Thread: 9 ft Nutshell

Oh damn, the old 'which boat?' rat race is starting. The Shellback looks very nice too

Richard

Ducks have built quite a few without that pesky laminated rib that goes through the middle of the boat.

They build the boat with a spaced inwale so support the side.

They put in a short piece across the width of the bottom panel at the back of the centrecase to give enough bonding area so hitting the centreboard against something won't be toooooo dramatic - or only as dramatic as the original boat.

The centreboard is a joke - another 6 to 10" of depth and an inch or two of width will make a huge difference in performance.

The Nutshell is quite heavy in some ways - so the bigger one is a bit of a lift onto roofracks.

But both Nutshells are basically nice boats. Row, Sail, small outboard. Carry a nice bit of weight as a tender.

MIK

The design calls for rather thick timber. I was thinking of 6mm gaboon - that's all I've got on Redback.

Richard

Sounds fine. If it seems a bit floppy the beam across the back of the centrecase will stiffen it at midpoint and a (external) keel batten allied with the skeg would do the rest if you reviewed at that point.

MIK

Any thoughts on the Shellback vs the 9 ft Nutshell?
Yes, it's longer but it's got the pointed front end. I'm not sure how the water line lengths compare but I wouldn't have thought they wouldn't be very different.

I really have very little clue as to how this boat would be used. Maybe I'll call the next one Clueless. Although I hope my suggested mods to the Tender Behind will make that useable, I'm still going to be cramped in that tiny cockpit. Hence the slightly larger boat. I don't want to go too big because want to be able to man handle the thing single handed ie, carry, launch, retrieve over a river bank.

I'll probably do a lot of my initial sailing in Westlakes which isn't all that big. Don't know where else I'd use it but seeing I live in southern Adelaide, I guess calm evenings off the beach will come into it. This has been one of the reasons she hasn't been used more up to now.

Where can you sail around Adelaide if you don't want to brave the surf?

I want something I can learn to sail in and get a bit of use out of. I want something I can row because I enjoy rowing. Everything that Tender Behind was supposed to do actually. I like planked boats. I like a round bilge, mainly for aesthetics because the faint glimmerings of understanding that I have about boats are only faint. However, I gather that boats like the Nutshell will roll then stiffen up and I like that - sailing Redback the other day, the only way she was going to sail flat was with me near the middle of the boat and that just wasn't going to happen. Add to that, I'm a tall bugga which suggests that for comfort, I'll be sitting on the floor, leaning against the side (unless hanging out for dear life of course) and that means the boat will most likely be heeled over to that side so I think I want something that's going go so far and then stop.

Let's face it, I don't have a bloody clue do I.

I'm never going to go racing.
I'm not interested in joining a club and doing club stuff - btdt.
I just want to be able to go out and mess about in a boat from time to time and enjoy it. For me, 'good performance' means easy to lug about, easy to set up, easy to sail and safe to sail. Speed isn't an issue ... though it's always nice to go fast, even if you're just pretending.

But I guess if I'm realistic, I'm going to have to go off the beach aren't I. It's near enough to a hour to Westlakes, further to the Port River and the poor old Murray ain't all that flash at the moment. I'm looking at half day trips, not full day excursions. Midge, I envy you with your river out the back door.

Small is good. If I'd built the Nutshell in the first place, I'd be laughing. I know this, because my (even taller) mate has one and I've seen him sailing it. I may be able to make my current boat do the job, but if I can't, something a little roomier is a better choice.

Are you going to the Pt Vincent/Stansbury regatta Mik? Mike and I hope to be there with our wee boaties.

Richard

Spoke to Ted today - he is planning to do Stansbury. We will have a couple of PDRs there. They will outsail the little Nutshell 3:1 around a course, eat up your little one and outgun the bigger nutshell in most breezes.

And it hardly ever heels enough for people to find it doesn't pick up stability in the same way as a boat with flare. Just too stable to start with. And an adult and a child are a very suitable payload.

But the PDR ain't round of course. But it is a proper sailboat unlike the others which are compromises that will do everything OK

The Nutshells are rather good compromises though.

MIK

(for those who see me sorta touting my own wares here and see that I don't do it elswhere on this or other forums ... it is because Daddles knows how to take what I say with a pinch of salt. So others do it too please )

Originally Posted by Daddles

I'll probably do a lot of my initial sailing in Westlakes which isn't all that big. Don't know where else I'd use it but seeing I live in southern Adelaide, I guess calm evenings off the beach will come into it. This has been one of the reasons she hasn't been used more up to now.

Where can you sail around Adelaide if you don't want to brave the surf?

snip

I'm never going to go racing.
I'm not interested in joining a club and doing club stuff - btdt.
I just want to be able to go out and mess about in a boat from time to time and enjoy it. For me, 'good performance' means easy to lug about, easy to set up, easy to sail and safe to sail. Speed isn't an issue ... though it's always nice to go fast, even if you're just pretending.

But I guess if I'm realistic, I'm going to have to go off the beach aren't I. It's near enough to a hour to Westlakes, further to the Port River and the poor old Murray ain't all that flash at the moment. I'm looking at half day trips, not full day excursions. Midge, I envy you with your river out the back door.

Richard

G'day Daddles

You can't be that far from me (Aberfoyle). Equally envious of the Midge. Wish SA Water would un-bend on access to the metro reservoirs, but they are incredibly defensive of "preserving water quality". All the management types I've spoken with are totally (willfully??) blind to the point that the water in Mt Bold, Happy Valley, & etc is just plain ol' Murray or Onka water, complete with the pollutants of thousands of farms & Km... *sigh*...

Westlakes is surprisingly big if you go along rather than across. Grab a UBD & count the squares around Delphin Is. Excellent paddle or row. Bridges are low-clearance though, & there seem to be few places you can get a car closer than 20 or 30 metres from the water. Fine for carrying a kayak, but a chore for anything bigger.

My favouritest spot is Clayton Bay. Most boaties don't go there. It's a beaut drive down through Meadows & Ashborne, about 70 mins - only 20 mins or so further than fighting city traffic to West Lakes. It's a bit shallow at the moment, but a mostly sandy bottom & a channel that goes for miles east-west. Photos in the Paradox Bilge-Runners thread taken Monday. You can drive to the water's edge (or into it if you want), so it's no effort to launch, even from roof-racks. Clean toilets near the ramp & Jetty & picnic ground. It can be a bit exposed in a SW blow though.

Goolwa is very shallow out front of the Aquacaf, but good wide channels towards the bridge & around the other side to the Hindmarsh Marina.

Best of all, most boaties think it's all salt-pan at the moment so they are staying away in their droves. In my last 3 outings, I've seen just 2 other boats on the water. One of them was a kayak.

Haven't put my Teal into the Gulf yet. Using the inland waterways saves me even having to think about buying all that extra safety gear (I actually lashed out on a $12 anchor the other week!) Having the same issues with size & moving around in Teal as you seem to be with your TB. I wonder whether a Nutshell would be enough of an increase for you? Personally pondering a GIS or a Houdini as a replacement - the light & nimble sports-car or the heavy, sleep-aboard armchair Limousine... *sigh*

cheers
AJ

You can't be that far from me (Aberfoyle).

You know the CFS station by the roundabout? I can lob rocks on their roof

Sounds like we need to get together.

The lack of boaty places around here is a huge disappointment

Seriously, it's all too hard sometimes. Feel free to take me away and train me.

Mik. Your PuddleDucks are nice but methinks you're taking too much from your racing background ... or maybe I'm too much of a muggins. I know what you're saying and won't argue it, but do feel you've missed my point. Maybe we need to spend more time face to face - me learning from you, you coming face to face with the 'other side'. I'd be disappointed if I changed any of your thoughts but it would be nice to make you think about where the indicators are pointing

Richard

Originally Posted by Daddles

but it would be nice to make you think about where the indicators are pointing

Poked my nose in here and have to ask what you mean?

FWIW I have sailed many dinghy designs and while the PDR may not be the prettiest (although Miks version does have a certain charm) it has all the attributes of a great little boat to learn to sail in, stability most importantly. Yep I'm a convert.

Maybe Mik should do a 12' GIS.

Cheers Mike
BTW I'm just around the corner in the next valley

Originally Posted by m2c1Iw

Cheers Mike
BTW I'm just around the corner in the next valley

This could be an excuse for a gathering - drink beer, tell lies & chuck rocks onto the CFS roof. Not this weekend though - likely to be too many people hanging out at the CFS...

Daddles - yes it is too hard. Often. Now that I have a kayak that I comfortably fit in, Teal has languished largely unused. Partly the cruddy sailing weather that SA is blessed with, partly the distance to water, partly the (minimal) effort needed to get on the water, partly the poor performance & squeezy accommodations. But mostly there are so many other things crying for my time, & I'm too stuffed &/ it's too late once they are attended to.

Saw some Pacers on the beach at Clayton the other day. Now they are a gorgeous little boat. Strip out the bermudan racing rig, drop in a smaller version of MIK's GIS rig, & it'd be as near to a perfect one/two-up day-sailer as I can think of.

cheers
AJ
from down the hill a bit.

Originally Posted by Boatmik

Ducks have built quite a few without that pesky laminated rib that goes through the middle of the boat.

They build the boat with a spaced inwale so support the side.

They put in a short piece across the width of the bottom panel at the back of the centrecase to give enough bonding area so hitting the centreboard against something won't be toooooo dramatic - or only as dramatic as the original boat.

The centreboard is a joke - another 6 to 10" of depth and an inch or two of width will make a huge difference in performance.

The Nutshell is quite heavy in some ways - so the bigger one is a bit of a lift onto roofracks.

But both Nutshells are basically nice boats. Row, Sail, small outboard. Carry a nice bit of weight as a tender.

MIK

MIK
I presume all the above comments refer to Nutshell, not TB?
Curious about the weight comment. By the time off-cuts are removed, even the 9'9" version can't be much more than 2 sheets of ply, assorted oddments & paint & glass.

While still in 50 Wooden Boats, do you know of anyone who has build Joel White's Shearwater ? I'm guessing that a lower Murray / Lake Alex chop might not be a good match. But the pages seem to stop turning every time I get to that one...

cheers
AJ

Got study plans for the 9ft Nutshell and the Shellback last night. I'm kinda liking the Shellback - 11ft, normal dinghy and would sort of fit in with the TB rather than just be a direct replacement.

Mik? I'm guessing your comments about CB and Rudder apply to the Shellback as well (she doesn't look any better endowed). Mind you, the TB copped bigger bits too and they work very well on her.

Any alternatives? Must be a planked boat of some sort, I much prefer the look of a planked boat.

Richard

Originally Posted by Daddles

Midge, I envy you with your river out the back door.

Ahhh, you can have it for a large sum of money!

All things must pass, and I fear that in due course I'll have to take up skating to get to the river, just like the common folk!

The boatshed won't feel the same when its 50 k from the water!

So what happened to the rowboat idea old son?

P

Originally Posted by bitingmidge

Ahhh, you can have it for a large sum of money!

All things must pass, and I fear that in due course I'll have to take up skating to get to the river, just like the common folk!

The boatshed won't feel the same when its 50 k from the water!

So what happened to the rowboat idea old son?

P

I thought sea levels were supposed to rise and the weather was suposed to get hotter not colder - Midge, I reckon your position is safe for a few more millenia...