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More from the Glen-L Newsletters

Ron Peterson of Shasta Lake, Califonia is building the Glen-L Sissy Do, a 13-foot flat-bottomed rowboat. Ron shares the following tip for anyone building a boat of similar size:

I made some "height challenged" midget saw horses for when I right the boat to work on the inside.

The tops are approximately 48" x 7" and are very soft cedar which shouldn't mar the plywood."

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As time goes by you'll probably build a small but very useful collection of handsaws. The problem might be finding a handy and safe place to store them. The answer can be a simple wall storage rack that keeps the saws out of the way but still easily accessible, as you can see in the photo.

The design of the rack is shown in the drawing below. Basically, it consists of a couple of pieces of hardboard that sandwich a series of beveled blocks. The spaces between the blocks hold loose sections of ¾" diameter dowel. And a kerf cut through the outer face allows entrance of the saw blade.

The rack works by pinching the saw blade between the loose section of dowel and the fixed block. To hang up a saw, you simply slip it into the kerf from below and then let the saw drop until the dowel grabs it. To remove a saw, you push it up and out of the kerf.

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FANCY FREE

Shoal draft, relatively simple to build, steady, good sailing qualities. Howard Chapelle describes them in his book American Small Sailing Craft in the "Scow and Bateau" chapter. He suggests that the name sharpie may have been used to dintinguish between sharp-bowed flat-bottom skiff and the scow. So "sharpie" meant "sharp-bowed.” The sharpie-type hulls are commonly referred to as "dory" hulls, which are also covered in the "Scow and Bateau" chapter.

Boats like the Fancy Free were developed for shallow water and were used commercially for oyster, crab and other fisheries in the shallow bays and estuaries of the American northeast. Today these boats are most often built because they have a certain historical appearance that draws sailors who want something unique. The Fancy Free and its big sister, the Chessie Flyer, are often built because they look cool.

The Fancy Free is another design that would be a good candidate for electric power or for a small inboard. Simply eliminate the centerboard, mast and sail accessories. There are no details for this type of installation, but with a little ingenuity, you could easily adapt to these applications.

To iterate: shallow water, simple-to-build, steady platform, classy appearance... if that is what you are looking for, maybe the Fancy Free is the right boat for you.

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