by WM. H. Oehrle
A friend of mine, a young fellow who likes boats, came to see me for a bit of advice. He had owned several second-, third-, and fourth-hand boats, but what he was able to get for the amount he could spend always seemed sadly in need of major repairs. He wanted to know if it would be possible to build a small sloop, large enough to accommodate two on cruises of two-weeks duration, and four for afternoon sails, for about wbat a small auxiliary cost on the used boat market. I thought it could be done, provided he was willing to build a type of hull that did not require too much labor, nor bright finish, so he amplified his requirement. He would want a keel boat, because a centerboard trunk takes up too much room in the cabin of a smal boat, but still did not want the draft to exceed three feet in order that two of the small island harbors in Narragansett Bay could be entered at all stages of the tide. He did not want an inboard en gine, though admitting their advantage, but would use an outboard for auxiliary power. He wanted a smart sailer, a boat that would be fun to sail, but not a racer. After some discussion and argument the boat was designed built and tried out. She has proved to be the solution to his boat problem, and I offer her plans to you as a suggestion toward solving yours. Several small changes have been made wherever such changes would improve the boat without increasing her cost. The hull form is such that she sails at a good angle of heel though during the past summer she never took water over her lee rail. The beam has been purposely kept near the minimum for a cabin boat, and her forward sections are quite sharp compared with most other small cruisers. I would not advise increasing the beam to give more initial stability as it would ruin her performanc to windward in choppy water. On the boat already built the builder made a pattern for the lead keel and then cast it in iron. The resulting difference in outside weight (about 300 pounds) has an appreciable effect on her stability. The dimensions for both iron and lead keel are given; use either one but don’t try to mix them.
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