Promo Article
CLC Pocketship
Echoes of a British pilot cutter
" I s that a PocketShip?” Even though it was the first time I had ever launched my PocketShip, it was not the first time a stranger had approached me to ask about it. This stranger turned out to be very familiar with the design, having followed it since Chesapeake Light Craft introduced it. What would prove to be the usual suite of questions followed: Did I build it myself? Plans or kit? How long did it take? How does it sail? He expressed his enthusiasm for the PocketShip and his dream to build one.
John Harris, the proprietor of and chief designer for Chesapeake Light Craft, designed the PocketShip as his personal boat. “I’d owned a production fiberglass pocket cruiser, which sailed well but was hellish uncomfortable,” he explained. “I had a hunch that I could design a sailboat with a 15′ length-on-deck that not only sailed extremely well, but was ergonomic for someone of my 6′ 1″ height.” The boat had to be light enough to tow to Florida behind his four-cylinder car, fast and seaworthy enough to sail overnight to the Bahamas, and commodious enough for a week’s cruising once there. He drew a centerboard gaff sloop with a doughty profile. The waterline length is 13′ 8″, and the boat weighs around 1,200 lbs when rigged, ballasted, and loaded with provisions. John packed a lot of boat into a small, well-balanced package.
The PocketShip struck a chord with amateur boatbuilders, and a flurry of interest from potential customers led John to add the design to the CLC offerings. The promise of big-boat cruising adventure in a petite, built-it-yourself, trailerable package proved irresistible to many, and at last update more than 300 kits and plans have shipped to locations around the world.
T he PocketShip is a do-it-yourself project with a scope and complexity that a handy amateur can readily contemplate. It is available as a kit with CNC-cut plywood parts, epoxy, epoxy thickeners, fiberglass, drawings, and manual. Hardware, timber, and sails are available as optional packages. I built from CLC’s plans, huge rolls of paper with full-sized patterns for nearly all parts. The 280-page manual is a masterpiece, with minutely detailed instructions, readable prose, and clear photographs and illustrations. While PocketShip is best for the intermediate-level amateur, the quality of the manual has enabled complete novices to build fine PocketShips.
I built my PocketShip in a one-car garage over the course of two years. When I decided to order plans instead of a kit, I felt that I had to cut out all the wood myself in order to claim I had built my own boat. If I were to do it over again, I would build from a kit; it would get the build started faster, produce more precise work, and still require enough labor to provide a legitimate claim to a self-built boat.
The PocketShip is constructed using the stitch-and-glue plywood method. Having built two kayaks before the PocketShip, the basic techniques were familiar to me, and the hull went together much like a giant, complex kayak. I picked up some new skills such as scarfing plywood (the kit uses CNC-cut puzzle joints), melting lead for the keel, and rigging the sheets, halyards, and stays. The manual always kept things from getting intimidating; it breaks down the building into a series of small, achievable tasks, most of which can be completed in weeknight sessions. Some things, such as the big fiberglass jobs, are best reserved for weekends.
Construction begins with the keel assembly, which includes the centerboard trunk and has two compartments, one at each end of the trunk, that are filled with 108 lbs of lead, melted and poured in. (Another 150 to 200 lbs of ballast—bags of lead-shot—will later get set in the bilges of the completed boat.) The finished keel assembly is dropped into a building cradle made of two female molds. The hull bottom and sides are then dropped in and wired together with temporary 18-gauge-steel wire stitches. Next, an array of plywood bulkheads and floors are stitched in place. The joints are then permanently bonded with big epoxy fillets and the entire interior is sheathed in fiberglass. The decks and topsides are also stitched, glued, and ’glassed. There are a few fiddly bits of carpentry along the way, where timber needs to be cut at a complex angle, but these tasks tend to be welcome breaks from the epoxy work.
The mast is a tapered hollow box, built up from four 16′ spruce staves. The bowsprit, boom, and gaff are all solid timber with rectangular sections, milled down to attractive tapers. While traditional in appearance, the rig is fairly modern in the details, including a roller-furling jib and sail track for the main. Rigging requires a wide variety of blocks, cleats, and eyestraps, and careful routing of the running rigging.
G etting the PocketShip to the launch site and out sailing is a breeze. For easy trailering, the mast is stepped in a tabernacle and folds down onto the boom gallows. On reaching the launching ramp, you start by casting off the tie down that secures the mast to the boom gallows. The bobstay also must be shackled to the bow eye, unless the geometry of your trailer permits it to remain attached. Standing in the cockpit, you thrust the mast upward toward vertical and haul in on the jib halyard, which does double duty as a forestay, pivoting the mast into place. Once the boat is in the water, drop the centerboard and slide the mainsail onto its track. When this process is well-rehearsed, it is possible to be underway within 10 minutes of arriving at the ramp.
The boat is designed with singlehanding in mind, with all lines, including the jib’s roller-furler line, led to the cockpit. For a relatively heavy displacement boat with a 13′ 8″ waterline and 6′ 3″ beam, the PocketShip has surprisingly inspired sailing qualities. John Harris likes his PocketShip to sail fast, and worked hard to get as much speed as he could out of this little vessel. The hull lines are fairly refined and carry a good dose of racing dinghy in them. The boat has a single hard chine, a V bottom, and a surprisingly fine entrance. If it were not for the 268-lbs of ballast required to keep her on her feet, it could probably be induced to plane quite readily. The ample sail area adds to performance; with a 109-sq-ft main and a 39-sq-ft jib, the boat has no shortage of power.
For a gaff-rigged boat, the PocketShip is close-winded, able to sail to within right around 50 degrees of the wind. A beam reach is where it really shines. The boat almost effortlessly plunges forth at a sprightly 5-ish knots and settles into a groove that yields delightful sailing. At speed, the PocketShip will plow jauntily through chop, and is stable and confident in rough conditions. Full sail can be carried up until the wind hits 10 to 12 knots; above that, a single reef will calm the boat down substantially without sacrificing any speed.
With its large sail area, a PocketShip will propel itself in even the lightest of airs. If currents are a fact of life in your home waters, however, a 2- to 2.5-hp outboard motor, hung on a mount fixed to the transom, is essential. The boat is easily driven and zips along under power. The manual notes that a pair of oars and a yuloh are auxiliary power options, good for a couple of knots, and though accommodations for them are not included, they would be easy enough for the builder to add.
The cockpit is roomy enough to accommodate three or four adults. It is an expansive and comfortable space, almost as well suited to lounging about as a living-room couch. The narrow, shallow footwell is a compromise with the sleeping accommodations below it, but the PocketShip’s cockpit is perfectly functional.
The cabin has an open layout; you sit or sleep directly on the floorboards, with legs extended aft under the cockpit. At the forward end of the cabin there is a large storage area, and additional space aft, below the cockpit decks. There are comfortable sleeping accommodations for two full-grown adults. Though the cabin is small, it is possible to spend time below without discomfort, as I discovered during one very rainy weekend.
There is a degree of celebrity that comes with sailing a PocketShip. A PocketShip owner gets used to being photographed out on the water, complimented at the dock, and peppered with questions at boat ramps. On a recent trip to Friday Harbor in Washington’s San Juan Islands, my PocketShip looked Lilliputian moored next to the long rows of enormous, glittering, white production cruisers. Yet, the tourists walking the docks were inevitably drawn to my little red boat. I had to abandon my plan to lie about and read, and instead respond to the stream of questions and compliments that the boat drew. While the monster yachts that surrounded me had galleys, settees, even televisions, one little boy stood wide-eyed, marveling that such a little boat could have windows!
Jon Lee of Everett, Washington, is a full-time engineer, sometime amateur boat builder, not-enough-time sailor. He built his first boat, a self-designed rowboat, during grad school. In the years since, more boats followed, while Jon swore he could quit anytime he wants. His greatest claim to fame is successfully leading his boatbuilding team to two successive last-place finishes in the Edensaw Boatbuilding Challenge at the Wooden Boat Festival, and loving it.
PocketShip Particulars
Length: 14′ 10″ Beam: 6′ 3“ Draft, board up: 16″ Draft, board down: 36″ Sail area: 148 sq ft
Plans ($249) and kits ($3619, full kit) for the PocketShip are available from Chesapeake Light Craft .
Is there a boat you’d like to know more about? Have you built one that you think other Small Boats Magazine readers would enjoy? Please email us!
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CLC Pocketship
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Does anyone have any information, experience, or (here we go) opinion regarding the CLC Pocketship? I have a friend who is interested in purchasing one that has already been built. I have my opinion but am interested in what others think. CLC POCKETSHIP - sailboatdata PocketShip: 15-foot Fast-Sailing Pocket Cruiser with Sitting Headroom and 8-foot Berths! Pocket Ship Plans
I can't help you with that particular design but my very first sailboat was a Sam Rable design called a Titmouse. She was about the same size and outfit except it wasn't gaff rigged. She was very well built. After I got it all refinished she was beautiful. Also, it was perhaps a perfect first sailboat for me. I sailed it mostly on lake Washington in Seattle. I did make a big trip to the Sam Juan Islands. I kept it in the water in the summer and pretty much refinished it in the garage in the off season. I sailed it a lot for about seven years straight. I wish I could go for a sail in her today. Oh ya. Relatively easy trips on larger boats seemed like small voyages on her. I had a single reef put in the mainsail and she could handle some pretty big winds. It was great fun for the youngster that I was. I have never lost the love of sailing that I got from the boat.
I am a big fan of Chesapeake Light Craft (CLC) and of John Harris, who is the owner of CLC and the primary designer of the CLC boats. John is very creative, innovative, and responsible in developing an eclectic series of boats designed for amateur and near amateur boat builders. In the spirit of disclosure, I know John personally and kibitzed a few of his designs. I have been through his amazingly modern shop, and had detailed conversations about his design and implementation process. To assure the "buildability" of the CLC boats, John builds prototypes of each new design and agonizes over writing a comprehensive building manual that takes the builder through a step by step process. He sets a high standard in terms of describing a sequence of construction, and how-tos and includes warnings about what not to do. John has an encyclopedic knowledge of small water craft history and many of his designs are clever adaptations of traditional working watercraft. John also has the kind of strong understanding of both industrial and ergonomic design that only comes from actually building and using his products. When I look at the Pocketship, I see a classic John Harris design. At first blush, the Pocketship might appear to be a classic pocket cruiser that could have been designed in the mid-20th century. But at closer look, the design evokes design clues from creative designers L.F. Herreshoff and Philip Bolger. The hull form is extremely sophisticated, especially if considering that it is built employing a simplified plywood construction. The choice of a gaff rig, makes sense in many ways. It means a shorter mast that is easier to build and step. Cruisers typically spend more time reaching and running than beating, and gaff rigs are at their best in those conditions. With all that in mind, I would say that the Pocketship would make a very nice camp cruiser, and about as easy to build as almost any camp cruiser this size. Now then, as much as I enjoy traditional watercraft and John Harris's ingenious design, speaking solely from my own personal bias, I prefer more modern designs than the Pocketship. CLC also builds designs by Dudley Dix with the same care as they build John Harris's designs. If I were to build a small trailerable CLC pocket cruiser, I would probably build the Dudley Dix design Didi Cruise-Mini Mk 3. While a more expensive build, this is a completely modern design that should offer more seaworthiness, comfort, and performance. Again in the spirit of disclosure, I also know Dudley Dix for quite a few years and have also had detailed discussions with him about his yacht design principles. Like John, Dudley has built and sailed his own designs and brings a clear eyed practicality to his designs. If I were to build one or the other, I would absolutely build the Didi Cruise-Mini. To me, while was less convenient to launch, and less capable of ducking into shallow corners of nowhere, the Didi strikes me as much more well-rounded design for the way I choose to sail. Jeff P.S. I have never sailed either of these boats.
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AD14/16 vs. PocketShip
Discussion in ' Sailboats ' started by jpb , Aug 18, 2009 .
jpb Yacht Design Student
What do you think about the seaworthness of this sailboats: - AD 14/16 ( http://bateau.com/proddetail.php?prod=AD14 / http://bateau.com/proddetail.php?prod=AD16 ) - PocketShip ( http://www.clcboats.com/shop/boats/sailboats/CLC-POCKETSHIP.html ) Which one is more seaworthy? jpb
bistros Previous Member
jpb said: ↑ What do you think about the seaworthness of this sailboats: - AD 14/16 ( http://bateau.com/proddetail.php?prod=AD14 / http://bateau.com/proddetail.php?prod=AD16 ) - PocketShip ( http://www.clcboats.com/shop/boats/sailboats/CLC-POCKETSHIP.html ) Which one is more seaworthy? jpb Click to expand...
Manie B Senior Member
I am building something along these lines anyway mine is a fun project and the idea is to experiment with as many different sail configurations as the budget will allow i have been a very keen reader of most of the small pocket cruisers out there and i have done a LOT of research on the boats you mention (and watched the videos on youtube) I like the Bateau AD16 and feel that you can make it unsinkable easily that will be safe and seaworthy this design offers all the features to make a very nice seaworthy vessel anyway get building anything it changes your life forever best hobby EVER
bistros said: ↑ If you've sailed a lot, you would know that all small boats have their issues - short waterline length makes for slower speed, high resistance to capsizing generally means either lots of ballast or width - both of which contribute to even slower speed. ... To really know what you want, you have to sail for a couple seasons in the general boat type to figure out what works for you and what doesn't. Make sure you are okay with being the slowest boat out there. Click to expand...
What i really dont like about the pocketship is that front "bow-pit" even if it is self draining i know that he went for a "traditional" look, and on the videos she sails well in protected waters but the extra large cockpit is wasted space, guys often sail these boats alone, i prefer a bigger cabin for overnight camping and comfort when it rains bateau's build methods are simpler to me and bateau's forum is excellent to get back to the question - seaworthy? the AD16 can be built to satisfy that easily http://bateau.com/boats/AD16/index.html my boat that i am building, is in fact very similar, with the open transom i am making my side decks flush so that you sit on the boat rather than in the boat last but not least, i prefer function over form, or better said - i cant be bothered with "traditional looks" I want a "modern" boat and design and i feel that the AD16 does that
With all due respect to Manie, the feedback you have received is exactly why I feel someone who has actually sailed/built the boats should be your best source of information. Based on paper plans and magazine articles, conclusions are being drawn about sailing abilities. Based on websites, conclusions are being drawn regarding simplicity and ease of build. Although Manie makes some good and possibly very valid points, the feedback you are getting is not from first hand experience. Everyone has their personal likes and dislikes about designs in general. Things that can be intolerable to one person may be unnoticed by another. Boats are personal, so my point about actually sailing the boats is very important. Since both are established designs, and both companies are credible and solid, I'd contact the designers and ask about local owners you could contact - for advice, trial sails and build feedback. In general I agree with a lot of what Manie has to say, but in this case you should form your own opinions. -- Bill
Here is some more interesting reading you may even find someone close to you that has got one http://forums.bateau2.com/search.php?st=0&sk=t&sd=d&keywords=ad16
Thank you Manie for your detailed answer. A few weeks ago, a read everythink I could find about AD14 and AD16. Jan
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messabout Senior Member
You have used the term: Seaworthy. That is an elusive term that is a subjective matter. If you are thinking of sailing from Hamburg to Bergen, then neither of these are sufficiently seaworthy . If you are going to gunkhole around placid bays and inlets, either of them may suffice. I would favor the larger boat for several reasons, seakeeping among those reasons. Bistros is probably right about both of these boats being sluggards. That one of them is pictured with a good sized spinnaker is evidence that they will need considerable urging. I would die and go to hell before needing a $700 chute on a boat that is supposed to provide a leisurely camp cruise. There are stories, told for truth, about seasoned watermen who have survived force six weather in a 14 foot Maine Peapod. Tough little boat, even tougher watermen. So seaworthiness is a matter of crew skill, experience, and judgement, as well as the ability of the boat. My area has a group of people who call themselves; Florida Trailer Sailers. (they have a web site) They have all sorts of little boats like these. Among the popular ones are Peep Hens, Sea Pearls and West Wight Potters. These guys travel regularly to venues around the state for "messabouts" and camp cruising. They have big time fun because they have experience with boatmanship and they are careful to avoid foul weather and dangerous places. The little boats that they use are thus entirely satisfactory.
CLC PocketShip, Schreyer CROW, or ... ? Looking at home builts < 16'
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Dreams Won't Wait: A PocketShip build
The journey to a Chesapeake Light Craft (CLC) PocketShip – a pocket cruiser sailboat
PocketShip Build Timeline
A chronological track of the key steps in the building of ‘Dreams Won’t Wait.’ Hopefully this will give you a better idea of the time commitments needed and approximately how long each of the steps took me in particular to complete. I would add or subtract needed time based on number of workers, experience, and skill. I also have been working remotely which allows for the lack of a commute to not impact my time in the evenings or very early morning.
These steps are seen in more detail in the build blog entries found here: https://dreamswontwait.com/pocketship-build-progress/
Preparation
- ??? – Many moons ago in college I promised one day to build a sailboat
- Oct 28, 2018 – ordered study plans and build guide
- Nov 16, 2018 – moved to new house by water with a functional workshop garage
- Aug 3, 2021 – requested shipping quote and verification of kit order sequence
- Aug 10, 2021 – received shipping quote and initial invoice, created spreadsheet to track costs
- Aug 21st, 2021 – Drove to Mystic, CT to see PocketShip #1 and place my order (PocketShip #1 no show, order placed regardless)
- Aug 22nd, 2021 – ordered 125# of lead
- Aug 23rd, 2021 – saw Hull ID number in order – became more real
- Aug 24th, 2021 – Shipping date email update – time crunch, panic ensued
- Sept 8th, 2021 – Scheduled shipping date from CLC – rush to complete restoration of kayak restoration
- Sept 7th, 2021 – Shipped notification received – day early
- Sept 8th, 2021 – Arrived 36 miles from the house at warehouse, panic sets in – must complete ongoing kayak restoration faster
- Sept 10th, 2021 – Call received 15 minutes before delivery of a “pallet of chemicals” – Epoxy is here
- Sept 11th, 2021 – final sanding of kayak epoxy prepping for coats of varnish
- Sept 13th, 2021 – delivery of materials scheduled
- Sept 11th, 2021 – final sanding of kayak epoxy prepping for coats of varnish
- Sept 12th, 2021 – boat marine plywood and milled timber arrives
- Sept 13th, 2021 – delivery of materials originally scheduled
- Sept 14th, 2021 – unloaded sheet goods to add casters to pallets to be able to move around
- Sept 14th, 2021 – Jeep sold to make room for boat to live down the road and pay off some costs
- Sept 14th, 2021 – Cabinets arrive for moving brewing equipment upstairs out of garage
- Sept 15th, 2021 – Jeep leaves with new owners
- Sept 17th, 2021 – pool table support rebuilt into work table
- Sept 17th, 2021 – new cabinets for upstairs arrive and we discover they wont go up to final location
- Sept 18th, 2021 – maple base cabinet rebuilt into mobile sanding station
- Sept 18th, 2021 – Pantry cabinets and butcher block returned and smaller uppers and more bases bought with longer butcher block. Those got moved upstairs okay.
- Sept 19th, 2021 – Electrical outlet adds/relocation and install of cabinets
- Sept 19th, 2021 – Butcher block sanded and oiled/waxed/installed. Everything hurts.
- Sept 20th, 2021 – Fridge moved upstairs – never doing that again
- Sept 20th, 2021 – Maple pantry cabinets installed in garage, lumber rack added
- Sept 21st, 2021 – More cabinets arrive and wider butcher block island slab – sanded/finished that one
- Sept 22nd, 2021 – Last set of cabinets installed and butcher block installed – finally done there I’ve still not cut a single piece of wood for the boat yet but now have more space in the garage and will start full bore organization and prep to start.
- Sept 23rd, 2021 – moved all brewing equipment out of the garage and into new space upstairs
- Sept 24th, 2021 – reorganization of racks in garage, reduction of bins allowing for flat piece storage as well as completed assemblies
- Sept 24th, 2021 – added plywood top to work table, layer of cardboard – cut to 36″ width x 8′
Chapter 1 Begins
- Sept 25th, 2021 – First pieces cut from sheets – Centerboard trunk and centerboard! Stacked and re-stacked the sheets
- Sept 25th, 2021 -First glass and epoxy applied to centerboard trunks
- Sept 26th, 2021 – two fill coats applied to centerboard trunk, centerboard assembled and curing, keel nose block rough shaped
- Sept 27th, 2021 – Centerboard blocking cut and epoxied. Layout of keel parts and blocking with angles transferred
- Sept 28th, 2021 – Centerboard trunk blocking joints sanded and joined to other centerboard trunk panel. Keel noseblock faired and sanded.
- Sept 29th, 2021 – unclamped the centerboard and mixed up very small batch of epoxy to fill holes in centerboard and trunk in preparation for drilling during quick lunch break. After work rounded over trunk and glued nose block to keel https://dreamswontwait.com/build/pocketship-delays-due-to-work/
- Sept 30th, 2021 – Centerboard part alignment, final glue up and allowing to cure
- Oct 1st, 2021 – sanding and general epoxy cleanup on the keel. Rounded over edges with router – made first mistake and dug a gouge – taped around area with blue tape to deal with in the morning
- Oct 2nd, 2021 – fixed mistake first thing in the morning with epoxy fill. Lead casting day. Poured centerboard weight first. Filled largest aft cavity next. Melted the aluminum pot, finished off with a cast iron pot. Sealed the keel up.
- Oct 3rd, 2021 – Keelson attached to the keel. Centerboard rabbeted and filled with thickened epoxy to reinforce leading and trailing edge.
- Oct 4th, 2021 – Leading and trailing edge of centerboard sanded and faired
Chapter 2 Begins
- Oct 5th, 2021 – Centerboard glassed and fill coated. Clean up of scrap and space in general. End of Chapter 1 and Start of Chapter 2 with the hull cradle assembly.
- Oct 6th, 2021 – Reinforced the arms of the build cradle and some space cleanup
- Oct 7th, 2021 – J oined the first hull pieces together by epoxying the puzzle joints
- Oct 8th, 2021 – Continued joining the remaining puzzle joint pieces
- Oct 9th through 11th, 2021 – Glassing and sanding of hull panel pieces along with sealing floor supports with epoxy.
- Oct 13th, 2021 – Final panel sanding completed, Keel gets placed in cradle, bottom hull panels joined to keelson
- Oct 14th, 2021 – Upper hull panels stitched on
- Oct 16th, 2021 – Stood inside the hull for the first time, stitched in bulkheads and floor supports
- Oct 17th, 2021 – First trip outside for the PocketShip since arriving flat on a pallet. Glue part of ‘Stitch and glue’ construction starts
- Oct 21st, 2021 – Filleting starts over the glued areas. Starting electrical design while fillets cure
- Oct 24th, 2021 – Prep and taped for the floor support and bulkhead fillets
- Oct 27th, 2021 – Sanding prep and glass of rear section by transom
- Oct 28th, 2021 – Dove into electrical design and layout while bilge is accessible
- Oct 30th, 2021 – Sanding of remaining fillets
- Nov 2nd – 4th, 2021 – glassing and sanding of lower hull interior one section at a time. Fill coats as I go.
- Nov 4th, 2021 – Drainage plugs drilled for front and rear bulkheads
- Nov 6th – 7th, 2021 – Glassing of more floor sections, electrical panel layout, and sanding
- Nov 9th, 2021 – Sanding and epoxy fill coats
- Nov 13th – 14th, 2021 – Bow section glassing and fill coats. Rounded out support cleats on router table and sanded, planed where needed to match angles, and attached cleats
- Nov 18th, 2021 – Mast lumber scarfed and epoxied
- Nov 19th, 2021 – Mast, boom, bowsprit, yard are all cut to shape. Started cutting out sole pieces
- Nov 20th, 2021 – Sole pieces cut, screwed, faired
- Nov 27th, 2021 – Final epoxy coats on lower hull, fairing, and paint
- Dec 11th, 2021 – Paint is layering, drains, glands, conduit, wiring, sails ordered
- Dec 16th, 2021 – First flotation, centerboard sheave, sole ready for varnish, cockpit deck prep, wire routing, transducer hole drilled, rigging, wiring
- Dec 17th, 2021 – Deck plates, interior paint wrap up, forward compartment sole, wiring and cable management
- Dec 18th, 2021 – Sole finished, last of wiring runs and NMEA 2K backbone drop
- Dec 19th, 2021 – Footwell installed
- Dec 20th, 2021 – I sat in the boat after work and just relaxed.
And then life happened
Delays in posts due to focus on build and career (will come back to this and fill in gaps)
- May 5th, 2023 – Build completed
- May 14th, 2023 – Dreams Won’t Wait successfully launched
- May 15th, 2023 – submitted launch info and photos to WoodenBoat Magazine
- May 18th, 2023 – Left hand broken with trailer winch accident
- May 25th, 2023 – Registered with WoodenBoat Show for 2023
- June 5th, 2023 – CLC reached out about highlighting DWW in newsletter and at the show
- June 8th 2023 – web traffic spikes from CLC feature
- June 9th – June 19th, 2023 – finishing up a few details on boat for show (broken hand and weather not cooperating)
- June 22nd, 2023 – Heading to Mystic, CT
- June 23rd – June 25th, 2023 – WoodenBoatShow 2023 in IBIM area (Village Green) 9AM-5PM daily
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Small enough to fit in your pocket…and easy on it too
They say that BOAT stands for ‘bust out another thousand’ – or in the case of our government, potentially £200m – but it doesn’t have to cost the earth to get on the water, especially if you build it yourself.
Here are 10 pocket cruisers under 25’ (7.6m) to get you afloat without breaking the bank.
Fr ançois Vivier Méaban
If you’re after traditional looks, François Vivier doesn’t disappoint. The 22’4’’ (6.82m) Méaban brings the understated Breton working boat aesthetic to pocket cruising, with modern construction allowing for a light boat suitable for trailer-sailing.
Designed to be either cold-moulded or strip-planked, with a clever pivoting centreboard to allow for maximum cockpit space, the Méaban’s shallow draught and legs allow for exploring the upper reaches of rivers and small drying harbours.
Back in W60 (November/December 2006), François Vivier talks through his design in our regular ‘Grand Designs’ feature.
Contact: www.vivierboats.com
Iain Oughtred Kotik
When Iain Oughtred was commissioned to design a stretched version of his popular 18’6’’ (5.6m) Wee Seal, he came up with the Kotik. At 21’ (6.4m), it is designed to fit up to four berths, with either a sloop or yawl rig. The glued clinker construction and canoe stern make for a real headturner.
See W146 (March/April 2021) for Ewan Kennedy’s account of building a Kotik for cruising the at times challenging waters among the islands of Scotland’s west coast. “Final touches were a nice Harris tweed cushion for my bunk and a clock and barometer from Wempe of Hamburg; in a self-build you can spend the money you save on nice things.”
Contact: Iain Oughtred +44 (0)1470 532732
James Wharram Mana 24
At 23’6’’ (7.15m), the Mana 24 is the same length as TANGAROA, James Wharram’s first catamaran design and build, in which he successfully completed his ground-breaking transatlantic voyage back in 1956.
Only available as a CNC-cut plywood kit, the Mana 24 was conceived as a trailable family camping boat, with provision for extra accommodation to be offered by a low-cost dome tent on deck. The kit is designed to be assembled like flat-pack furniture, although with the help of James’s partner Hanneke Boon’s meticulous sketches and notes rather than a series of bewildering diagrams.
In W115 (January/February 2016) James Wharram explains his vision behind the design.
Contact: www.wharram.com
Stevenson Projects Weekender
Loosely based on the Friendship Sloops of New England, this 19’6’’ (5.9m) plywood gaff sloop (see W81 May/June 2010) has proved hugely popular with first-time home builders, thanks in part to the accompanying video series from Stevenson Projects which details the entire build process and techniques required.
In our current issue, W148 (July/August 2021) Penny Morton begins building a Weekender; the latest boat in a long and impressive amateur boatbuilding career.
Contact: www.stevproj.com
B&B Yacht Designs Princess Sharpie 22
As her designer Graham Byrnes explains in our W126 (November/December 2017) Grand Designs feature, the Princess Sharpie 22 was designed to be sailed, launched and rigged with ease single-handedly by the original client. “He wished the boat to be as economical as reasonable to build; a simple to build project that he could complete fairly quickly in his spare time.”
At 22’ (6.7m) with a distinctive cat ketch rig, the V-bottom sharpie hull is built using stitch-and-glue construction.
Contact: www.bandbyachtdesigns.com
Selway Fisher Morning Tide 14
Formerly the Tideway 14 (not to be confused with the open sailing dinghy of the same name), at 14’6’’ (4.42m) long and 6’1’’ wide (1.85m), the Morning Tide 14 is “about as small as you can go for a ballasted cruising yacht which still has pretensions towards some comfort”, as her designer Paul Fisher of Selway Fisher Design explains in W92 (March/April 2012).
In W91 (January/February 2012) & W92, Graham Young brings us his build of PICKLE, built to this design, using a plywood cut kit supplied by Jordan Boats .
Contact: www.selway-fisher.com
Paul Gartside Design #225
“A miniature ship for miniature voyaging”, writes Paul Gartside in W123 (May/June 2017) about this pretty little 18’6’’ (5.6m) gaff-rigged centreboard sloop. “Or maybe not so miniature; it’s surprising how far a little boat can wander given time and persistence.”
Designed to be strip-planked with glass sheathing inside and out, or alternatively built using wide plywood strakes before sheathing and epoxy coating, it has a “snug little cabin to warm up some soup and lay out a sleeping bag.” What more could you want?
Contact: www.gartsideboats.com
Glen-L Amigo
If you’re looking for bluer waters than those within the average pocket cruiser’s range, the Glen-L Amigo at 22’ (6.7m) is intended as a trailable offshore cruiser. Designed for one-off fibreglass or strip-planked construction, amazingly it has standing headroom throughout the cabin, without compromising traditional aesthetics.
Contact: www.glen-l.com
Dudley Dix Cape Cutter 19
The Cape Cutter 19 is one of the most popular GRP ‘pocket gaffers’ around, but as her designer Dudley Dix explains in W131 (September/October 2018), these days there is also a CNC-cut plywood kit available for home builders.
Its high-peaked gaff main and flush deck favours performance, while the raised sheer allows for comfort below and ample sitting headroom.
Contact: www.dixdesign.com
Chesapeake Light Craft PocketShip
CLC designer John C Harris drew up this popular 14’ 10’’ (4.5m) pocket cruiser – over 60 have been built or are in construction worldwide – to be quick to sail and build, for a tricky customer; himself.
With a cockpit large enough to enjoy daysailing with friends or to provide extra berths at night, the PocketShip’s stitch-and-glue construction is expected to take the amateur builder around 30 weekends and occasional evenings to complete. Plans include full-size patterns for nearly every part in the boat.
Contact: www.clcboats.com or www.fyneboatkits.co.uk (European manufacturers for CLC)
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Brendan Greeley
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
I wasn’t supposed to break the tiller. I mean: no one intends to break a tiller. But I had assured John Harris that I was not that kind of person. I grew up racing, fixing and living on sailboats. I am the kind of person who can be trusted with someone else’s boat, and yet here I am. With a hard jerk to bring the bow of John Harris’s lovely little boat into the wind, I have snapped the tiller clean off and, unable to steer, drifted back to shore where I am standing, waist-deep in the water, holding the boat off a line of rocks as Clyde, my 10-year-old son, offers advice from the cockpit.
This is all bad. What is much worse, though, is that John is still watching from the shore. I know, and I know that John knows, that I was having trouble getting the bow of his boat into the wind because I had neglected to drop the centreboard. Without getting too deep into the physics of a sailboat, it turns out that I am exactly the kind of person who breaks tillers. John is kind enough to avoid being too explicit about any of this in front of my son, and calls back to his shop for a replacement.
John Harris owns and runs Chesapeake Light Craft, a company in my hometown of Annapolis, Maryland. He sells plywood kits to make little boats – kayaks, dinghies, skiffs, stand-up paddleboards. I have been pondering a koan lately: what is the exact opposite of a superyacht? I got in touch with John because I think one answer is the PocketShip.
The PocketShip has the plumb bow and some of the lines of a traditional crabber from England’s Cornish coast, with a cabin just big enough to lie down in, or sit upright. John, who designed the boat in 2007, describes it as a “dinghy with a nice lid on it to keep you dry”. It’s just over 4.5m long, and light enough to tow behind a four-cylinder car. John has offered to let me borrow the first PocketShip he built – his – for a couple of days, which is how I can report that it is in fact light enough that I can stand in the water and, feeling foolish, keep it off the rocks with my own two hands.
Every boat represents some kind of freedom. When my mother was a girl, her parents told her she could go anywhere she could get to with the rowboat on a dock at the end of the street. She grew up, she says, knowing she could go to Paris any time she wanted. A superyacht offers the freedom of impunity. If you have one, you can go wherever you want, whenever you want, with whomever you want. A classic sailing yacht like the Hinckley Bermuda 40, which I have always coveted, offers the freedom of possibility. The name is not an accident; that boat could take you to Bermuda, if you wanted.
A yacht on a trailer, like the PocketShip, offers the kind of freedom that is available to you if you are honest with yourself about what you are actually going to do on a boat. I am probably not going to sail from Annapolis to Europe. On any given weekend, I am probably not even going to sail across the Chesapeake Bay to Oxford, Maryland. But will I hitch a PocketShip behind our 12-year-old Honda minivan in the middle of the week, drop it in the water at the public ramp at Tucker Street about a mile away and sail into town for an overnight with my kids? That is exactly my plan.
With a new tiller and the centreboard down, Clyde and I tack gently out of Weems Creek through a few squirrelly little wind shifts, hit the Severn River, turn right and head downtown. I let Clyde take the tiller, and we work on finding the groove, the perfect little point where you’re making progress upwind, but you’re not headed so high that the wind begins to work against you. Clyde reports that he likes being in control of the PocketShip “because I can feel it” – the boat responds to small movements like a racing dinghy, and when we find the slot the PocketShip digs a shoulder in, hunches forward and takes off.
PocketShips, like all the designs from Chesapeake Light Craft, are built using a technique called stitch and glue. They do not require the complex, precise joinery of traditional boatbuilding. In stitch and glue, you merely need to get panels of marine-grade plywood close enough to each other so you can stitch them together with stiff copper wire, then apply glassfibre cloth, with a fillet of thickened epoxy around the seams. The technique was invented by Ken Littledyke, an English canoe maker who figured out how to take advantage of new supplies of plywood and polyester resin available after the second world war.
Stitch-and-glue boats became popular in England when Barry Bucknell, a television host with a DIY show, built a design that had been commissioned as a publicity project by the Daily Mirror – the Mirror dinghy. It could sail, motor or row, it cost £63 and 11 shillings to build, and it fitted upside down on top of a Mini. After the Daily Mirror launched it at the 1963 London Boat Show, more than 70,000 were built. People living in terraced houses had to remove windows to get the dinghies out of the family sitting room after finishing them.
In an article for the Journal of Design History , Andrew Jackson at the University for the Creative Arts argued that the Mirror dinghy was part of a broader movement giving men a role at home in the workshop, as builders and repairers. It was a way to democratise boats. It no longer took a craftsman to get out on the water, but it was also something to do with and for your family – Barry Bucknell built one for his son.
Twenty-five years ago, to make a stitch-and-glue boat you had to measure and cut the ply-wood yourself and connect sheets through a scarf joint, a technique I learned when I was 12 from a boatbuilding instructor who impressed upon me a fanaticism for sharpening the blade of a block plane before every use. But even those skills are now outdated. At Chesapeake Light Craft, computerised cutters neatly section patterns out of plywood, including puzzle joints to connect sheets, which look exactly how they sound. Computer design software and robotic cutting have made even more complex hull shapes possible for home builders – such as the PocketShip.
You can buy the plans and a manual for a PocketShip for $300, and a complete kit with cut plywood, glassfibre cloth, epoxy resin and all the sailing gear for about $10,000 (or $48,000 ready-built on the trailer). It is not the highest-selling boat at Chesapeake Light Craft, says John. But it does get the most hits on the company’s website. The PocketShip is a happy little daydream.
On the Severn, Clyde and I pass the United States Naval Academy, where midshipmen training to become officers are trying out manoeuvres on the Yard Patrol, small steel-hulled training ships kept at the naval station across the river. We get close to the mouth of the Severn; the PocketShip is so shallow that I am haphazard about piloting, and we drop anchor right off a beach and pull out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. We sit under the watchful eye of an osprey, complaining through sharp chirps that we are too close to her nest. We discuss the shape of the clouds.
I suffer from a mild, ironic curse. I love boats, and my wife gets horribly seasick. We will never own a big boat that can sail across an ocean. This is not a deal-breaker for me – I know a lot of unhappy people with big boats, and I’d rather be happy without the boat. Our compromise is a fleet of kayaks, canoes and paddleboards, and complex plans where I take some of our children out on the water and then we swap. After lunch, Clyde and I pick up a mooring off the City Dock in Annapolis, then take a water taxi to meet the rest of the family for crabcakes. We trade kids – Clyde has to return to land for a school concert, and I return to the PocketShip with Phebe, a 12-year-old who, unlike her twin sister, is ecstatic to miss a day of school.
Phebe and I don’t really have a plan. We’re going to head back upriver to find somewhere to anchor for the night, so we drop the mooring to get started. The wind has picked up and shifted right into our face, so we put a reef in – making the sail smaller – and start looking for a place to hunker down. There is no cleat for the mainsail on the PocketShip. Like a racing dinghy, you have to hold the sheet – the rope controlling the sail – in your hand as you sail, so you can dump it quickly when you’re hit by a gust. This demands muscles I have not used in decades, but it’s pleasant to feel the PocketShip take back off like a shot when I haul the sheet back in.
Since the start of the pandemic, sales at Chesapeake Light Craft have gone up 70 per cent. People were at home with their children, looking for something to do. Those brand-new to boat-building are the company’s target audience; each boat comes with a thick manual, with photos of every stitch and fillet. The manual is part of the dream, still frames of the amazing time you will have doing something meaningful with your family. The boat begs for customisation, and Phebe and I talk about what we would do. Bespoke cushions below, with more tailored storage options. A drawer for the stove, possibly. A different place for the small toilet, definitely.
The shelter we find from the wind for the night is, essentially, home: Weems Creek, right where I’d started. There’s a salt marsh at the head of the creek, and we tuck in just behind it. We heat up hot chocolate on the stove. We turn on our headlamps, proof that we are doing something really cool. We wash up in a plastic bin in the cockpit, and brush our teeth in our cleaned hot-chocolate mugs. Phebe tells me that when she was little, she would lie to us and say that she had brushed her teeth when she hadn’t. I resolve to punish her by sharing this information in print. And we stretch out in the cockpit in sleeping bags, turn off our headlamps and begin making plans for a bucket list with low stakes: tiny, achievable little adventures.
Chesapeake Light Craft sells through fyneboatkits.co.uk in Cumbria in the UK
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PocketShip by Chesapeake Light Craft
15-foot fast-sailing pocket cruiser with sitting headroom and 8-foot berths.
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| Berths | 2 | |
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| Hull construction | Stich-n-glue | |
URL: http://www.clcboats.com/shop/boats/boat-plans/sailboat-plans/pocketship-sailing-pocket-cruiser-kit.html
Description:
" PocketShip " is a small cruising sailboat of refined model, meant to sail well on all points, provide dry camping accommodations for two adults, and tow behind a four-cylinder car. Examples are now sailing on four continents; as of this writing more than 50 are sailing or under construction around the world.
Designer John C. Harris has designed, built, owned, and cruised aboard a variety of smallcraft. His first camp-cruiser as a teenager was an 11'6" rowing boat with a tent, in which he explored the upper Chesapeake, sleeping aboard. Twenty years later, he wanted a fast-sailing pocket cruiser with a dry and commodious interior. It had to be quick and easy to build or the project would never get finished, so stitch-and-glue plywood construction was a given from the start. The cockpit was laid out for daysailing comfort and is large enough for sleeping on warm nights.
Interior arrangements are ample, we think bigger and more comfortable than anything else this size, without compromising Pocketship 's looks and performance. Two adults may sleep below or wait out a rain shower, and a portable head stows beneath the cockpit, sliding forward into the cuddy for use. The enclosed area of the cabin is identical to an average four-man tent, but drier, more private, and more secure.
Geoff Kerr of Two Daughters Boatworks built the first hull. He started in mid-January 2008 and clocked about 525 hours before delivering a finished hull and spars, ready for hardware. PocketShip was rigged at CLC and launched on May 10th, 2008. The typical amateur builder might require about 30 weekends and occasional evenings to see this one through.
Plans comprise 11 pages of architectural drawings, and full-sized patterns for nearly every part in the boat. Plans and manual are in both metric and standard measurements. The manual is 280 pages, spiral-bound, and lavished with nearly 800 images and drawings showing construction step-by-step. Kits include the pre-cut plywood parts, epoxy, and fiberglass for the hull. Since solid timber (floorboards, stringers, rails, spars) is available everywhere inexpensively, it will be sourced and milled by the builders. Due to the shipping challenges, lead ballast is not included in the kit. Sails and hardware are available in several deeply discounted packages.
2008 sailing trials in varied waters from Maine to Maryland included crews of 1 to 4 adults and wind conditions of 0-20 knots. PocketShip is stiff and fast and tacks through 90 degrees. The helm is light and the boat will spin nearly in its own length in both light and heavy air and with a variety of sail combinations. We are thrilled with performance and handling - all expectations have been exceeded.
Many ask about auxiliary power for PocketShip . While the boat's sailing qualities are sufficient to undertake long expeditions in challenging waters without power, many sailing examples have small outboards mounted on a stern bracket for negotiating marinas, channels, or flat calms. We've seen up to five horsepower, but two horsepower is ample even for rough conditions. The excellent Honda four-stroke 2hp is light enough not to diminish sailing qualities. Aftermarket outboard brackets are plug-and-play without modification to the transom. John Harris built this simple outboard bracket for PocketShip #1 and it has worked admirably.
Boats about same size as PocketShip
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"PocketShip" is a small cruising sailboat of refined model, meant to sail well on all points, provide dry camping accommodations for two adults, and tow behind a four-cylinder car. Examples are now sailing on four continents; as of this writing more than 50 are sailing or under construction around the world.
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The PocketShip was designed to be towed by a modest car with a four-cylinder engine. The full-sized sedan here is more than up to the task. John Harris, the proprietor of and chief designer for Chesapeake Light Craft, designed the PocketShip as his personal boat. "I'd owned a production fiberglass pocket cruiser, which sailed well but was ...
For a gaff-rigged boat, the PocketShip is close-winded, able to sail to within right around 50 degrees of the wind. A beam reach is where it really shines. The boat almost effortlessly plunges forth at a sprightly 5-ish knots and settles into a groove that yields delightful sailing. ... Product Reviews. The EasyBailer. The tiny pump specified ...
CLC POCKETSHIP - sailboatdata PocketShip: 15-foot Fast-Sailing Pocket Cruiser with Sitting Headroom and 8-foot Berths! Pocket Ship Plans. I can't help you with that particular design but my very first sailboat was a Sam Rable design called a Titmouse. She was about the same size and outfit except it wasn't gaff rigged.
This idle sketch makes it into the article because it was inspired by PocketShip. PocketShip has a waterline length of only 13'9" yet manages to sail like a damn witch. If 13'9" marks some sort of sweet spot for miniature sailboats, how far can you take a 13'9" waterline? However impractical, the results of the thought experiment are entertaining.
So I am interested in comparing the AD 14/16 an the PocketShip. Hallo Manie, Manie B said: ↑. I like the Bateau AD16 and feel that you can make it unsinkable easily. that will be safe and seaworthy. This design offers all the features to make a very nice seaworthy vessel. I like the AD16, too. It was my favorite.
A home build is in general not any cheaper than a brand new mass produced boat. Home builds also take a LOT of time. The only reason to home build is because you enjoy that sort of stuff. Even if the reason to build yourself is to get a unique boat, you still better enjoy that sort of stuff, you're going to be doing it a lot. CLC has some great ...
"PocketShip" is a small cruising sailboat of refined model, meant to sail well on all points, provide dry camping accommodations for two adults, and tow behind a four-cylinder car. More than 60 are sailing or under construction on six continents. Designer John C. Harris has designed, built, owned, and cruised aboard a variety of smallcraft.
Chesapeake Light Craft's PocketShip is a 15-foot sailboat with berths for two that's surprisingly nimble under sail. Amateur boatbuilders working from kits ...
Marine heads and Sailing Magazine review Welcome to PocketShip.net! This bulletin board is for builders of the Chesapeake Light Craft-John C. Harris "PocketShip" design, a 15-foot micro cruiser sailboat built from a kit or plans.
Sailing footage of PocketShip. This is a 15-foot gaff-rigged sloop with accommodations for two. Build this boat from a kit or plans! PocketShip uses the st...
09-21-2014, 08:33 PM. Re: PocketShip. James, I would agree with you on the Scamp of course! Naturally. If in a small boat, one is usually in the cockpit anyway, so Scamp with its' large and deep, sheltered cockpit is far more comfortable than many 20 feet or over boats I have sailed. I don't honestly think very many small minimal cruisers will ...
June 9th - June 19th, 2023 - finishing up a few details on boat for show (broken hand and weather not cooperating) June 22nd, 2023 - Heading to Mystic, CT. June 23rd - June 25th, 2023 - WoodenBoatShow 2023 in IBIM area (Village Green) 9AM-5PM daily. A chronological track of the key steps in the building of 'Dreams Won't Wait.'.
The 22'4'' (6.82m) Méaban brings the understated Breton working boat aesthetic to pocket cruising, with modern construction allowing for a light boat suitable for trailer-sailing. Designed to be either cold-moulded or strip-planked, with a clever pivoting centreboard to allow for maximum cockpit space, the Méaban's shallow draught and ...
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You can buy the plans and a manual for a PocketShip for $300, and a complete kit with cut plywood, glassfibre cloth, epoxy resin and all the sailing gear for about $10,000 (or $48,000 ready-built ...
Meadow Bird 16. Daysailer/Camp Cruiser. LOA: 16' 6" / 5.03 m compare. PocketShip by Chesapeake Light Craft (LOA: 4.52 m). 15-foot Fast-Sailing Pocket Cruiser with Sitting Headroom and 8-foot Berths. Specs, plans, building logs, photo and video gallery.
Built a CLC pocketship with a friend of mine in 2021. A 15 foot gaff rigged pocket cruiser. ... We were really cheap and skipped over the obsessing over perfection to have a functional sailboat. ... post kit reviews and discuss the latest kits! And much more! Members Online. And the work on the Airfix Royal aircraft carriers on. ...
Sail Area: PocketShip: 14' 10" 4.52 m : 365 kg: 1.90 m: 725 kg: 40.5 cm: 91.5 cm: 148 sq ft. Designer John C. Harris has designed, built, owned, and cruised aboard a variety of smallcraft. His first camp-cruiser as a teenager was an 11'6" rowing boat with a tent, in which he explored the upper Chesapeake, sleeping aboard. Twenty years later, he ...
CLC POCKETSHIP. Save to Favorites . Beta Marine. BOTH. US IMPERIAL. METRIC. Sailboat Specifications Definitions ... 1997), states that a boat with a BN of less than 1.3 will be slow in light winds. A boat with a BN of 1.6 or greater is a boat that will be reefed often in offshore cruising. Derek Harvey, "Multihulls for Cruising and Racing ...
A pictorial history of the building of the Curtis family "Pocketship" sailboat. Hopefully, this will be a well documented record from choosing what sailboat to build to the first time the sailboat is put into the water. Wednesday, December 14, 2011. The Better Late than Never 2011 Update.
Owner Boat Reviews. We assumed, when surveying Small Craft Advisor readers about boats they own and enjoy sailing, that the responses would be dominated by maybe three dozen small-boat designs, so it was a shock when 346 readers shared their thoughts about more than 200 different designs! As a result, with so many boats to consider, we've ...
Pocketship Sail Cover by Sailing Surgeon on Wed Jun 14, 2023 5:39 am 5 Replies 5336 Views Last post by slash2 on Wed Aug 14, 2024 12:55 am "Guider" builder's guide by Dmksails on Sun Aug 11, 2024 9:43 am 1 Replies 1101 Views Last post by Tom G on Sun Aug 11, 2024 2:45 pm; Cruising Upgrades - Oars, Dinghy, Anchor Storage
Summer Bookends. My summer has been bookended by two overnight adventures with Garage Sail, one awesome and one, well, a bit rough. And in the middle, some fun day sails with old and new friends. Overall, definitely a fun year of boat ownership here in Minnesota. After so many years of building, and now sailing, I finally feel like I have a ...