More About Design 2625 Sleighride

Sleighride, design #2625, is undergoing a major refit in California with design and styling by Adam Voorhees Design and engineering by Sparkman & Stephens. The boat will be renamed Aandeel. Click here to learn more about the project.

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Thinking About Cabin Construction

Now that the boat is ready to be flipped, Im thinking again about the cabin.  Heres the plan, in general, for the completed shantyboat.

Id been giving some thought earlier to the cabin layout, but finally sat down and planned everything out using real measurement.

In clockwise order from top left:

1. Small galley with 2-burner stove and sink
2. Couch with resident dog and cat
3. Bucket shitter (entered from the aft deck)
4. Aft stairs
5. Lounge chair
6. Woodburning stove
7. Table / chairs
8. Fore stairs

Now lets get down to brass tacks:  Looking at wall construction.

This is the side wall, first a sketchy sketch, then a more accurate one.  Pretty simple really.

It took some thought to place the windows in a vertical position that felt right. The expected window position of the inside and the outside are kind of at odds since the floor of the cabin is dropped nearly two feet below the level of the deck. From the inside, I want the windows to be more or less at eye level and not too high. And from the outside, where the cabin appears to sit on the deck, I want the windows to be a little above the midpoint of the cabin.

I decided on slightly tall windows at 3 ft which resolves the issue to some degree.  Three foot or so from the floor inside and just above the midpoint of the cabin outside.

The original cabin plans call for 2x3 structural members turned parallel to the wall. I originally considered using perpendicular 2x4s in standard frame construction so Id have natural nooks and crannies between the studs that would be easy to turn into storage.

So Im kinda confounded on which method I should choose.  Im trying to measure the pros and cons of each.

2x2 Wall Construction
Pro: Lighter Takes less space Less material Easy to connect	Con: Harder to diagonal brace No nooks between studs	Note: Recommended by pretty much everyone in the boat community, but feels flimsy to me.
2x4s Parallel with Wall
Pro: Takes up less space	Con: Heavier Harder to connect No nooks between studs Harder to diagonal brace	Note: Makes thinner walls and weirder window openings.
2x4s Perpendicular with Wall (standard framing)
Pro: Natural Nooks between studs Conventional technique Easy to connect	Con: Heavier Takes more space	Note: Standard construction, typical window framing, including sills.
2x3s Perpendicular with Wall (compromise)
Pro: Natural (smaller) Nooks Like conventional technique Easy to connect Lighter than full studs	Con: A little heaver than 2x2	Note: This might be a good compromise. Solid framing with reduced weight.

Hopefully, youll weigh in with your expert and experienced opinion. Or maybe youll weigh in with your totally inexperienced pet theory, thats fine too.

After we flip the boat and add the front and rear decks, well be coming up on building the cabin pretty quick here.

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More About Design 955 24 LOA Catboat

We posted an article way back in 2010 about this boat. I thought I would circle back to it as I think she is a lovely design. The boat would be a breeze to sail and her extremely shallow draft would be great for gunkholing just about anywhere. Her general arrangement looks generous and even more so with the mast forward of the main cabin itself. That sure is one way to handle access to the head, by simply having a door from the cockpit directly into it.

I spoke to the owner last week and he promised to send us some images. Well get them posted when we receive them. The boat is awaiting restoration.

Here is an article from Yachting magazine from 1951. Please double click to enlarge.


I disagree with the author. I wouldnt even hesitate slipping her dock lines here in Greenwich and sailing her up to Penobscot Bay. All you would need is a little cockpit tent for the evenings. Like this.



And here is the deck and deck construction plan, which is beautifully drawn.

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More About Alsumar Design 11

Alsumar Today

Today I am on the road trying to determine if anyone is actually building wooden yachts in Connecticut anymore. In ages past we had Luders of Stamford, Joel Johnson of Bridgeport, Seth Persson of Old Saybrook, Franklin Post & Son of Mystic, Aderson & Combes of New Haven and more. (More to follow on this subject.)

I stopped at Taylor & Snediker of Pawcatuck, Connecticut. Nice boat shop by the way and thanks for the tour. They are busy restoring a water taxi from Venice of all things (very cool boat) and an early Rhodes sloop built by A&R (read very busy) but to me the most interesting thing they have there is Alsumar, design #11, sitting out back awaiting restoration! And shes all there and all original. It was all I could do to not ask them to rip the shrink wrap off!

I will draw your attention to the comment that has been submitted regarding our original article about her as follows (posted by anonymous): "She is at Taylor & Snediker in Pawcatuck, RI (its actually CT but it is only separated from RI by a river so its as close as you can get) awaiting restoration by an irrational and foolish owner (me)." To the owner: Yes, she would be a sight to behold and please restore her before your NY30 sitting alongside! She is a rare S&S design with the classic "railcar" deckhouse.

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Messing About with Oysters

Yesterdays TSCA Hood Canal Oyster Messabout at Twanoh State Park was absolutely wonderful, with good friends, perfect weather, a variety of boats, and five dozen enormous, delicious oysters.

Marty Loken and Marjiann (Mojo) Moss who operate Island Boatshop, debuted their 1955 Bill Garden-designed Port Madison Pram, recently refinished and ready for its first sail in a few decades. Port Madison Prams, Marty explained, were designed by William Garden for members of the sail-only Port Madison Yacht Club, whose members wanted a sail-training boat for youngsters and a boat adults could race on weekends. The prams are 13-6" and resemble an El Toro on steroids, with tons of volume-per-foot.

Tom and Susanne Regan who operate Grapeview Point boat works brought their shellback dinghy.  This dinghy is fast!  We spent a good part of the day trying to catch up with them.

Doryman Mike Bogoger brought his Ken Basset Firefly Finesse. Finesse is a beautiful boat, but unfortunately Mike had some technical difficulty with his oarlocks (he, uh, sorta forgot em). Mike had some limited success with a borrowed set of oars and oarlocks but unfortunately we were not able to witness Finesses full potential. I pounced on the opportunity and invited Doryman to come sail Ellie with me, and he accepted much to my delight.

Randy Jones brought his Core Sound 17, which he later loaded up with a crowd of TSCA members.

Bob Hancock brought the fiberglass sloop that hes been working on over the winter.

Boats were rigged and launched by 11:00 and we all enjoyed a lively sail.

Then it was time to get down to business. Time for some serious oyster shucking.  These oysters were huge and they put up one helluva fight..

We eventually won and let me tell you, these were the most delicious raw and pan fried oysters ever!

After the oyster feed, it was time for another terrific sail.  Conditions had improved even more, if thats even possible, from the mornings sail with a bit more wind and sunshine. With Doryman at the helm, we set out to find Marty in his Port Madison pram to get some action shots.  We couldnt find them, so we tried instead to catch Tom and Suzanne in their speedy shellback.

I sure hope we can do this messabout again next year!

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More About Design 25 Bosun Bird

Today we were working at the Maine Boatbuilders Show all day. Great venue. Here is design #25, the old Blue Heron, now called Bosun Bird. We have been discussing this boat within these pages: is she really design #25? Well we crawled all over this boat today, with the original plans and the general consensus is that yes she is. Portland Yacht Services was kind enough to bring her inside the show and we had a steady stream of people all day checking her out. Its an interesting old centerboarder design and one that has seen her share of modifications over the last 78 years...but this image gives a nice look at her shape.

She is going to be professionally surveyed in the coming weeks and will be undergoing a complete restoration by Portland Yacht Services. She will be a fantastic addition to the New England classic fleet. Kudos to her owner.

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More About Ananda Design 2390 C5

Back in April we posted an article about Ananda, the 50 sloop built by Carlini. A blog follower sent us these images. Here she is out of the water so you can get a good look at her shape. 

And a couple of interior shots.

Shes currently lying in Genoa, Italy.  She has apparently been for sale since 2007.  The current asking price is €120,000.  Looking at some more detailed images she looks like she needs a complete exterior varnish job.  Otherwise she looks pretty good.  Please contact us if you want more information or the complete listing.  Thanks for sending these images.  We are always happy to receive images of the boats.

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More About Gosling Design 2070

About a year ago we posted an article about the 6-meter yacht Gosling, design #2070. We received the following note from her owner along with the image shown above.

Dear Sparkman & Stephens,

With great delight I found your article about design 2070 "Gosling" on your blog. I currently own the boat and, indeed, she is still on Lake Constance. Maybe youre interested what she currently looks like, I enclose a picture. The little cabin has been added in the mid eighties together with a small engine to make her more "family suited" which worked well for the past twenty years. Still a real beauty!

Congratulations to your blog, its very very interesting!

Yours sincerely,
Owner of Gosling

Thanks for reading and thank you for sending us the image.

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More About Iorana Design 1891

A blog reader was kind enough to send us these images of the beautiful A&R built sloop Iorana, design #1891.  She is lying in a marina north of Rome.  Shes a nice looking boat.

 

Thanks very much for sending these.

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More About Design 701 L P T Boat

Weve posted about this P.T. boat before. This aerial image that shows her deck layout well.

Here she is running at +35 knots.


And some interesting interior images. This gives one a good sense of her no-nonsense accoutrements.


And finally a peek at the engine room. You can see 2 (starboard) out of those 4 big Packard engines.


I admit Im a bit confused by the date on these images. Our records show the 2 P.T. boats were built in 46 and 47.

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More About Bonne Amie Design 1068

One thing about social media is that if you post something that is wrong, people will straighten you out pretty quickly. A few days ago I posted an article about the Nevins Yawl Bonne Amie which is undergoing restoration. We received the following from her owner:

"Bonne Amie is actually being restored in Seattle, WA by Jensen Motor Boat Co. (Est. 1923), I noticed you had mentioned Port Townsend. She was the first in the series and launched in 1955 despite having hull #2 (Golliwog was launched in 1956 but Colin Ratsey got the distinction of owning #1 according to Olin). The masts are replicas of the originals made by Nevins down to the hand made hardware. All her original deck hardware has been located and restored to original including her chrome primary bases and all the interior hardware (see attached images of the cabin lights). Restoration has actually taken 6 years, I am enclosing another couple pictures if youd like to add them to the post."

I did look up that issue about what hull number she is. Heres an early article which bears this out. Its interesting to note that the magazine misspelled her name.


Our index card file also shows Bonne Amie launched in 1955 and Golliwogg in 1956.

Here are some images of her spar under construction and the fitting and hardware he mentions.



Thanks for sending these and we look forward to further updates.

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