Design
Trover
Designed by John Welsford
Drawn for an aid organisation as the simplest possible inshore and estuary fishing boat for East Timor, where the villages needed several thousand boats after the war and the boat is also the truck, the ambulance, the taxi and the hearse. Every constraint was external: construction plywood and builders' yard timber because that is what could be had, galvanised fastenings and builders' polyurethane adhesive because they cost less than epoxy and bronze, and 15 hp outboards because the United Nations store had them. She had to be simple to build, tough enough for constant use, and seaworthy in whatever came.
The simplest possible inshore and estuary fishing boat, drawn for an aid organisation replacing the fishing canoes of East Timor, where a boat is also the village truck and ambulance. Built from construction plywood and yard lumber with galvanised fastenings and builders adhesive, at 14 ft 5 in and 90 kg, carrying up to 450 kg.
What building a Trover actually takes
Medians from the build logs kept on this site, not the designer’s estimate. Nobody has logged this boat here yet, so they are empty until the first builder does.
Those medians firm up as more people log this boat.
Builds of this boat
Nobody has logged a Trover here yet.
If you are building one, yours becomes the reference: the page the next person building this boat finds when they search for it. One photo and one line is a valid first entry.
Start the first log of this boatBoats like this one
Same type, closest in length.
| Design | Plans from | LOA | Logs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crispy 440 | Modern Wooden Boat | 4.4 m (14′ 5″) | 0 |
| Celerity | Glen-L Marine | 14′ 6″ (4.42 m) | 0 |
| Jackknife | Glen-L Marine | 14′ 6″ (4.42 m) | 0 |
| Phantom 15 | Bateau | 14′ 6″ (4.42 m) | 0 |
| Ace 14 | Arch Davis Design | 14′ 4″ (4.37 m) | 0 |
| Zip | Glen-L Marine | 14′ 4″ (4.37 m) | 0 |