| Simple Simon A 14' Flat-Bottom Punt By William Atkin |
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| An Easy One | |
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| Several years ago we, my two boys and I, undertook the building of a small boat. I being the advisory end of the work and the two boys, with the help of several other folks, the labor end of the work. We did not draw any plans and there was not much in the way of accuracy built into the craft. She was duly named It. She was, or rather is, a combination rowing, outboard motor and sailing boat. Her mast is a bamboo pole. And the whole outfit as near simplicity as it is possible to build a boat, and still be able to call it a boat. It is a punt, and of flat bottom model, not blessed with much freeboard and lacking considerably in style. But she sailed all right. She afforded a lot of fun for the boys, too. And they learned to sail in her. We learned a lot from the boat It | |
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| Simple Simon is like It but bigger. Her principal dimensions are: length over all, 14 feet 0 inches by 4 feet beam by 4 inches draft. One feature she has which It lacks, is arrangements for attaching and carrying an outboard motor. With an outboard she is a handy little thing and ideal for children to learn to sail in and to learn the ways of the water. She will sail and can be rowed. Furthermore will not sink if capsized or filled with water. Now, don't get a big powerful outboard motor, the lightest and the least powerful will be best. She will have ample speed and cannot be driven fast anyway. | |
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| You will notice that there is good room in the cockpit of Simple Simon, in fact, this is 6 feet long and wide enough for two boys to sleep in. The seat can be made to be removable and then there is plenty of room for legs. Have an awning made to spread over the cockpit, using the boom as a ridge pole. | |
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| Plans for Simple Simon are $100 MYSTIC SEAPORT MUSEUM SHIPS PLANS STORE https://store.mysticseaport.org/ships-plans/ shipsplanstore@mysticseaport.org
+1 (860) 572 5360 | |
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