Constructing a Sailing Barge

Begin with a well-built box.  Strengthen open top with boards (orange)

click to enlarge

Add fore and aft sections (blue) and leeboard (red).

click to enlarge

These fore and aft sections can be made in one of three ways:

Building a barge in three sections like this has several advantages

1. Building Space can be Smaller
Large boats can be built in small rooms and/or garages.  For example our science room would easily permit the construction of a 5 x 20 foot barge built in three sections.  In contrast, it would be hard to get a 12 ft dinghy out of that room.
2. Research Ideas are Easier to Test
We need to do research -- not just build boats.  Practical research involves trying different hull shapes and/or different building materials.  Trying a new idea will be 3 times cheaper if we can test on only one of the sections.
3. A barge with a leeboard can be trimmed to all sorts of sail configurations
The center of the sail area needs to be above the leeboard.  It will be easy to position the mast anywhere along the main box.  And it will be easy to configure the leeboard anywhere along the hull.  Most hulls with leeboards require that the leeboard be placed at the widest part of the boat.  This location is not unique on a barge!  Shown below are three sail configurations with three different leeboard locations.

click to enlarge

We need to think about two sizes of sailing barge

A 15 x 4  foot barge could be used by the campus to offer sailing lessons.  Nothing beats the dinghy as a teaching tool for would-be sailors.  One small mistake and you are in the water.  Big boats are not nearly that fun.  And as we perfect our understanding of these dinghies, we can begin to think about a 22.5 x 6 ft version of the same barge.  It could be made seaworthy with water ballasted leeboards and/or by fitting the barge with stabilizing “cargo” made of Styrofoam or empty beer kegs. 

Large boats need to reduce sail at sea.  Three polytarp sails would permit this reduction without the need for a complicated reefing system.  While dropping sails usually causes the sail to be out of balance with the keel, this is not a problem with a barge fitted with a movable leeboard.  Polytarp is much cheaper than Dacron sailcloth, and we are almost forced to use polytarp if the cost of a homebuilt boat is to be competitive with the used production sailboat market. 

click to enlarge

And toy boats are essential!

The physics of scaling tells us that large and small boats behave differently.  And these differences can be studied and overcome in such a way that the small boat can be used to predict how large boats behave.

click to enlarge

So much to do... and so little time to do it.

Links

  I. A problem with 3 Solutions     II. Constructing a Sailing Barge    III. Odd-looking dinghies

Vandegrift Home