The Wooden Boat Centre - Major Project

Our Major Project

*Pictures will be added soon*

Every year at the Wooden Boat Centre we like to build one or two boats for ourselves. After all, if you are in the boat building business, and have the facilities, it seems the logical thing to do.

In the past a succession of children and grandchildren have been a motivating force. The older grandchildren have been through the process, from small stitch and glue dinghies and canoes with electric outboards up to the present 7 metre, 350 hp runabout (the "Hacker"), with many diversions on the way.

During this time I have learnt that for small children exploring in a small area, getting in and out of the boat, making landfalls and handling the boat themselves, is more fun than great voyages or speedy sailing. With the older grandchildren I have learnt that eventually they will see sense. For instance, one grandson, a devotee of high power and tear-away boat driving said, after a trip in the "Hacker" this summer "You know Grandpa, we have to get rid of it (the "Hacker") and build something more civilized because no-one will come out with me anymore - it is too fast, too wet and too scary".

So this year there will have to be at least two boats. One for each end of the age spectrum, a new beginning for a new generation of grandchildren and a step on for the older group.

For the younger generation a boat that has been on my "to build" list for many years

The drawings are in that large file of plans that have been purchased and stored against the day when I can find a reason (or excuse) to bring them to life. In this case I have decided to build a Steve Redmond design because it looks . . . . . well, it just has to be built.

There are many reasons for choosing a particular boat to build, and the discussion of the merits of particular boats have occupied many hours in our workshop. As the years go by certain factors in these discussions have become more important to me. Some designers have a sensitivity that comes through their drawings and creates a response in a potential builder that is very personal. The Steve Redmond "Tetra" is such a boat. It personifies that mixture of a classic boat, great simplicity and obvious usability that makes it ideal for this project.

It will be built light, but with careful details. It will be varnished to show the workmanship, until usage will insist it is time to paint. It will be the starting point for a new generation. A boat like this cries out to be personalized. The naming of it will, therefore be of great importance and politically sensitive. I have struggled with this issue, but the group it is intended for are very close in age, and will expect equal naming rights.

At the other end of the spectrum we have grandchildren who, at weekends and holidays, have worked in the wooden boat business since they were six. The oldest of this group is now in the final year of his Naval Architecture degree and has very clear ideas of what should replace our present boat.

The design process has been very long, and has taken in many options.

The considerations have included:

- Where the boat will be used
(Melbourne)
- The weather generally experienced (poor)
- The sea conditions most likely to be encountered (rough)
- And the main purposes that a boat fulfils for us, (socializing, family day cruising, fishing and as a general workboat).

Other considerations, who will build it and what facilities are available also went into the mix.

The general description developed is: a modest power/speed package (100 kw/15 knots), lightweight construction consistent with achieving Survey requirements, cabin-top low enough to go under Melbourne bridges, low maintenance and minimum fit-out. Above all, we are looking for an elegant boat appropriate to our city location.

Our starting point was a classic North American style lobster boat form, cold molded. As the design of the hull and the optimisation of the speed/power/weight variables were worked through, it became obvious that our objectives could not be achieved with a lobster boat hull. After a number of models and a considerable amount of computer time a different hull form emerged. Cold molding would not achieve the shapes called for and so a cored construction method has been adopted. We have built cored boats before but have generally avoided them when possible to avoid all that sanding. This time we will accept the inevitable.

The name of this boat will be just as contentious as that of the small boat. While there is a move to call it "Kelpie", which means water sprite, or "Bluey" because we paint all our boats red, there is another granddaughter, Tom's (the designer of the boat) youngest sister Elise, who has not had a boat named after her.

Here are the drawings so far. All these difficult decisions, both technical and political, have to be solved as part of the boatbuilding process. We hope to keep you up-to-date with our progress. We are now building models and finalising the engineering aspects as Tom has the time to fit it in with his course work. After all, he does have to pass his final year.

Downloads

kelpie.pdf

This is a PDF document with the basic design plan of Kelpie. To download directly to your computer, right click and "Save Target As". This document is copyright protected by the Wooden Boat Centre and may be used for personal uses only.