Help IDing a Sailboat

[christophermoorkelly]

I found this sailboat on Craigslist and have had a lot of fun restoring her. Only problem is... I have no idea what she is. Been researching for months. Marine ply construction, 16'9" LOA, 5'10" beam, fractional sloop, wooden mast. She is very similar to a Lightning, just a bit smaller. Similar to a Comet 16. I'm about to get a new centerboard fabricated and design the cockpit, and I'm hoping to find some more info on her first.

Edit:
Additional Info: Mast is 25'6", 23' above deck.
Not too sure about LWL, about a foot or two shorter.
Sail area is about 170 sqft. I'll probably get a bigger headsail whenever the time comes. Drafted it out, and the CE lines up with the CLR. We'll see how she sails.

 

[Hollyberry]

Looks like a Lightning but it's a couple of feet short and the CB doesn't match up..

 

[jssailem]

Looks like a kit boat. Many were offered in the late 60's and 70's.

Here is one a Point Jude 15...

Or the America 17.

Finding where the boat was sailing or what part oof the country the owner was from can sometimes help to narrow your search.

Additional info like LWL. Mast height etc can help in a search.

 

[dlochner]

Looks a little like a Snipe, but about a foot short.

 

[christophermoorkelly]

More measurements added. Seems like there are a lot of kit boats of this ilk. Makes sense she was built in the 70s. I don't really know any of her history. Bought her on the Outer Banks. Kill Devil Hill.

I'm mostly trying to decide how to finish her interior. Got plenty of ideas, but more are welcome. Going to do a mockup with tuba fours and plywood, see how it goes, then get some nice wood from a local supplier.

 

[Kings Gambit]

Your beam measurement seems too narrow for a 16-17 ft LOA sailboat based on SailboatData.com reports; care to confirm it?

KG

 

[Davidasailor26]

Your beam measurement seems too narrow for a 16-17 ft LOA sailboat based on SailboatData.com reports; care to confirm it?

KG

Some of those style boats are pretty close to that. The Hampton One Design for example is 18’ long and 5’ 10” wide. But that’s not a match either.

 

[christophermoorkelly]

Confirmed: 5'10" beam, 16'9" LOA

Her narrowness is one of the reasons I'm hoping to get some ideas about the interior from images or other owners. The cockpit to gunwale space (name?) is pretty wide too, for hiking no doubt.

 

[PaulK]

Too long to be a Comet. The similarities between the boat and Lightnings, Comets, and Snipes points to a design of about the same period: 1930's, though plywood construction would indicate a 40's or later build.

 

[shemandr]

img 7346 shoes some interesting construction details - not helpful to ID but still interesting.
It looks like a chine log construct. If the chine logs were supplied in a kit it would make a home build fairly easy. If the home builder had to shape them it would be a challenge to get all the bevels correct with the changing angles as the chine logs bend in two dimensions.. Chine logs are suitable/necessary for plywood sides and bottom (You can drive screws into it). All the frames are sawn - nothing steam bent. The lengthwise stringers seem unusual to me since the bottom is usually strong enough in the fore-aft dimension to hold the boat's shape.. Maybe they were what the bottom was bent over and attached to. Yes, looking again the sawn floor frames are notched for the stringers. So they were added after the bottom was bent on. Same for the vertical frames.
So, it looks like the building plan was to set up a latter frame with vertical risers at the stations and horizontal members across the bottom. The outside of those temp boards would be at the offsets specified by the plans minus the thickness of the planking (Plywood) and stringers. The stringers are then bent over the temp frames and attached with temp fasteners. The chine log would be shaped and attached - maybe with a notch out at each station. Then the plywood bottom and sides would be attached to the stringers and chine logs. What, no 15' plywood? I'm not sure, but I think at the frames corresponding with the aft end of the centerboard trunk, there is what appears to be a double layer of plywood. Maybe that's where the 8' lengths are attached to one another. They had resorcinol glue so plywood panels could be glued together or even scarfed. After the hull is done the boat would be removed from the ladder and while right side up, the frames notched in and the deck fitted.
Note to OP, putting the furniture in is much easier before the deck goes on and easier yet before the sides are attached. Traditional seats can be a detriment. I suggest you decide who is going to sail the boat and how. If single handing a seat in about the middle fore-aft dimension with the ability for the sailor to slide Port-Starboard is good. You'll need a tiller extension and some arrangement to trim the main from the middle of the boat. With crew a different setup may be better. But because boat trim is so important on a small boat you'll want everyone to be able to slide P/S. I favor seating that when viewed from above looks like an "I" (With the top and bottom cross bars).

 

[jssailem]

I'm about to get a new centerboard fabricated and design the cockpit,

I would plan for Hiking straps as I am guessing she is a tender.

You could span the cockpit with a traveler across the center behind the dagger board trunk. It would place the crew in front and the skipper behind the traveler.

With this set up you would want the jib sheets to terminate so the crew could control them across the cockpit. Winches located in front of the traveler. Perhaps a jib/genoa track along the sides aft of the shrouds.

Plan for a tiller extension to allow you to sit on the side and control the tiller.

Depending on the boats sailing characteristics, you may want to consider a trapeze for the crew, when going to windward.

I would anticipate a strap over the dagger board with the strap to secure it as varying levels.

Certainly a whisker pole for down wind. You might even add an asymmetrical spinnaker. On a broad reach I suspect the boat would plane well, with the skipper and crew back near the stern holding on for dear life.

 

[christophermoorkelly]

Thank you for all this info. I've been trying to figure out how exactly it was constructed as I've been doing the work. Next step is to build my own, hopefully. I'm not sure how much hard racing she'll do, but zipping around the lakes and inlets of the mid-Atlantic with some friends is in her future. The I seat config makes sense. On a light cruising day that would provide four seats, and when zipping around two of us can easily shift P/S.

Although if she's swift enough... I've never raced before! I do want to get her in top shape, and I know racing is the best way to do that.

 

[jssailem]

Getting in the boat with the fixed items (shrouds, trunk, tiller) you can sit on the sides and explore your reach and positions. I spent hours doing this as I planned the new rigging of my boat. Control the things you can control and adapt the rest.