Otterblog
A record of the renovation of a
Wooden Drascombe Longboat 'Otter'
14th February 2007. Dilemma
My
plan is to add a cabin to Otter to make her a Cruiser Longboat. I am at
the stage where I am about to insert a bulkhead for the rear of the cabin
/ front of cockpit. My original plan was to stick to the original design
and put it at the rear of the centreboard case and remove the existing
bulkhead.. But I realised, today, that this will give a very small cockpit.
The length of the well between the rear of the cabin and the front of
the lazerette will be about 1026 mm (40"). I (the helmsman) would naturally
sit on the weather side at the front of the cockpit with my aft hand on
the tiller. This leaves no room for the crew on the weather side.
I am now considering putting the bulkhead further forward, replacing the
existing bulkhead, giving 1356mm (53.5") of cockpit. The downside is that
the cabin length will be reduced from 2290mm (7' 6") to 1955mm (6' 5.5")
give or take an inch. This is long enough for me to kip down but I would
sacrifice space for a permanent cooker. This I don't mind as a portable
one would do fine.
Here
is the fine wooden Cruiser Longboat 'Siobhan'.
Here
I have modified the photo of 'Siobhan' to show the foreshortening of the
cabin.
Another
fine wooden Cruiser Longboat 'Walvis'.
With
a shorter cabin.
The question is - Is this a sensible thing to do?
As I will be spending most of my time in the cockpit it seems worth sacrificing some space in the cabin to get more room there.
Unless stated otherwise, © Colin Watt 2006, 2007
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Last updated: 16 February, 2007