Tad Roberts

• slide show »»

17' Cat-schooner Captain Flint

Construction: plywood on sawn frames
Length: 17' 0"
Beam: 6' 10"
Draft: 1' 4" Board up
Displacement: 2,100 lbs
Sail Area: 155 sq.ft.
Builder:

Comments

Captain Flint will take about 400 hours to build (while Teazer would consume 1,100 to 1,600 hours). I arrive at these numbers by taking the boats' total weight (design displacement) and deleting the payload (people, stores, and liquids), to arrive at a 'light-ship' weight. You can figure construction hours by the pound. I base the calculations on 3 lbs per hour; but the rate can range anywhere from 3 to 5 lbs depending on finish level, construction method, and work habits. For Captain Flint's calculations, I subtracted 900 lbs from the 2,100-lb displacement to account for people, stores, sails, outboard, and gear. Then I divided the remaining 1,200 lbs by 3 lbs per hour and arrived at total of 400 construction hours. If you double the construction hours and multiply by the hourly shop rate, you will have a rough value for the boat's total cost.

Why did I give Captain Flint a schooner rig? It's different, it fits with my desire to create a salty character in the Captain, and it's practical. The two-masted rig means short masts, which keep sail centers are low and this means shorter heeling moments. The short masts can be unstayed, simplifying construction and cutting cost. The masts are in the right places to work well with the interior arrangement: the foremast is out of the way, and the main is amidships, properly braced by the after end of the cabin. The mainmast will be on the boat's centreline, and we'll build the centreboard trunk clear of the mast on the port side of the keel.

back to the Small Boats page  »»