https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/gartsides-spitfire/ Mon, 09 Dec 2024 14:28:17 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/gartsides-spitfire/#comment-145914 Tue, 03 Dec 2024 00:43:24 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=193993#comment-145914 A very attractive boat, and you did a beautiful job. It is very similar to a Howard Chapelle dinghy found in his book, “Boatbuilding.” His is 9 feet long, and about 3’10” in beam. He says the boat can be built strip planked, cold-molded, or lapstrake. When I made a model of it, I used lapstrake. The Chapelle pram is not decked and has a daggerboard rather than centerboard. I put a centerboard in my model, and a T-shaped seat/rowing bench to allow more than one rowing position. He shows a mast, but only gives mast and boom lengths, so I think you can play with your own rig details.
I note the lack of a skeg in this design. I see some prams have a sort of bow skeg in addition, which may be to help in tracking

]]> https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/gartsides-spitfire/#comment-145893 Mon, 02 Dec 2024 21:48:13 +0000 https://smallboatsmonthly.com/?post_type=article&p=193993#comment-145893 I love the deck! Gartside has a wonderful eye for line. His takes on a type regularly surpass all others in my opinion, even besting the fabled Herreshoffs. He mates practicality and tradition with yacht-level grace and balance of line. I’m yearning for his 7ft #80 as a tender for, later, something bigger, but there are two to complete in the progression between now and then and I’m less and less confident in my ability to complete beyond what I’m on.

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