Saturday, July 12, 2008

About the Tideway 14

The reasons I chose the Tideway are pretty obvious. She's a small craft, capable of riding via trailer to any of the numerous lakes and reserviors in the area, and her ease of construction will be quite handy when it comes time to begin the build.

The blurb on the Selway-Fisher website reads:

The Tideway 14 is a modern stitch and tape version of the old heavy displacement pocket cruisers that were popular in the 30’s and 40’s. By using modern construction techniques (using pre shaped ply hull panels, frames and transom) we have brought back to life a type of boat that offers good long distance cruising in a small package. She has 2 full length berths and plenty of stowage space and indeed, could be fitted out with a smaller cabin and larger cockpit to suit your needs. The standard arrangement shows a long ply box keel filled with concrete and scrap iron but she may also be fitted with bilge keels (also shown) or a centreboard. She may also be fitted with internal water ballast making her lighter to trail. All fittings have been kept to a minimum to keep costs low and if you would like to fit her out in a different way (ie. an open layout), we can supply all necessary new frame shapes and details. LOD 14’6’’; Beam 6’1’’; Draft 2’1’’; Weight with 700lbs. of ballast 1900 lbs.

There are slightly larger boats out there that I could just as easily build, but there was something about the lines of her hull that drew me to the Tideway. Maybe it's the gaff cutter look, or her stately displacement (1900lbs.!!!)

I will be ordering the plans soon, and will begin work at the end of the month (when time will finally allow)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I like it! I've always had a thing for these cozy little micro-cruisers.

I'd do one tomorrow if it was just me, and not the whole family.