(Andy’s Toy) “Old Dad 46” Big and simple plywood “day” or” vacation” boats used to be common up into the 60’s, but slowly, design emphasis has shifted more to maximum interior accommodations, and other than the serious sports fishing crowd, the bigger cruisers are more like luxurious motorhomes than vacation pleasure and fishing boats. This…
Her profile is obviously based on the 48 Evolution DUCK. An inboard rudder version will be available too. The fellow building this one wants the outboard one. It still has the “ladder” down to the water cut into the transom, but because of the outboard rudder, the swim step can only be on one side…
I love this hull. She makes me think of those beautiful New England Sardine Carriers that go up and down the coasts of Maine and Nova Scotia pretty much regardless of the weather. They were every bit as able and attractive as the west coast trollers, you know, just longer. Forgive me running on, but…
70′ 8″ WUNDERBURG (a “kayak” yacht!) With all the emphasis I put on my designs as comfortable live-a-boards, I’m frequently asked why don’t I live aboard. I don’t; I live in the country on a couple acres. The thing is I’ve gone about all this (as usual) backwards. I had my first boat that I…
Optional Junk backup sail plan looks great and would be very practical off the wind. Here’s a version I sketched up in 2004 showing her with a small cockpit aft and a more traditional wheelhouse. I like this look but she needs a flybridge of course! I think ALCINA is an ideal long term cruising…
28′ 6″ Captain Eddy I read Wiley Miller’s Non Sequitur comic strip every day. I like all his characters but my favorite is Captain Eddy and his “lobsta boat” named Anoesis. This design looks a lot like “The Captain’s” boat in that strip. At just 28′, HE (with a name like Capt. Eddy it can’t…
Length Between Perpendiculars: 59′ Length WL:58′ 1″ Beam 15′ 4 ” Beam WL: 14′ 3″ Draft: 6′ 6″ Displacement at DWL: 103,370 lbs. L/B Ratio: 4.06 D/L Ratio: 236 Suggested Engine: 150 Hp The idea here was for a big simple and rugged boat that the owner and another couple people (if wanted!) could go…
Several years ago Bill Kimley at Seahorse gave me the hull Lines to a 35′ hull he had been building, and invited me to create a version of it. I used this as an opportunity to develop an idea for a boat I’d like to own; something specifically suited for the Pacific Northwest vacation and…
Low and lean with a “pilot schooner” rig for emergency power and roll control.This ship would be right at home rafted against a NW Halibut Schooner dock! Here she is under sail, either assisting the diesel on a cruise, or getting home if the engine quits. The description of the 81′ version goes into detail…
54′ Plywood (or metal) IDELWILD “We were informed that this is the longest passage ever completed by a Trawler Yacht. 29 days 6 hours, we can add another 6 hours for time zones if you like.” February 14, 2005 from IDLEWILD’s web site
A less Gung Ho version of Idelwild While working on Idelwild’s design I decided I liked her hull a lot and that she could be an inexpensive plywood (or wood) boat as well as the rugged polar explorer Ben wanted. So, I came up with a version using her very slippery and as we’ve also…
Beamier, a bit shallower for the length, and carrying a bit more freeboard than the DUCK boats, this series is meant for folks who are going to be living more in one area than actually cruising. The TASMAN SEA is plenty ocean worthy, but the emphasis is placed more on “creature comforts” than cruising. I…
A Sailing Barge Some years ago I designed this boat, named RUFUS, for a guy who lived along the Intercostal waterway in Florida. I had alot of fun thinking it up, and I mean to own one myself some day. I’ve thought of building it way up the Columbia river, and floating down to Astoria.…
New wood version Profile showing a raised deck house fwd. rather than the flush deck. I think the fly bridge doesn’t overhang the house far enough. I’ll fix that one of these days…. Here’s one of the interiors possible. This wood version has a passageway beside the engine. Here’s the wood construction plan.…
Ben and IDLEWILD Circumnavigated the earth and holds the record of the longest non-stop passage ever made in a power yacht! Here she is in B.C. before heading to Baja and back on her shakedown cruise. Here’s the original version. As built she has a bit taller house (a good change), no fly bridge,…
This “bird” series of designs (“Duck”, “Goose” and “Swan”) all share the idea of being about as simple and inexpensive to build as a rugged boat can be. I’ve used a very simple hull form, long waterline, straight ends, transoms instead of pointed tails, that together make assembly fast and smooth, and gives maximum “performance”…
Who ever heard of a long-range cruising powerboat within financial range of a burger flipper? Well, why not? It’s about the only entry level job our economy is creating any more. Pilgrim is designed for single handing or for a very friendly couple, and will be extremely simple, fast, and cheap to build;I don’t see…
In July 05 I found a boat I had always wanted; a 1964 Thompson 17′ Sea Lancer Express. While there were a number of fine lapstrake production boats built in the 1900’s,Thompson was always considered one of the very best because of their solid construction. The fact that there are still some around proves that.…
A retired woman in Florida asked me about a boat for cruising the “Intracoastal” which extends 3,000 plus miles between New Jersey and Texas. This called for a boat that would be easily driven so fuel efficient, relatively seaworthy because there are times when you’re in open water, and comfortable to spend extended time aboard.…
30′ Cruiser JULLIAN ADDERLY JULLIAN was, I believe, my first power cruiser design and was the basis for the first DUCK, the 38. The DUCKs are a bit more”sophisticated” in that they have more displacement for their length. But they needed that, and JULLIAN doesn’t. She’s meant for a different use; messing around! She was…