Coastal rowing boats.

graham

graham

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Anyone have any experience of something along the lines of an ocean rowing boat but smaller ,seaworthy enough for coastal passages in reasonable weather?
 
There are rowing skiffs / gigs at Langstone village ( on the Chichester Harbour side by the old mill ) who compete with others nearby and it's a big sport in Falmouth, I think the Scillies too.

If you mean for a one or two man team that's different, may require a specialist builder having looked at the books on English Rose III ( A Fighting Chance ) and Puffin ( The Penance Way ) personally I'd go for something like a Drascombe Longboat with at least a cuddy and some sail propulsion when you feel like it; which personally I'd find the need for pretty soon !

There is a place in the West Country which makes state of the art trans-atlantic racing two person rowing jobs with a cabin at the back, a lot of carbon fibre, not cheap.
 
graham said:
Anyone have any experience of something along the lines of an ocean rowing boat but smaller ,seaworthy enough for coastal passages in reasonable weather?
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The St Ayles Skiff is relatively easy to build and 100 are now built or on order. There was a World Championship in Ullapool last summer.

Put St Ayles into the You Tube search for a selection of movies like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHbw86LixC4
 
I'm currently restoring an Orkney Yole which will be rowable aswel as rigged with a spritsail and should be more than capable of coastal passages in decent weather.
 
graham said:
Anyone have any experience of something along the lines of an ocean rowing boat but smaller ,seaworthy enough for coastal passages in reasonable weather?
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Much depends on how many people you want to row it. Is your idea to have a boat just for you, for you and a pal, or for a crew of four plus a cox? Welsh Sea Rowing might be your best bet, and might be able to advise on what is in your area.

I have access to a couple of St Ayles skiffs, which can take most sea that is thrown at them, but are best with a crew of four plus one. Celtic Gig will similarly deal with all that is thrown at it, but will be a wetter ride. On the other hand, they are local to you, which could be a deciding factor. I have a two man plus cox boat called a Teifi skiff, also built in Wales (by Swallow Boats). Perhaps more limited in the type of weather that you will wish to expose it to.

Good luck. You wont look back..... oh hang on, you will. But that's rowing for you.

R
 
It seems to me that as already asked the question is what do you want to do. Is it for one or more people? Do you want to row as a competition with other boats? Most rowing regattas will dictate the type of boat, often traditional style. So seaworthy or not you are stuck with a design.
If on the other hand you want to row yourself or with one other then the most seaworthy designs are those used by cross ocean rowers. So narrow and long for easily driven, Sealed cockpit so it will not ship or hold much water and probably with raised bow and stern to provide some self righting ability. Certainly modern GRP type materials lend themselves to these design features.
However as said you could easily get tired of just rowing. You might consider getting hold of a sailing yacht type mold for the hull. These will be beamier but still easily driven. The potential being to be able to complete towards a sail powered boat with accomodation. If that is where your wishes take you. good luck olewill
 
Irish curraghs are the answer. Light to row, no keels to catch the force of the waves, high bows, and the oars are just 3" by 3" slats of wood so you can row very deep without catching the tops of waves.
 
bignick said:
Have a look at a virus yole. Ideal for your description of intended use, but a little pricey..
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+1 for the Yole if you want to go minimalistic. Tremendous fun in any sort of a slop. Unsinkable and open sterned. The waves they come in and they go out!

Despite the 11 day Pacific crossing, they are not really a cruising boat! We use ours for shopping in Leucate - causes quite a stir!
 
Maybe you are looking for something like this:

Parafoil.jpg


found on a blog at http://www.olypen.com/cduff/Returning.html
 
How about a wayfarer and you can sail it too. My mk 1 woody was seaworthy and also a really nice rowing boat and would also take a wee outboard.

Are you looking for tradition ... practicality .. ocean crossing or a sensible solution

The wayfarer is the latter
 
I am just mulling ideas about in my head as yet. Something that could be rowed by one person but able to carry two and with either a cuddy or lockers to keep stuff dry in. Mostly for Estuary type waters but capable of day passages at sea in reasonable weather.

The Virus Yole looks good if you can get over the God awful name . The cheapskate in me wonders if an old 420 hull could be adapted to do a similar job.
 
graham said:
I am just mulling ideas about in my head as yet. Something that could be rowed by one person but able to carry two and with either a cuddy or lockers to keep stuff dry in. Mostly for Estuary type waters but capable of day passages at sea in reasonable weather.

The Virus Yole looks good if you can get over the God awful name . The cheapskate in me wonders if an old 420 hull could be adapted to do a similar job.
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420's (if we are talking about the sailing dinghy) are really small. Not suitable for full sized people.
Good for two girls or two kids.
 
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