The Complexity of Nautical Designs
16th August 2011
By Tim Du Vernet
At boat shows we marvel at the variety and elegance of the boats built in Muskoka. It is generally easy to tell the difference between a boat built in Muskoka versus one built somewhere else.
Chris Crafts and Hackercraft boats generally have different proportions and accent details. In some cases, there are huge differences underneath the deck boards too. The origins of design trends in boats has often been linked to the automobile industry. Specifically, when wings and fins were all the rage in cars, fiberglass boats came out with them too.
It recently struck me how conservative we are today with our boat designs compared to the huge experimentation that was happening during the first third of the Twentieth Century.
Clearly many of the advancements in hull design were developed as engine technology advanced as well. With greater power came greater speeds and demands on hull design.
Magazines from 20’s and 30’s show some pretty crazy boat designs. Yachts and traditional wooden, multi-masted sailboats were built in great variety. Rowboats, tenders and small dinghies were also built in all manner of shapes and sizes.
A strange feature on some launches was a double helm, where a boat could be driven from an unprotected front cockpit or a protected helm further back. Some boats had two windscreens and multiple cockpits with canopies and elaborately carved coaming accents. The sense of style and flair was of obvious importance. No need for mega watt speakers pointing backwards!
Today, we think of modern boats as variations of mono hull planing designs. Back in the 20’s and 30’s, the planing hull was still in its experimental stage and steps and hydrofoils were built into hull designs. It was a fast boat that could go much more than 30mph.
The power of a modern fiberglass boat is pretty much a standard affair and some of the modern Mercury engines have found their way into wooden boats too, as a matter of convenience.
Engine builders such as Sterling, Hall Scott, Kermath, Rolls Royce, Scripps, Miller and others were prized power plants that continue to be spoken of with reverence. The restoration and continued use of a period power plant isn’t without its challenges, but they are equally an important aspect of the heritage of wooden boating. The advertisements for these engines in vintage magazines are works of art that draw heavily from moods and style trends of the period.
The water cooled burble of an antique engine is especially sweet when it comes from vintage cylinders. There are several wooden boats that continue to run with vintage power. Malcom McGrath’s Wascana II is powered by a 100 hp Scripps. Jim and Eileen Minett’s Little One is powered by a rare Buchanan. Cliff Stanton’s 1912 Minett is powered by an equally ancient Van Blerck engine of 25 hp.
Speaking of Little One, a clarification in how she came to Jim Minett. She wound up in the possession of Jim’s great uncle Bert Minett. Little One had been left to his only child, a daughter, Marjorie, who was living in the U.S. She did not want the boat so offered it to Bill Minett, Jim’s father and Bert’s nephew and he took possession.
At boat shows we marvel at the variety and elegance of the boats built in Muskoka. It is generally easy to tell the difference between a boat built in Muskoka versus one built somewhere else.
Chris Crafts and Hackercraft boats generally have different proportions and accent details. In some cases, there are huge differences underneath the deck boards too. The origins of design trends in boats has often been linked to the automobile industry. Specifically, when wings and fins were all the rage in cars, fiberglass boats came out with them too.
It recently struck me how conservative we are today with our boat designs compared to the huge experimentation that was happening during the first third of the Twentieth Century.
Clearly many of the advancements in hull design were developed as engine technology advanced as well. With greater power came greater speeds and demands on hull design.
Magazines from 20’s and 30’s show some pretty crazy boat designs. Yachts and traditional wooden, multi-masted sailboats were built in great variety. Rowboats, tenders and small dinghies were also built in all manner of shapes and sizes.
A strange feature on some launches was a double helm, where a boat could be driven from an unprotected front cockpit or a protected helm further back. Some boats had two windscreens and multiple cockpits with canopies and elaborately carved coaming accents. The sense of style and flair was of obvious importance. No need for mega watt speakers pointing backwards!
Today, we think of modern boats as variations of mono hull planing designs. Back in the 20’s and 30’s, the planing hull was still in its experimental stage and steps and hydrofoils were built into hull designs. It was a fast boat that could go much more than 30mph.
The power of a modern fiberglass boat is pretty much a standard affair and some of the modern Mercury engines have found their way into wooden boats too, as a matter of convenience.
Engine builders such as Sterling, Hall Scott, Kermath, Rolls Royce, Scripps, Miller and others were prized power plants that continue to be spoken of with reverence. The restoration and continued use of a period power plant isn’t without its challenges, but they are equally an important aspect of the heritage of wooden boating. The advertisements for these engines in vintage magazines are works of art that draw heavily from moods and style trends of the period.
The water cooled burble of an antique engine is especially sweet when it comes from vintage cylinders. There are several wooden boats that continue to run with vintage power. Malcom McGrath’s Wascana II is powered by a 100 hp Scripps. Jim and Eileen Minett’s Little One is powered by a rare Buchanan. Cliff Stanton’s 1912 Minett is powered by an equally ancient Van Blerck engine of 25 hp.
Speaking of Little One, a clarification in how she came to Jim Minett. She wound up in the possession of Jim’s great uncle Bert Minett. Little One had been left to his only child, a daughter, Marjorie, who was living in the U.S. She did not want the boat so offered it to Bill Minett, Jim’s father and Bert’s nephew and he took possession.