Auxiliary power is essential for manoevering and tackling harbour
entrances. I’ve drawn an outboard in a dedicated well because I’ve already spent
too much time floundering about in cramped spaces with errant diesels. A Honda 40hp
Four-Stroke would suit admirably. Its quiet, environmentally clean, reliable, easily
maintained and returns good fuel consumption at the operating loads demanded. It has more
than enough power to handle bar breaks, and move SF’s 6 tons to shelter in a fair
hurry to avoid sudden blows that this boat would endure in a workmanlike manner, but its
crew with less comfort. Uffa Fox comments that a well-found yacht’s ability to handle
storms far outstrips that of its crew. The tiller must pass over the well, but thus
obtains ample leverage for the rudder size and boat mass. The covered well makes a great
bait table as well as deadening engine noise. Uncovered it makes basic engine maintenance
simpler & safer, especially with SF’s slim stern. Motor removed, the well can
used for fishing; fitted with a wire cage,for underway bathing or cooling the beer. The
chart table folds up against the cabin’s rear bulkhead; charts taped to its top are
thus visible to the helm via a porthole. With the table up an 8’ x 2’ Qtr berth
is available. The chart table seat slides forward and down to form part of this berth,
which extends under the port cockpit seat. The opposite & stern cockpit seats contain
lockers for safety gear, plus a glass-epoxy sealed well for washing clothes (dump them in
with soap while underway!).
SF is built from 25mm marine ply, on ply bulkheads and laminated ring frames.
Stringers are unnecessary except as chine logs. She is sheathed outside by paint-protected
fiberglass, the interior ply faces being epoxy-coated alone. Decks and deckhouse are of
18mm ply, with partners of 12mm more than doubling the roof thickness in the mast area.
The deep sole gives SF full headroom without requiring relief from a companionway hatch.
It’s replaced by a full & solid roof above which a 4-person provisioned life-raft
is fixed by quick-release harness. The strengthened companionway door is hung from
heavy-duty hinges bolted to the cabin’s rear bulkhead, and can be sealed from inside
with heavy-duty clamps. This setup guarantees no repeat of the Fastnet Race disaster of
1979, where the subsequent investigation reported most sinkings caused by the weak &
leaky combination of companionway doors & sliding hatches. Designers of current small
ocean-going cruiser-racers must admit cabin access to be generally more concerned with
convenience/comfort than structural integrity and hence safety.
The Galley features a 7 foot long work bench which can be converted to a bunk. The
7x2 ft Galley sole can be levelled on long tacks by hinges along the boat keel and simple
bolts with a selection of holes opposite. A double sea berth can be had by dropping the
table to seat height & lowering the forr’d seat back onto the armchair arm.
(Similarly a single berth by dropping the starboard half of table/seat back).
After due consideration it has been decided to moderate SF’s rather unusual
keel design. Any loss in ease of operation of the cutter is a matter of debate, but the
simplification of the build (with attendant cost & time savings) is a matter of fact.
Scarper Flo Mk II will appear on this site as soon as completed………
Jeff Gilbert,
June 2000
*eg Dyarchy (Laurent Giles), Bristol Channel Cutter (Lyle Hess), WesternmaN cutters
(Irens)
Rockport 30 (Chuck Paine), Cornish Crabber (Roger Dongray) Austral (Mark Smaalders). |
