| Huskie A 17' 6" Tunnel-Stern Derrick/Utility Scow By William Atkin |
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| An Inexpensive Utility Boat | |
| In all sheltered waters, the harbors, rivers, and lakes, there is a demand for a very simple and inexpensive motor boat that can be used for many purposes. And, since most sheltered water is shallow, the less the boat draws the better. And then there are all the smaller builders of boats who badly need a useful work boat. And the man who has a fleet of small sailing boats that need tendering. And the yacht clubs. And the man who goes in for bum-boating in a small way. | |
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| Our tunneled scow is 17 feet, 6 inches long, 5 feet, 6 inches in breadth and draws only 5 inches of water with two men aboard. The freeboard is 1 foot, 5 inches for the entire length and the sheer line therefore perfectly straight. The tunnel is 18 inches wide. This permits room for a propeller of 14 inches diameter which is ample for the largest size motor that should be fitted in the boat. The splash board is a continuation of the tunnel and its purpose is to partially close the orifice in the stern through which the wash of the propeller is ejected. Without the splash board cavitation will occur. Despite the fact that the center of the propeller is 3 inches above the waterline it will be working in solid water the moment the propeller begins to revolve. Because propellers pull just as they push, and the water cannot help flowing up into the tunnel. However, there is a definite relation between the inlet end of the tunnel and the outlet end. So if you expect Huskie to perform correctly do not make alterations here. The tunnel will be more efficient if it is made semi-circular in section; but the additional work of building it this way hardly will repay in bettered performance. | |
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| The construction is of the simplest nature, as well as the model; a flat-bottomed scow with a short tunnel in which; to house the propeller. Huskie is plumb-sided, square-ended, cross-planked and flat-decked. Curves are few and far between in her makeup -- the tunnel, only, and the sweep-up where the bow raises from the bottom. But she is not a drab little tub by any means, if powered with a motor of approximately 90 cubic inch cylinder displacement and turning at 2,000 r.p.m. the little boat will show a speed, of close to 11 miles an hour. Universal, Gray, Lycoming, Red Wing, and Kermath supply motors of about this power, output. Where reeds and sea grass are thick in the water a weedless propeller should be used. The propeller is nicely protected against damage, and the rudder as well. | |
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| Leave off the mast and derrick boom and add a low standing top or awning and Huskie will serve beautifully for river cruising. Her bow can be nosed ashore almost anywhere along the river's bank, and her shallow draft permits exploration of out-of-the-way places never reached by boats of usual draft. | |
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| Plans for Huskie 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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