We have a new long, skinny, tall masted sailboat in the bay. Four friends pickup an Etchells 22.
I don't yet have any pictures of their new boat. But she is docked on my dinghy dock so they are forth comming. It will be great fun seeing this boat out on the water. There are a few in the San Juan Islands and I occasionally try to sail near them. Although keeping up with them is completely out of the question.
With their light weight, split under body hull, and large sail area I doubt that thier is any combination of wind or point of sail that I could keep up. I will try of course. And it will be fun.
Interestingly, this week I also stumble across a custom daysailor conversion of the Etchells 22.
This seems similar to the type of conversion that Tim perform for Bolero although the result is completely unique. I would love to find some more info on this project.
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11 comments:
I am fascinated with knockabout sloops. I wonder though, which ones have a tendency to "porpoise". I once sailed on a Mercury class 18 ft. sloop, and the pitching action in the swells was terrible. It seems that hulls with long overhangs (such as the Shields) would porpoise more than those with shorter overhangs (such as the Etchells). Any truth to this?
Bob in Camarillo, CA
Bob,
I can't really answer your question. I have sailed a relatively sheltered life with most of my sailing on long skinny boats with a great deal of overhang. First the Bluenose Sloop and now the modified Shields. Both of them have overhangs close to 50%, the Bluenose Sloop at 46% and the Shields at 51%. I do feel that the Shield goes through the chop much better than the Bluenose Sloop but that could just be due to the increase waterline.
The Etchells has an additional 2 feet of waterline so may they would hobby horse less. I just don't know.
Like I said, no answers here.
Cheers, Bill
Bill,
Thanks for your reply. The hobbyhorse effect is complicated to analyze - depends on so many things like the boat's moment of inertia, LWL, shape of hull, etc. Probably comes down to the feel of the boat cutting through the chop like you mentioned.
Bolero is absolutely gorgeous, you and the boat builder did a fantastic job. I've read your blog going back to the beginning. I agree, the traditional look (like Bolero) trumps all other aspects.
I see a couple of Kettenburg PCs for sale $10-20K. Why did you rule out that class? Is the wooden hull just too much to deal with?
Bob
Camarillo, CA (near Ventura)
"I see a couple of Kettenburg PCs for sale $10-20K. Why did you rule out that class? Is the wooden hull just too much to deal with?"
Bob,
In a word, yes.
They are lovely boats that I have mentioned before:
http://knockaboutsloops.blogspot.com/2007/10/featured-boat-kettenburg-pc.html
But I was looking for a classic look without some of the personalities that can exist with a wooden hull boat.
Cheers, Bill
http://etchells20.blogspot.com/
Looks to be your converted Etchells.
Always liked the look of this design, but I like it even more painted blue with a cabin.
Cheers.
Matt
I was at Puget Sound Boats in 1975. They were building Etchells there...glass hulls, captive ballast keels. The process was a bit disturbing, as they poured molten lead directly into the glass shell, and used lead shot to cool the molten lead. Whenever the pouring got ahead of the shot cooling, a line would be burnt all around the keel, all the way through the resin. Only bare glass fibers would remain at that spot. The one that I watched had at least 3 circumferential rings with no resin left. They then covered the charred glass with bondo.
It would take quite an impact to break the keel, but if it ever happens, this is at the root of it.
Cliff
I think the conversion at http://etchells20.blogspot.com/ is a different boat. I love cabin form of the one here. I am about to convert one myself in South West Ireland and would be delighted if anyone knows a bit more about the boat featured in this article...
Thanks
Sam
Sam,
You are quite right about the Etchells at http://etchells20.blogspot.com/. It is a very, very different conversion then the one shown in this post.
I also quite like the cabin design used for this Etchells modification. Unfortunately I don't have much info. The only lead that I have is a link to a Wooden Boat forum post where I found this picture. The link is:
http://www.woodenboat.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2026125&posted=1#post2026125
Please send along some picture of conversion as it progresses. I would enjoy following along.
Cheers, Bill
Hi Bill,
Thanks very much for the link on the Wooden Boat forum.
Me and my brother Nick are just starting on the conversion of our Etchells. I have a blog that has made a slow start, but will feature lots of updates when we get going on the conversion. It's....
http://etchells22.wordpress.com/
We are working on the form for the cabin and debating the merits of a wooden deck. Hoping to have her in the water next summer. Your blog is proving to be an amazing source for info. Thanks!!
Looking forward to more contact.
Regards,
Sam
Sam & Nick,
Thanks for the link and the photos. I will very much enjoy watching your progress. I have added your blog to my blog list and will definitely follow along.
Please feel free to contact me if there is anything that I can do to help.
Cheers
Bill
Bill,
Thanks very much for posting our blog. It's a good incentive to keep it nice and up to date! Also thanks for documenting such a fantastic project with the Shields. It was a major influence in starting this project!
Sam
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