Doodling around and dealing with centerboard design

The initial design I came up with had a shoe keel to keep much of the centerboard trunk out of the cabin because it was getting in the way. The big problem with this is that the shoe keel would be harder to build than the simpler approach proposed by Welsford and other designers that keeps the centerboard case inside and bolts a lead shoe onto the bottom for ballast. The shoe keel design would required a profile about 9 inches deep and almost 10 feet long with lead ballast cast in a curve bolted to each side and substantial structure of 3/4 inch plywood and fir. One of my biggest goals is to try to keep construction simple and this would likely add on a few weeks of effort with the risk of a design that ended up leaking or not being strong enough - or one that has a lot more drag through the water than something simpler.

So I went back to the drawing board and made the cabin a little longer and moved things around so that I can use a similar approach to what Welsford does in his Penguin. In the new centerboard design below, this is a side view showing centerboard trunk with board down. The trunk runs down the centerline of the main cabin and has a table over it that folds out on either side. It also protrudes into the toilet (heads) area but is not in the way too much. Note also the ballast that extends below the hull in place of the ballast keel in the last design iteration. A thin skeg extends aft from this.

Rani told me she thinks it is stupid to have to sit down to make a meal so I moved the galley from where it is in the Penguin design and replaced part of the starboard Settee with it so that the chef can stand up with the hatch open at the tallest point in the cabin. The centerboard trunk and fold out table are yellow and the doorway simulates the companionway. Wall heights at the edge of the cabin are just high enough to sit under.Here is a mockup from house design software making sure that the Settee and galley area will work with the centerboard trunk in the cabin. One person can still sleep on the port settee with legs extending under the cockpit seats. The cooler will now be accessed from the starboard cockpit seat where the starboard settee used to extend. I also eliminated the bridge deck to lower the entrance height. I used a cardboard model in addition to the picture below to confirm that this should all work.

After I sorted this out, I began to play around with rig design. My friend Kurt suggested I investigate junk rig as he pointed out that I should design the rig to make it simple to use as I get older. Following are some experiments. In each of these I had to make sure the rig balances with the shape of the boat.

Here is the boat showing the new skeg/ballast and centerboard position. I have removed the inner stay and jib because these would not be used except in strong winds and gave one reader the impression that she was rigged as a cutter. Also added a simple window treatment.

An attempt to get rid of the bowsprit, Center of effort of the sails would be too far aft without the extra foresail area so this would not work well.

Bermudan rig with a spreader but no backstay. Slightly less sail area than the gaff rig and a bit harder to trailer and rig because of the taller mast

An attempt at a junk rig using the junk rig sketch by Welsford for his Swaggie enlarged and repositioned so that it balances out. Note that this would likely need a bigger unstayed mast that would need to be stepped on the bottom of the boat right through the middle of the Vberth bunk!

This fairly high aspect gaff sloop is still my preferred rig. I think I like the round portholes better than the ellipses. I also added a jaunty pennant at the top modeled on Mr Welsford's fine drawings.

Added some color based loosely on a color scheme I saw on a particularly lovely Tasmanian Welsford Penguin.

And here is the Penguin, Little Wing that inspired the colors in the sketch above:

I must say that given the effort of moving the centerboard around and stretching out things to work ergonomically, I have seriously considered simply going back and building a Welsford Penguin. However the design I have come to has several not insignificant differences that I think still make it more suitable for us. These include:

• 22.5 feet overall so quite a bit longer (Penguin is 21') and will still be trailerable and the longest planks can still be got out of 3 sheets of plywood
• Longer roomier cabin that also appears less top heavy (I like to think)
  
• Bigger galley that allows the chef to stand up
• Simplified stitch and glue 3 chine hull with no stringers except at deck and cabin level.
• Simpler interior with less built in shelves etc, relying on soft lockers (cloth bags)
• A toilet (heads) that is out of the passage way and a bit more private
• A hanging locker area where the head was
• Dedicated cooler, propane, and gas lockers
  
• Higher aspect rig may point a bit better
• Larger cockpit with more sitting room by eliminating bridge deck