Hi Dave
What hardships... 15m to the slipway!
I can speak for the Acorn Skiff... Mine, slightly stretched to 13', is an absolute witch under oars. Great solo. WIth a helmsperson, because there's not a lot of buoyancy in the winglass stern, you either have to ballast the bow or row from the bow position. Nice having someone looking where you're going and steering though Two oarspersons and a cox works very well, specially if you want speed and there's still plenty of room for the cooler and picnic basket.. More than three adults and it's getting crowded.
Under sail (gunter rig single mainsail) she goes very well on any angle of reach. Points reasonably but loses speed fast as you get nearer the wind. Downwind you do notice she's quite tender. Main problem with sailing is where to sit. Can't sit in the sternsheets (obstructs the tiller and fore/aft balance wrong) and the next place to sit is the centre thwart. Works OK but you end up sitting with your legs to the stern while you're half turned to face forward.
She is a rowing boat with a sail. A long straight keel is great until you come to tack. She won't spin like a flat sterned dinghy will. You need to sail her through the tack. If you're going upwind in a channel that requires frequent tacks... forget it, get the oars out.
Not a lot of primary stability, tons of secondary. I've watched someone almost sail her under (lee rail under water and sinking) without actually capsizing. So she feels twitchy when you're aboard and moving around, but stops heeling quite solidly when 20-25° or so off vertical.
At least being sat on the centre thwart it's easy to slide to the upwind side when the wind's up and back to the centre again when it drops. It's not a boat where you can plonk yourself on an upwind side bench (there aren't any) and sit there regardless of wind strength. No wind, you sit central.
While she's taken some choppy conditions (West coast of Scotland and West coast of France) I personally don't see her as a sea boat. The fine bow means she could slice into big waves rather than riding over them. Good for estuaries, lakes and rivers.
We've really enjoyed ours. Though she's not been out for over a year so we were starting to think we should part with her so she could go to a home where she'll be used more.
If rowing is the main way she'll be used then you should really consider an Acorn. If you want to try ours out sometime we'll have to work on creating an opportunity (though there are probably ones nearer you that will be easier tio get to!)
Tim.
On 27 Apr 2016, at 08:23, David Bewick [via UK HBBR Forum] <
[hidden email]> wrote:
Folks, I need to pick your brains. To cut a long story short, we are now living in Newton Ferrers in a property that we redeveloped. This has quite a lot going for it - not least that the garage/boathouse door is 15 m from the top of the slipway! However, my beloved 14' Aber only just fits in the aforementioned space with the trolley handle hard against the door and with no room to swing anything, let alone a cat. So, I am thinking about a new boat in the 12' region. The new boat will probably be rowed more than it is sailed. My shortlist includes: Morbic 12 (I love Vivier's boats but would quite like a change with this one), Acorn 12 skiff (great rowing boat but a bit flighty?) and Guilletmot (great all-rounder, perhaps not the best to row?). I have never built an Oughtred design,but I do quite fancy one of his, this time. I know there are probably examples of all these in the HBBR fleet and I would be grateful for any any thoughts you might have to help me with my choice.
Meanwhile, I will continue to cogitate about my next "big" boat project, but that is another story, altogether (and probably a lot more of a challenge, as I can't even make up my mind between an open day boat and something with a lid!).
Many thanks and best regards,
David.
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