Design
Athelas
Designed by Dave Kuperstein
Athelas is a 17 ft 2 in open water pulling boat patterned on the rowing boat lines N. G. Herreshoff drew for The Rudder in 1947, the same sketch that inspired John Gardner's double ended peapod versions. A 16 ft 4 in waterline gives an easy 5 mph that one rower can keep up for miles, and her narrow beam suits 7 1/2 ft oars rowed with hands overlapped. One fixed and one movable thwart let her trim level for one or two rowers, and a narrow transom will take a trolling motor for fishing.
She is glued lapstrake plywood with very little transverse framing, built in the ultra-light manner associated with Tom Hill, planked in 1/4 in fir or 6 mm okoume over a heavier flat bottom in the Herreshoff manner. The prototype weighed 81 pounds, light enough to car top and wheel to the water alone. Dave Kuperstein estimates 60 hours for the mould and 160 for the boat, and the design can be stretched to 18 ft for a quicker double.
What building a Athelas actually takes
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Start the first log of this boatBoats like this one
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| Design | Plans from | LOA | Logs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sculling Skiff | Glen-L Marine | 17′ 2″ (5.23 m) | 0 |
| Gozzo 5.20m | BCA Demco | 5.2 m (17′ 1″) | 0 |
| Duckling 17 | Devlin | 17′ 4″ (5.27 m) | 0 |
| Oarling II 17 | Devlin | 17′ 4″ (5.28 m) | 0 |
| Northeaster Dory | Chesapeake Light Craft | 17′ 0″ (5.18 m) | 3 |
| 17' Rangeley Double Ender | Newfound Woodworks | 17′ 0″ (5.18 m) | 0 |