Yacht Tender Sunshine
Sunshine seems to be everyone's all-time favorite. The original boat was built about 1915, and there is no way to improve on her. She is what yacht tenders are supposed to be-you can dump nearly any load into her and she'll still row easily and will track at the end of the painter without yawing or running down on the towing vessel in a following sea.
Hull
Dimensions:
LOA=10'-6" Beam=4'-1" Depth Amidships=1'-7"
Wt=165 lbs (deduct 45 lbs for rowing version)
More than a tender, she's a great little solo boat, easy and fun to sail.This is Lapwing on launching day. She's 10'-6" overall, and as you can see, sprit rigged. Her primary function is as a tender for a Dark Harbor 21 and she frequents the waters of Penobscot Bay (Maine), eastward to the waters around Mt. Desert Island and beyond.
This lower photo shows her alternate 59 squre foot lug rig. We've used it on several boats; the first to use it outside our shop was Noel Frith of New South Wales. That's him sailing his Rhodes Wherry. The page detailing this rig is now included in Sunshine's building plans. It can also be ordered separately. See below.
We have built more than thirty of these little beauties, most at the original length of 10'-6", and a few at 12'-0" overall. Their owners just love them. Even rigged to sail they still make superb tenders, provided you remember to put the filler in the daggerboard case. You don't want to tow or power a boat with an open top case because the resulting turbulence will pump water on board faster than you can bail it out.
Those that use them as tenders find that they receive as much use as the boats they accompany, because after the primary boat is anchored for the night the owners use them to go off gunkholing.Their size makes them appealing, their lines insure their versatility, and the lapstrake construction makes them practical.
They've been built traditionally with lapstrake cedar planking, and as successfully with with plywood planking, strip construction, and even cold moulding. She can be shortened to 9'-0" or lengthened to 12'-6" simply by altering the mould spacing. She is a very straightforward boat to build. It takes a professional about 125 hours to build and finish one (slightly longer for a sailing model, less for glued lapstrake).
Yes, she can handle an outboard if you're so inclined. Make sure you reinforce her transom with a couple of pieces of bronze rod, and don't get carried away and try to use a large outboard. 3hp will drive her to hull speed. More than that is simply a waste of fuel.
Too big for your purposes?
We have a version that's just as pretty but much smaller.
m
10'-6"
Sunshine Plans (3 pages).........................................US$45.00
The $45 price includes the lug rig page.
If you already have the 2-page set of plans
and want to add the lug rig plan to it, you can order just that page for $10.
Lug Rig plan page only (1 page).................................................10.00
10'-6" Sunshine Lofting...............................................................85.00
Book, Building Sunshine.............................................................30.00
Book, Building Sunshine(with plans).........................................70.00
Rhodes
Wherry CD (see below)..................................................25.00
The Rhodes Wherry (printed in full color)................................45.00
The Rhodes Wherry (printed in full b&w)...............................30.00
Lofting price includes delivery in theUnited States.
This
is one of several Sunshines built during 2003-2004
by Bert van Baar and his students at the
Enkhuizer School for Wooden Boatbuilding
in the Netherlands
There
are some interesting photos on their site,
even if you don't happen to read Dutch.
You'll need to use your browser's back button to return.
One
of our original Sunshines,
ferrying a bride to her wedding on an island beach.
and
here's something you might not have considered...
Our Rhodes Wherry CD is extremely useful
for anyone building Sunshine.
The moulds are built the same way, the set up procedure is the same,
lapstrake planks are made and fitted the same way, the daggerboard and
case are identical, even the top framing goes together the same way...ditto
for making the spars and oars. And who knows? A Rhodes Wherry could
be your next boat.
For only $25.00, that's a lot of useful information...
No room to build a full sized tender? Our Littlest Yacht Tender is a 4' long version of this very boat and is designed to be finished off as a coffee table or as a baby's cradle.Either way, it is destined to become a family heirlom. Check it out.
If you
prefer mail, our address is:
Duck Trap Woodworking
P.O.Box 88
Lincolnville Beach, ME 04849
