• About
  • Blogs I Like
  • Float Plans
  • Glossary
  • Overview
  • Say hello!

Sailing AUKLET

~ Small sailboat cruising and related thoughts

Sailing AUKLET

Monthly Archives: May 2021

A little design history

19 Wednesday May 2021

Posted by shemaya in Great Auk, the other boat(s)

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Peep Hen, Triloboats

[The following was originally written for an online list devoted to Hen boats: https://groups.io/g/Hensnest/message/21261%5D

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Photo credit: Sarah Bliven

Here’s a Peep Hen story, and a development from this event that took over 10 years to show results.

In something like 2008, Rachel Gimbel and I were sailing my Peep, Serenity, down the Connecticut River from Hartford to Long Island sound. In the section just before Essex, Connecticut, we had a day with a strong northerly wind, at least 20 knots, and gusting higher. The sail was double reefed, and partly scandalized, with the yard let down to about horizontal to dump more wind, which was coming from almost directly astern. That last sail adjustment made things truly manageable, and we were blasting along, covering a mile on the chart every 10 minutes; this put us at 6 knots, probably with a little help from the current. That’s really fast, for a 14′, chunky boat! And heavily loaded for a substantial trip.

Right around when we were going to pass the entrance to Hamburg Cove, a large power cruiser came up from behind, off our starboard quarter. We thought “oh geez, crazy traffic,” which is not terribly uncommon on the Connecticut River. But the power cruiser, at shouting distance in the strong wind, started matching our speed, moving together side-by-side with enough space to not be too scary. A man on the cruiser shouted over to us “I designed that boat.” And then introduced himself – Reuben Trane! That was hugely exciting, which I hollered back to him enthusiastically. He and his companion took pictures, though I’ve never seen them. It must’ve been a sight, with the Peep blasting along like that in the whitecaps.

Reuben then explained that the boat he was on was his new project. It had a substantial cabin, with the top covered with solar panels, which were powering the boat. I later looked it up on the Internet, and it made a major impression on me. It was way out of my price range, and fancier than my general taste, but I really loved that spacious deck, and the cabintop covered with enough solar panels to make the boat go. The only thing missing was sailing capability to go with it.

That image stayed in mind ever since, and a few years ago when I decided to do something about a different boat (there’s a fleet, including the Peep Hen and a 20 foot Bolger Chebacco) I had my chance. I had done a lot of crazy cruising in the Chebacco, and some stints of several weeks at a time in the Peep, and I thought I might be done sailing. That idea lasted until I realized that what I really wanted was to be comfortable at the same time as being afloat. A sail was crucial, but so was something more like a houseboat layout with a spacious cabin and a bunch of open deck, and, for a change, a sturdy motor. I wanted that motor to be electric, and solar, for the quiet, the ease, and the environmental benefits as well as the independence from fuel docks and marina electricity.

Reuben Trane’s power cruiser had two out of those three wish-list characteristics, just missing the sail. Sailing barges could put it all together, and that’s what developed. The result looks nothing like Reuben’s big power cruiser, but the new boat (24′ x 8′ and built out of plywood) has the spaciousness, the solar panels all over the top of the cabin, and the electric motor, that had all stayed in mind for so long since that day on the river.

Thank you, Reuben – that momentary meeting on the Connecticut is really what led to this. And your courage to design “unique” looking boats like the Peep Hen opened up my thinking on getting one’s eye accustomed to outside-the-box approaches that serve the desired uses of a boat. This (along with later help from Phil Bolger’s work) set me up to also embrace Dave Zeiger’s sailing barge Triloboats design, and the combination has brought about Great Auk. The result is giving me great joy.

Great Auk September 2020 off of Sorrento, Maine Photo credit Christopher LarivierePhoto credit: Christopher Lariviere

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

More Peep Hen trip photos:

https://smountainlaurel.smugmug.com/Sailing/Serenity-14-ft-Peep-Hen

Subscribe

  • Entries (RSS)
  • Comments (RSS)

Archives

  • November 2022
  • July 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • July 2021
  • May 2021
  • December 2020
  • August 2020
  • April 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • July 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • June 2018
  • December 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • August 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • March 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013

Categories

  • Great Auk
  • How Does This Work
  • Junk Rig
  • Race to Alaska/r2ak
  • Sailing the Farm
  • Sailing/Boat Handling
  • the boat
  • the other boat(s)
  • Trips
  • Uncategorized
  • Why Go Sailing

Meta

  • Log in

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Powered by WordPress.com.

 

Loading Comments...