Project Type Archives

SparHawk

SparHawk is perhaps my favorite.
To paraphrase L. Francis Herreshoff,
Our enjoyment of a boat is
inversely proportional to their size.
A sailing canoe is the ultimate example.
One thing unlocks their potential;
we need to be limber enough to get up on the rail.
They can be sailed sitting down, but if you can sit up
on the rail, it’s a whole other experience!

Katherine Ann

Katherine Ann is a heavy displacement cruiser for two.
There is standing headroom under
the cabin trunk with a head forward.
She can be rigged as a Gaff Yawl
– as shown – or as a Gaff Cutter.

Avalon

Avalon is a large craft!
Today we consider a sailing vessel this size
to be an extremely challenging proposition.
It’s not just what it takes to handle such a vessel.
The cost and complexity of construction makes a boat like this
a precarious investment even for a state
or municipal government or a large non-profit institution to take on.
A few similar craft do exist,
but they are always on the edge of fiscal disaster.

BitterSweet

BitterSweet is an electric auxiliary cutter
designed for coastal cruising and daysailing.
Her owner/builder put years into the project
and developed the electrical propulsion system himself.
She carries banks of large capacity marine batteries
around which the boat was designed.
Along with a composite, lead & steel centerboard
and a lead shoe they help provide ballast.

Traveler

Traveler, a 48′ Wheelhouse Schooner.
This boat demands a mission.
What that might be isn’t hard-coded.
It’s more a sense of possibility….

Buster

Buster is a new kind of motorsailer
with an electric motor and six second-hand
Cell-tower-lead-acid-batteries.
He’s intended to act as a tender to a fleet of small boats –
more on that in a while….

Boston Light

What would a sailing passenger vessel look like?
One intended to make quick passages
between New England and northern Europe.
A craft that could keep a schedule and
carry a dozen passengers and some light cargo.
One that could survive and thrive
on the North Atlantic year-round.
A vessel that provides intercontinental
communication without burning fuel.

Clipper

As we consider Boats for difficult times, we need to reassess what we mean by cost and utility. Cost not only in money or even in money at all. If a boat is built outside the money economy many other factors take precedence. Likewise, if we remove the exaggerated cost/benefits provided by fossil fuels – so long as we ignore the so-called externalities – we must measure utility in ways we may not readily recognize.

Actæon

Actæon approaches my ideal for a burdensome and powerful schooner adapted to a variety of missions in our difficult times.
Actæon is named after the schooner in Shoal Hope.