Wooden Drascombe
Of Shoes
and Ships and Sealing Wax,
Of cabbages and Kings,
Of "Snave" and J.L. W.,
And other Drascombey things
by Chris Evans
The total cost in 1963 was £321.00 and was paid for in various stages of construction as laid down in a formal Ship-Builders contract which had to be signed and sealed with stamps of the realm totalling six old pence! The document is a little lengthy to include here but it makes a refreshing change to the credit card counter-foil which suffices for a purchase today!
The craft were constructed from best marine ply in a glued clinker form. The boats had bilge keels so that they could take the ground on cheaper moorings! A large Dipping lugsail hung from the sole un-stayed mast which swept back at a rather rakish angle. The craft bore a strong resemblance to the traditional "Shetland Sixareen" which had taken fishermen safely to sea and back again in one of the most inhospitable of maritime environments. The bows are somewhat fuller than a Drascombe Lugger and at this point in the design cycle the hull was still one plank short of a modern Drascombe!
The sail plan together with the rather weedy bilge keels meant the craft was really a motor boat with auxiliary sail power. The engine however was not a success. It was an air cooled Watermota which used the monocoque construction of the glued clinker hull as a giant sounding board. The air cooling required more and more ambitious engine casings over the first two seasons to cope with both sound deadening and the engine's thirst for large gulps of fresh air. When the gearbox seized in the fourth season Father used the opportunity to persuade John that a hole in the stern with a modern outboard engine was the best solution.
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Last updated: 19 January, 2007
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