Sam Devlin's (first?) " Egret"

My friend Jim was good enough to pass on a great project this spring. He'd spent a few months restoring this Sam Devlin designed Egret and decided he wasn't really a sailor and wanted to concentrate on his rowing boats.
Which makes me the lucky one! Jim has generously donated this Egret to the Doryman boatyard. He has completed most of the hull repairs and left me the finish work.

Sam apparently built this particular boat about thirty years ago. His trademark "stitch and glue" style is in effect and this boat is a testament to the durability of that method. Sam says this was his first design and remains one of the most popular designs he sells today.

Sam says this about his Egret:

"As a sailboat, the Egret is stable and quick. Up to four adults with gear can enjoy a day of sailing in comfort. The 75 sq. ft. spirit sail rig provides plenty of sail area to drive the hull. Though the Egret has double rowing stations, it is easily rowed by a single oarsman. For two oarsmen, the Egret is great fun and good transportation."

"An offset outboard well is offered, and we have found it to have no vices in handling. Egret was my first design and she now has sisters a-plenty. For a variety of uses and conditions, Egret has a lot to offer."


Length 15' 2"
Beam 4' 10"
Draft 7" (board up) 4' 2" (board down)
Weight 235 lbs
Sail area 75 sq ft
Max. Load 690 lbs

What a great daysailer for protected waters such as the many lakes found here in Oregon! Light enough to tow behind a small car, the Egret could provide many hours of easy sailing and effortless handling in the summer sun.

She currently has no centerboard but a deep, full length keel. I will probably add a centerboard trunk and a drop board to improve windward performance.


There is an articulating rudder out in the shop that will work nicely on a boat this size. Jim's gift included a mast and a balanced lug sail, so all I have to do is make up a yard and a boom. I hope Sam doesn't object to this small design change!


I intend to complete this Egret with a small foredeck and side decks wide enough to sit on.
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The Devlin Egret

As the boating season gears up, so does the activity in Doryman's boatyard. This year several new projects have been added to the list.

This is also a time for reflection and contemplation because updates come in about old friends and new. Take the Sam Devlin designed Egret, for instance. An early example of this modified dory, built by Sam himself, was given to me three years ago and sadly it drifted to the end of a long list of priorities.






But last fall my friend Lou Brochetti, who is an old friend of Sam's and an excellent boatwright, suggested he have a go at finishing her out. Lou lives in the high dessert in central Oregon, so we packed up the boat with enough odds and ends from the shed to rig it for sail and set off for Paulina Lake to met Lou and other Coots for a messabout.







We were able to sail the Egret, just barely enough for Lou to get a good sense of what needed to be done. He took her home in high sprits, with big plans.








Although the Egret was designed for a centerboard or leeboards, this particular boat had a full, fixed keel. As these photos show, Lou decided she needed a centerboard.





Good job, Lou!
















We have a mission for this summer, to explore Roosevelt Lake and this Egret may end up being Doryman's gunkholer. Roosevelt Lake is just behind Grand Coulee Dam, on the Columbia River, in Washington State. I've never sailed there but pictures from the link above make it seem very much like the Sea of Cortez, which is one of Lou's favorite cruising grounds, so I can see why he is so excited about this trip.






One thing I'm concerned about. This boat is a joy to row, but isn't that centerboard case going to be a bit uncomfortable?

The Devlin Egret, redux

The Devlin Egret has been a topic of some interest around here for awhile. I'm happy to report that Lou has fitted out this worthy craft better than new, in his usual thorough fashion.

He found rot along the shear, under the guard, so the top plank is new and he installed it clinker fashion, which I think looks very nice. The mast, sail and boom are collected from here and there and he made the yard. The hardware is from my boxes of salvage.


I think, when Sam hears about this, he will be very pleased.

The photos are from a wet trial a couple days ago.

Excellent job, Lou! It's so good to see a worthy boat brought back to life.

Small Craft Weekend

A photo essay

When two great events happen at the same time, it can be hard to decide which way to go. But then, a busy summer schedule often trumps, which was the case for Doryman last weekend.

The closest event was a gathering of Coots on Fern Ridge Reservoir, in the beautiful Willamette Valley, near Eugene Oregon. So, I dropped by just in time Saturday to visit as the boats returned to the docks from a day on the water. This is my home team, so you've seen some of these boats before.

First up is Bob Larken in his Wavewatcher, a Bolger designed Birdwatcher. Bob is an electronics and computer wizard and his boat is tricked out with amazing stuff. He recently installed a remote controlled tiller pilot so he can steer from any location on the boat.

This is John Kohnen's Redwing, Lazy Jack. He bought this boat recently from a fellow Coot and I think he's happy as a man can be.

Dennis McComber just finished this little runabout from a batteau.com plan. His son started the build and abandoned it. Dennis picked up where he left off and did a great job.

Cal Drake designed and built this Garvey and it's the powerhouse of the group. I don't know how much horsepower it has, but it's a lot. You might have noticed, some of the Coots are moving toward being a power squadron!

Not entirely. Hal Colvin brought his Pacific Pelican, Retta Ann. I've sailed with Hal before in this boat. A very capable craft.

And Lou Brochetti came with his newly refurbished Devlin Egret. So new, she doesn't have a name yet.

Lou likes to tinker with a design as much as I do. He says the sail rig is a bit small and too far forward. We're looking for the upgrade soon Lou!

This is the beauty that caught my eye. The new caretakers of Richardson State Park and the custodians of these docks, own this boat.

She's a Sam Rabl Picaroon and the story is, she was built in 1954 by Sam himself. Obviously the boat has undergone some extensive refitting and I'd like to know more.

A planked Picaroon is rare. The examples I've seen were all made from plywood.


A proper little yacht.

Speaking of proper yachts, north of here a few hundred miles was the first ever Pocket Yacht Palooza, in beautiful Port Townsend, Washington State. This new event was organized by the Port Townsend Pocket Yachters, co-sponsored by the Small Craft Skills Academy and Northwest Maritime Center, and held May 19 at the NWMC.



Marty Loken worked hard to make this inaugural event a success. Give the man a hand!

Photos can be found on the Packet Yachters' website and additional information is provided by Joel Bergen on his Navigator site.

Watch for this one next year.



Here's a teaser from last Saturday, sent in by our friend Brandon.......

Pocket Yacht Palooza 2012

Photos by Brandon Ford

Sharpie Otter Relaunched

On the Sunday of last weekend's Port Townsend Boat Festival, I was whisked away from the festivities to witness the relaunch of Alan Woodbury's sharpie on Mystery Bay. Alan has been working on restoring this boat for awhile and friends kept me appraised of progress, but I had yet to see it in person.

It's a stout boat, built of fir plywood and designed with a cat ketch rig. The sail rig has yet to be installed.

We had a poignant  de-naming ceremony and re-christening to appease Neptune.

It always helps to have a bagpiper for these occasions

I was impressed.

Alan has apparently forgotten to lower his rudder, but he'll get to it.

There is seven hundred fifty pounds of concrete blocks inside for ballast and look how much capacity is left.





Sharpies are one of my favorite designs, for their unique combination of simplicity, efficiency and seaworthiness. Many of you will be familiar with sharpies from Ralph Munroe's Egret and also from the design board of Reuel Parker.

Otter is twenty seven feet long and eight feet wide. The cabin is expansive, which at first gave me pause, but on the water has a grace I wouldn't have imagined. We took a quick tour around Mystery Bay under the power of a 9.9hp outboard while Jamie Orr and I sat down below in comfort.

There is a small unobtrusive centerboard in the middle of the cabin and a much larger one just aft in the cockpit, which you can see in the last photo above. With two masts and two centerboards, the options for trimming the helm are infinite.  

Otter took to the beach as her namesake implies and rode easily on the shingle while we celebrated. Skipper and crew could easily disembark without getting their feet wet! Such is the beauty of the extreme rocker and flat bottom of the traditional sharpie.

Alan's boat was a bit rough and not very well loved before he started. His repair work, however, is top drawer and we look forward to the finished product.

Congratulations, Alan!

Jamie and Alan scouting out an appropriate mooring. Please note the custom sailing outfits.

That's one happy, hardworking skipper.

If you're interested in reading about building a sharpie, there is a thorough description by Dale Austen of his Pangur Ban, a 28 foot Bill Schwicker sharpie design originally published in WoodenBoat #56.








Another builder/designer who finds sharpies impressive is Ross Lillistone. I recommend a visit.