Remember back 30 years ago, or so, when those mini-12 meter boats were the rage? For about the price of 5 feet of a jib sheet on one of the America's Cup boats, you could pretend you were Ted Hood.
Those little boats were about two fathoms long. They sported a full keel and scale model underbody the crew of Intrepid would immediately approve. Bendy stick, festoons of internal halyards, and just about every go-fast gimmick that Schaeffer and Ronstan had ever thought up. You sat down inside those little pretenders, sort of like a tank commander peeping out his hatch. Elbows were at or below the water line. And, at the first hint of a breeze both your ear and the boat's were over to leeward.
When you aren't pulling strings furiously to set and dowse the itty bitty chute, and all the maneuvers of a fully-crewed raceboat; you were supposed to feel something like it would aboard a real twelve roaring along at warp-three.
Anyhow. I never had one of those boats of my own. But, I do believe there are some features they have that can and should transfer to an ideal small daysailer. And, I've been sort of looking for a small sailboat that follows this same example, for more than those 3 decades.
Ferinstance:
- Hull sitting deep enough in the water to make for a sense of solidness both when you first step aboard, and when you walk around underway.
- Underwater appendages designed to make the boat track well, and “go where she’s looking.”
- Helmsman and any crew sitting low enough to the water, that you can “feel the road.”
- Pleasing proportions, and especially, sea kindly underwater lines to allow for you to slip along effortlessly, not slap yourself silly.
Well, a couple years back when I first saw little Punkin' Seed, peering out of that chicken barn; she fairly promised to do all those things. With a few changes. And, I'm finally about to the point where I can report that she's gonna' keep her promise. It's been a long, hard, circuitous journey.
There were never-ending leaks. Rot. A prodigiously heavy wooden mast and antique sails served by even more ancient galvanized wire rigging and hockled wire halyards. And, an unexplained second swoop in her sheerline aft. Oh yeah. She was born a cat boat. But. She's a sloop now.
While I'm first to admit that I've studied the lines and proportions of thousands of sailboats in my life; I could never hope to do justice to drawing those lines and proportions. Like the guy said about modern art, "I know what I like."
Looks like Punkin' Seed is going to be one of those things that I like. At 13 feet long, she's a lot like those mini-twelves I was talking about. Deep vee hull. Weighted centerboard that gives her an almost 4-foot draft. Low-to-the-water profile. And so forth. I'm pretty sure she'll be a lot more nimble and much quicker to accelerate. I've still yet to actually sail this boat in anything like strong winds. But, we did go out in catspaws tonight.
Promises made. Promises kept.
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