Over the last few months I have been rowing my Acorn 15 regularly because I enjoy it and I need the exercise. My Acorn 15 rowing boat has a fixed rowing position and I decided that it would be a good idea to try rowing with a sliding seat to get a more complete workout. One option would have been to modify the Acorn 15 by fitting a sliding seat. I wasn't keen on doing this because I didn't want to spoil the look of the Acorn 15. It would also have been a compromise solution.

While these ideas were going round in my head I came across the photo below taken by my friend and fellow member of the Wooden Boat Association of Queensland Ian Primrose.

The photo is of a Classic Derwent Skiff designed by Allan Witt of a company called Row and Sail based in Tasmania.

I liked the appearance of this boat which is configured with a sliding seat as shown. The rowing position can be moved forward and an additional seat added for a passenger if desired.

This version of the Derwent Skiff is 5.5 metres (18 feet) long and should weigh around 38 kg. This is less than half the weight of my Acorn 15.




Friday 4 May 2018

Almost Finished

A couple of days ago I congratulated myself on finishing the last of four coats of varnish on both the outside and inside of the hull but, there is always a but! The outrigger arms and buoyancy tank unit (OAaBTu) is supported in the boat in three places; at the aft end by the outrigger arms resting on the gunwales and at the forward end of the buoyancy tank by a chock on the keel. The height of these chocks is tailored to suit and can only be determined with the OAaBTu in its final position.

Here's a photo of the OAaBTu resting in the boat. There is a lot of fiddly measuring to do to position it correctly; fore and aft, at right angles to the centreline of the boat and centered over the keel.


The height of the chock under the forward end of the OAaBTu is adjusted until the outrigger arms sit nicely on the gunwales

The arms are drilled and counterbored underneath to fit over stainless steel buttons on the gunwales. This has to be done accurately and is time consuming involving measuring, marking and drilling at rightangles to a curved surface.

Here the unit is sitting on its buttons with the fixing screws in place. The stretcher is fixed to the keel with two buttons and these have to be positioned relative to the OAaBTu.


The whole process then has to be repeated  with the OAaBTu in its forward position (used when carrying a passenger).

HereAre three photos of the  "finished" rowing position. The OAaBTu is in the aft position and the buttons for the forward position can be seen on the gunwales.The sliding seat and runners plus the hatch covers are not yet screwed in place but i wanted to see what it all looked like.




The last two bits of woodwork can now be done. The chocks to support the OAaBTu have been shaped, sealed and given their first coat of varnish. While they are getting their additional coats I will finally fix everything else in the boat.











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