Mickie
A Family Favorite
At the Wooden Boat Centre we have a long-running enthusiasm for the designs of Iain Oughtred. Although we have not yet built his whole catalogue we have completed most from the Grey Seal down to the Auk. Every one of Iain's boats is a delight and it is a privileged to work from his exquisite drawings. One of the perennial favorites has been the Mole. Numbers of individuals have built both Mole and Badger rowing skiffs at The Wooden Boat Centre over the years. They have proved to be elegant but in use robust and practical.
When we were first experimenting with CNC cutting one of the early subjects was a Mole. Mickie, named after the delighful person who was involved in its building, our own Mole skiff was CNC cut and resulted in perfectly fitting planks with great savings in time in the building process. It gives great pleasure to row considerable distances - in the right environment on peaceful streams with a new vista or a hint of adventure around the next corner.
Unfortunately much of our boating takes place in Docklands where the large areas or water can be daunting for small boats. So to retain the motivation to use the boat for trips and visiting we needed to experiment with alternative methods of propulsion. Consequently we have used Mickie to experiment with other methods of propulsion. Although the purist would only consider rowing a skiff, we needed to know how other systems compared. Consequently we installed, through a well in the middle of the boat (sacrilege!) at different times an electric outboard and a Hobbie Mirage drive. Both give silent, effortless cruising and have proved their worth.
As you can see from the photos, neither drive is particularly obtrusive, and both add to the range and comfort of day trips in the boat. With a 100 amp deep cycle battery we can achieve 5 hours running at hull speed (maybe 7 kph). With the Hobbie unit the boat certainly covers more ground, at a faster pace, for less effort than rowing. We have not yet managed to measure this conclusively, but are assessing a heart rate monitor coupled to a GPS. With this device we can download the data on our return from outings and compare speed, track followed and heart rate! A long way from boatbuilding.
The boat is a family favorite and is in pretty regular demand, often just to row!