New Design part 1 - Precedents and Context

We are now moving into the second part of the project, designing a new wooden boat for Lough Derg. We will be discussing the brief which in many ways is the most important aspect of any good boat design. A few issues to keep in mind, the existing adult boats used/raced on the lake on a regular basis:

http://www.soda.ie/

http://www.squibs.co.uk/

http://j24ireland.wordpress.com/

http://www.laser-ireland.com/

These boats all have their advantages and limitations. One thing that is certainly missing is a high performance boat for more than one person. I have made a list of interesting boats that would be worth considering in these circumstances. Most of these boats have wooden versions . They are not all confined to Ireland, indeed we may learn more from distant parts than locally.

• Maeve – National 18
• Margarita – Swift solo
• Sean – Cherub class
• Robyn – 505
• Ralph – International canoe
• Ed – International 14
• Aoibhin – Fireball
• Colin – Merlin Rocket
• Michelle – Norfolk Punt
• Hugo – Contender
• Gillian – NS 14
• Patrick – C Scow

Each person is asked to make a brief study into these boats so that we can all share the knowledge. This is for next week, 29th October. If you have an alternative boat you think appropriate let me know.

• Elements of brief study:
• A photograph of boat
• A drawing of boat
• The boat’s dimensions
• The materials and methods of construction
• The origin and history of the boat.
• The use of the boat, purpose, amount of people, type of people who sail them, mixed ability and sizes?
• The environment of the boat, what conditions are they good for -  weather, shore, waves, fresh water, tidal,
• Complexity and cost
• Good points vs bad points (i.e reasons it prospered vs reasons it failed)

This time we are looking particularly for modern methods of timber construction so take particular note of how they are made.