Next Dreamboat? Help Me Decide!

It’s Off-Season—Time to Think About Another Build…

There are three stages of joy when it comes to small camp-cruising boats:

·     Dreaming about what you might buy, build or restore next;

·     Actually working on the boat; and of course…

·     Sailing, motoring, or otherwise enjoying use of the dreamboat.

It’s hard to say, in my case, which is more fun—dreaming, doing the project, or cruising when the beastie is finished. But right now I’m in TWO STAGES AT ONCE and having more fun than ever.

This winter I’ll complete work on MOUSE, a little 14’ lapstrake gunter yawl, 20’ overall including bowsprit and boomkin. MOUSE will accommodate two adults for overnight cruises, but most of the time I’ll probably enjoy solo adventures. (More on MOUSE in future columns.)

MOUSE is a beamy little camp cruiser, 14’ x 6’ 6,” with a design inspired by late-1800s British beach boats. I’ll sleep under a fitted boom tent that more-or-less covers the entire cockpit.

We love living aboard our 1933 Alden-designed 30’ motorboat, and cruising the old girl during summer months, but we’ve both spent decades trailerboat cruising…up toward the north end of Vancouver Island, out to the island’s wild West Coast (Barkley Sound and Clayoquot Sound, mainly), and deep into retirement we’re both itching to spend more time towing a relatively lightweight outboard cruiser to places that deserve more exploration—like the lower Columbia River with it’s quiet backwater sloughs and low-lying islands; or Idaho’s Priest Lake; or shorter runs to launch ramps in South Puget Sound, the San Juan Islands, or the B.C. Gulf Islands. (In other words, fantastic destinations you can get to quickly by highway—in many cases not at all via water—allowing more time for utter relaxation in places you really want to explore.)

So, to the dreaming stage. After I finish MOUSE and enjoy some camp cruises next summer, I’ll likely start building a trailerable outboard motorboat, so I’d love to hear your thoughts about some designs I’m considering.

Parameters:

·     The boat, trailer, motor and gear can’t weigh more than 3,000 pounds, since my beloved work truck is a 2004 Tacoma, which I might drive until it rusts into the ground. Brand new, it had a rated towing capacity of 3,500 pounds, so with 130,000 miles I figure it’s still good for 3,000.

·     We don’t want or need to go fast, so outboard power will not likely exceed a 9.9-hp four-stroke…quiet and fuel efficient. (Cruising speed will be in the 5-6 knot range, which is fine.)

·     It’ll be some kind of pilothouse design, with side-by-side helm seating, a small galley counter, v-berth in the lower cabin, and modest cockpit in the stern.

·     Construction will be marine plywood; probably Okoume.

Here are three of the candidates I’m studying. Since you’re a fellow small-boat nut, I’d appreciate your thoughts on the options below, along with any different recommendations you might have.

SAM DEVLIN’S DIPPER 19

What’s not to like about Sam’s salty Dipper 19, which offers more elbow room than his earlier, smaller Dipper 17. Weight of the finished boat, with engine, trailer and gear, would approach 3,000 pounds, so we’d be near the upper limit for our old Toyota…but it would be okay for regional adventures.

With side-by-side seats in the pilothouse, along with a stand-up galley and storage, there’s sitting headroom down below in the cabin, along with nice-sized berths and a porta-potty.

Sam recommends twin 9.9-hp outboards to achieve speeds in the range of 10-12 knots, but we’d probably go with a single 9.9 High Thrust, happily loafing along at 5-6 knots and burning maybe ½-gallon per hour.

CNC-cut kits are available for $7,513 or the boat can be built from plans that cost $245 downloadable, or $275 printed. (I’d have to sell some things to afford the kit, but it sure would ease, improve and speed construction.)

TAD ROBERTS’ POWER POGY 19’-6”

I’ve always appreciated Tad’s small-boat designs, and especially the plywood POWER POGY, a displacement hull that’ll be happy with a 9.9-hp in a well, and features inside steering, a nice v-berth down below along with a self-bailing cockpit and optional quarter berths under the cockpit seats. (With the quarter berths, the POWER POGY could accommodate a young family of four—adults in the forward berths and kids in the quarter berths…but we’d go for additional storage in the space taken by the quarter berths.)

Construction is lapstrake plywood over ply bulkheads; total weight would be under our 3,000-pound target, and the design’s keel would be deep enough to protect the outboard’s propeller—a feature we appreciate.

Plans are not yet finished for the Power Pogy 19’-6”, in part because Tad is making some improvements in the original hull design. (Nobody’s yet built one of the boats, but when plans are ready they’ll probably be available in different formats: CDs, PDFs, email attachments, downloadable files, blueprints or Mylar patterns. No CNC-cut kits. (Tad told me yesterday that if I wanted to build a Power Pogy he could complete building plans in the next 2-3 months…so if any readers are interested, that might be the timeline.)

GLEN-L’S 18’ BO-JEST

If you’re nuts about mini-tugboat designs there are dozens to consider, but we’ve always thought BO-JEST was the most tempting small, tug-like cruiser.

At 18’, BO-JEST offers a cozy pilothouse with standing headroom, full-circle visibility, walk-around decks, a self-draining cockpit, and a trunk cabin featuring a 7’ berth that becomes 6’ wide when the table is lowered and pivoted to become a filler. Space for a head is under the berth, and a curtain can be rigged to close off the lower cabin for privacy.  Hanging lockers with ample storage are to port and starboard, and the two hinged seats in the pilothouse pivot out of the way when not needed.

Plans and are $188, and include full-size patterns for stem, breasthook and half-section patterns for sawn frames and transom. Sheet plywood is used for planking, and the plans include detailed building instructions along with a materials list and fastening schedule.

With an overall length of 17’-10” and generous beam of 7’-11,” BO-JEST is easily powered by a 9.9-hp four-stroke outboard, and her overall weight including trailer, outboard and gear will come in under our 3,000-pound target.

I could add several more potential designs, but let’s keep it simple today.

Which one do you like best for our trailerable camp-cruising adventures…and what other designs might you recommend?

Please comment below…and thanks!—Marty •SCA•