Where to locate cleats around the cockpit on late 19th C small working vessels

[mark.bukovich]

Hi everyone! 

 

I'm wondering if anyone has any knowledge about guidelines regarding the location of cleats for securing sheets and halyards  near (or in) the cockpit on smaller 19th Century working boats.

 

Is it pretty much up to the builder, owner, or skipper? Does this very wildly by design? Are there general guidelines? 

 

The context of my question is that I'm considering relocating the sheets and halyard cleats on a Chesapeake Bay Flattie model kit (Midwest Products) in order to put seats in the cockpit.

[mtaylor]

I have no definitive answer but it seems reasonable that reworking rigging would occur.  Historically, many captains in the navies did that on warships so I would expect that small vessels would also have had modifications.

[mnl]

Two basic guidelines: the run of the line to the cleat wants to be fair and the cleat should be convenient for the person doing the cleating. For example, you would want to be able to watch the sail as you cleat the sheet.

[wefalck]

On small boats it is pretty much up to the owner, how it is/he has it kitted out. However, on specific types local habits may be the prevailing rationale. In this case, not only how it is worked during the actual sailing, but convenience during working fishing gear, sailing when heavily loaded and other consideration that are not immediately apparent, when one does not know how the boat was really handled may be relevant.

 

Also, when having to move a cleat from its usual place, other devices for belaying could be considered instead, such a belaying pin in the rail etc. 

[Roger Pellett]

As these boats were probably sailed single handed from time to time, I would locate the cleats and run the leads so that the person sailing the boat could operate them without having to let go of the tiller.  This would include the centerboard pendent.  

 

Roger

[mark.bukovich]

Thanks for the replies everyone! 

 

15 hours ago, mnl said:

Two basic guidelines: the run of the line to the cleat wants to be fair and the cleat should be convenient for the person doing the cleating. For example, you would want to be able to watch the sail as you cleat the sheet.

 

If I understand correctly, in the plans for the kit, the lines actually need to take a sharp angle over the coaming rail. This would go against the guideline of a being fair, right? I attached an image of the relevant part of the plans. 

 

4 hours ago, wefalck said:

On small boats it is pretty much up to the owner, how it is/he has it kitted out. However, on specific types local habits may be the prevailing rationale. In this case, not only how it is worked during the actual sailing, but convenience during working fishing gear, sailing when heavily loaded and other consideration that are not immediately apparent, when one does not know how the boat was really handled may be relevant.

 

Also, when having to move a cleat from its usual place, other devices for belaying could be considered instead, such a belaying pin in the rail etc. 

 

Very good points. Hard to know the little details that work best in a particular scenario without being there and experiencing it first-hand. I wonder if Midwest Product's choice of location was based off of this type of knowledge? 

 

That is also an interesting idea to switch to other belaying devices. I saw some photos of small vessels with belaying pins, and it looked pretty good. Researching some boat-building forums indicates belaying pins might be less desirable for the main sheet compared to a cleat. One thing's certain: using belaying pins would be quite a unique customization to my kit.

 

I'm looking for images of similar boats to see how their running rigging is set up. I've definitely seen cleats positioned just outside the cockpit either on the deck or outside surface of the coaming. 

 

5 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

As these boats were probably sailed single handed from time to time, I would locate the cleats and run the leads so that the person sailing the boat could operate them without having to let go of the tiller.  This would include the centerboard pendent.  

 

Roger

 

Great point! In the kit, most of the cleats are definitely within reach of someone with a hand on the tiller except maybe the cleat for the centerboard. That might be out of reach without modification of the tiller.

[wefalck]

The pictures now make it clearer what the issue is. I thought we are talking about a working-boat, not a pleasure-boat.

 

Is she sloop- or cat-rigged? On a sloop-rigged boat, the forestaysail sheets are often belayed on cleats on the deck near the helm.

 

How is the main-sail boom-sheet led? I suppose there is a block attached with a traveller to the horse and another block to the boom above. Sometime these are double-blocks and the fast part of the sheet is attached to the block on the boom, goes down to the traveller, back up to the boom, down again and from there to a third, single block above the cockpit, so that it can straight down into the cockpit. This avoids chafing on the coaming. However, the boom-sheet on such boats would rarely be belayed while sailing (too risky), only when stationary.

 

If I understood you correctly, you would like to have benches inside the cockpit? I think that cockpit is far too smal for this, there would be no space to work the sails then. I don't know the practice on these boats, but on European pleasure-boats of that kind, there were often slatted seats on the deck outside the coamings, along the cockpit. This would also bring the 'live'-ballast further out. 

[mark.bukovich]

9 hours ago, wefalck said:

The pictures now make it clearer what the issue is. I thought we are talking about a working-boat, not a pleasure-boat.

 

Is she sloop- or cat-rigged? On a sloop-rigged boat, the forestaysail sheets are often belayed on cleats on the deck near the helm.

 

How is the main-sail boom-sheet led? I suppose there is a block attached with a traveller to the horse and another block to the boom above. Sometime these are double-blocks and the fast part of the sheet is attached to the block on the boom, goes down to the traveller, back up to the boom, down again and from there to a third, single block above the cockpit, so that it can straight down into the cockpit. This avoids chafing on the coaming. However, the boom-sheet on such boats would rarely be belayed while sailing (too risky), only when stationary.

 

If I understood you correctly, you would like to have benches inside the cockpit? I think that cockpit is far too smal for this, there would be no space to work the sails then. I don't know the practice on these boats, but on European pleasure-boats of that kind, there were often slatted seats on the deck outside the coamings, along the cockpit. This would also bring the 'live'-ballast further out. 

 

Wefalck, thanks for your reply. I have never sailed and am a beginner at modeling as well, so I really appreciate this kind of discussion. 

 

I'm attaching a few more photos to help make the context more understandable (trying not to upload the entire plans. I don't think that would be very ethical). You can see both the description and an entire finished model (the photo I uploaded before didn't give you much to go by)

 

According to Midwest's historical description, this could either be a working or pleasure boat. I suspect a pleasure boat should probably have a longer cockpit and cabin. I would like to think the long bow with hatches indicates the boat is built for transporting produce. I was intending to treat it as a working boat (I think my paint job is a little rough for a pleasure boat 😆 )

 

According to the 1:32 scale and measurements of the model/plans, the size of the cockpit on the full-size boat would be 8' fore-and-aft, 7' wide aft, and roughly 7.5' wide at the cabin. It would be 20" deep from the floor to the coaming rails. 

 

Also, to clarify, the cleats on the sides of the cockpit are for the jib sheets (according to the directions), and the cleat at the back of the cockpit is supposed to be for the main sheet. The cleat for the centerboard is on the cabin roof (more than 8' away from the stock tiller). Halyards are secured at the bottom of the mast.

 

I suspected that the coaming rails might be low enough on the full-size boat to serve as seats, but thought it would be fun to build some seats that run along the sides of the cockpit. Midwest Product's "Sharpie Schooner" has a similar sized cockpit with such seating. Also looks like the main sheet is more similar to the setup you described.

 

 

 

[mnl]

It doesn’t look like a very nice boat to sail. The cockpit is almost too wide. You can’t sit on the high side and still reach the tiller. A tiller extension or hiking stick would be nice. So it will be hard to see where your going, and forget seeing the jib. There needs to be a cleat for the main on each side of the tiller. You do end up cleating the main quite a bit as you only have two hands. There would probably have been some sort of bench inside the coaming. There would also need to be some cleats on the cockpit sole to brace feet against so you don’t slide off the seat when the boat heels. The jib cleats should be far enough forward that you can sit between them and the tiller. That way you can cleat the jib with the hand you aren’t driving with.

[mark.bukovich]

12 hours ago, mnl said:

It doesn’t look like a very nice boat to sail. The cockpit is almost too wide. You can’t sit on the high side and still reach the tiller. A tiller extension or hiking stick would be nice. So it will be hard to see where your going, and forget seeing the jib. There needs to be a cleat for the main on each side of the tiller. You do end up cleating the main quite a bit as you only have two hands. There would probably have been some sort of bench inside the coaming. There would also need to be some cleats on the cockpit sole to brace feet against so you don’t slide off the seat when the boat heels. The jib cleats should be far enough forward that you can sit between them and the tiller. That way you can cleat the jib with the hand you aren’t driving with.

 

Great points

 

So far, the closest thing I've found to a real example of a Chesapeake Bay Flattie workboat is plans from Howard Chapelle's "American Small Sailing Craft". It seems that the cockpit on this boat addresses many of the points you guys are bringing up. 

 

The cockpit is smaller. There is a bench along the inside of the coaming aft shaped to allow someone sit on one side angled inward. The tiller extends further into the cockpit area. It appears there is a cleat on each side for the main sheet, and slightly further forward, a cleat for the jib sheets on each side. These cleats are outside the coaming on the deck. Also, the main sheet is configured more how Wefalck described.

 

 

I'm wondering how far I should go with this first model. I wonder if I should just complete the kit to specs and wait to get more detailed on another model or try to make the cockpit more realistic now. It's definitely not going to be 100% historically accurate to the plans in Chapelle's book.

 

This is the current state of the model. I added a custom floor to the cockpit without any historical reference, just inspired by other build logs. Companionway hatches are not glued down yet.

 

[wefalck]

Ulitmately, its your decision, of course. Personally, I regret short-cuts I took and mistakes made in ignorance decades ago when looking at my models ... don't complete something to just complete it, be patient, until you have the right information - that would be my opionion for what it is worth.

[mark.bukovich]

5 minutes ago, wefalck said:

Ulitmately, its your decision, of course. Personally, I regret short-cuts I took and mistakes made in ignorance decades ago when looking at my models ... don't complete something to just complete it, be patient, until you have the right information - that would be my opionion for what it is worth.

 

That really helps.

 

I can definitely see myself looking at this model 10 years from now and regretting not doing the extra. I will probably go ahead and spend the extra time to build something I can look at later and be happy with myself that I went the extra mile.

 

I suppose the next step is to plan the cockpit. I'll try to do some drawings and play with some ideas. If you guys don't mind, I would love to share any drawings and see what you think.

 

I think building another rudder and tiller assembly is in order with a longer tiller, or a hiking stick (longer tiller will no doubt be easier)

 

What do you guys think about the cockpit flooring from the perspective of: what if that was the floor of the cockpit for your own yacht? How happy/unhappy would you be? The floor on my model is not glued down yet, so it will not be a huge deal to make another one.

 

So far I haven't found any evidence of what the cockpit floor looked like for a working boat on Chesapeake Bay in late 19th or early 20th century. 

[mark.bukovich]

Quick correction, I made a silly mistake with the cockpit measurements. Since I was using a tape measure, I started at the 1" Mark. Each measurement got an extra inch.

 

Corrected measurements after multiplying by scale:

Cockpit length fore-and-aft - 5' 4"

Cockpit width at cabin - 5' 4"

Cockpit width aft - 5'

Depth is still 20"

[mnl]

Twist yourself a little person up out of wire. All you need are correct length arms and legs to check for reach. The tiller should be comfortable to hold, someone will be doing it for hours. 

 

Another thing to consider is where to sit. It’s hard to trim the jib if you can’t see it. It’s also nice to be able to see where you are going. If you sit too far inboard your view will be blocked by the house.

 

The Chapelle main will need a cleat on either side of the cockpit, not on the back of the cockpit. That would make it difficult for the person steering. The Chapelle tiller also looks more user friendly. It looks to be a little longer and a little higher, so probably easier to work with.

[mark.bukovich]

23 hours ago, mnl said:

Twist yourself a little person up out of wire. All you need are correct length arms and legs to check for reach. The tiller should be comfortable to hold, someone will be doing it for hours. 

 

Another thing to consider is where to sit. It’s hard to trim the jib if you can’t see it. It’s also nice to be able to see where you are going. If you sit too far inboard your view will be blocked by the house.

 

The Chapelle main will need a cleat on either side of the cockpit, not on the back of the cockpit. That would make it difficult for the person steering. The Chapelle tiller also looks more user friendly. It looks to be a little longer and a little higher, so probably easier to work with.

 

That's a great idea and something that will probably also help a lot in future models. I'll just need to secure some wire or twisty ties. 

 

For now, I've some a couple of sketches to brainstorm cockpit seating, tiller, and cleat configuration. I dug up some old graph paper from engineering school, laid out the overhead and profile view of the cockpit at the exact dimensions of the model. Then I drew some simple figures using a human anatomy tutorial (someone roughly 5' 10"), made some copies and drew a couple examples.

 

How do these look? How could they be improved?

(First one is mostly copying the concepts from the Chapelle plan)

[mnl]

Either one is much better.
 

Option two is better for visibility, not sure if it is too much of a reach to the tiller. I don’t know if boats of that period had tiller extensions or not. I would take that with an extension any day.

 

Option one is probably more comfortable for driving, but not so good for holding a course. In the Chesapeake bay you are rarely out of site of land, so you can steer by landmarks on shore. However, the utility of that goes down quickly as the landmark moves from ahead.

 

if you extend the seat forward in option one so you can also sit one the high side when you really need to see, that might be the best option.

[mnl]

There is nothing wrong with a longer tiller in option 1.

[mark.bukovich]

5 hours ago, mnl said:

There is nothing wrong with a longer tiller in option 1.

 

So maybe the tiller from option 2 and the seat from option 1?

 

What do you think of the cleating the main to the rear cabin bulkhead in option 2? Bad idea? 

 

I think that you could comfortably reach the tiller in option 2, but it could be a problem when you have to push the tiller to leeward. I should try to find out some info on tiller extensions around that time period.

[mnl]

Some of this is personal preference. Consider a couple of examples.

 

Take your boat and put it on starboard tack with the breeze somewhere in front of the beam so it is going to weather. Now sit on the seat on the high (right) side. Why high side? The boat will be heeling at least a little and with the sails on the other side it is hard to see anything from down there. Look forward and grab the tiller. Unless you are a lot more of a contortionist than me, you will take the tiller in your left hand which will be inboard and slightly behind when you twist a little to comfortably look forward. This leaves you right hand free to trim sails, which is easier if the sheets come down and cleat in front of you.

 

But it doesn’t have to be this way. I raced on a boat, where because of the design of the main reefing system, the main sheet tackle mounted to the end of the boom and came down to a traveler behind the cockpit. The first thing we did when we got our hands on the boat was put a tiller extension on it. I think we also added several inches to the length of the tiller. Now the tiller extension basically came off the tiller at ninety degrees and passed in front of the helmsman who would hold it in his right hand. He could then reach back with the left to trim the main. This worked ok where there was a cam cleat on the main that could be cleated without looking. In this case the jib was led farther forward so the jib trimmer could sit between the helmsman and the jib cleat. If we were sailing short handed the helmsman had to cleat the main, transfer the tiller extension to the left hand and then slide forward to trim the jib. Work board typically have fewer crew than a race boat so this would just be added hassle for the helmsman. But like I said, personal preference. 
 

As far as needing to push the tiller to leeward, you generally try and trim the sails to give a bit of weather helm. So going along you need to pull the tiller just slightly towards you. You need to push the tiller to fall off the breeze. But depending on the sail plan and the size of the rudder, you may have to ease the main to fall off. You can’t push the tiller enough by itself to make boat fall off. Then when you ease the main the boat will fall off without touching the tiller much if at all.

[wefalck]

I believe tiller extensions were something that came into fashion on racing boats in the early 20th century, but would not normally be found on cruising boats like this one.

 

Option 1 is probably less likely to be found on a boat of this type for a couple of reasons: one it is very difficult to put the tiller over hard, the aft bench gets in your way, even if you make the tiller longer. The second is that typically you would have a storage space under the decking in the stern, which would be more difficult to access. On a sailing boat you would be spending most of the time sitting on the edge of the coaming (as was pointed out above), so a bench in the stern is not very useful. In fact, I remember from my practical sailing days, we usually sat on the windward decking with the feet on the benches, rather than sitting on the benches, that were only used at anchor or when motoring.

[mark.bukovich]

19 hours ago, mnl said:

Some of this is personal preference. Consider a couple of examples.

 

Take your boat and put it on starboard tack with the breeze somewhere in front of the beam so it is going to weather. Now sit on the seat on the high (right) side. Why high side? The boat will be heeling at least a little and with the sails on the other side it is hard to see anything from down there. Look forward and grab the tiller. Unless you are a lot more of a contortionist than me, you will take the tiller in your left hand which will be inboard and slightly behind when you twist a little to comfortably look forward. This leaves you right hand free to trim sails, which is easier if the sheets come down and cleat in front of you.

 

But it doesn’t have to be this way. I raced on a boat, where because of the design of the main reefing system, the main sheet tackle mounted to the end of the boom and came down to a traveler behind the cockpit. The first thing we did when we got our hands on the boat was put a tiller extension on it. I think we also added several inches to the length of the tiller. Now the tiller extension basically came off the tiller at ninety degrees and passed in front of the helmsman who would hold it in his right hand. He could then reach back with the left to trim the main. This worked ok where there was a cam cleat on the main that could be cleated without looking. In this case the jib was led farther forward so the jib trimmer could sit between the helmsman and the jib cleat. If we were sailing short handed the helmsman had to cleat the main, transfer the tiller extension to the left hand and then slide forward to trim the jib. Work board typically have fewer crew than a race boat so this would just be added hassle for the helmsman. But like I said, personal preference. 
 

As far as needing to push the tiller to leeward, you generally try and trim the sails to give a bit of weather helm. So going along you need to pull the tiller just slightly towards you. You need to push the tiller to fall off the breeze. But depending on the sail plan and the size of the rudder, you may have to ease the main to fall off. You can’t push the tiller enough by itself to make boat fall off. Then when you ease the main the boat will fall off without touching the tiller much if at all.

 

7 hours ago, wefalck said:

I believe tiller extensions were something that came into fashion on racing boats in the early 20th century, but would not normally be found on cruising boats like this one.

 

Option 1 is probably less likely to be found on a boat of this type for a couple of reasons: one it is very difficult to put the tiller over hard, the aft bench gets in your way, even if you make the tiller longer. The second is that typically you would have a storage space under the decking in the stern, which would be more difficult to access. On a sailing boat you would be spending most of the time sitting on the edge of the coaming (as was pointed out above), so a bench in the stern is not very useful. In fact, I remember from my practical sailing days, we usually sat on the windward decking with the feet on the benches, rather than sitting on the benches, that were only used at anchor or when motoring.

 

Thank you, this is really helpful information! 

So Wefalck, you think the helmsman might be sitting against the aft coaming while driving? 20" is a little high for a seat (especially for long periods of time), but not too high. 

It's also worth noting that the coaming would be too low to provide any real back support in those seats.

 

Chapelle mentions in his section on the flattie that Kunhardt also presents plans and information about flatties in his book "Small Yachts". Chapelle mentions that the flattie in Kunhardt's book has less curve in the sheer and is setup more like a yacht than a working boat. This sounds a lot like the boat from the kit I'm building. 

 

I went ahead and ordered a copy of "Small Yachts" hoping the plans will be detailed enough to give some more insight on how my boat would have been set up in those times. (I also think these books will be great reference material for future projects). 

 

 

One thought I have about option 1 is that no one would probably ever sit right in the middle of the seat while under sail, right? I was thinking of narrowing the middle of the seat and having more curve to make sitting in the corners more comfortable. 

 

I also though of adding a bulge in the aft part of the seats in option 2 to make it easier to sit closer to the tiller. Uploaded a couple of pictures to demonstrate what I mean.

 

Of course my goal is to get as close to how it would have been set up at the end of the 19th century, not what would be most comfortable for me right now.

[mnl]

I don’t know the history of the hiking stick. I was just trying to figure out how to deal with the wide cockpit. Look at his scale, it’s 32” from the center line to the edge of the cockpit. You won’t be sitting on the deck and holding the tiller. With the coaming sticking up like it does it would be misery to have to try and sit where you could hold the tiller for an extended period of time.
 

I would never have thought of it, but with the wide cockpit with the seat across the back could actually work. He drew a short tiller, so if you slide over to the rounded section at the outside edge you could push the tiller behind you. In any event you’re going to do a little pirouette around the tiller whenever you tack or gybe. 
 

as I said, personal preference. I would pick option 2: a narrower cockpit set up so I could sit on the deck and see where I was going. Or more likely build up something on the deck that was elevated just above the coaming edge that you could sit on, but that left a gap to the coaming so that the waves didn’t drain into the cockpit. This was WAY before the Elvstrom bailer. Think of a slatted bench seat.

[wefalck]

You are probably right re. dimensions. I just looked that the sketches with the figures of post #15 and there the distance of the tiller to the lateral coamings didn't look too big. I kind of imagined a person sitting on the lateral decking when steering - if not standing.

 

In a pleasure boat comfort is probably an important criterion, while in a working boat the practicalities of doing whatever the boat was supposed to be doing are the key considerations. A working boat may have been steered standing up most of the time, which also give a better field of view to the helmsman.

 

 

[mnl]

A lot of what a work boat does is go from point a to point b so it can do what it needs to do when it gets there. That can easily take an hour or two or three. Want to go from your dock in the river out to the Bay, easily an hour or two. Even if you go out early, you still have to sail home when the sun is up and hot. In summer on the Chesapeake that probably also means in four or five knots of breeze. I’d just as soon not have to stand all day if I could avoid it.

 

Besides, look at any work crew anywhere. How many guys are standing in the sun if they can sit in the shade.

[mnl]

“Of course my goal is to get as close to how it would have been set up at the end of the 19th century, not what would be most comfortable for me right now.”

 

Except there would never have been a singular way to do it. Small boats like these were built by dozens if not hundreds of builders around the Chesapeake. Everyone of them had their own take on a design, and that design was only the starting point. Even today there are at least a couple of dozens still around. While most of them have sort of standard designs they are all willing to heavily customize if you are willing to pay. Want to leave the keel off your power boat to get an extra half a knot. I know someone who will build it that way, and also someone who ordered one that way.

 

If you’re going to be standing up pulling nets or pots or tonging oysters for hours wouldn’t you want to be able to take a load off your back on the way home? 

[mark.bukovich]

All very good points.

 

These boats weren't mass produced and sold off a lot next to a hundred other identical models. There was likely a great deal of variation per owner, skipper, builder, and circumstances. 

 

I guess a good analogy for me would be swimming pool cleaners since I did this work for roughly 6 years or so. Pool cleaners don't drive luxury cars around, they drive something that meets the needs of their job that is not too expensive, but of good enough quality to avoid repair expenses etc. Also, since a pool cleaner more or less works out of their vehicle, it kind of becomes something of a refuge between pools, and it's nice if it's relatively comfortable with enjoyable things like AC/heater and audio.

 

I guess a typical work boat is not going to be fancy, luxurious, or eccentric. However, it's probably going to be efficient in both construction costs, reliability, and meeting the needs of the job, and comfortable enough to offer some refuge in the downtime. 

 

For me, I guess the question can be modified to what is a practical cockpit configuration with the dimensions presented by the model that someone at the end of the 19th Century might have favored. And there might be a lot of valid answers to that question. 

 

I'm hoping Kunhardt's "Small Yachts" will shed some light once I get it.

 

mnl, it sounds like you either live or have lived in the vicinity of the Chesapeake Bay. Also, both of you guys, Wefalck and mnl, obviously have solid sailing experience. I really appreciate it; I think it's very valuable for this discussion and I probably would never find this type of info through just researching on my own.

[Roger Pellett]

I’m afraid that building the model per the kit specs produces something akin to the notorious Jackalope.  The thread title describes this as a Small Working Vessel but the accommodations point towards a yacht.  Howard Chapelle was an admirer of the sharpie hull form, especially as an economical, simple boat for home builders.  His career was heavily influenced by the depression.  He, therefore, designed a number of yachts around the sharpie hull form.

 

So, if you are building a work boat, rigging should be simple, and easily handled by a small crew.  Often one man would sail the boat while others handled, fish lines, crab traps, etc.  Rigging could be dependent on the particular job that the boat was expected to perform.  In some cases, the boat would sail on a reach under shortened sail along a line to haul crab traps. At other times the boat would work while drifting or at anchor tonging for oysters.  A lightly built boat like this would not haul an oyster dredge.  The boat’s finish would also reflect her work-  no bright work, everything painted, hardware store colors; think “floor and deck enamel”.

 

If you are building a yacht, you’re the owner.  Remember that this is not a racing yacht.  No high tech “go fasters.”  Rigging should be easily operated by a family out for a day sail or cruise on semi protected waters. Rig it the way that you would want to sail it. I agree with Wefalck.  No tiller extension.  While necessary for racing dinghy’s where hiking out is the norm.  Otherwise, figuratively and literally they are  pain in the a**.😆. I have capsized at least one boat by the skinny tiller extension slipping out of my hand.

 

Roger

[mark.bukovich]

On 3/2/2022 at 10:36 AM, Roger Pellett said:

I’m afraid that building the model per the kit specs produces something akin to the notorious Jackalope.  The thread title describes this as a Small Working Vessel but the accommodations point towards a yacht.  Howard Chapelle was an admirer of the sharpie hull form, especially as an economical, simple boat for home builders.  His career was heavily influenced by the depression.  He, therefore, designed a number of yachts around the sharpie hull form.

 

So, if you are building a work boat, rigging should be simple, and easily handled by a small crew.  Often one man would sail the boat while others handled, fish lines, crab traps, etc.  Rigging could be dependent on the particular job that the boat was expected to perform.  In some cases, the boat would sail on a reach under shortened sail along a line to haul crab traps. At other times the boat would work while drifting or at anchor tonging for oysters.  A lightly built boat like this would not haul an oyster dredge.  The boat’s finish would also reflect her work-  no bright work, everything painted, hardware store colors; think “floor and deck enamel”.

 

If you are building a yacht, you’re the owner.  Remember that this is not a racing yacht.  No high tech “go fasters.”  Rigging should be easily operated by a family out for a day sail or cruise on semi protected waters. Rig it the way that you would want to sail it. I agree with Wefalck.  No tiller extension.  While necessary for racing dinghy’s where hiking out is the norm.  Otherwise, figuratively and literally they are  pain in the a**.😆. I have capsized at least one boat by the skinny tiller extension slipping out of my hand.

 

Roger

 

Thanks Roger, great additional points!

 

I was hesitant to treat this model as a [small] pleasure yacht because my work so far (starting from back when I was a kid; I've had this kit for a long time ) is honestly a bit rough. There a couple of alignment/fit issues from when I originally assembled the hull shape as a kid, and in my opinion, my paint job is pretty rough around the edges.

 

However, if I treat this as a boat produced as a family project (perhaps a father and son building on weekends in the backyard), then I think the "rough-around-the-edges" style would be more acceptable. 

 

While I am deciding how I want to configure the cockpit, I went ahead and started working on a new rudder and tiller. Regardless of the seating and cleat configuration, I know I want a longer tiller, so I'm moving forward on that aspect. Image comparing the new tiller to the old. This tiller will be stained and varnished rather than painted, the whole assembly will have a cleaner paint job.

 

[mnl]

On 3/2/2022 at 11:36 AM, Roger Pellett said:

No tiller extension.  While necessary for racing dinghy’s where hiking out is the norm.  Otherwise, figuratively and literally they are  pain in the a**.😆. I have capsized at least one boat by the skinny tiller extension slipping out of my hand.

 

Roger

I beg to differ. The best time I have had sailing in years was last fall when we turned the weather mark in 28 kts and reached off surfing down a wave at 15.5 kts (gps measurement). Both of us were hiking hard, and even though we were well behind the center of the boat we were sitting in the bow wave. 

[Roger Pellett]

Thanks for making my point!😆

 

That’s exactly when tiller extensions are useful, and sometimes necessary.  You were racing in 28kts of wind.  The two of you were skilled, and were squeezing maximum performance from a boat sensitive to weight distribution.

 

The boat in question is a sharpie designed for home building on a limited budget.  It would presumably be used as a family day sailer/ cruiser.  A tiller extension on this boat would just be in the way.

 

During the 1930’s and 1940’s several designers including Chapelle and L. Francis Herreshoff promoted “family friendly” boats as an alternative to expensive racing yachts.  Mystic Seaport maintains Herreshoff’s voluminous collection of correspondence.  Much of it is on line.  There is at least one letter from a soldier in a military hospital recovering from the war.  He wants to buy a set of plans for Herreshoff’s classic H-28 ketch.  Something to look forward to.  I hope that he was able to build it.

 

Roger