RydalWater
Member
I have very recently laid trembling hands on a Skipper 14 as a project, (No pictures yet but will try to add some later) with a view to creating the best poor man's cruiser out of her that is humanly possible.
As those of you whom, like myself, are well past their sell by date may know the boat was originally a Peter Milne design which has in the past attracted some not wholly undeserved criticism re both its construction and rig.
The rig could as far as I am presently able to ascertain came originally as a Gunter setup though a later Bermudan option was offered. The Gunter rig was available in both conventional and unstayed versions. While I am not able to comment on the Bermudan rig the Gunter was and is as I found a really horrible bodge and any adverse comments hurled at it are almost certainly fully justified.
I could go on for pages concerning this but will confine myself to mentioning that the mast, stayed or otherwise, was originally deck mounted but stepped right down to the keel, acceptable but unnecessarily awkward on launch and recovery I'd have thought. The real horror story for me came in with the gaff to on which the mainsail was sleeved. The mere thought of going to sea with a rig I couldn't drag down in a hurry brings me out in a sweat as I have unpleasant memories of a Bobbin from years back.
Initially I am going to re rig her with a Mirror main and a slightly over sized jib which came with the boat but ultimately I plan to try her as a yawl.
The original sail area broke down to 83 sq ft of which 70.5 were provided by the main while the figures for the Mirror are 50 sq ft for the main and another 20 for the jib. Working on the principle, "Low & Long" I expect to wind up with a yawl setting some 90 odd sq ft.
This may sound like an extreme increase in area with which to saddle a boat primarily intended for cruising but my thought is that it should only be the work of a second or so to drop the main and thus rid her of 50 sq ft at a moments notice thus leaving her with a perfectly balanced rig too small to lead her into trouble. Even should I be a trifle slow the low aspect ratio of the rig should keep me safe.
Necessary modifications to the hull include a bridge like construction aft stretching from beam to beam just forward of the after locker moulding on which will be stepped the mizzen with the tiller projecting through below it.
The step for the main will require modification anyway as a previous user managed to break a wooden mast in the mount which subsequently rotted away completely but which I am unable to remove. The famous, "Plan A" in this case is to fiberglass a small step into the upper portion of the original in line with and conforming dimensionally to the usual Mirror step. Below this will be an insert passing as much as possible of the downward thrust to the original.
I plan to add a transverse member immediately abaft of the mast step both above and below deck level to serve the common purposes of spreading the mast load and serving as a foot for my proposed cockpit tent thus simplifying the task of keeping dry overnight.
As regards the hull itself I was pleasantly surprised to find it far more robust than earlier comments here had suggested though it was immediately plain that some additional inspection and access hatches would need to be fitted as I have a personal anathema concerning boats that prevent me from gaining access to every inch of her when required.
While any comments and suggestions are entirely welcome, and of course it is in hope of attracting some helpful responses that I am about to post this, do recall that I am not setting out to build a performance boat nor one to cross the Atlantic just a boat capable of keeping me alive and getting me form A to B safely and in reasonable comfort in exchange for a modicum of seamanship.
As those of you whom, like myself, are well past their sell by date may know the boat was originally a Peter Milne design which has in the past attracted some not wholly undeserved criticism re both its construction and rig.
The rig could as far as I am presently able to ascertain came originally as a Gunter setup though a later Bermudan option was offered. The Gunter rig was available in both conventional and unstayed versions. While I am not able to comment on the Bermudan rig the Gunter was and is as I found a really horrible bodge and any adverse comments hurled at it are almost certainly fully justified.
I could go on for pages concerning this but will confine myself to mentioning that the mast, stayed or otherwise, was originally deck mounted but stepped right down to the keel, acceptable but unnecessarily awkward on launch and recovery I'd have thought. The real horror story for me came in with the gaff to on which the mainsail was sleeved. The mere thought of going to sea with a rig I couldn't drag down in a hurry brings me out in a sweat as I have unpleasant memories of a Bobbin from years back.
Initially I am going to re rig her with a Mirror main and a slightly over sized jib which came with the boat but ultimately I plan to try her as a yawl.
The original sail area broke down to 83 sq ft of which 70.5 were provided by the main while the figures for the Mirror are 50 sq ft for the main and another 20 for the jib. Working on the principle, "Low & Long" I expect to wind up with a yawl setting some 90 odd sq ft.
This may sound like an extreme increase in area with which to saddle a boat primarily intended for cruising but my thought is that it should only be the work of a second or so to drop the main and thus rid her of 50 sq ft at a moments notice thus leaving her with a perfectly balanced rig too small to lead her into trouble. Even should I be a trifle slow the low aspect ratio of the rig should keep me safe.
Necessary modifications to the hull include a bridge like construction aft stretching from beam to beam just forward of the after locker moulding on which will be stepped the mizzen with the tiller projecting through below it.
The step for the main will require modification anyway as a previous user managed to break a wooden mast in the mount which subsequently rotted away completely but which I am unable to remove. The famous, "Plan A" in this case is to fiberglass a small step into the upper portion of the original in line with and conforming dimensionally to the usual Mirror step. Below this will be an insert passing as much as possible of the downward thrust to the original.
I plan to add a transverse member immediately abaft of the mast step both above and below deck level to serve the common purposes of spreading the mast load and serving as a foot for my proposed cockpit tent thus simplifying the task of keeping dry overnight.
As regards the hull itself I was pleasantly surprised to find it far more robust than earlier comments here had suggested though it was immediately plain that some additional inspection and access hatches would need to be fitted as I have a personal anathema concerning boats that prevent me from gaining access to every inch of her when required.
While any comments and suggestions are entirely welcome, and of course it is in hope of attracting some helpful responses that I am about to post this, do recall that I am not setting out to build a performance boat nor one to cross the Atlantic just a boat capable of keeping me alive and getting me form A to B safely and in reasonable comfort in exchange for a modicum of seamanship.
why? What harm has it ever done you? A ketch of that length creates far more problems than it would ever solve - far too many bits of string, dodgy supports and every probablity of more weather helm than you can cope with.
