Yacht Tender SunshineSunshine 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
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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.
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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. |
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Here's a Sunshine built from our plans by Jerry Jones. She's glued lapstrake and planked with Okoume marine plywood. Named Australia, and built by an obviously skilled weekend builder for his brother, she now works in the warm waters of south Florida. | |||||||||||||
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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? |
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10'-6"
Sunshine Plans (3 pages).........................................US$45.00 Lofting price includes delivery in theUnited States.
This
is one of several Sunshines built during 2003-2004
One
of our original Sunshines, and
here's something you might not have considered... 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.
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Contact
us by email
or by phone at 207-789-5363
If you
prefer mail, our address is: |
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