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Sunday, October 23, 2011

Doryman Melonseed Skiff


Remember two weeks ago, when Doryman caught the Melonseed bug?

This is a sneak preview of the new Doryman Melonseed Skiff design.

A fresh development of this historical duck boat, the Doryman Melonseed is double-chined and planked in 6mm marine plywood. The planks above the waterline are glue-lapped and fastened with bronze nails. The garboard-to-wherry keel seam is stitch-and-glue.

Fiberglass covers the bottom, below the waterline, because this boat is intended for weekend gunkholing and exploring. The objective is to keep her light, though she must stand up to beach landings at all those tempting places you can reach in a shallow draft hunting design.

With it's flat, wherry type bottom, this boat will rest comfortably on the strand while you set up camp.

A spritboom sail and a pair of oars are all you need. All your gear will stow up forward, under the deck, leaving a roomy six foot cockpit for the skipper and crew. Half decks and a three inch coaming insure that no matter what the sea conditions, the adventurers will stay dry.



Doryman Melonseed Skiff (click on the image for a closer view)

LOA 15'-8"
LWL 14'-11"
Beam 4'-10"
Design Draft, centerboard up 4"
Centerboard down 3'-8"
Sail Area 119 sq. ft.
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10 comments:

  1. robert.ditterichOctober 24, 2011 at 1:50 AM

    Well, that's a very suitable job for your cold season. And wonderful that it will be your own handsome interpretation of the theme. Great stuff MB, I hope you'll take lots of pics of the process for us.

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  2. Graham NeilOctober 24, 2011 at 3:30 AM

    I've admired the Melonseed for a while, this looks like an excellent modern interpretation. I'll look forward to seeing her develop.
    Enjoy the process.

    Graham

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  3. EyeInHandOctober 24, 2011 at 11:43 AM

    Excellent. Will be fun to watch the progress and follow along while sitting by a warm fire here.

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  4. dorymanOctober 24, 2011 at 12:06 PM

    I'm torn about this one, gentlemen.
    Also on my desk is a new doryman design for a sleek 18 foot rowing vessel which is an updated development from last winter's scull. Can't afford to build both of them.

    Since I sold my favorite row boat this summer (Culler Good Little Skiff)and also last winter's rowing scull, there is an immediate need for a row boat.

    Already in the doryman boatyard there resides a completely restored Enterprise dinghy which I've never sailed.
    Pound for pound, the Enterprise is an even match for a Melonseed, so you see the wish for a Melonseed is simply lust.
    In better economic times, I would simply build them both, because that's how I am.

    Decisions, decisions.

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  5. LaingdonOctober 24, 2011 at 1:22 PM

    $.02 from PT:

    build the boat you need and presumably will use more first; leave the redundant melonseed until there's time/$ enough and/or the Enterprise moves on.

    Or- if you're interested- there's a mostly restored Kingfisher sliding seat wherry gathering dust in my shop that could pretty easily be gotten back into service by someone with the time and energy to finish the project...

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  6. Bursledon BloggerOctober 27, 2011 at 12:00 AM

    Nice as the Melonseed is, I'd go for the rowing boat, my skiff gets more use, is more fun, more relaxing and less stressful than any other boat we've had.

    And of course I'll feel better for taking a whole year to get started on my SCOW restoration :O)

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  7. skipjack1012December 6, 2011 at 7:41 PM

    Don't listen to the naysayers. This will be your favorite boat of all time, hands down. You have a good size sail and it's not one of those little toy boats. I'm sure you'll put oar locks on it and never use them. These boats will move in no wind at all. We have two of the "Cortez melonseeds" under construction in the shop right now, numbers 12 and 13. Dave

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  8. dorymanDecember 7, 2011 at 11:01 AM

    Dave,
    Did you see Barry's video about rowing his Melonseed? He left the rig home and just went rowing. That's why this boat appeals to me. You always hear about how hard it is to design a boat that sails and rows equally well, but I think that's just another one of those old legends.
    Roger's design is a beauty. A hard act to follow.

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  9. ChrisDecember 15, 2011 at 6:15 PM

    Doryman
    Last year I bought a 13' 6" stitched and glued Melon Seed from Phil Maynard. He originally had a sprit rig and semitar dagar board. Then Phil changed to a 75 sq ft Marconi rig with two reef points and kick up centerboard which does not encroach on the cockpit at all. The cockpit is completely free and clear. I bought Phil's S&G Melon Seed after my attempts to buy one of Eric Bartos lapstrake MS's for sail at the Chesepeake Bay Maritime Museum failed. Basically I loved the eye candy effect and wanted to share my passion for small boat sailing with a passenger. I sail in winds between 8 and 20 knots on Jamaica Bay. Sometimes with a reef in. The boat sails and rows great.
    Chris

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  10. dorymanDecember 16, 2011 at 7:44 AM

    Chris,
    I've seen photos of your melonseed, which were valuable in developing this design, since they are of similar plywood construction.
    This melonseed will also have some lapped planks as a nod to Eric's design, which is my favorite of all.

    I also got a lot of help from the other melonseed owners in your neck of the woods. I agree they are a very attractive, even addictive design.
    Thanks for checking in here - hope to hear more from you as this project progresses.

    michael

    ReplyDelete