scow bow sailboat plans

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 Full plans of the 21ft Cutter, Design #279 appear in the March/April 2024 issue of Water Craft magazine.  Scale drawiungs of this design are available at the special discount price of US$95 until June 30th 2023.  Click here for more details.

 Full Plans for the 19ft Cat Boat design #275 appear in the November/December 2023 issue of Water Craft Magazine.  Scale drawings of this plan are available at the special discount price of $75.00 until December 31st 2023 by clicking here.

 Full Plans for the 16ft Shanty Boat Design #276 appear in the September/October issue of Water Craft Magazine.  Scale drawings of this plan are available at the special discount price of $75.00 until October 30th 2023 by clicking here .

 Full plans of the 20ft seaging Canoe Design #274 appear in the July/August 2023 issue of Water Craft magazine.  Scale drawiungs of this design are available at the special discount price of US$75 until June 30th 2023.  Click here for more details.

 Full plans of the 14ft Sailing Dinghy Design #271 appear in the March/April issue of Water Craft magazine.  Scale drawings of this design are available at the special discount price of $75.00 until April 30th 2023.  Click here for more details.

Full plans of the 25ft Sailing Scow Design #269 appear in the Jan/Feb 2023 issue os Water Craft Magazine.  Scale drawings of this design are available a the special discound price of $85 until February 28th 2023.  Click here for more details.

Full plans of the 37ft Motor Sailer, Design #267 appear in the November/December 2022 issue of Water Craft Magazine.  Scale drawings of this design are available at a special discount price of $100 until December 31st. Click here for more details.

Full plans of the 15ft Light Skiff Design #268 appear in the September/October issue of Water Craft magazine.  Scale drawiungs of this design are available at the special discount price of US$85 until Ocotber 31st 2022.  Click here for more details.

Full plans of the 6.75 metre CB Sloop design #266 appear in the July/August 2022 issue of Water Craft Magazine.  Scale drawings of this design are available at a special discount price of $85 until Augsut 31st 2022. Click here for more details.

Full plans of the 4.5 meter Outboard Runabout Desing #265 appear in the May/Junel 2022 issue of Water Craft Magazine.  Scale drawings of this design are available at a special discount price of $75 until June 30th. Click here for more details.

Full plans of the 30ft V bottom Motor Sailer Design #264 appear in the March/April 2022 issue of Water Craft Magazine.  Scale drawings of this design are available at a special discount price of $100 until April 30th. Click here for more details.

Full plans of the 20ft Workboat Design #258 appear in the Jan/Feb 2022 issue of Water Craft Magazine.  Scale drawings of the plans for this boat can be obtained at a special price by clicking here .

NEW LAUNCHING September 2021, 14ft Sailing Dinghy 'Skraeling' Design #260. Click here for plan information

Full Plans of the 19ft double ended CB sloop, Design #257 appear in the November/December issue of Water Craft Magazine. Scale drawings of the plans for this boat can be obtained here at a special discounted price through December 31st 2021.

Full plans for the 27ft Cruising Canoe, Design #263 can be found n the September/October 2021 issue of Water Craft Magazine. Scale drawings of this design are available here . 

Full Plans of the 34ft Motor Cruiser Design #245 appear in the July/August issue of Water Craft Magazine.  Scale drawings are available here .

Full plans of the 16ft Cruising Dinghy, Design #262 appear in the May/June 2021 issue of Water Craft Magazine. Scale drawings are available  here .

Full plans of the 5.0 metre launch design #261 appear in the March/April issue of Water Craft magazine, or are available  here .

Full plans for the 14ft Double Ended Sailing Skiff 'Skraeling' Design #260 appear in the Jan/Feb issue of Water Craft Magazine, or are available by clicking  here.

Full plans for the 16ft Double Ended Rowboat, Design #242 available at a special  here . 

Full plans for the 13ft Plywood Catboat 'Crisis' appear in the July/August issue of Water Craft Magazine, or are available by clicking here .

Full plans for the 16ft daysailer Design #226A are published in the January/February issue of Water Craft magazine from the U.K. and are available  here .

The 22Ft Cutter Lady Jana (Ex Surprise) is for sale. She is seen here circa 2000 in Alaskan waters. Click  here  for details. 

Full Plans for the 4.9 metre Cutter 'PUDEL' are published in the September/October issue of Water Craft Magazine. Scale drawings may be purchased  here .

Click here to see details of 32 ft Gaff Cutter Design #223.

RECENT ADDITIONS TO OUR STOCK PLAN CATALOGUE

Design #236 45ft Cruising Cutter

Design #235 30ft Double ended Schooner

Design #233 14ft Plywood Rowboat

Design #231 10ft Sailing Dinghy

Design #230 15ft Clamming Skiff Design #229 24ft Light Double Ended Sloop Design #228  6 Metre Cabin Launch Design #227 25ft Tancook Schooner Design #226 17ft BEACH CRUISER

Design #225 18ft CENTREBOARD SLOOP Design #224  12.2 METRE SCHOONER 

Paul Gartside is a boatbuilder and designer currently based on Long Island, New York. We build in wood using both traditional and modern methods, provide custom design services in all materials and offer a catalogue of stock plans through this web site.

Visit the  Custom Boatbuilding  pages to see photographs of a variety of boats as they took shape in our workshop.

If you are interested in building a boat for yourself visit the  Stock Plans  pages, where you will find a wide range of boat plans that may be purchased on line. While these are professional plans, they are heavily detailed with the home builder in mind, and there are choices appropriate for every skill level. Check back now and then to see new Stock Plans as they become available. Browsing can also give you an introduction to the range of boat types and styles we can build for you.

WATERCRAFT MAGAZINE SPECIAL

The March/April 2024 issue of  Water Craft  magazine contains full plans for he 21ft Cutter Design #279.  The seven sheets of scale drawings for these plans are available by digital download for the special price of US$95.00  (regular list price is US$450.00). These pdf files may be printed to scale at any good copy shop. Sheet size is 34 in. x 24 in. This offer lasts until April 30th 2024, when the plans revert to regular list price.

Click here for details of Design #279

Hull Lines

Since March 2020 when the coronavirus arrived on our shores, we have maintained a  special offer  on the lines plans of all designs in our catalogue. In these times of social isolation, we need creative outlets more than ever. While full-size boat projects become more difficult, we can keep our selves amused and our dreams alive by model building. The lines plan, the drawing that defines the shape of a hull, is the essential requirement for making a half hull — one of the simplest and most satisfying modeling projects. In the past six months we seen excellent results from our customers — many of them first-time builders. We will keep this offer going through the winter, with hope that spring will see better times for us all.

Click here for details of the  Lines Plan special offer .

If we stay busy and cheerful we will get through this.

Paul Gartside

November 2020

Plans & Dreams Vol. I & II: Ready-to-Build Boat Design Books

PLANS & DREAMS Volumes I & II,  by Paul Gartside, are available for purchase from this website. They're big, beautiful books, each containing a collection of complete plan sets (with detailed technical information), as well as essays from Water Craft magazine on all aspects of boatbuilding.

Click here to order PLANS & DREAMS VOL 1.  

Plans and Dreams Vol II  is the second collection of ready to build boat plans. Click here to purchase Plans and Dreams Vol II  

Free Boat Plans

Water Craft magazine from the United Kingdom now publishes a complete set of Paul Gartside boat plans in every issue. Subscribers can build right from the pages of the magazine. Whether you are a compulsive builder or simply enjoy studying boat drawings, Water Craft is the magazine for you.

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Giancarlo Pedote rounded bow

Scow bows – more righting moment and better downwind speed

When the Mini Transat sent out a media release about some new designs for this year's race, we looked at the ugly scow bow in the picture and asked “why?”. Fortunatey, our readers include designers and naval architects, some of whom replied.

Dario Valenza is Australian Sailing + Yachting 's technical contributor and runs Carbonic Boats, which makes an interesting A Class and also produces other high-tech design elements. See more at  www.carbonicboats.com . Dario writes:

The short answer is more righting moment, both across the boat and longitudinally. For a given overall beam and keel weight, a scow bow gives more volume away from the centreline as well as more volume ahead of the centre of gravity.

Instead of only having outboard volume from the middle of the boat to the transom as on a pointy boat, with a scow you have it all the way along. This means that the centre of buoyancy moves outboard further when you heel, giving a higher metacentre, or more leverage for the keel and boat mass to exert righting moment.

If sail area is unrestricted, more righting moment means you can carry more sail for a given windspeed. Similarly, downwind you can press harder without burying the nose.

The above only considers hydrostatics. When you look at the dynamic situation, the scow also gives more planing area. But this is secondary since ordinary Minis had no problem planing. Maybe a scow can plane a bit sooner.

Another secondary advantage is that you have more volume for water ballast.

I am not up to speed with the Mini rules, but if they have a static heel limit with ballast loaded, then a scow will get more righting moment from a similar water ballast arrangement to a conventional peer.

The clever thing about a scow is that it obtains the extra righting moment without big changes in trim with heel. You don't get the tendency that wedge-shaped boats have to trim bow-down when heeled. Though recent progress in chined hull design has helped deal pretty effectively with the warping of the waterplane with heel, scows don't have to deal with it at all.

Which brings us to the downsides. The single biggest handicap is additional wetted area when upright. Once powered up the waterline gets narrower, but at zero heel you have a canoe body with disproportionately wide and shallow sections.

A conventional boat can shift weight forward to unstick the transom. A scow is harder to trim and does not have the narrow forward sections of a conventional hull.

Also the blunt bow does give more resistance in some wave conditions and more windage when sailing upwind. Some consideration must also be given to the fact that the keel root is very close to the surface when heeled. Finally, a scow hull uses more material than a conventional one so it will be stiffer but heavier.

In the end the outcome is in great part rule-dependent. The Mini is a short light boat with unrestricted sail area, so adding righting moment usually pays because it allows you to carry more canvas. Some of the extra sail area offsets any drag penalty paid for the extra righting moment. The rest is a net gain.

Another consideration is that with good weather routing, most time on the course can be spent sailing downwind in breeze where the drawbacks of the scow are smaller.

You might be interested to know that RC 10 Raters went through a scow 'trend' in (I think) the 1970s. Possibly around the time the Moths did. http://www.radiosailing.org.au/our past/Frank Russell.pdf . Notably the 10 Rater rule allows you to trade waterline length for sail area.

Also interesting is that the 10 Raters could get away with very low freeboard like the lake scows, but for a different reason: The lake scows sail mainly in flat water but the 10 Raters had no crew to keep dry. 

– Dario Valenza 

Naval architect Andy Warner also sent us a succinct explanation of the positives for a scow bow:

With a displacement hull the angle that the water is parted with at the bow is an important contributor to resistance of the form along with Displacement, Length, Prismatic Coefficient, position of the Centre of Buoyancy. The bigger the angle the more resistance.

If the hull is not operating at displacement speeds but rather is planing the resistance of the form is governed by a different set of factors. Particularly Length and bow angle are much less of a contributor and beam plays a bigger role. Look at a picture of a powerboat on a plane with the narrower bow lifted clear of the water and a much blunter part just throwing water out to the side.

The boat you have a picture of for the mini transat clearly expects to be planing most of the time.

Likewise if the Sydney Hobart was a race with boats planing from start to finish Comanche would have won but when the wind went a bit lighter or on the nose the narrower Wild Oats had the advantage. Every boat design is a compromise and a balancing act. Extreme boats will always win if they get the right weather

– Andy Warner

And Hugh Spencer contributed these thoughts:

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CRUISER-RACER CONFUSION: Scow Bow Revolution 29 and Gunboat G4 Capsize

This is something I ask myself quite often: can a modern truly cutting-edge high-performance racing sailboat also be a cruising boat? In certain ways, of course, the old ideal of the true cruiser-racer, per the glory days of the Cruising Club of America rating rule and boats such as Carleton Mitchell’s famous yawl Finisterre , evaporated many decades ago. Yet still it is an ideal that both boatbuilders and boat owners incessantly aspire to somehow realize in a modern context, and it is fascinating to watch how these aspirations manifest themselves. Take, for example, the Revolution 29 (see image up top), a new cruising design developed in France that is directly based on David Raison’s radical scow-bowed Mini 6.5 in which he won the Mini Transat in 2011.

Raison’s Mini was not just radical in appearance; it was radically fast and won the 2011 Transat by a large delta, setting a new course record in the process. This success was so significant that other important monohull racing classes—Open 60s, Class 40s, TP 52s—pretty quickly banned scow bows for fear their existing fleets would instantly be rendered obsolete. Development of the concept continues however within the Mini class, which has long been a leading hotbed of high-performance monohull sailing innovation.

David Raison arrives in Brazil aboard TeamWork Evolution in 2011 after crushing the rest of the Mini fleet

What’s interesting about the scow bow, of course, is that it is one of those few racing innovations that immediately and obviously has critical advantages in the cruising market. As in: if you make the bow of any boat much wider you have lots more space inside for accommodations.

Interior of the Revolution 29. A whole lot of space for a boat this small. Note there is also a predecessor design, the Revolution 22, more directly based on the 22-foot racing Mini

But putting a scow bow on a cruising boat obviously doesn’t instantly make it a “cruiser-racer.” What makes the scow bow super-competitive is that it facilitates a boat’s ability to plane, and the other key factor in that equation is always weight. Or rather the lack of it. Load up a boat with lots of furniture and gear and you will seriously inhibit its ability to plane regardless of what shape its bow is. As always, a certain balance must be achieved and compromises must be made.

To get an idea of what a competitive scow-bow boat looks like under sail, watch this viddy here of TeamWork Evolution drag-racing against a conventional Mini.

You should note in particular the boat’s insanely huge sail plan. Prototype Minis are renowned for these, and obviously the rig on any reasonable cruising boat would want to be quite a bit smaller. One question in my mind is whether you in fact need all the extra sail area to make the scow bow fast. Could it be that with more cruiser-sized sails the scow bow might actually be slower than a conventional bow?

The new G4 does its flying thing

Another question being openly discussed right now, thanks to Gunboat and its new G4 foiling catamaran , is whether foils make any sense on a “cruiser-racer.” As I mentioned in my previous post on the boat, it is the first fully foiling boat with any sort of accommodations, and Gunboat has been marketing it as a coastal cruiser-racer. And now in its racing debut at St. Bart’s the svelte little beast has capsized in dramatic fashion, which has prompted some forum trolls as well as a few otherwise polite people to wonder out loud how this could possibly be termed a cruising boat.

Wipe Out from Gunboat on Vimeo .

Watch the viddy here first and then ask yourself: did the boat capsize because it was foiling, or did it capsize because the crew was unable to release the mainsheet for some reason? To me it definitely looks like the latter and that this would have happened, given the issue with the sheet, to any performance cat whether it was airborne or not.

Actually in this image it looks like that helicopter might have been a precipitating cause

Gunboat CEO Peter Johnstone, post flip

So maybe we shouldn’t be focussing on the foils so much. After all, as I understand it the G4 was originally developed as a straight performance cat and the flying foils were added later in the process. Like the AC72s in the last America’s Cup go-round, the G4 wasn’t born a foiler, but evolved into one. Also, of course, it is perfectly obvious that the boat capsized because it was being raced and not cruised. The crew was pushing the boat to its limits, and just because it has a limit (like any boat) doesn’t mean it can’t be cruised. For example, I have a friend who once owned a heavy full-keeled Tayana 37 that was dismasted during a distance race because he declined to take his spinnaker down when conditions got strong. The spinnaker in a gust just pulled the mast right off the boat. Which obviously doesn’t mean you can’t go cruising in a Tayana 37.

I think the real question to ask is: is there a point at which a boat becomes too performance-oriented to really be termed a cruiser? Which really is just another way of asking: what exactly is a cruiser-racer?

Back in the days of Carleton Mitchell and the very conservative CCA rule it was a pretty simple concept. A cruiser-racer was a boat designed to cruise that you could also race, and basically all you had to do to do that was take a ton of crap off the boat and—if you were very serious—bend on different sails. Back in those salad days, that was all it took to be competitive at the highest levels of racing.

These days there are many more variations of the species. There is a vast universe of older boats racing mostly under the PHRF rule in local beer-can series that are very obviously cruising boats that are being raced just for fun. We have a few what I call “captive venues,” the best example being Swans, where there is a small universe of very active racing focussed usually around a brand, where an honest-to-God cruising boat can engage in some pretty serious racing with other cruising boats. We have fancy expensive “performance cruisers” with luxurious interiors that can be raced if desired with minimal changes to the boat (this is pretty much the category the larger Gunboat cats fall into). We have a few even more insanely expensive performance cruisers with wholly interchangeable interiors for both cruising and racing. (I have even seen boats with interchangeable keels!) We have various folding trimarans with cramped accommodations that can be raced in various events. We have families with small children cruising around the world in modified open-class ocean racers. We have “buckets” where enormous super-yachts, obviously designed for cruising in the most obscenely opulent sense of the term, can race against each other.

And on and on and on. The market for sailboats that can be both raced and cruised has become so complex and variegated it is impossible to say where it begins and ends.

Really the only advice I can give to help make sense of this spectrum is that the terms “cruiser-racer” and “racer-cruiser” should not be used interchangeably. Rather we should agree on two specific definitions. As in a cruiser-racer is a boat designed to cruise that can also be raced, and a racer-cruiser is a boat designed to race that can also be cruised.

The G4 I think is certainly a racer-cruiser, and perhaps to some it is an extreme example, but I for one would be very happy taking it out for a week’s worth of high-octane gunkholing.

IN OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: There’s some buzz on the Sailing Anarchy forums that the Gunboat 55 Rainmaker , abandoned after being dismasted back in January , has been spotted again, afloat, but with her coachroof torn away (remember, this is an open-bridgedeck boat, the roof is merely shelter). There’s even one guy claiming the boat has been towed in somewhere, but so far there’s no confirmation of this. I have heard confirmation of the boat’s being spotted, and of the damaged coachroof, from the boat’s designer Nigel Irens via third parties.

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The scow bow helps the boat surf, especially sailing off the wind. But how is it beating into steep seas?

@Damon: That is the question, for sure. Even if it’s still fast to windward, I bet it’s not exactly comfortable. One advantage of the shape is the waterline area is likely very symmetrical when the boat is heeled, but I guess the bow must pound something fierce.

I think the answer to your question is, yes.

This type of fast – cruising, would be different than what cruising has evolved into since the Finessterre days.

Today, cruising can mean a life choice/commitment of living for decades on a sailboat. The cruising sailboat that must serve as a home at sea has evolved into a complicated and commodious(and expensive), vessel.

To cruise in a high performance boats like you’ve posted, means going light. Backpacking as compared to RV-ing. The speed could be a whole new adventure and lure for younger sailors. But it will come at a cost of comfort and maybe will become less of a time commitment, as back packing is(not many backpack open-ended, for decades).

It appears less people today are jumping into the life choice cruising mantra of the 60’s and 70’s. Yet sailing is as popular as ever with young and old(around me).

I see this notion of a lighter, smaller, faster(cheaper), sailboat on a ‘sail’, as having appeal to a new generation of sailors my kids(and their friends) age, as they grow into a life(and the means), that includes sailing.

Speed is good and will take skill to tame(I love 4kts)!

I have cruised and raced my light, go fast boat for 25 years, loved every minute.

I am drawing a 42′ idea, 14′ beam, looking at 10-12 as a good speed for us elders (me 69, she 66). assy lee boards, unstayed rig, two winches, lots of hatches and deck openings. I built an Atkin Ingrid in 1969-74 and sailed her from San Fran to NZ. As a sailmaker who raced 5O5 at WC level for awhile, the slowness and poor performance upwind of that double ender shape was always tough to trade for some speed. not to mention low and wet. When i hitched a ride from Tahiti to Maui on a Cal 39 it really showed me how nice the speed could be for comfort as well. Better wave synch etc.

thirty years of windsurfing speed and early foiling tri’ experience (Longshot) leave a deep impression about how fast we can go… but 10-12 will do for this stage of my ocean travel dreams. plus, samantha isn’t comfortable with the whole concept yet. got to make it comfy. our Westsail 42 is growing on her, and she’s getting used to that scale of living aboard .

thus, i’d love to hear from anyone who has had some experience with these shapes in head seas. i’m right there with the french concept. so happy to let them find out these things before my paper becomes a boat.

bob johnstone sailed the grot baer across oceans. he probably wasn’t in a hurry. but he must have been comfy enough. if you are truly voyaging, and not sight seeing on a plan, you rarely need to go to weather. it’s a choice. you just have to be flexible about destination and time, no schedules. with today’s weather magic on the net there is even more choice of routing underway for comfort… as long as you are more about the voyage than the destination. obviously i approve of aimless wandering… and have a wife who loves the easy sailing, hates the other bit, and is willing to just be out there,

if that is what it takes to bring her on board happily, i’m on with it. it’s all a bunch of compromises, for senior citizens like us to be voyaging viable for another bunch of years, then end up in freemantle or perth with a nice liveaboard until you can’t get up/down/in/out, that suits us.

i expect our vessel will sail very well. a good compromise.

and that pounding thing. i see mushy pushing, throwing the spray off. the slab side forward when heeled? might that pound? i busted the bow bulkheads out of a ranger 37 pounding to weather. once. maybe mushing is better.

i really am imagining all of it more and more. hope to feel the water doing whatever it wants ASAP.

I was watching the wave action and the helmsman action. He did the right thing to release the main but it was not enough. Secondly the person responsible for the genoa sheet was pulling in when he should release. It does appear that the chopper is the culprit to give them dirty air washed down from the blades. Lastly why is it that not a single one was wearing lifejacket in this kind of boat. It is a different class of sailing and may not appeal to some mundane sailors but is it such fun to the adventurous types. Keep it up!

I think anyone who’s ever noticed the sink and wood trimmed mirror down below in a J 24 knows the Johnstone’s tendency to put accomodations into boats which aren’t really safe to cruise in.

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Yachting World

• Digital Edition

First look: SailScow 37 – ocean racing inspired cruiser

• Toby Hodges
• October 17, 2023

The new SailScow 37 has been developed alongside a Vendée Globe racer and looks to bring performance and volume to the cruising market

Product Overview

Much of the drive towards scow bow cruising yachts is driven by top level racing sailors. Armel Tripon, who raced the then radical Sam Manuard-designed IMOCA 60 L’Occitane en Provence in the 2020 Vendée Globe , has lent his name to the SailScow brand that’s working on a range of four designs from 28-42ft.

“The hull I was able to test racing around the globe delighted me,” says Tripon. “I can easily imagine myself cruising on a scow to take full advantage of the sailing performance, the ease of passage through the sea and the incredible comfort at anchor – I can’t wait to try it out.”

The first SailScow model is a 37ft cruiser designed by Gildas Plessis, a strong advocate of this hull shape. It’s primarily of marine ply and epoxy and offers a step change in internal space compared to other yachts of this length. Options include a four cabin layout, with two doubles forward, both with rectangular beds, while aft there’s a further double, plus a twin cabin with bunk beds. Alternatively there’s space for a giant owner’s cabin forward, plus one aft double port and a generous technical and stowage area to starboard.

As with other scow bow derived cruisers there’s a massive amount of space on deck – plenty of room for sun bathing and to stow a tender without deflating it.

The SailScow 40 offers significantly more accommodation space than the SailScow 37, yet light displacement is only 5,600kg. The SailScow 42 is intended as an expedition boat with a protected doghouse and spacious three cabin/three head interior.

All models are offered as either a turn-key finished boat in the Optimum range, or as the Explorer range of ready-to-assemble CNC-cut plywood kits.

SailScow 37 specifications

LOA: 10.80m 35 ft 5in Draught: 1.9m 6ft 3in Price: POA Builder: sailscow.com

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BoatNews.com

In project, a Scow for fast cruising

Gildas Plessis presents us his latest project for a fast cruising sailboat. A scow type hull with a round bow adapted for cruising. Built in composite, this sailboat has many advantages on paper. Now it remains to start construction.

Jean-Michel Linck is no stranger to the world of shipbuilding . Sailor and builder of many sailboats (Class 9.50, Mini 6.50 catamaran Fusioneuros), he has often worked with the architect Gildas Plessis. It is besides on one of his plans built in plywood that he left for a ballad around the Atlantic of more than 13000 Miles. It is during this journey, which he returned alone, that he had time to imagine his next "ideal" boat.

It will be the Sail SCOW 37, a fast cruising boat, a bit like what the Structure shipyard offers with the Pogo. Except that this time, the idea is to use the benefits of the round bow hull of the scow type.

The Scow , a great idea!

According to Gildas Plessis who is the architect, the scow hull "is a great idea. Designing this type of boat comes at the right time. But we have to make something sexier than the productions currently proposed on the market. (Editor's note: Gildas Plessis is referring to the Revolution 29 built in aluminum by AFEP Marine). By increasing the level of tension in the lines and by improving the design, we can make a nice racing-cruising boat that is very livable.

Volume in the front, but a reasonable beam

The first drawings that the architect shows us are indeed promising. The very wide bow is not really round, but looks more like the marotte of an Optimist. "Built as a sandwich, the boat will be light. But not too light, because you also need to keep the weight to go through the waves without stopping".

The volumes in the bow do not require building a sailboat that is too wide. The Sail SCOW 37 will be less wide than the competition. It will be equipped with a choice of a lifting keel or a fixed keel.

A 2 x 2 m bed!

In terms of layout, the round bow allows for all sorts of delusions: "We can put two real double cabins in the bow with beds of 140 x 200 in a yacht of less than 11 m! And in the owner's version, we can make a single huge cabin with a king size bed of 200 x 200!" The plans for this preliminary design propose from 2 to 4 cabins.

Faster at all speeds

As for the navigation, the architect does not hide the fact that "it will be difficult to sail well in short choppy seas upwind. But when cruising, we avoid this kind of condition if we can. Otherwise, in all other points of sail , the gain will be enormous. The Sail Scow will still sail above 10 knots with no problem."

An exciting project

You can tell by the sound of his voice, Gildas Plessis is enthusiastic about this project: "The Scow hull is an obvious choice for performance at sea and for cruising, because of its habitable volume. Now Jean-Michel Linck has to succeed in setting up the shipyard , finding financing and launching the construction. We hope that this boat will see the light of day, as it is so exciting on paper.

Sail SCOW 37

• Length : 10 M 80
• Bau hull : 3 m 80
• Estimated light weight : 3800 kg
• TE : keelboat 1,90 m
• TE QR : 1 m / 2,40 m
• Carbon rigging
• Upwind canopy : 96 m2
• Genoa : 57 m2
• Engine: 20 hp
• Construction: Epoxy glass sandwich
• 3 layout versions: from 2 cabins to 4 cabins
• Year of construction: 2019
• Architecture agency : G. Plessis YD
• Marketing and contact: Jean-Michel Linck - 07 67 41 93 60

Vector 6.5 Mini Racer

• October 5th, 2022

Upon seeing the apparently brand new boat, I immediately took out my cell phone and called a number: “Could this be your new boat?”, I asked the guy at the other end. “Yepp, she is it!”, confirmed the voice of a young man. If I´d see it to make an article, I went on asking. No problem, assured the man and a day later – sunny sky with dramatic autumn clouds – we met in person. The guy is Hendrick Decker, a tall, blond, energetic, always brightly smiling young lad – the prototype of a surfer´s guys, I shall say.

His new boat: A Vector Mini 6.50 racer. Brand new, freshly imported from the yard and parked at the marina , by chance, right next to GEKKO. I was there to fix her on the trailer to make her transport-ready for getting her ack to our yard for completing the last tasks before finally handing her over to her new owners. How lucky am I, have I thought, having this brand new racing boat right next to me. Happy that Hendrick found some time to show me around, I was keen on inspecting how a Classe Mini 6.50 racing boat arrives when newly built.

The Scow-bowed Mini racer

The Vector 6.5 is the latest generation series production Classe Mini 6.50 racer. The boat has been designed by Frenchman Etienne Bertrand in 2017, entering that year´s edition of the Mini Transat race as a prototype, finishing off at an impressive second place. The boat displays latest downwind running optimized hull with an impressive scow bow.

Hendrick smiles brightly as he places a half-emptied bottle of Coce on the trailer: “Yesterday´s regatta celebration went a bit off …”, he smiled half excusatory: “45 knots of wind and a 3 meter wave, it was fun.” Hendrick is a thoroughbred racer. Sailing since he was a small kid, his father´s big cruising boat in a yard´s shed just a few hundred meters away. Hendrick sails races since ever, his old boat, PLAYGIRL, being a used Vector Mini racer, sold months ago: “I am happy to having finally received the new boat”, he reveals: PLAYGIRL 2 is about to be re-located to a shed he rented nearby for finishing.

As a Class Mini boat, the box rule of the class dictate measurements and appearance: At 21 feet length the boat must have a minimum freeboard of .75 centimeters and a maximum draft of 2 meters. The rule also dictates, that the mast could not be taller than 12 meters.

Deep down, still strapped to the improvised trailer, lies the keel. That’s a solid piece of metal: Cast iron fin and a lead T-bulb. Hendrick smiles as I touch the keel: “I am wondering of switching from series boat to prototype”, Hendrick says: “There´s much more possible on these boats, like a canting keel for example.”

Improvements for planning

Nevertheless, even with “only” a series production boat, his new vector 6.5 Mini has some nice improvements over his past boat . He shows a little but interesting detail: The trailing edges of his rudder blades still not “tuned” (like I did on my own boat , he points to a small fin.

This is new, for example, in this latest version. When planning, it´s the front side of the rudder blade right here where it cuts into the water, where a small wave is created. This wave constantly grabs a firm hold onto the boat´s stern, thus creating some drag that costs speed.

The designer of this boat came up with a small horizontal insert that kind of separates the wet downside of the blades from the stern and is meant to divert the water coming up from the blade to shoot away aft. I find this detail is a great example of what we are talking about here: A serious racing machine meant to wind races. In total, what might be the real net gain of having those small “breaker fins” versus not having them? A hundredth of a knot? But it is the sum of all improvements, every gram spared, every bit of drag reduced, tat makes the difference over hundreds of miles sailed – and hence, the win. Or the loss.

A little big boat

Hendrik climbs on the trailer and into the boat´s cockpit, I follow. The boat is a “Mini” in the closest sense of the word indeed. Six and a half meters is pretty short. Nevertheless, the cockpit itself does not feel all too small, I shall say.

With a width of three meters the Mini is half a meter wider than my old First 27 SE which had a beam of 2.54 m. Even her cockpit felt nice and roomy. I look to the bow and contemplate the enormous area the boat´s deck covers: Since it is a scow bow-boat, it bears much more volume than, let´s say a comparable J-Boat that is much thinner.

In essence, the Classe Mini-boats is a pure downwind-optimized class. These racing machines are meant to easily take off and start planning mode very early. Upwind sailing capabilities, Hendrik confirms this, are “pretty adventurous”, as he names it. I shall say, these boats are made for reaching points of sail and those alone. Like a giant surf board made to glide above the water.

The hull including mast, standing and running rigging, is around 50.000 Euros ex VAT. This is a surprisingly low price, I wonder, since the boat is made with infusion technology and 3D core foam. High tech materials and production methods. Yet, Hendrik needs at least the same budget again to be spent on sails, deck gear and financing his Mini Transat campaign: “I work hard for coming up with all the money, but a sponsor taking on at least a part, naturally, would be great of course!”

Totally costumizeble

And such a future sponsor will get a pretty darn good skipper: Hendrik is a keen regatta sailor and – at least for the Baltic Sea, there is seldom a race he misses. “We will see”, he says and shoots out a winning smile: “There´s plenty of time. I am going to customize the boat to my needs over winter. For that, I´ve rented a shed where the boat will be transferred to.” Hendrik places himself on the port side at the helm.

The Vector 6.5 can be bought ”naked”. Skilled boat builders and sailors like Hendrik can now decide where to put the winches, where to put the cleats and all gear. In this, the boat can be tailor-fit to the needs of the skipper´s very own body. Again, how much time can be saved by a winch that does not require to change seating position when working on the lever? A thousandth of a second? Yet, how many times over does a skipper have to fine trim the sails … multiplied by the thousands of miles in a Mini Transat race. A lot of gain.

The boat will receive a central winch on the dodger and two Genoa-winches on the coaming. The mainsheet traveler has already been mounted by the yard, but according to the wishes of Hendrik. “On the old boat the traveler was positioned right in front of the entryway down, which was always a hustle having to go around the mainsheet when working the piano, now it´s much better.” Again, these subtle changes adding to the formula of winning a race or not.

Series boat versus prototype

“Still, a prototype would be even cooler”, he says. Why?, I ask: Just having a carbon made boat won´t make so much difference, or will it? “Well, just being admitted into the starting field with a series boat is a gamble. There are much more applicants than places. With a prototype, your starting place is almost safe”, Hendrik says. Secondly, he explains, the carbon-made Mini 6.5 is much light which directly translates into speed.

“Plus”, he says with a glow in his eyes, you can play around with many much, much cooler things: “Like you get a taller mast, ergo more sails area. Like the canting keel, which give you more power on the tougher points of sails. Or just take the whole topic of foils: This is something I would find absolutely amazing to have a foiling Mini!” He opens the entry to the boat´s interior and invites me to check it out.

Welcome to the inside

The Vector 6.5 comes with a slightly overhang dodger that also has a mini-wave breaker. “This is also new in regard to the former version. I hope that the amount of spray water in foul weather is at least reduced”, he smiles: I know very well by myself how nasty even the tiny Baltic Sea can get at times …

My first look into the inners of the Vector 6.5 is accompanied by a “Wooow!” The boat is just huge! And here I can clearly see what the huge deck area promised: The volume created inside is just amazing. The “saloon”, if one could call it this way, is even bigger than the counterpart on my old First 27 SE. The nice yellow-ish light that shines through the 3D-foam core creates a wonderful atmosphere. No need for any Top Coat-paint.

The Vector 6.5 has three watertight foam-filled chambers which, if the boat flips, gets struck by a reef or has a leak . “It shall swim safely on the water even when filled to the brim by the Ocean.”, he smiles. I love the forward compartment of the boat, directly in the bow: The scow-bow allows for huge volume underneath – I´d say any King-size bed in hotel rooms could hardly be offering more area.

Hendrik shows some of the parts he bought: “I decided to get me some cool stuff, like those constrictor-clutches. They are not only cool looking but also much more kind to the material.” Hi plan is to relocate the boat in the coming weeks to start working over winter: Having her clear and ready to begin his regatta-season in 2023 on spot.

Hendrik´s fundraising campaign

“Still a long way to go”, say Hendrik who is well aware of the current situation: With a looming recession and news of crisis everywhere, inflation like a bad vortex beginning to pull more and more companies in, raising a budget to support his way to the Mini Transat gets even harder. “But I am confident that I can come up with a solution here.” He smiles. There´s no turning back, the boat is bought and for Hendrik it´s not if but how he will hoist his sails next year.

This cool young dedicated man! We say Goodbye and whilst we shake hands Hendrik promises me to take me with him in his brand new PLAYGIRL 2 when ready to sail next spring. Hoping that he will find a way to raise the budget needed to support his dreams of competing at Mini Transat, we part. I drive away and see him climbing onto his boat again in my driving mirror: Surely, he is going to work for an hour or two on his boat to fit some parts. How cool must it be to be young again, I think to myself, and being so close to make a dream come true !

Classe Mini 650: Here is some more fuel for you:

PLAYGIRL : Hendrik Decker´s fast Mini racer

Endgame Mini Transat: Lisa Berger sets full canvas to her dream

Lizzy Foreman on the Mini Transat race

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How to make a better yacht bow

When asked most seafarers say that a bow’s job is to enable a vessel to pierce through waves, slides over waves, keep water off the foredeck, or even that it’s just a place to put the anchor and chain. But few realise that the bow shapes the waves that flow alongside the vessel. A badly designed bow will create unnecessary drag; while a good one will cut resistance and increase comfort.

Half-angle of entry

In most cases, the criteria for the design of the bow begins with the half-angle of entry. This is the naval architect’s term for the more commonly known ‘horizontal bow angle at the waterline’.

A yacht with a large half-angle of entry will slam into, or at least fight, waves often throwing a lot of spray and green water ahead of it. A vessel with a fine entry and narrow half-angle will slide right through a wave with little resistance.

As a yacht’s half-angle of entry increases, the bow becomes more prone to slamming into waves, which in turn, requires more power to keep the yacht moving steadily into the sea and tends to increase pitching.

The angle of entry at the bow is defined by the yacht’s speed and function. In a sailing yacht, the half-angle might be between 10 and 20 degrees, with 10 degrees being a fine entry and 20 degrees being more suited for a slower displacement yacht.

On a motor yacht a fine angle of entry, say 12 degrees, is suited to high-speed semi-displacement style yachts, whereas a normal half-angle is between 18 to 24 degrees.

A very fine half-angle – less than 10 degrees – is to be avoided. It makes the bow narrow and reduces the forward volume of the hull forcing lockers, gear and equipment aft. That said, a long, narrow vessel will have a finer angle of entry than a short, wide vessel, so a specific half-angle of entry should only be used as a comparison factor on vessels of similar length and beam.

The widest half-angles of entry – from 30 degrees to more than 40 degrees – are rarely found on yachts, but can be seen on scow-type barges that move at very slow speeds and throw a lot of water ahead of the bow. These cargo carrying vessels don’t have passengers and move slowly, so wave impacts and slamming can be accepted.

However, if the wave is very large and the yacht has a narrow half-angle, the wave might simply rise up and wash across the deck. To eliminate this designers often flare the upper bow so the rising wave crest is turned back into the ocean.

The most extreme example is what has become known as the ‘Carolina flare’ on convertible sportfishermen built on the Outer Banks

Types of bows

Designed originally to combat the waves off the Carolina inlets, the so-called Carolina flared bow is often attributed to sportfishing boats built by Buddy Davis and the others of The Outer Banks. The idea is that a fine angle of entry drives into the waves, but as wave size increases the flare rises up over them, throwing the water back into the ocean without getting the deck wet.

Typically, a flared bow will often have a chine or two low on the profile to 'break' the flow of water up the sides of the flare and help direct water away from the bow. In terms of propulsion, the gradual increase in buoyancy from a flared bow ensures that a wave does not impact the bow with a hard crash, but is gently turned aside while the bow lifts to the wave.

This type of bow usually has a chine or lifting strakes carried well forward which also helps throw water to one side and provides additional buoyancy as the bow dives into a wave. The force of the bounce increases with depth and flare angle.

The biggest drawback of this type of the Carolina Flared bow is that, as the yacht slams into a wave, the gradual immersion of the flare causes the bow to pitch upward (vertical acceleration), making the entire yacht pitch, plus the vessel slows down as it pitches requiring more power (read higher fuel consumption) as it drives ahead.

Another drawback is that should the bow submerge, it acts like a giant scoop to dig into the water and throw it across the deck. For this reason, some builders incorporate considerable camber to the foredeck.

When designing such a bow, the designer needs to have a pretty good idea of the height of the waves the vessel is likely to encounter.

Bulbous bows

Bulbous bows are generally only found on displacement hulled yachts – that is, yachts that will not exceed about 1.5 x √LWL, or the Froude number for that hull. Marlow yachts, which are semi-displacement, have an option for a small, delta-shaped bulb that is flat on top and V-shaped below to both break the water and offer some resistance to pitching when performing above displacement speeds. (Bulbous bows work best when the yacht is moving at .9 to 1.2 x √LWL.)

The idea of the bulbous bow is that the wave generated by the bulb reduces the size of the bow wave and hence lowers the resistance of the entire hull. The size of the bulb is most often determined by tank testing when the shape of the bow wave and the bulb’s cancelling effect can be clearly demonstrated, but in general terms, the larger the bulb is, the greater the reduction in resistance as long as the yacht is moving in a relatively flat sea. When the vessel is pitching, the bulb can actually increase hull resistance.

However, a designer needs to be aware of the interplay between the size of the bulb and the anchor handling gear. It would not do to bounce the anchor off the bulb every time the yacht is anchored.

Japanese researchers have found that a bulbous bow along with a slight reduction in the hull waterline beam just aft of the bow, will reduce hull resistance even farther, but at the cost of a reduction in cargo carrying ability and more complexity in the vessel’s construction.

Types of bows (continued)

The opposite of the flared bow is the Axe bow, such as the scimitar bow on the Amel 199. Here where instead of increasing the flare above the water, a very narrow half-angle of entry is maintained from hull bottom to the deck, but extra buoyancy is built in below the waterline with a deeper forefoot, and the sheerline forward is raised against green water on deck.

This type of hull has with lower resistance and creates less pitching in a seaway than a flared bow. Although this shape of bow cleaves waves, it is wet in a seaway.

Experiments in The Netherlands have shown that instead of increasing buoyancy by flaring the bow above the water surface, axe bows increases buoyancy by bringing the underwater bow profile downwards and raising the sheer at the bow.

Not only do these features lengthen the vessel considerably, but they also make it easier to drive into head seas, requiring less power. In addition, it has been suggested that up to 20 per cent lower fuel consumption in head seas can be achieved because the bow does not have the vertical accelerations of a flared bow.

A relatively new trend for larger craft is the scow bow. It has been a fixture on Great Lakes A and C class sailing scows for many years, but its potential was suddenly realised when a Mini-Transat boat with a scow bow handily won the race. Now, designers Reichel-Pugh have designed a 27.4m sailing yacht with a scow bow.

This type of bow carries beam well forward with the intent that the waterline length is increased as the boat heels. The major drawback of scow bows is they slam when upright and on a large yacht, that might be more than the owner is willing to accept.

Wave piercers

The totally opposite look to the Apple Cheek bow is the Wave Piercing bow as used by Craig Loomes Design of New Zealand and others on several superyacht and fast ferry designs.

The idea behind this bow is that the extended sponsons on each side of the catamaran or trimaran hull pierce the waves to reduce pitching in heavy seas. In this style of yacht, the main hulls have less buoyancy forward to allow it to slide through the wave rather than slam into it. By sliding through the waves, less engine power is required and the pitching of the yacht is lower.

The bow is an essential feature of any modern yacht. Elongated bows such as the wave-piercing bow, reverse or axe bow lengthen the waterline and make the angle of entry finer, decreasing the hull resistance of faster vessels and reducing pitching in a seaway. However, the longer waterline can make it harder for the vessel to turn. Meanwhile, bulbous bows decrease the size of the bow wave and consequently reduce hull resistance for vessels that operate at a set displacement speed and load.

A designer should pick the bow shape that is best suited for the desired speed, shape and pitching characteristics in a seaway.

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Published on October 11th, 2022 | by Editor

Scow bows rule the seas

Published on October 11th, 2022 by Editor -->

Class organizations such as the Mini 6.50, Class40, and IMOCA support offshore competition, and when courses are long enough, routing seeks out the benefits of offwind angles. Over time, designing to these class rules have developed hulls that may not go upwind too well but more than make up for it as the wind angles comes back.

Such as the scow bow.

Sam Manuard is a renowned architect in the scow world, and what began as a radical concept with the Mini Class, has seen its success trickle up to the Class40 and IMOCA which will be on full display in the 2022 Route du Rhum when it starts November 6.

These big bowed boats will be spanning the transatlantic from France to Guadeloupe, with the 3543nm course providing the latest test. Here are some comments from Manuard in boatsnews.com :

Regarding the state of design: Nowadays, everyone makes scows. There is no more debate on the subject. There are always nuances on the scow theme. Lombard with the Lift has made a very powerful boat, VPLP with the Clak40 which looks more versatile. It’s progressing well and the different designs are pretty close in performance. Everyone has raised their game.

Versatility versus all-around performance: We are interested in the statistical distribution of wind and speed for this type of race. We also look at races like the Fastnet, the Normandy Channel Race to have a boat that is efficient in light airs, that goes upwind well. Having a flat spectrum is quite interesting. In the design loop, the Mach5 (his latest design) has the Route du Rhum as its primary objective. But also the other races, not necessarily with the same level of priority. In any case, the choices made should be effective on all types of races.

But for an offwind race like the Route du Rhum… With an increasing number of scows, the classic (non-scow) boats no longer have a chance of winning.

Tags: boatsnews.com , Class40 , Route du Rhum , Sam Manuard

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Revolution 29

A unique scow bow makes the revolution 29 spacious and fast.

We are going to have some fun this month—there is an interesting trio of boats to review. I don’t know if you have been following the MiniTransat class ocean racers but you should. These little pocket rockets are amazing boats, very extreme and capable of high speeds in the hands of skilled crew. The class is growing rapidly, especially in Europe. Minis use a box-type rule that limits LOA to 21 feet 4 inches, so designers have to look for innovative ways to gain sailing length and power. 

Enter the scow bow Minis. At first look I was inclined to think, “Oh God, please don’t make this fast.” But I knew that scow bows have a long and successful history so the chances were strong that this bow would work. It works on the many scow one-design classes and even the old, sedate, CCA rule had Hoot Mon, a scowlike yawl with a successful race record. 

It was inevitable that a builder would jump on the scow bow for a family cruising boat. Look at that beam and volume forward. Along came Afep Marine with designer David Raison. Together they have produced the aluminum Revolution 29, along with its 21-foot little sister. It’s funny looking; there’s just no way around that. The ends are snubbed off, there is zero spring to the sheer and the only attractive line I can find on the entire hull is the chine that runs around the bow.

I suspect that the heeled waterlines for this hull would look fairly normal with that chine making a somewhat V-shaped entry. Using 27 feet 2 inches for DWL gives a D/L of 232. This is not a light boat. L/B is 2.53 indicating plenty of beam, as if your eye had not already told you that. Draft with the board down is 5 feet 7 inches and the board-up draft is 2 feet 4 inches. There are twin rudders.

The accommodation plan is pretty amazing considering it is a 29-foot boat. The expansive capital-U-shaped berth has replaced the dreaded V-berth. The bad news is that the U-double berth is an extension of the main cabin settee, so there is no privacy forward. The good news is that it will be very convenient to have breakfast in bed. There is a double quarterberth aft, but it’s pretty tight with just enough standing room to pull on your pants.

The galley is big for this size boat. I don’t like stoves up against a bulkhead so I would move that stove forward to line up with the forward counter then put counter aft of the stove. I like to be able to put pots either side of the stove. But there is quite a bit of counter space as drawn. There is a forward-facing nav station to starboard and a small but adequate head aft.

I was out racing last weekend and studying the square-topped mainsails in the fleet. The more I looked, the more the shape made sense and the pointy-headed triangular mains began to look silly. Square-topped mainsails mean you can’t have a standing backstay but with enough spreader sweep that’s not a problem. Spreader sweep angle on the Revolution looks to be 28 degrees. The SA/D of the Revolution is 23.37 and that’s plenty of power for some exciting sailing. 

One thing for sure  is that working on the foredeck will be easy. The headstay is about 20 inches aft of the stem so there is lots of room to work around it. On deck, a retractable sprit can be mounted for the asymmetrical chute. Interestingly, the cap shrouds go to chainplates on the rail. The lower diagonals go to chainplates inboard near the edge of the cabintrunk. This will make it easy to get past the shrouds when you go forward.

I would hope this look provides the owner with blistering speed and sumptuous comfort. 

LOA 22’8”; Beam 11’6”; Draft 3’7” (board up), 8’6” (board down); Displ. 8,818 lbs.; Ballast 2,425 lbs.; Sail area 743 sq. ft.; Auxiliary 18-hp diesel; Fuel 11 gal.; Water 66 gal. 

Sailaway price: $145,000

Afep Marine

Plateau Nautique

50 Rue Senac de Meilhan 

17000 La Rochelle, France

+33 (0) 54 644 81 51

www.afep-marine.com

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