Master I have a cunning plan.................

Cee Dubbs has a rather unconventional approach to the process of boat design, ha, that's a bit like saying  Thor Heyerdahl had an unconventional approach to basket weaving.
He seems to imagine what the boat will look like in his mind, maybe do a drawing or two, and then he goes straight to building a model.  Once the model is done the way he wants it and he's happy with the result, then he sort of back engineers it onto paper.  Boat Design as Origami.

This is not a million miles away from the old boat-builders' method of carving a half model and then taking the lines off it to build a full size boat. 

I, on the other hand,  spend weeks carefully drawing, plan,  sections and profiles only to decide later its not beamy enough and have to start all over again.

Cee Dubbs also believes that you should cut your suit to suit the cloth, so if plywood comes in 8ft by 4ft boards then it makes sense to design a boat which makes the most of those dimensions. Boats should therefore come in sizes just smaller than 8ft 12ft,16ft, 20ft, 24ft etc. made up from full and half sheets.  Katie Beardie will be approx 15ft 9ins which is what you get when you put a curve in two sheets joined end to end.  Waterline beam will be around 32ins which is about average for an open canoe of that length and intended to provide a bit of extra stability for the sail rig. 


So here we are, the actual plans as drawn by Cee Dubbs.  

This is the sheet for the sheer strake. As you'll see the curves are all parallel and there are only two measurements, you can work out the rest yourself.  Two aft panels and two forward panels to be butt jointed.  Not much waste there!




And here is Sheet 2 for the floor. 

A few more dimensions on this one and some artistic curves but nothing too complicated. 


Watch this space, next time we get the plywood out. 

January February.

January was pretty much taken up with building a new pen for my daughters geese, and nursing a frozen shoulder so there hasn't been any boat building done. The last ten days have been spent visiting my Folks in Scotland, and its now February! 


While I've been away the folks on the new  UK-HBBR Forum have been very busy organising part two of the Thames Raid.  On Part One, two years go we paddled and rowed from Lechlade down to Beale Park, This time we will leave Beale Park Boat Show heading down river, finishing four or five days later somewhere near Hampton Court.

So far we have seventeen people taking part in fourteen boats which is a good turn out and probably as many as can be managed in one group. 


Those expecting an organised event will be disappointed, there is no support, no "Leader", everyone looks after themselves and generally travel in small groups or alone during the day meeting up at night. Excellent.  You can read about part one here. Thames Raid

So, as I'm planning to take part in Katie Beardie and she looked like this the last time I did any work, I'd better get a move on and get her built.