Preliminary Design Cygnet Class


On Tuesday we entertained about 50 members of the Sparkman & Stephens Swan Association here at our offices. It was very enjoyable to welcome such an enthusiastic group of Swan owners here to see the original plans of their boats and to see what other projects we are working on. Guests came from as far away as Finland, Sweden, Italy, England, Belgium, Australia and New Zealand.

We have obviously seen a trend in a new class of daysailers most evident in the success of the Morris Yachts M-Series. For fun we decided to go through a What if? exercise by designing a daysailer with the aesthetics of one of the favorite classic Swans, the Swan 43, design 1973. You can see the results here in these few renderings.


Here are the plans for the Swan 43.


67 boats of this model were built during this production run from 1969-1972.


Principal Dimensions Swan 43
LOA 43-0"
LWL 31-0"
Beam 11-8"
Draft 7-0"
Displacement 19,800 lbs

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More About Design 1899 She 31


As a follow up to my posting of Friday, February 18, the 1899 design was utilized in another boat model. Shown here is the She 31, built by South Hants Marine of the U.K.


The boats are very similar with some slight differences. The general arrangement for the She 31 is different than the I.W. 31. Here it is.


Heres a brand new boat about to launch.


In addition the 9-5 "Traveller" was developed. This boat is oriented more for cruising with a bit more lavish accommodations. Heres an early brochure. Please double click for readable view.


Principal Dimensions
LOA 30-5"
LWL 22-0"
Beam 8-10"
Draft 5-6"
Displacement 7,750 lbs
Sail Area 342 sq ft
Ballast 3,520 lbs
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Mississippi Sound Article in Current Issue of SAIL

One of my most recent magazine projects was an article for SAIL, that is featured in the current issue (May 2010). The article is part of SAILs "Great Coastal Cruises" series, and highlights the Mississippi Sound and the barrier islands of the Gulf Islands National Seashore as a great destination for weekend or longer cruises on the northern Gulf Coast.


My friend, Dick Dixon, a photographer who lives on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and frequently sails out to the islands contributed this awesome photo of a Horn Island sunrise:


All of us who love these islands and the cruising grounds of the northern Gulf of Mexico are waiting with dread to see what will happen with the massive oil spill that is threatening to destroy it all.  It seems at this point no one has the answers, only speculation about what will happen and how bad it will be, and whether we can do anything about it.  After such a battering from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, a blow like this is the last thing we need.  All we can do his hope and pray for the best and that it wont be as bad as some predict.

If you dont have a subscription to SAIL, you can get it here:  Sail
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Chinese Excavate 15th Century Ship off Kenya

Several months ago, I noted a museum exhibit about Zheng He, the Chinese diplomat and mariner who led a number of expeditions throughout the Indian Ocean in the 15th century. (Wikipedia article here.) At the time, I wasnt aware that Chinese archaeologists were in the process of excavating a wreck that has been identified as one of his ships in the Lamu Islands, off the coast of Kenya. Interestingly, genetic analysis has shown the presence of Chinese ancestors in some of the local populace. Article here.
A set of models comparing the sizes of the treasure ships of Zheng He and Columbuss Santa Maria in the foreground. The Chinese ships huge scale seems underpowered, even though each mast seems to carry about the same sail area as Columbuss flagship did in total. (Image source: Wikipedia Commons. Click to enlarge.)
Zheng Hes expeditions were enormous, starting with the ships themselves. The treasure ships, the largest of the fleets, were over 400 feet LOA and 170 feet beam, and had a nine-masted rig. These appear to have been the largest wooden ships ever built by a long shot, and they put the lie to the tale that the most masts ever mounted on a ship was seven (on a Maine-built schooner). His fleets contained a small number of treasure ships and literally hundreds of smaller vessels carrying tens of thousands of sailors and warriors, water, horses, and all manner of supplies.
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Chris Craft Wood Boat

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How to Sail the Lug Yawl REPOSTED

My friend and fellow boatbuilder in the Northwest, James McMullen, created a very useful set of drawings to help people learn how to use our favorite sailing rig, the Lug-Yawl. For sail & oar boats you cannot have a more versatile and fun rig for your boat. Clint draws these rigs into most of his designs, such as the Calendar Islands Yawl or the Goat Island Skiff with a mizzen. Please look at these drawings and imagine how this rig could fit into your own sailing.






Now that you have seen these diagrams you can also see how useful the mizzen would be for switching from sailing to rowing and vice versa. While the mizzen is hauled in, the boat will keep herself pointing into the wind so the sail can be raised and lowered without filling and causing the boat to fall off one way or the other. I have found the mizzen useful for stopping and taking a break or for restowing gear or for dealing with safety matters. In these cases, it is best to learn to "heave-to" so that your boat doesnt lose too much ground. That is one drawback of lying head-to-wind under mizzen: you need to have plenty of leeway...no boats, rocks or land to get blown down upon. The advantage of heaving-to is that you dont lose too much ground at all. We make light, strong Birdsmouth masts and spars and have intimate knowledge of the Lug-Yawl.
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Pequamid Design 2010


Launched in 1970, this wooden sloop was built by Driscoll Custom Boats (now called Driscoll Boat Works) of San Diego, California. She was developed for cruising and racing in the Puget Sound - Lake Washington area.

A traditional profile was specified with accommodations for 7 and the owners stateroom forward. Also a dedicated navigators area was requested with navigation desk, seat and quarter berth.

Here are the plans.


The boat is built with laminated white oak framing and Honduras mahogany planking. Fastenings are silicon bronze.

A couple of detail shots.


Principal Dimensions
LOA 50-3"
LWL 34-0"
Beam 12-0"
Draft 7-4"
Displacement 28,350 lbs
Sail Area 1,087 sq ft
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