Has anyone modified a Pocketship to remove the cuddy cabin and build the boat as an open cockpit daysailer?
Probably not. The whole point of Pocketship is to provide that cabin. There are many open cockpit daysailer designs out there to choose from. Rather than risk ruining the boat (that cabin structure provides much of the boat’s strength) it makes more sense to choose a design that actually implements the desired boat type.
Laszlo
Thanks. That’s what I suspected (about the cabin providing rigidity) but I was hoping I might be wrong. What I REALLY want is a CNC kit for some version of the Herreshoff/Haven/Somes Sound 12 1/2, but as far as I can tell that doesn’t exist.
Interesting concept. I suppose you could extend the aft design (footwell with seats( forward to some extent and still have a strong hull. If you want the wonderful mast with tabernacle you’d still need the full height forward bulkhead. Or you could make a stepped mast that runs down to the keel. I think there had was some discussion on the Pocketship forum about that.
That all being said, the Pocketship is a bit of a fat boat in order to get the nice cabin space. If you want a sleek day sailer you might well want something quite different. The PT11 might be better suited.
The Herreshoff/Haven/Somes Sound 12 1/2 is a 1,400-lb displacement boat, not at all in the same class as the PT11.
Laszlo
Thanks to you both. I think Laszio was on point with his initial observation: I’m trying to turn the PocketShip into something it wasn’t ever meant to be, because I can’t find a cmc kit version of the boat I really want.
Tevere
Tevere, Have you looked at Chase small Craft? He has kits for his own designs plus those of Vivier. I built his GIS kit very high quality.
Guys,
Here’s what tevere said he actually wants:
The biggest difference from the various suggestions is the 1,400-lb displacement with a 600-lb ballast keel to give it momentum and stability in extreme chop and strong winds. It’s a whole different class of boat.
That said, there is one CLC-designed boat that comes close to Somes Sound 12 1/2 design brief, but there’s a catch - it’s not in production. But a prototype was built and it was successful. The market economics just didn’t work out for putting it into production. It’s the NanoShip, the love child of a Bolger Oldshoe and a Devon Beer Lugger (beer was involved, what do you expect?).
It was a very fortunate offspring, inheriting all the good functional features of both parents but also its British parent’s looks. I had a chance to see it and ride in it at Okoumefest and the Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Here’s John Harris taking it out for a spin and his reaction:
It can be beached.
The statistics are:
12’11" LOD
5’5" beam
16" draft CB up
34" draft CB down
275 lb hull weight
375 lb water ballast for 750 lb empty weight when ballasted
750 lbs payload for 1500 lb total displacement
The design shares many of the characteristics of the Somes Sound. A fuller description, origin story and video can be found here.
Now, even though CLC never put the design into production, they got as far as finishing the design, producing the CNC files and building a beautifully-crafted prototype (some lucky person bought it at an excellent price). So tevere, if I was in your position, I’d get in touch with CLC and see how much they’d charge to CNC cut the parts. The construction looks pretty standard, especially if you were looking at building a modified Pocketship.
And if the lack of a manual is a problem, there’s always Andrew in the CLC Custom Boatbuilding Shop to help out with some or all of the construction.
So I would recommend calling CLC and discussing the options and costs. If you have the skills and workspace to build one of their Pro Kits, you might be able to end up with something very close to what you want.
Laszlo
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Funny you should mention Chase. My son and I did a family boatbuilding workshop with Clint at WoodenBoat about 10 years ago and built his Echo Bay sailing skiff. I’ve sort of stayed in touch, and I knew he repped Vivier because (once upon a time, in a moment of irrational exuberance) I thought I might build a Vivier “Jewell”, so yesterday I went back to Clint’s site and stumbled upon Lilou 2. Obviously not a Herreshoff 12 1/2, but an open boat of about the right size with clean, traditional European lines, available as a kit.
Mercy! I did lust after a NanoShip quite lustily. Of course, now that lust has returned with new vigor. <;-)