The Next Dreamboat: An Update…
Comparing the Recent Reader-Poll Winner with Another Devlin Option
Just over a week ago (See October 7 Shallow Draft), we asked readers to vote on three trailerable camp-cruising powerboat designs—each with a max towing weight of 3,000 pounds. We asked your opinions because we’re thinking of building a fuel-efficient little cruiser, and our rough-draft plan calls for a cruising speed of 5-6 knots with a four-stroke 9.9-hp outboard. We’re envisioning a pilothouse with side-by-side seating for two; a modest galley, comfy sleeping in the lower cabin, and room for a porta-potty. In other words, the ideal little motorboat for someone who’s used to camp-cruising in a small, open sailboat, but increasingly yearns for the comfort of inside seating.
The choices we offered were Sam Devlin’s Dipper 19, which might be described as a smaller, lighter-weight version of his classic Surf Scoter 22; the 19’ 6” Power Pogy pilothouse cruiser by Tad Roberts, and Glen-L’s salty Bo-Jest, an 18‘ mini-tug that makes maximum use of available space in its pilothouse and lower cabin.
The winner, with 48% of the vote, was Sam’s Dipper 19.
But wait! Just when I was ready to relax and commit to the alluring Dipper 19, I talked to the designer himself, who tweaked my decision by saying he’s more recently developed a slightly-stretched Dipper 20…adding 12 inches of additional space in the cockpit. So, that’s a nice improvement.
But that wasn’t all. Sam, never one to leave well enough alone, also offered the following tease: “Well, Marty, have you taken a really good look at the Banjo 20? It just might be better for you than the Dipper 19, or Dipper 20.” (The Banjo 20, which we’ve featured in Small Craft Advisor, is a raised-deck hull with pilothouse, vs. the Dipper’s slightly longer pilothouse with traditional cuddy cabin forward. Raised-deckers typically offer a greater sense of space down below, but being higher-sided they can also have more windage…so there are potential tradeoffs.)
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