Forward rowing station in a nesting Spindrift.

[BARRYFOY]

When I chose to build an Spindrift 11N, my basic need (a good light boat that would fit securely under the bed cap of my pickup truck) made me accept the compromises. One compromise was that it would be difficult to balance the boat while rowing one adult passenger (my wife.) Our current rowboat has the typical second rowing station set forward of amidships, with its own thwart. This seems impractical for the 11N: While there looks to be room for a decently-positioned set of forward oarlocks and a removable or permanent forward thwart, there does not seem to be sufficient room to allow the rower's legs to stretch out properly.

Has anyone any experience with this problem in a nesting Spindrift? Is there a good workaround?

[Ray Frechette Jr]

Carry more weight in forward section to offset weight of wife in rear.

I don't know how you would work around the bulkhead issue for legroom.

Below knee bilateral amputations would work but seems a tad drastic..

[ChrisObee]

Below knee bilateral amputations would work but seems a tad drastic..

Now that's thinking outside the box.

[Hirilonde]

The nesting Spindrift comes with several compromises. The one I don't like is poor seating while under sail. I would love to have the side flotation/seating of the regular Spindrift for sailing. But when it comes to putting the thing in it's mini enclosed trailer, in the back of my pick up, or on the foredeck of my Renegade, nothing but a nesting dinghy will work. I think you will just have to live with it and adjust available on board weight the best you can.

[Peter HK]

While there looks to be room for a decently-positioned set of forward oarlocks and a removable or permanent forward thwart, there does not seem to be sufficient room to allow the rower's legs to stretch out properly.

My Two Paw (8 ft) plans show a forward rowing position right in the bow- there seems to be about 2 1/2 ft to the bulkhead from the aft edge of the thwart which should give enough legroom for most. I plan to build a buoyancy tank in the bow and sit on that-

much like John Turpin did with his:

Not having spindrift plans-

can the spindrift 11N bow buoyancy tank be altered to make it an effective rowing seat? It is 11 ft long- half of that at 5 1/2 ft should allow a seat and reasonable legroom.

Cheers

Peter HK

[Hirilonde]

Not having spindrift plans-can the spindrift 11N bow buoyancy tank be altered to make it an effective rowing seat?

It (bow buoyancy tank) could be made larger and make the mast step internal, but I think you would find the boat would sit bow down with one in the bow and the other in the stern. A pram bow works better for this. It would also mean giving up some of the interior room in the foreward section, which is some what limited to begin with.

I find myself sliding forward on the seat, almost onto the daggerboard trunk when I row with 2. Not perfect, but not bad either, especially if I have some gear stowed up forward.

[BARRYFOY]

Thanks, everyone for the thoughts. My revised idea is to replace the current thwart with a broader one, shifted forward, so that it extends from the back edge of the bulkhead to the front of the dagger board trunk. This would allow the rower to slide further forward, which would help some. It would seem to be sufficient for the odd emergency rowing back to shore, and poking around in achorages and along shore. I guess I won't bother with a second set of oarlock sockets.

This expanded thwart would give the same seating area as the storage boxes in Dr. Axel Schmidt's expedition Spindrift (http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/08/outings/beyond/index.htm, as well as in this Forum.) But I would skip the extension aft of the bulkhead, and would not enclose the seat for dry storage. As to being removeable or permanent... We will see. Anway, this should not require alteration of the basic design (just the dagger board trunk cap, it seems) allowing me to try different mock-ups on the water.

Actually, with the two of us aboard, the typical mode of travel will be under the power of our 2 hp Honda, travelling at displacement speeds. Trim is important here, too. It appears to me that having a broader seat will allow the passenger to sit legs forward or legs aft, as well as slide back or forth, with useful effect on the trim.

Who knows; it might even work.

Still looking for ideas.

Barry

[rattus]

Now that's thinking outside the box.

Actually, that's keeping the thinking, and all potential protrusions, *inside* the box!

Mike

[Garry]

I solved this problem on a previous nesting dinghy by running a fore-and-aft seat in the bow section instead of a thwart. Your legs will actually extend comfortably over the middle transoms with no trouble.

You can see it in this photo. The forward part of the seat is fixed and extends a little past the center transom. The aft part is easily removable.

[BARRYFOY]

I solved this problem on a previous nesting dinghy by running a fore-and-aft seat in the bow section instead of a thwart. Your legs will actually extend comfortably over the middle transoms with no trouble.

You can see it in this photo. The forward part of the seat is fixed and extends a little past the center transom. The aft part is easily removable.

Garry-

Any more photos of that arrangement?

I tried to get to your listed website, but the link was dead. I see you are in Inverness. I was there twice yesterday, and live up the road in Citrus Springs.

Barry

[Garry]

Hi Barry,

I updated the link to my photo site My link but that is the only photo I could find of that dinghy (from the 80s). Also, we moved to just north of Crystal River now (I work at the nuke plant).

You can just see the two oarlock stations along the outer edge of the gunwhale. You only need 12-15" to balance the boat better.