scow sailboat plans

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I started building 4’ x 8’ scows not long after I built my first in 1996. In this photo essay, I have attempted to capture why I am so intrigued with these little boats and the seemingly endless variations that are possible.  As of this writing, I have had a hand in constructing 18 of these small scows for myself and as a mentor for others. Hopefully some of these photos and comments about these 18 builds will encourage others to try their hands at building one of these easily-constructed and inexpensive small craft on their own or with friends. Perhaps, like me, they will find boatbuilding to be a lifelong hobby and an entry to the worlds of sailing, fishing, cruising, exploring, and/or just messing about in boats.

The first two scows I constructed I modeled roughly after the Bolger/Payson Skimmer that was featured in Dynamite Payson’s book, Build the New Instant Boats. The photo that sold me showed the Skimmer powered by a 9.9 hp Merc zipping across a lake throwing triple rooster tails from her full-length skids. According to Dynamite, Phil Bolger claimed these three skids provided considerable lift to the little boat while keeping the little scow from going airborne and doing a slow somersault every time she encountered a good-sized wave. I used the study plans in Dynamite’s book to build hull #1, seen below with an electric motor at one of the early Lake Monroe, IN messabouts.

There was at least one sharpie and a 16’ wooden runabout restoration before the next little scow was constructed. I decided to build scow #2 from Styrofoam to make it easier for me to throw a boat in the bed of my pickup and go fishing in thin waters. By this time I had started to deviate from the Skimmer design with narrower hulls, different transom angles, and wider twin skids. But these designs, which I called Hot Tubs , were all basically little fishing boats for small Indiana lakes, rivers, and back waters. You can read more details about these boats at https://www.polysail.com/boatnote.htm

Sometime before I built Hot Tub #5 and a couple of other boats, I became interested in David “Shorty” Routh’s PDRacer, a sailing version of a 4’ x 8’ scow.  I still had the mast, boom, sail, and foils from my Cartopper , the first boat I ever built and the platform for my first experiments with PolySails back in 1996, and the PDRacer seemed like a natural for the small lake behind our new house purchased in 2003. Built in 2004, Lame Duck became hull #100 to be registered in this developmental class, and the first of many more of these little sailing scows to follow. Lame Duck’s construction followed the plywood on frame model of my earlier scows and was not particularly innovative except for her 60 sq. ft. leg o’ mutton PolySail which had the leech and luff reversed for a lower Center of Effort. Her excellent handling encouraged me to build another, and another, and another, etc.

To be continued next month...

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Boats plans for self builder - in metric

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Jérôme Delaunay Naval Architect - Nautline design office in naval architecture: I design and draw custom boat and sailboat plans, in plywood epoxy and other materials. Sailboat plans for shipowner construction and professional construction. Plans of multihulls, plans of catamarans, praos and trimarans. CFD hull study, digital hull basin, engine optimization. I offer scantling calculations, keel calculations, mast and rig calculations. Composite sampling calculations. DXF digital plans for CNC digital cutting.

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A selection of Free Boat Plans that can be viewed and / or downloaded.

These free to download wooden boat plans (pdf) were first published in magazines such as "Popular Mechanics", "Popular Science" and the "Boat Builder's Handbook".

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"Popular Science" magazine and "Popular Mechanics" back issues can be viewed online at Google Books.

All these free boat plans can be built by anyone with a common sense modicum and a few basic woodworking skills and tools. However, if you have not got the skills and tools yet, this is a great way to acquire them.

One of the beauties of building yourself is that you do not have to buy everything at once, just get what you need when you can afford it.

While some of the instructions suggest using exterior plywood, I would always recommend using marine grade.

If you need help with lofting out the plans click here for an article here which should help.

Canoe Free Boat Plans 

Combining the features of both kayak and canoe, "Blue Bill" is for those out-of-doors-men who hunt or the sportsmen who need an ultra-light-weight portable boat for use upon any waters.

Besides being usable to build a double-end paddling model, a few changes permit the plans to be used for making a canoe that will accommodate outboard motors up to 6 hp. for swift, speedy transportation on any stream or waterway.

Weighing only 75 lbs. complete, "Blue Bill" is easily transported atop an auto anywhere.

Click Here for the Plans

This kayak is the answer for young people who want to build an inexpensive boat for summer fun. A shop full of power tools is not necessary, either. All the work can be done with ordinary hand tools and a few C clamps. This Free Boat Plan will carry one adult but it's handiest when paddled by a youngster. The boat is stable in the water and, even though it can be turned over, it will not sink. It's also light enough to be carried with ease. Building is so simple that the 'Jig' consists of only two blocks and a few bricks. 

Hunting Kayak

For many years a favorite of hunters, trappers and traders the kayak now is as popular with Europeans as the outboard boat is with Americans.

Although this boat was designed to carry two people, it will accommodate three in a pinch and gear may be stowed under fore and after decks.

A few strokes with the double paddle will send it gliding across the water with the minimum of effort on your part.

Kayaks are surprisingly seaworthy, too — more stable than a canoe, in fact, because the occupants sit on the bottom of the hull which lowers the center of gravity. 

Pintail and 10ft Duck Boat

'Pintail' drawn from plans by Wm D Jackson is another of the Free Boat Plans from the 'Boat Builder Handbook'. This one is being built by Greg Allore .

If you have ever struggled with the oars of a heavy, slow-moving rowboat and then paddled a swift, high maneuverable canoe you can appreciate why many true sportsmen prefer canoes.

But, too often, the multi-ribbed conventional canoe is not only hard to build but too thin-skinned for hard usage.

This Free Boat Plan teams up plywood and fiberglass to produce a tough, scrape-proof canoe you can build in one-tenth the time it would take you to turn out a conventional canoe.

The use of only one frame offsets the extra weight of using plywood, so that this canoe is still light enough for comfortable portage. 

Little Chief

Little Chief is a canoe with many virtues, ideally adapted to quick, easy construction.

Canoes are not easy to build, but here is one Free Boat Plan that can be made of ordinary materials for a fraction of the cost of conventional canoes.

It has attractive molded lines and may be built either as a paddling model or, with slight changes, adapted for use with small outboard motors.

In all countries of the world, particularly the United States, the kayak is enjoying newfound popularity.

Here's a nimble, lightweight craft that has its roots in the Arctic as a basic instrument of survival, yet is branching out as a modern outdoor sport on our own rivers and lakes.

To the Eskimo, a kayak is more than a boat.

When he's laced into his whale-bone and walrus-hide craft, he's ready for anything in the way of water or weather.

To most of us, however, a kayak is pure adventure and fun.

It's perfect for poking around uninhabited Islands, exploring the bends of a lazy, winding river, or just breaking the peaceful surface of a placid lake at sunset.

Redwood Canoe

You can build this 74lb, 16 foot canoe using redwood strips, an old boat-building technique.

Two persons can sit side by side in the center with one person at each end and plenty of room for gear.

This canoe is formed around plywood templates using redwood strips glued edge to edge.

You lay up the strips, remove the form, and the canoe is complete, except for fiberglassing and putting in the seats. 

The plans can also be used to build a 13-foot version of this strip planked canoe.

or Click Here for the Free Plans

Houseboat Free boat Plans

Budget houseboat (trailerable).

The Budget Houseboat is like a camper that goes on water.

She's 20 ft. long with a 9-ft. beam, containing 300 sq. ft. of usable floor area.

This means that while she can accommodate two in outrageous comfort, she can easily take a family of four on an extended vacation and be entirely self-contained.

There are two full-size permanent bunks in the forward section of the cabin.

The dining table, in the rear section of the cabin, seats four and then drops down to convert into an extra bunk 6 ft. 4 in. long and 38 in. wide.

Cabin headroom is 6 ft. 2 in., and two cots can be stationed to the rear of the cabin area.

Bayou Belle

Bayou Belle is a 25' scow that can be built as a sports utility, a fishing boat, or a houseboat, depending on your requirements for pleasure offshore.

As a sports utility, she can be used for towing water skiers and for cruising, as a fishing boat, she offers a stable platform with plenty of elbow room and stowage space.

As a houseboat, she has roomy interior accommodations for a leisurely life afloat.

Construction of Bayou Belle makes use of prefabricated sections, which means that much of the work can be done indoors in the average garage during the cold winter months, and the boat completed outdoors in time for launching in late spring.

Float-A-Home

A houseboat is a unique water craft in that it combines most of the comforts of home with the mobility of a boat.

Of course, use is limited to sheltered waters, and speeds are slow in comparison to more sea worthy vessels.

Float-A-Home is a 21-footer that provides plenty of living space for three or four persons.

An extremely simple houseboat to build, the free boat plans feature a strong hull with a heavy keel and close-spaced framing.

This, coupled with a relatively low profile, makes it a very stable craft.

Click Here for the free Plans

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SCOW HULLS – PART 1 – THE PROS

by ttisson | Nov 25, 2019 | Hull Design | 0 comments

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Idea 21 sportboat

The development of the family of small offshore capable sailboat plans : chined hull for the highest stability, vertical lifting keel, trailerable, suitable for club racing or cruising (two interior versions) ,  plywood and epoxy hull with the radius chine system, sparkling performances while sailing and reasonable interiors for coastal cruising.

First boat launched : read the first impressions here

Idea 21 small sailboat plan is the latest development of my family of small plywood & epoxy sailboats plans for homebuilders : it was quite a time since i was thinking of an evolution of her smaller 19 footer sister, so i finally take the decision to publish this new plan. the goals of this plan is simple: add interior volume, simplify the work for homebuilders switching to a complete plywood & epoxy radius chine hull, enhance slightly the sparkling performances of idea 19, keeping the sailboat very balanced and suited for sailors ranging from enthusiast beginners to experienced seamen., first boat launched and several other boats in building stage make idea21 the most sparkling project on our catalogue,  hull: chined hull on a small light sailboat has a simple reason to exist: it gives more stability to the sailboat when heeled, much more than a round hull similar sailboat. i managed to keep a very low wetted area of the unheeled hull, in order to achieve a good pace in light air and avoid excessive drag. stern sections are quite flat to gain speed downwind (idea 19 has been clocked with speed steadily in excess of 15 knots)., bow sections: experiences on racers showed that “knife-blade” bows may give you less resistance, but the price to pay is high in terms of buried bow sailing downwind, so i decide to provide this plan a large u-shaped section on the bow ; sails provide the sailboat plenty of power to defeat the small amount of added drag., sailplan: i have a very good starting point with idea 19, so we’re doing small adjustments and no revolutions: square top mainsail, 7/8 fractional rig , very wide single swept spreaders, no backstay, deck stepped mast with sturdy section, 110 % j jib, code zero, jennaker hoisted on swinging retractable bowsprit, and a good amount of sail area., keel and ballast: idea21 have a solid hard wood cored & unidirectional glass epoxy laminated lifting keel, with a naca optimised profile and a low resistance hydrodynamical shaped 280 kg lead bulb bolted on the keel tip; it can be made by a homebuilder, no need for professional welder; the fin area is on the low side, speed will help generating the required lift without adding too much drag. keel case is in 20 mm thickness plywood and epoxy laminated glass reinforcements, and it’s perfectly waterproof while sailing., full lifting keel  version : after a request from a builder, idea 21 cruise is available in a version featuring an integral watertight keel case running form hull bottom to cabin top panels, this feature called flk (full lifting keel) will allow the boat to sail with keel partially raised or to motor with keel totally up, a good option if you sail in shallow waters frequently., cockpit: was one of the strongest point in idea19, we simply keep the same arrangement and dimensions, so we have a really huge area for the crew and a simple and sturdy building in plywood panels epoxy glued on a structure of bulkheads and stringers., interiors: here i focussed on several upgrades; i decided to split the project in two versions (so two different sets of plans, you have to specify on order), “sport cruise” or “racing” ; both versions have 4 berths, a classic v berth on bow and two quarter berth after; in the cruising version cabin is 55 cm longer, giving wider interiors, enough room for a separate toilette and more comfortable after berths ; in the racing version we have a marine toilet (there’s room for a jabsco compact one) under the bow v-berth; cabin height is 1.65 m in both versions. interiors plywood panels are detailed on plans., taking advantage form the first season of sailing, i can now say that i strongly advice the cruise version as long as you are not going to run a sailing school, thus needing extra space in the cockpit., wooden rig: starting form summer 2019 we deliver two extra drawings with the plans, both for race and cruise version,  describing how to build a wooden rig suited for this boat.  keep your budget low at the price of a small extra weight , how to build the boat: we chose the plywood & epoxy resin “radius chine” system, as for petrel 28 and hirundo 750, so the hull planking is in okume marine grade plywood ; planking the hull is quite fast , and the internal structure of the boat is made by plywood bulkheads, floors and solid wood longitudinal stringers, all glued with epoxy and strengthened with epoxy laminated glass tape, assembled on a cheap wood scaffold, keeping the hull light, sturdy and quite easy to build for homebuilders ; the goal is to keep the total weight of the 19 footer, raising the ballast fraction of the sailboat at the same time. here are a couple of pictures of the first planked hull perfectly showing the radius chine planking system.

a HUGE Thanks to Nils Theurer    ([email protected])   for the awesome pictures taken during the first sea trials  

Plans availability: Plans are available in italian and english. Plans are available in imperial units upon request (send me a mail before purchase).

Yachting World

• Digital Edition

5 new sailing scows aimed at the cruising market

• Toby Heppell
• October 25, 2023

There has been a raft of new sailing scows announced this year, with the cruising market following the racing world in design philosophy

Those who followed the early stages of this year’s Rolex Fastnet Race will surely have been intrigued by how well the front runners in the Class 40 fleet appeared to handle the brutal wind against tide conditions that caused problems for a lot of other boats. Conventional wisdom has it that a slim, narrow hull is ideal for sailing upwind in a blow. Yet the recent Class 40s carry their immense beam well forward of the mast, with a bow that’s closer to a square shape than a conventional point.

However, when heeled these boats present a relatively narrow immersed section that doesn’t slam into a head sea with the intensity that the flat saucer-like hull might suggest. At the same time they have enormous righting moment, which gives power to punch over big waves and reduces the total time spent sailing to windward. This stability is also an important factor in the boats’ behaviour in strong gusts: an increase of wind that would have many of the rest of us scrabbling for another reef is often handled simply by depowering the top of the mainsail with a bit more twist.

Although this hull form has only been in existence for little more than a decade, since David Raison won the 2011 Mini Transat in a boat of his own design, it has quickly gained traction across the Mini 6.50, Class 40 and IMOCA 60 fleets. It’s now increasingly appearing in designs for cruising yachts, which also have potential to offer considerably more internal volume than other vessels of a similar length.

Skaw Paradise

The Skaw Paradise is a very beamy 11.3m foiling scow bow cruiser with its roots firmly in the racing scene, but with the concepts reworked to produce an ultimate cruiser. Skaw CEO and founder Benoit Marie is also technical director, coach and co-skipper (when racing double-handed) for Caroline Boule, who’s notched up a string of impressive results in the Mini 6.50 class this season in her full flying Sam Manuard-designed Nicomatic.

Marie co-designed the Skaw Paradise with naval architect Clément Bercault of Berco Design. “We could not find any boat on the market suiting our needs, so we started designing our own perfect boat,” he says.

“It’s one to take our friends and family around the world to unseen places, in the safest, easiest and fastest manner.”

The Skaw Paradise differs to Nicomatic in that it has fully retractable C-foils that are intended to act like motion dampeners, giving a smoother ride, while also increasing both stability and speed. While much is borrowed from the racing world, this boat has been simplified as much as possible, so it’s not complicated to sail.

SailScow 37

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 de 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.

VPLP Fast Cruising Scow

PLP’s carbon Fast Cruising Scow is a 40ft concept that aims to maximise both performance and comfort. It has a covered and glazed saloon/cockpit area like those found on cruising catamarans. On the same level as the working areas of the cockpit, it provides shelter from sun and water both when used as a dining area and as a watch keeping zone on passage.

Air draught a fraction over 20m (67ft) helps provide a big rig that will produce plenty of power, while retractable foils will reduce heel angles thanks to the righting moment they generate, at the same time as cushioning the passage of the boat through waves.

Breton yard IDB Marine was one of the forerunners in producing a cruising boat based on a scow bow design. The Mojito 650 uses the same extreme scow bow hull as the phenomenally successful David Raison-designed Maxi 650 that won the series division of the last Mini Transat race, taking five of the top nine places.

The Mojito 650 is a detuned boat with a new coachroof that gives a panoramic view, plus a six-berth interior with a full-size rectangular double bed forward. There’s also plenty of stowage and all that’s lacking compared to many significantly larger craft is standing headroom and a separate heads compartment. A smaller and simplified rig compared to that of the Maxi 650 makes this an easy boat to sail and a lot less tweaky than the original, yet it’s still one that will happily plane at speeds well into double digits and hold its own upwind against boats 10ft longer.

La Rochelle-based RM Yachts has been forging a different path to mainstream yards for more than 30 years with its range of distinctive fast plywood/epoxy performance cruisers. The latest model – a sixth generation RM designed by Marc Lombard, is directly influenced by today’s raceboats, with the aim of producing a spacious, fast and dry 36-footer that can cover long distances at fast average speeds.

“It offers greater safety, more interior and exterior space and greater ease of movement,” says lead designer Eric Levet. “The hull is powerful and voluminous but not excessively so at the bow, for a good passage through the waves.”

The first example is scheduled to start construction in January next year and is expected to be afloat in July 2024.

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Large Sailing Scow

Discussion in ' Boat Design ' started by bblair , Sep 29, 2004 .

bblair Junior Member

A few years ago I saw a wooden sailing scow which had been owner-built in Port Townsend, Wa. I'm interested in having a fiberglas version of this built (I have no desire to try to maintain a large wood boat). I would like to hear some discussion of the desirable and undesirable characteristics of such a hull- I have some experience in power scows in the Gulf of Alaska and Prince William Sound, so I'm not completely new to the type. I would also like some direction as to where to find plans for such a hull. All of the referenced plans I have been able to find were for dinghy-sized craft. My aim is to have a vessel of fairly simple design which can sail fast in the proper conditions, have a lot of space, and not be as restricted with regard to it's weight-carrrying capacity as would a comparable catamaran. The size I have in mind is 12 to 16 meters. Thanks, everybody, in advance!  

garydierking Senior Member

Find a copy of "American Small Sailing Craft" by Howard Chapelle. There's a section on "Gulf Scow Schooners" of about the size you're looking for. They were traditionally used from New Orleans along the coast to Mexico and actually look quite fast.  

jawillia New Member

large scow The San Francisco Bay Martime Museum has plans for the ALMA, a scow schooner that is still sailing (1891). The plans cost $42.00 and contain some 6 sheets. Just got mine. Very detailed and can be scaled (which is what I am doing). Don't have the URL handy but a web search with "ALMA scow schooner" will get you there.  

Thanks for your tip. I know about the Alma, but had no idea that detailed plans were available. $42 seems an incredible bargain. I would estimate that I've invested 100+ hrs in just searching for plans. Thanks again!  

sharpii2 Senior Member

Large (cruising size) sailing scows I know of Hi bblair. Here are some cruising size Scows I know of. AIR stands for As I Recall. Phil Bolger Super Brick Straight sided, deep rocker*. Length 19.5ft Beam 8ft Displ. 3800lbs Cat rigged w/boomed lateen Scow Schooner Curved, slightly flaired sides, deep rocker. Length 28ft Beam 9ft 10in Gaff Schooner w/two masts + a jib George Buehler Rufus Straight sides, deep raking bow, transom, shallow rocker. Length 30ft (AIR) Beam 10ft Cat rigged w/ a large gaff *By deep rocker, I mean a continuous curve, fore and aft, that sweeps well clear of the waterline at at least one end. These are the three that I know of. Bill Garden designed a scow schooner as well, but I do not remember any of the particulers of it. (AIR) it had a dead flat bottom, rockered ends, a deep raked bow transom, and a vertical stern transom. I have been very fascinated with this type over the years. My 1st boat was a scow in the form of a sailboard. It was 10ft long 4ft wide and it weighed at least 180lbs dry (which it usually wasn't). It had 85sft of sail. and it planed routinely. It was poorly built (by yours truly) and it only sailed about twelve times before it rotted out. I am presently designing a new boat that will combine the vertues of my old scow and my much beloved Super Snark. It will be a deep rockered, straight sided, and very narrow for its length. (12ft long + 3ft wide) The idea being that by the time it heels over enough to put the vertical transoms at the waterline, it will present enough 'V' to the water to keep it from pounding as much. Not only that, but it will have a DL that is significantly lower under sail than sitting upright. If the design is successful, I am toying with the idea of building a live aboard version that would be 28ft x 7ft and would live either on the Intercoastal Waterway or the Misissippi. Scow advantages: Lower construction cost. (Both in hull construction and interior installation), Enormous sail carrying ability (for a monohull), Shallow draft and can be beeched on a soft bottom (mud or sand), and Good to excellent payload. Scow disadvantages: Heavy for its length and beam, Can pound ferociously in rough water (and needs to be built stronger to account for this), Has a very limited range of stability (especially the shallow rockered and flat bottomed versions) and can capsize with little or no warning if over pressed, and Is seen by many as ugly and 'un boat like' (maybe thats why I like them so much). I really wonder about your plan to build it out of GRP. The scow hull type likes matterials that are stiff for thier weight such as lumber and plywood. With a GRP hull you may end up using an inordinate amount of of roving, matt, and polyester. This could make a very heavy hull or a hull that needs lots of deep 'hat sectioned' frame members. Might I suggest you go with epoxy saturated plywood. It will probably have similer maintainence requirements to GRP but be much stiffer for its weight (undeniably heavy by its own right) and cost. Its interesting to note that according to may nautical historians (especially Chapelle) sailing scows were quite numerous. Some have said that they were the most comon boat type seen. Now there is little memory of them. I hardly see any examples of them at all in most marine mueseums. Currious. Best of luck Bob  

Pros and Cons of Scows I myself used to run a power scow in Alaska. I used it for tendering fish from salmon boats, for delivering freight of various kinds to operations in the Prince William Sound, and as a tow boat for towing logs. There are actually quite a few power scows in those waters (ex WWII craft??), used usually for either tendering or for crabbing. Most of them either were built with or have had a pointed bow added, but the one I ran was square-bowed. It was REAL heavy (planked w/ 4" lumber), and really stout. Also really slow. In the more exposed waters of the North Pacific a lot of guys use stabilizers to minimize the pounding and the wallowing, but I have a different idea of how I would like to handle that. I'm in contact with a boat yard in Poland which does really excellent work (the build boats as subcontractors for Swan, for instance) who is willing to work with me as far as construction and materials. Once I have a set of plans to work with, I'll discuss materials with him. What I have in mind is about 45'L X ~15' beam, and I have some interesting (foolish, maybe?) ideas as far as rigging. One of the reasons I'm thinking of a scow is that I'm a motorcycle enthusiast, and when I go cruising I want to be able to bring my Harley along. You can probably imagine ho foolish people find that idea... You can email me directly at [email protected] . There are some things I don't wish to broadcast on an open forum until I have a chance to try them out for myself (trying to minimize the egg on my face). I'll look forward to hearing from you. Brian  

gonzo Senior Member

Boat plans don't scale well beyond 15% or so. Unless you are experienced in design it would be bettter to get one on the size you want. What do you mean by fast? They are sailing barges.  

Sean Herron Senior Member

Hello... http://www.nps.gov/safr/local/alma.html http://www.geocities.com/soho/8626/history.html http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~tonyf/scows/ http://www.brigham-sailing-club.org/History.htm http://crash.ihug.co.nz/~tonyf/ http://www.cr.nps.gov/maritime/nhl/alma.htm  

Attached Files:

Scow 01.jpg, scow 02.jpg, scow 03.jpg, scow 04.jpg, scow 05.jpg, scow 06.jpg.

Harey clydesdales? gonzo said: What do you mean by fast? They are sailing barges. Click to expand...

Yes, the scows you are referring to (sandbaggers) are still very fast. However, they have a large crew to move the ballast around. Scows do well downwind.  

CT 249 Senior Member

sharpii2 said: In protected water, your typical light scow will walk away from any conventional mono of the same length and level of technology. The crude ten footer (deep rocker, straight sides) I built as a teenager out of plywood and with taped plastic drop cloths for sails, planed routinely. I have no idea how fast it went for there were no other sailboats in the area, but I always felt it lift every time it caught the wind. Until the introduction of multihulls, the fastest sailboats were light scows. Speeds of over 23kts were recorded for one large racing scow. Bob Click to expand...

I guess I should have stipulated 'without hiking'. With hiking the narrower the hull the better because it needs righting arm far less than it needs low wave making. Also, it very hard to find a lot of wind without at least some chop. the sharp bowed craft slices through while th scow tries to go over it. But your point is well taken. Bob  

SamSam Senior Member

bblair said: A few years ago I saw a wooden sailing scow which had been owner-built in Port Townsend, Wa. I'm interested in having a fiberglas version of this built (I have no desire to try to maintain a large wood boat). I would like to hear some discussion of the desirable and undesirable characteristics of such a hull- I have some experience in power scows in the Gulf of Alaska and Prince William Sound, so I'm not completely new to the type. I would also like some direction as to where to find plans for such a hull. All of the referenced plans I have been able to find were for dinghy-sized craft. My aim is to have a vessel of fairly simple design which can sail fast in the proper conditions, have a lot of space, and not be as restricted with regard to it's weight-carrrying capacity as would a comparable catamaran. The size I have in mind is 12 to 16 meters. Thanks, everybody, in advance! Click to expand...

catamaran29 Junior Member

About scow plans There is a catalog available from the Sithsonian. the section on American Small Craft, and others have plans availabe. I got Chapelles 36' scow plans for about $18.00. Some sets are more complete than others. There are drawings of San Franscisco bay schooner scows, commercial vessels of the 19th and early 20th century, "Granite" sloops of New England, Chapelles own designs (scantlings included), and more.  

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safewalrus Ancient Marriner

Scows - anybody been to china? call em junks/sanpans I believe? Same same scow just more rice (and that's the worst cargo you can carry nest to humans which is notrhing to do with what we's talking about here) the Walrus  

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Scow Schooner 45

$ 850.00

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L.O.D.                            44’ 4”

L.B.P.                             45’

L.EXT.                            61’ 3”

L.W.L.                            38’ 9”

BEAM                            15’ 1”

DRAFT                           3’ 1” Board Up/ 7’ 7” Board Down

SAIL AREA                     Depends on Rig

DISPLACEMENT            38,000 lbs (approx)

BALLAST                        13,000 lbs

RIG                                Bald-headed gaff schooner/Junk/Yawl

POWER                          Inboard Diesel

TYPE                              Vee-bottomed Texas Gulf-coast scow yacht

ACCOMMODATIONS         Live-aboard yacht for family with two children. Settee can sleep two guests. This vessel is a large, comfortable sailing home.

CONSTRUCTION            Quick-molded plywood: Bottom—triple diagonal 5/8” plywood; Topsides and Decks—double-laminated plywood (3/8” over 5/8” and ¼” over 5/8”). Epoxy-saturated Xynole-polyester fabric over all (two layers on bottom).

OPTIONS                        Complete plans include the construction manual THE NEW COLD MOLDED BOATBUILDING, From Lofting to launching . Other layouts and rigs are included with Plans.

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