How to Design a Boat

On this page, I will show off the 14 foot "Runabout " ( a boat which is driven by an outboard motor ); and a Norwegian Double Ender, and a 26 foot Offshore Cruiser design.

I have practiced drawing "lines plans" for boats, built models, and one real boat, my Runabout which I rigged as a "Fore and Aft Square Rigger". I did this in part since I had difficulty making up my mind over a motor driven speedboat or a sail boat..so I built one that is both! The important thing is, I stuck to a very good bit of advice from a famous naval architect, which is to BUILD IT SMALL..so you don't bankrupt yourself, so it can be completed in a reasonable number of years, and so that you can launch and recover it yourself = without having to go around begging for a crew to be off the same day as you , and help you launch and recover the boat. And lastly, perhaps most importantly, a small boat is so simple and basic, there simply are not a lot of technical things to go wrong and need expensive repairs...like engines, electronics, complex rudder /steering mechanisms, anchor windlasses, etc, etc. You see a photo of my runabout with the "Shallop Rig" ( from the French word Chaloupe") which is the PERFECT sail configuration for a small open boat. The canvas is spread out low, but there is a LOT of canvas...the worry about capsizing is reduced...in fact, I have never capsized and never will.

But the boat I most admire,and  have done the lines plans for, and want to discuss first here...is the Norwegian Double Ender.  I had a chance to travel to Norway and see for myself what a practical and brilliant design it really is. There are Fjords in Norway...all along the Western coast. These are gigantic fingers of granite mountains that stretch out into the open ocean, making for deep, long bays that reach some 80 miles or so inland...bordered north and south ( roughly..it IS a jumble! ) by those 2,000, 3,000 foot mountains on either side of the Fjords. Thus these waters are in 'wind shadow' much of the time. This means that before engines, these boats, many quite large, had to be rowed by men...long distances...out to the open ocean =  which in the North atlantic can be very turbulent and rough. These double enders date back to the Viking days and beyond, actually. They are perhaps the most ideal hull configuration ever invented by man. Whether the 30 foot seas are coming at the bow..or from the stern, these fine canoe like boats slice handily through the roughest seas. A square sterned boat could be caught by a following sea and those hundreds of tons of water smashing against the square stern would throw the boat  hard...sideways...and that would be a disaster for all on board, tumbling over and over in the breaking wave, you see.

A sharp ended boat is the safest on the open sea for that reason. But being esily driven by either sail or oars, also makes it easily driven by motor very efficiently also. I have been on a big motor cruiser that required $700 in fuel for the one day's cruise. so you see what I mean by 'efficiency' on the water. This boat is the best in the world. Let's examine it in detail.

First..my Speedboat/sailboat

Below here are but a few of the resources I researched from Norwegian texts on the history of Norsk Boat designs.

Now I want to duscuss and explain the details of how to draw the lines of a Norsk style boat. By the way...a good size can be from 16 to 26 feet...the hull shapelends itself nicely to any length of boat you'd like to try. The hull hape is 'universal' in this regard - suitable to the size you would like to try to build...large enough for a cuddy berth or pilot house for instance. But note they all use the "Sprit Yard" Sail, or "Sprits'l" sail plan. this is a square sail spread fore and aft; the aft peak is held aloft by the diagonal"sprit" running from the base of the mast up to the peak of the yard. It will become clear to you in time, as I explain the full benefits of such a sail. It has been in use from Biblical times all through the 1600's by the Dutch, English, and American Colonials...for good reason...it is easy to manage by one helmsman alone...it is a wonderful,'single hander' type sail plan.

It will take several pages to do this, so be patient. This website is under construction, March 2010

I made the remark to others that , "You couldn't swing a dead cat in Norway without hitting a double ender"...they are almost ALL double enders. It is the most sensible ...and safe and seaworthy boat you can build, period !