Doug Thanks for the kind comments. "Cheeky 2" was very much a learning project since I hadn't built anything in ply and epoxy before. She turned out ok but it took me much longer than I expected since the "building skills" had to be gained along the way. The designs in the floor are continuous Celtic knots (I'm from Scotland) that I painted with standard enamel and sand for a non slip finish. Glad you like them. Good luck with your 17 footer Jim PS Don't know where my "Landlubber" title came from. It's a bit ironic since my wife Heather and I have been living on our boat for the last seven years as we have cruised from Scotland to Panama! Any ideas on how to edit it to something more accurate? [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Designer Posted August 2, 2003 Report Share Posted August 2, 2003 Jim, your boat looks great, I really like your graphics and the yellow hull on deck will make you a lot more visible at sea. I agonised a lot on setting the bulkhead/ seat height/ rowing comfort/ getting a wet butt from water slopping over the trunk/ bulkheads when heavily loaded. If you think that it could be lowered without effecting it I will adjust the plans. As you have already built the boat, I have had good success with raising the oarlocks with a length of tight fitting hose slid up the oarlock shaft. obviously there is a limit to how high you can raise them but if you are not comfortable when rowing, another 1/2 - 3/4 inch will help. On the trunk height discrepancy. After looking at your photo I see that you put the top of the trunk cap below the center seat. On the plan I put the top of the trunk cap flush with the top of the seat to further avoid the above mentioned wet butt problem. The vertical height of the bulkhead at the centerline is 10 3/4" and the height of the trunk to the seat notch is 10 5/8". The 1/8" difference is for the trunk offset rising up the deadrise. I was interested in your fore & aft seating comment. I use it on the Catspaw dinghys but felt with the extra fore & stability of the Spindrift it wasn't worth the extra complication. I will see what I can come up with. Thanks for your input, if we all work together we can have even better boats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.