Doryman's Melonseed

In the upper left corner of this page is a search window. If you type in Doryman's Melonseed design, you will find, as I did, that this project started in December of 2011. How could that be? Four and a half years. Well, I guess you know how fate has befallen this sailor.
Take heart my patient reader, for the long awaited sail-rig has evolved to the test stage. We already know how Aria rows. Like a song.





Martin and I chose a calm day for our first sail. Turned out to be breathless, but we had enough puffs to get a feel for how this 'seed flies.

It was apparent from the first, the free-footed sail needs a boom for windward work. The fixed keel shape, taken from Atkin's Valgerda allowed quite a bit of leeway, but I think that will improve with a boom as well. I intend to leave the foot loose, lash the sail to the boom at the tack and clew and use a downhaul from the clew to the base of the mast.

 

If this sounds confusing, we'll come back soon with photos and an updated report.

Please stay tuned.

Name That Melonseed

Doryman's melonseed left the shop today, with help from a few friends.

Long overdue, I know.

She fits well on her second-hand trailer, pretty as a melonseed.

Thank you, Scott, Jason, Brandon and Ellie!

Ready for a sea trial as soon as a busy Doryman gets a free day. But what to name her? I'm stumped. Since she is a duck-hunting design, something along that line seems appropriate.

What do you think?...

A late afternoon fitting of the rigging.
So far, so good.

Doryman's Melonseed

For a few days recently, the weather here on the Oregon coast was simply fabulous. But apparently the monsoons have returned and along with them, an under-the-weather Doryman. Not feeling too spry today.

The fine weather gave me the opportunity to cultivate the garden plot and dream of fresh vegetables. There are quite a few plants that wintered-over and spring seems to have a big head-start. Anyone who loves the sea and also enjoys raising a garden will instantly realise the conflict here.

Warm temperatures also facilitated putting finishing touches on the Doryman Melonseed. The roof of the porch where this boat is being built is made of a greenhouse material, so it's a joy to now sit in this solar heated space and contemplate the beauty of this little vessel.

Next the melonseed will need a trailer. When we launched this boat, just before the decks were installed, the trailer was from another boat. So, one more hurdle before true sea-trials, but I expect to discover this will be a great sail-and-oar boat. The thwarts are removable to maximize use of a nine foot-long cockpit. They are also spaced for two rowers, so an extra rowing station can be configured, if required.

Ready to head out the door.

The view during afternoon tea on the back porch. You would think I'm tired of this view, having looked at it for hours on end, but no.

Many thanks to those who offered advice in the design stages and encouragement with support along the way. Truly, this has been a community effort. I would especially like to thank Barry Long, Mike Wick, Dave Lucas, Brandon Ford, Jim Ballou, Marty Loken and most important of all, Mary McCall.

Doryman's Melonseed

Winter temperatures here on the Oregon coast have been uncharacteristically cold recently. Nothing slows boat building as much as cold temperatures. Although, those who are familiar with Doryman know, the design process never stops.

I've been fitting the decks on the melonseed (finally). For a few weeks, the process of putting finishes on the interior was a test of patience. You all know I'm not famous for having patience. But it had to be done. Some compartments are impossible to finish once the decks are on, in fact finishing the inside of a boat is much easier all-around before the decks are laid. There once was a day when I would impatiently power through the building process and leave the finishes to the end, which is self-defeating, to put it succinctly.

Waiting for paint and adhesives to dry is a good time to review and update designs. Then you can always say you are working, even though it looks like you are watching the paint dry.

Sometimes an idea that has been incubating for a long time suddenly seems to augment. Such is the case with this melonseed. You may remember, the modern recreational melonseed is an adaptation from the Jersey Skiff, an east coast of North America duck hunting boat of the nineteenth century. It has proven to be an adaptable and seaworthy design.

The Boat Bits web-log recently brought to my attention a coastal cruising design from Gilles Montaubin, L'Etroit Mousquetaire. Please note the similarities in the hull shape between my melonseed and this attractive minimalist cruiser.

Quite a coincidence? Perhaps, but more likely it's just one of those ideas that works. The coincidence is that for the last few months, I have imagined my little sailing dinghy as a larger boat with a cuddy cabin. And here it is, from the pen of Monsieur Montaubin!

I'm going to step right out on the limb now and say... why build one of the recently popular slab-sided cruisers when, for the same money and effort you can have a simple, elegant design like this?

A search on this 'ol blog for Doryman's Melonseed.
More melonseed construction photos on the Doryman Flickr site.

Doryman's Melonseed

This new design prototype was last winter's indoor project and will be continued in a few months. With all the boats shuffling around out in the boatyard, an empty trailer happened to be standing by.






I called Brandon, asking if he would like to help me float test the unfinished boat... barely got the words out of my mouth...

Brandon refers to Beaver Creek, where it empties into the Pacific Ocean as the Beaver Creek Test Facility. It's only a couple miles down the road, has a very nice, little used small boat ramp and is sheltered from the ocean winds. Two winters ago we tested my rowing shell there and you all know how memorable that was, as Doryman took a dunking.

This Melonseed is a new design but is not experimental. The Jersey Skiff duck hunting boat has been around for a long time. In fact Howard Chapelle drew lines for his famous Melonseed half a century ago and kicked off a whole new generation of duck boats as racing skiffs. Many modern designers have recreated this boat. It has been built carvel planked, lapstrake, strip planked, stitch-and-glue and cold-molded.
But never before has it been conceived in the wide seven plank method of the old Norse, until now.

The bottom is a flat wherry keel, symmetrically double-ended and about a foot wide amidships. The next plank is wide and brings the hull up past the waterline. The wherry bottom and the garboard panels are joined with a flush-matched chine. The topsides are comprised of two planks which are lapped, clinker style.





It seemed wise to give the hull a test before finishing off the decks and I wish to report, this is one very fine boat. It moves very efficiently, tracks well and has plenty of reserve buoyancy. Brandon and I each made a test run and made notes about relative trim as we moved weight fore and aft. With no ballast and only one person, the boat was very stable. As you can see from the video, just a light pull from a paddle moves her right along. Brandon had to move to the fore of the cockpit to get the bow to sink, which means there is plenty of fullness forward that will come in handy while sailing.

Right now, there is a lot going on in the boatyard, but as the winter monsoons come on, it will be back to work on the Doryman Melonseed. Can't wait to sail this little skiff. I'm working out the final details for new plans so if you think you'd like to build one of these, please, send me a note.

Here's a quick video that might help with your decision:

07-26-12 Melonseed Trial from doryman on Vimeo.

Here is the entire build from start to date:

Doryman's Melonseed

It's been a bit chaotic around here, something that is not suppose to happen for two more months. The malignant winter weather has turned unpredictable. What is worse, knowing the weather is against you, or wondering if it is?

Progress has been made on the Doryman Melonseed, however. The boat is now turned upside down to install a fixed keel.

You heard right, a fixed keel.



The plans still call for a centerboard, but when I looked at the open interior of this gunkholer, it was too pristine to spoil. We'll see how this works, and if it does, so much better. Imagine a nine foot long unobstructed cockpit in a sixteen foot boat. A melonseed should draw about 4-5 inches and is meant to traverse very shallow water in a river delta. This boat will draft close to one foot, so floating in marsh grass is not on the agenda, but most days, one foot of draft is good, in fact, very good.



I am willing to compromise on this.





More melonseed photos on Doryman's Flickr.

Odds 'n Ends

Organizing winter projects.....



This is how the deadeyes will look when set up on the shrouds of Saga. The top set are turned and seized with tarred marlin, which took a long time and was very hard on the hands. If you want to see how this was done, check With Needle and Palm.
I'm still working on the straps that will attach the bottom set to the chainplates.

This is more than an exercise in anachronism. A simple block and tackle is a worthy replacement for today's turnbuckle. The turnbuckle costs a lot more, yet is no more effective.
No matter how your boat is fitted, you might find this method useful one day.








Lofting for the Doryman Melonseed has begun. It's cold on the back porch! I noticed today that sometime around the solstice, the setting sun will shine directly down the middle longitude of this room.
(How do you like my new wool hat?)






In the corner is a secondhand miniature barrel stove, once used in a teepee. It burns very small dimensional wood, which is perfect for shop scraps. I'll have it hooked up and working in a couple days. Don't expect much from this little heater, but it will keep the teapot warm.

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.
.

Melonseed Skiffs

New Jersey and the Delaware River Basin have a rich history of small craft. Unique vessels have evolved for hunting, fishing, clamming and transportation over a diverse range of water conditions.

From the shallow waters of Barnegat Bay through the surf off the Jersey Shore to the Delaware River, these vessels were designed as work boats which, over time, became recreational boats.

The Melonseed is still a popular design, which has been documented from 1882.

Melonseeds today have evolved from skinny water duck boats into conveyances for sailors who no longer hunt ducks. They still ply the same waters with their proven seaworthiness, fine bows and sleek, low hulls.

Recently three new Melonseeds were launched, which has set off a flurry of interest that has caught Doryman in it's wake.




There was Barry Long's matched pair of Marc Barto 13' Melonseeds, Aeon and Caesura. If you haven't followed Barry's diary about building these fine boats, he publishes as EyeinHand.



















Barry's Melonseeds are strip-planked construction.








Then we saw Mike Wick's Moggie taking on all comers at the St Michael's Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival.














Mike's boat is a cold-molded Cortez 16 Melonseed, taken off a strip-planked hull. It might just be the lightest (and fastest?) Melonseed yet. I think Mike is just the guy to demonstrate what a Melonseed can do as a racer.
















About twenty years ago, Marty Loken, who had the The Wooden Boat Shop retail store in Seattle at the time, was so impressed with Melonseeds that he commissioned a stitch-and-glue version from Sam Devlin.



Marty owns a Seaford Skiff built by Paul Ketcham of Amityville, New York, in 1950. He claims the Seaford Skiff is a delight to row or sail. "Like some other melonseed designs it has a plank keel and is very low in the water. You sit on the hull when sailing as though you're in a narrow Beetle Cat, and the overall sensation is a bit like sea kayaking... in the water, not just on the water."

Marty's Seaford Skiff is carvel planked.





The boat Marty commissioned is Sam Devlin's Melonseed, done in Sam's trademark stitch and glue construction method and called Zephyr.






Joel Bergen of Navigator fame chose the Zephyr as his first boat building project. We will have to dedicate some time to Joel's Melonseed at a later date. Apparently he kept a weblog while he was building his Zephyr, but that chronicle no longer exists.





The stitch-and-glue Melonseed lacks some of the gracefulness found in the round-bottom designs but can be built in 100 hours with minimal skills. It's a pretty boat with characteristically good sailing qualities.




In conversation with other boat builders, we agreed that this boat might make a very good sail-and-oar boat for RAIDs and weekend gunkholing.

Now you know why Doryman is so excited. Will we see a Doryman Melonseed?




The Voyage continues...








If there is to be a Doryman Melonseed, it will have to be clinker built.

Enough said.

Traditional Small Craft of the Delaware River Basin

Ever hear of a Melonseed? How about a Tuckup? Or maybe a Sneakbox...

If not, there is a new website where you can learn about these traditional hunting designs and other small boats from New Jersey and the Delaware River Basin.

Though these boats were originally designed for hunting and fishing the tide flats and marshes of the Delaware River, they have found a resurgence in popularity with sailors of all types for their handsome lines and quick, responsive sailing qualities. Many have fallen in love with the Melonseed or Tuckup at first sight and I think if you spend any time with them, you will find yourself yearning as well.

The purpose of the Traditional Small Craft of New Jersey and the Delaware River Basin website is to provide a resource for those interested in building these boats, with input from those that have built and sailed them. Each design has its own page with links to pages contributed by builders of that particular model, as well as articles related to building and sailing them.

For those who already know and love these boats, there are active solicitations for material to contribute to the site.



...so, if you would like to know more about a Ducker, a Railbird Skiff or a Jersey Beach Skiff - or if you have a story to share concerning one you love, then please visit Traditional Small Craft of New Jersey and the Delaware River Basin.

I would especially like to thank Mike Wick, one of the editors of the Ash Breeze and a man who truly loves his Melonseed for bringing this new resource to my attention - Thanks, Mike!

Photos courtesy of Andy Slavinskas
.