Iain Oughtred’s double-ended beach boats are descendants of Shetland Island yoals, workboats used extensively for fishing. While the Shetland Islands have long been politically linked to Scotland, older cultural ties to the Norse led to the development of boats with a reputation for seaworthiness, thanks to their Viking-derived shape and lapstrake construction. While some yoals were equipped with dipping lug sails, the majority were simply rowed. (Marc Chivers, a research student at the Center for Nordic Studies in the Orkney Islands, explores the history of these boats in a blog, The Shetland Boat: History, Folklore and Construction.)The 18′2″ Arctic Tern is one of a series of Oughtred’s family of double-ended designs for oar and sail. These range from the capacious 19′6″ Caledonia yawl to the compact 15′1″ Whilly Tern. His designs differ from the traditional yoals in that they are intended to sail as much as row and designed for glued-lap plywood construction. The use of modern materials gives the boats several advantages: They are lighter than their traditional counterparts, allowing for easier rowing and transport; without ribs or other structural members, the cockpits feel more open; and the epoxy-and-plywood construction eliminates the problem of leaking caused by the shrinking of wood as it dries, an issue in traditionally built boats. The boomkin on this Arctic Tern is not according to Oughtred's plans, but it is a common feature on his other double-enders with mizzens.
all photos by or from the collection of the author
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I recently completed a Sooty Tern which is a “stretched” Arctic Tern, and I would agree with everything you said here! These are excellent boats!
Where I can read about and look at Oughtred’s Sooty Tern?
You’ll find some pictures and a description of the Sooty Tern, UNA, in our Reader Built Boat feature in the December 2015 issue, and see the tiller arrangement for the same boat in “The Norwegian Tiller” in the August 2015 issue. You can catch a few glimpses of UNA under sail in the video included with “American Venice” in the July 2015 issue.
Christopher Cunningham, Editor, Small Boats Monthly