Scamp Fever

[Paul H (admin)]

Everybody (well Adrian) seems to be going nuts about the Scamp - so I thought I should start a thread on it. It's extremely popular in the US and here is a great shot of all the panels in a build.



They are built like a tank.

I don't see why the first bulkhead can't streamline towards the bow - less wind drag and a bit more storage/buoyancy. I deliberately curved and raked the front of MilliBee to streamline her.

-Paul

[Port-Na-Storm]

The Scamp engenders much the same feelings as Marmite.
You love it or hate it.
For me it falls into the Morris Minor or dare I mention Series 1 Land Rover categories. Very functional, does what it's supposed to do fairly well, but will never win a beauty contest. Having said that sometimes when function takes precedence over form, the result can become attractive with familiarity.

I think the Scamp phenomenon in the States and elsewhere is at least partly due to the various elements coming together and it becoming an enabler.
Well known designer, practical design, promotion by Small Craft Advisor Magazine, relatively low cost, self build,  build kits, GRP options, help forums, etc. help to create a critical mass which then becomes a popular movement.

There will be one at Beale, a full sized one, it'll be good to have a look, and interesting to see if it takes off over here.

[Jeremy]

It's a bit like the Mirror, really.

No one could ever really call a Mirror pretty, but it was very functional,  relatively safe and affordable, and introduced millions of people to sailing.  

[AdrianG]

Spooky. I have a Mirror. And a Series Land Rover. What I don't have is the space to build a Scamp. It would fit in the lounge, but would quickly become a permanent feature due to inadequate apertures in the building. Meanwhile, I saw no harm in building a model, just to see how all the bits fit (it's quite a 3D jigsaw puzzle - the model could prove invaluable). Oh, and maybe shaping a few bits of ply into a kind-of rudder head shape (see picture). And maybe a rudder & centreboard to follow, perhaps? And spars...

So many boats. So little space.

Kind regards
Adrian

[David Bewick]

Grum,

I think that is an insult to both the Morris Minor and the Landrover.  However well the Scamp might perform, it is just bug-ugly in my book!  I think William Morris had it right when he said something like "you should have no boat in your shed that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful".

David.

[Paul H (admin)]

Adrian,

MilliBee was built outside in a 2x2 frame attached to my 9x4 shed, covered in exterior PVC sheeting.

You only need about 1 or 2 feet around the boat and since she is plank on frame a trolley with wheels will allow you to jog her around for best access.

It's not impossible to roll the finished boat 90 degrees if you live in a house with a narrow sideway. If you live in a terraced house then a helicopter or large crane adds to the fun - you can probably sell tickets.

So how big is your garden?

cheers
Paul

"Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.
-Martin Luther King

[Port-Na-Storm]

If you took a West Wight Potter,



and chopped a couple of feet off the bow...............



I'm just sayin'...............

[Chris Waite]

I wasn't going to say this

For fear of confirming my status as a pernickety old fart, but Paulie, in another part of cyberspace -

(I have now spent the best chunk of an hour trying to insert a link to Paulie's comment in "Lechlade to Beale Park 2015" May 22nd 2015 11.18 am and once many years ago I worked out how to do it, but the half-baked miracle of IT has managed to get one jump ahead of me again.  Would someone like to take me down to Gregory Corner  (Forum Ideas/Issues) and see if they can drag me back up to the surface?)

You stated that the Scamp design spec. was 14 foot.  My understanding was that it is very specifically eleven foot, eleven inches to bring it in just under a twelve foot ($ charging??) rule for the local waters.  That would make it very much a sawn-down, clinker-built, West Wight Potter, or perhaps an overgrown, be-lidded Slipper dinghy:



Or maybe the Mirror is a lidless, sawn-down Potter?

 

Anyway, the Scamp is apparently a mere five inches longer than a certain Premise 12:



What's five inches among friends?

CW

[Paul H (admin)]

Length correction (11ft 11in) in http://uk-hbbr-forum.967333.n3.nabble.com/Lechlade-to-Beale-Park-2015-tp4027917p4028778.html

I got confused when Adrian's Scamp model was 14in, so 1in to a foot made sense. I know, don't assume anything, like 0.857 feet per inch or 21.6mm per inch. My bad.

-Paul

[AdrianG]

1:10 scale - ends up a gnat's whisker over 14 inches long.

Meanwhile, having built 2 canoes indoors and restored (or more accurately, restoring) 2 Mirrors outdoors, I have concluded that, for me, the boat-building-outdoors-in-the-UK-thing sucks.

See y'all soon. I reckon this Scamp discussion is well suited for continuation with a local brew in the Beale Beer tent!
Adrian

[GregHBBR]

Hi Chris,

Chris Waite wrote

(I have now spent the best chunk of an hour trying to insert a link to Paulie's comment in "Lechlade to Beale Park 2015" May 22nd 2015 11.18 am and once many years ago I worked out how to do it, but the half-baked miracle of IT has managed to get one jump ahead of me again.  Would someone like to take me down to Gregory Corner  (Forum Ideas/Issues) and see if they can drag me back up to the surface?)

Ah! I think you refer to the post How to Create a Link to another Message on the Forum.

You'll be pleased to hear that since that topic was started, the revised instructions I gave in later messages don't apply. The forum has been removed from the "www.ukhbbr.plus.com/forum.html" wrapper site that, for a period, prevented the initial instructions from working.

Apart from the fact that the images used are taken from Firefox and there are minor differences in other browsers, the only thing that might confuse is step 7. I refer to a "greyed out window". That only happens in Firefox. If you use the likes of Internet Explorer or Chrome the main window does not go dark.

Post in that topic if you still have problems.

[Port-Na-Storm]

AdrianG wrote

1:10 scale - ends up a gnat's whisker over 14 inches long.

You can call me a cantankerous old cartographer if you like but where I come from 11ft 11ins gets you a gnats gonad under 14 inches at 1:10 scale. But then accuracy is so subjective. Isn't it Wayne.

[AdrianG]

Hmm, I confess that I did it the practical way by sticking a ruler alongside the model. However, now you mention it, isn't 11 feet 11 inches a total of 143 inches? Divided by 10 equals, er, an itsy bit over 14 inches? What am I missing?

[Port-Na-Storm]

Damn, so it does.
As I said, accuracy is so subjective, (smiley blush)

[AdrianG]

[Paul H (admin)]

Port-Na-Storm wrote

If you took a West Wight Potter,

and squared up the transom and bow to get a longer LWL. You get something like this:



Is this further proof of Evolution?

-Paul

[mikekillay]

I looked at the Scamp exhibited at Beale Park and was amazed at how big and heavy it looked although only 8 inches longer than my Heron.
However, a few knowledgeable boat builders suggested that her scantlings were unnecessarily heavy.
The massive trailer which added to the sense of hugeness was apparently copied from an American trailer where they are in the habit of fully loading a boat with a week ends food etc. before towing.
One OGA member is currently building one and intends to tow her on an ordinary trailer. He says that the boat should not turn out to be too heavy.
With a bit of luck she should be at next years Beale, although she is being built outside and the weather is crucial.