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| Sampan Bow Arrow points to the forward end of the straight chine a.k.a aft end of the bow curve |
Simple Sampan met a Boatman,
With a seaward stare;
Says Simple Sampan to the Boatman,
“Let me take you there.”
- Olde Mother Sloops
Simple Sampan
Sampan bows have several benefits over western, pointy bows.They add positive buoyancy at the bow, reducing pitching and helping to ride up and over waves (rather than plow through them). More interior volume is added for forward storage. Forward deck space is widened for better footing and anchor handling. Wide flare at the bow helps toss waves to the side, rather than over the top. The wide forefoot is more stable on a steep beach. It's much easier to roll a cross-log under to protect the bottom on a rough beach.
We LIKE 'em!
With two sampan bows under our belts, I'd like to share some thoughts on dumbing the process down to manageable. This approach uses western design techniques, but leaves the bow to a traditional, 'follow-the-materials' attitude.
In designing your own approach, consider models from paper or cardstock. Fast and cheap compared to plywood!
NOTE: I've simplified since the first draft!
Simplifying approaches
- Use constant flare
- Begin with parallel sides, straight along sheer and chine
- Use a simple, fair bow curve at the forward end (approaching a circle)
- Build to forward end of the straight chine with bow extending past
- Roll bottom upward to plank the bow
Okay, let's unpack that... I'm going to boldface some common boat terms you may have to look up to keep it short...
Decide the amount of flare. The simplest case is a constant amount of flare, which produces constant bevels along the chine. We find slope to be the easiest to work with, often 3in of lean-out per vertical foot. A changing amount of flare produces twist, which introduces rolling bevels and generally complicates things.
Parallel, Straight Sides - When laid flat, these are like wide planks. When bent over flared stations that converge toward bow or stern, they develop parallel curvature... 'sheer' along the sheer and 'rocker' along the chine. The more flare and the more the ends are brought inboard, the greater the curvature.
Phil Bolger (TEAL, among others) and Tom MacNaughton (SILVER GULL series) and others have designed handsome, capable vessels with this approach to side planking.
Phil Bolger (TEAL, among others) and Tom MacNaughton (SILVER GULL series) and others have designed handsome, capable vessels with this approach to side planking.
Fair Bow Curve - This curve provides the sampan shape. A curve closer to a circle provides a more blunt entry, while a curve closer to half a parabola makes an easier entry. This is laid out directly on the side planking.
Build from mid-section to fwd end of straight chine - This portion of construction is very easy. Constant bevels and simple, fair curves. Under these assumptions, side heights are all the same. The whole thing pretty much shapes itself!
Meanwhile, the curved bow ends are sticking out there in space. Depending on your building philosophy, the bottom can be planked to this point with the proviso that you will need to continue bottom planking forward, rolling it up and over the curved, Sampan ends.
Roll the bottom upward - To make the curve with plywood planking you will likely have to use kerfs.
If not using tape and glue construction, we find 'nailers' to be an easy method. Basically, these are planks along the curve to which the bottom can be mechanically fastened (nails or screws).
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| Ply Nailers installed and trimmed to bow curves... Planks are a better choice, if available |
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| Planking up the bow... Note kerfs visible across upper bow |
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| Nailers after bow is closed |
As you can see, you have to get creative with clamping. There are a zillion ways to go. Most of them work, eventually. Try to find what works best for you!
NOTE: The black schmooey is DAP Polyurethane. Very strong bond, highly elastomeric, workable and about 1/4 the price of some of the name brands.
Complexifications
The previous assumptions are the simplest among flared side designs. But each builder and vessel is individual... you get to decide what pays off in your long-run. Your design and/or construction abilities will loom large at the beginning. A long-term benefit may well reward extending those abilities at the outset. Simplest is always fastest, but that's not the only question. Weigh it up!
Both chine and sheer curvature can be enhanced or diminished by curving one, the other or both (not necessarily parallel). Lofting will take up more of your time.
We cut our sides down from a single run of full width plywood, so strictly parallel sides are arbitrary. We chose to add a little extra sheer for vanity's sake (okay... it also gives a little more freeboard, forward, but that's pretty minimal).
Note the riser above parallel over the forward end... that's a simple way to get extra freeboard, storage and foremast bury. In MUSTELID, we built it up from the sheer; in LUTRA, we're simply cutting above the (nearly) parallel cockpit line.
As mentioned twist complicates matters, but may pay in the long run. Generally, it helps increase sheer and rocker, and narrows the forefoot (for an easier entry). There's a bit of extra twist available for 'free' along the bow curve... consider making sure that it fairs in along sheer and chine with no hard spots in their longitudinal curves.
Bulkheads don't have to go anywhere in particular, but it's handy to have one at the point of maximum beam (not necessarily mid-ships) and one at the forward end of the straight, parallel chine, both definitive points. Intermediate bulkheads need to be adjusted for their position on the curvy sheer and chine. Many vessels can be designed and built around their bulkheads, with no temporary stations at all.
Simple's a great place to start, but you're not obliged to limit yourself!
*****
Box Barges are as simple and easy as a boat gets. I'd put parallel sided, flared vessels at the next rung of difficulty; still in easy reach. Giving up parallel takes another rung, but we're not dizzy, yet.
A Sampan Bow complements all three, and comes down right handsome in flared hulls!
Related Post: Roll Your Own
Ah, dude, are you trying to tempt a tired of brown snow old man into building a new boat?
ReplyDeleteLOL, my old sharpie still manages to do everything I ask of it on our NH lakes and ponds. Boat camping is my goal every spring. Sometimes I get to :-)
Hi Michael,
DeleteI'm just a messenger! It's the boats themselves that are Sireens o' the Sea.
Sounds as if yours is singing a sweet song!
Dave Z
It's a lovely and simple shape, Dave. You are absolutely right in that it suits flared topsides. Thanks for the pictures.
ReplyDeleteIf you were to revisit your Triloboat designs, is there any one that you would consider using this Sampan bow with flared sides?
Jim
Hi Jim,
DeleteWell, no and yes.
I wouldn't start from any of the box-barges for a flared hull, or plan view curvature. To do so would take away from their virtues, in my opinion. As is, they're simple, stable, capable, cheap and easy to construct.
Where the price of flare seems to pay for itself is in very narrow boats. For us, that's especially in the cabin where we lean directly against the sides comfortably and wish to add elbow-room above a narrow (one sheet width) bottom beam.
That being said, I'm intrigued by starting from first principles on a larger, boxy hull that incorporates flare. Mostly from the vanity of aesthetics. 8)
I'm thinking 'square' mid-ships sections, flaring to a Sampan Bow. The aft end could be drawn in from parallel sides (in plan view), depending on use scenarios. [LUTRA and MUSTELID don't draw in, aft, but that because, being narrow, they need all the form stability they can get.]
Thames barges use a similar approach, though tend toward pointy ends from the square-ish midsection (an inverted, soft triangular transom over aft 'point end').
Fun, fun, fun!
Dave Z
PS... A shape like this could easily incorporate Bolger's Advanced Sharpie principles. This approach would make a good off-shore shape (see Bob and Shiela Wise's LOOSE MOOSE II). Possibly or likely better for blue-water than box barges.
DeleteThank you for both your responses, Dave. You make a lot of sense. I can see now how flare would add to a narrow hull but not necessarily to a box barge.
ReplyDeleteI think a shape that includes rising buoyancy would suit blue water cruising, as you suggest. Thanks again.
Jim
Hi Jim,
DeleteIt's a big question for me whether the box barges would be a match for off-shore. They maximize fore and aft buoyancy and form stability (monohull). In our experience (with some corroboration from ocean sailors, they feel very 'shippy', even in short, sharp seas.
I'm encouraged by scows, Thames Barges and other blunt bowed vessels at sea. Pretty crude barges plied the Great Lakes (some wild water!) and both coasts of N.America. So... ???
Meanwhile, the Sampan Bow is attractive to me, and is backed up by millennia of Asian experience.
BTW, if you're interested, check out an older post with some samples:
https://triloboats.blogspot.com/2015/03/roll-yer-own-roll-up-bows-for-boxy-boats.html
Dave Z
I agree with your comments, Dave. Though I hasten to add that though I have read a lot, I know only a little of things nautical.
DeleteI'm intrigued by the Great Lakes racing scows and the Transat 6.5's. These blunt bows WORK! That can't be denied yet most boaty folks won't look at them.
To me, it comes down to - do I want to stay on top of the water or cut through it? The more I think about it, I want to stay on top and not just because I think it's cheaper or easier.
Thanks for the link. The sampan in the top illustration looks sweet. Sampans have this lovely habit of looking 'right' somehow.
I came across this blogpost by someone who builds boxes and seems to know what he is talking about. You might be familiar with this bloke.
The Promise of Speed
In that post there is discussion of the Skrowl. Looking at the lines drawing, if the chines were eliminated leaving a flat bottom crosswise, the topsides were vertical and forget the curved foam corners of the bow, you would have a triloboat with Bolger's AS double curved chines. Drawing and cutting long shallow curves for topsides and keel can't be much added work, surely! The curves allow a longer run to the transom without dragging the corner underwater. That's gotta be good.
If you must have a flat sole in both directions, then this could be added inside the hull.
Or you could add a straight section in the middle of the hull (as per one of your drawings) but I think it might be easier to add the flat sole inside the hull later (plus it has added strength).
This is a long comment (sorry) but you've really got me thinking :)
Jim
Hi Jim,
DeleteI dunno... that bloke, whatta wanker!
But seriously, yes, the rounded vertical corners of the SKROWL bow are a brilliant complication that I keep declining when push comes to shove. Yann Quenet (the innovator) skips them in some of his subsequent designs.
And yes... Bolger AS (Advanced Sharpie) principles are adaptable... as applied to Triloboats, I call it the TAB (Triloboat Advanced Barge). But you might be surprised by the added work! It's substantial. Nothing in particular is a big leap, but all the little hops add up.
Fore example, consider a raised sole (creating a wide, shallow bilge). It reduces headroom or requires alternative issues. It's heavy. It's materials and labor. It creates hard to clean areas. It needs hatches or equivalent for access under. It weakens furniture/girder structures or must be broken up. Free surface effect becomes an issue. Sensors and pumps are recommended. One small step for design; one giant leap for builders!
Still, that's the beauty and the beast of DIY... you get to make your own choices (beauty), but then you have to live with them (can be a beast!). Ya lays yer money and ya takes yer chances. But all in all, there's well earned pride along any road you've chosen.
Best o' luck to you!
Dave Z
When you lay out the details of the raised sole, it becomes obvious I took a wrong turn there. Silly me.
DeleteOne has to remember that these boats adhere to Pareto's Principle - 80% return for 20% effort.
ALWAYS. Unless . . . . no!
Anyways, your Sampan is a winner.
Jim
Well, there are few wrong turns, but there are plenty of ways for complications to sneak in.
DeleteWe call 'em Bolger circles (after a description of his design process). One little thing. Oh, since we're doing that, this would be fantastic. And then we could... and so on until the whole thing gets overwhelming and we go back to our nice, simple log and start the process over. 8)
All fun and games until the materials are ordered!
Dave Z
Another example of a curved up bow on a flared hull is Wharrams Pahi designs. Essentially a flared, straight run hull then pinched in with natural upcurve on the ends. Silver Gull style I've built two 16' dories by simple wrapping the sides around a single center frame with beautiful up curve. My real question to you though is: what is the increased benefit, given two relatively identical lean hulls, of the flared then curved in sampan bow over, say, your cartoon of your bluewater triloboat musings (as guest post on the Volkscruiser blog)? Except longer and leaner than that cartoon drawing. Given a lean hull any appreciable increase in utility over a similar pure triloboat with sampan bow as well? I'd think the bluewater trilo would benefit from the increased bow buoyancy. By keeping the hull lean, say 5:1 (like LooseMoose) or even skinnier worth it to do the extra work for hull flare? You'd know from actual use I'd imagine.
DeleteHi Roberto,
DeleteAnswers depend on starting point.
Starting from a box barge shape, the first step would be rolling the bow in profile view. This provides a little smoother entry in the rare case where the bow transom plunges into green water, and slightly reduces forward buoyancy.
Curving inward in plan view (more along the bottom, some at the sheer) produces a relatively finer entry. This lifts the chine up and toward the midline when heeled. Both ease the entry to the water and provide some lift when sailing to windward. Considerable forward buoyancy is carved away and stability is reduced.
Starting from a pointy bow, we're widening the entry, adding resistance, buoyancy and stability.
Sooo... compromise and trade-offs to juggle for each vessel's brief. In MUSTELID (~6:2), we started from sharpie/dory values (pointy bow) and leaned towards higher forward buoyancy and any extra stability we could gain. Side benefits include an ergonomic angle along the cabin sides and, in LUTRA, a more cocked-toward-self-righting angle when knocked down to beam ends (this comes from carrying the flare to cabin deck level rather than tumbling home).
Many have noticed that shorter Wharrams are quite pitchy in videos of them sailing in a chop. Widened ends would help dampen that motion, but likely further lower top speeds. They don't get any extra stability from a sampan as the multihull spread provides that. On the other hand, they're already flared, so there's little extra work in design or construction (coming from a deep V, a V transom would have to be fitted between the spread sides for a sampan approach).
Another windy answer, but that's my take!
Dave Z
Good info.... thanks Dave Z sharpie-scow-barge-sampan master deluxe dood!!!
DeleteJust another Pilgrim, here! 8)
DeleteIndeed!
ReplyDelete