In the November 1, 2001 issue of Messing About in Boats Jim Betts proposed a 12 ft. x 5 ft. camping scow he called Gypsy's Poke. As far as I know no plans were ever developed for this boat but it was intended to be very simple to build (40 hrs construction time), be easy to reconfigure for the owners specific needsd, be safe for inland waters, be multipurpose, and be able to get reasonable speed from a small outboard.
As shown in MAIB this boat had a small cabin with seats facing inward, room for head, storage and galley, a pair of 6 ft. berths and simple tiller steering with a tiller extension from the small outboard. Except for 1/2 inch plywood for the transoms the rest of the boat comes from eight sheets of 1/4 inch ply. Stiffening of the ply is done with battens that are attached to the outside of the hull. These could be made from 1 inch half-round stock.
What follows is my work thus far on a realization of Gypsy's Poke. This page will be updated as the detailed work evolves.
Below are 3 designs. The top is a sketch of Jim Michalak's Harmonica, a simple mini-shanty. The middle sketch is of Gypsie's Poke pretty much as presented in MAIB. A the bottom is my version. From Betts' description, the sides are not straight slabs but are sprung around a frame. I kept mine straight, like Harmonica, and also changed the bow shape to something more like Harmonica's.
The side benches are about 1.5 ft. wide and are flush with the shear, hence reason for the person sitting up high. The space directly below is a tube that forms the lower part of the berth. At a 5 ft. beam with the two 1.5 ft. benches, the central walkway is about 2 ft. wide. To be sure that the berth would be reasonably comfortable my son Scott did some testing as shown below. The ruler is a 6 ft. carpenter's rule.
Time to pull out the balsa and modelling tools. Below is a shot of a half-model which consists of one side and half of the middle section. This picture shows the profile.
Here we see a view from above and behind.
Finally we have the view below which shows the interior. The bow is designed as a walk-through with a step down into the cabin. (I am going to change this a bit so that the step down is not quite as deep.) At the front of the cabin will be a drop board and flip up window to permit access. The interior side facing seat is visible and this also serves as the upper part of the berth. Storage is under the berth along with some flotation. Flotation will also be in the bow along with some sort of storage for a small anchor and line.
A simple doorway will divide the cabin area from the aft part of the boat. This may just be a piece of canvas with screening.
At the stern is a separate area for the fuel tank and the like. The motor (hopefully my 5 HP Tohatsu will work) will go on a bracket.
Stay tuned for more.
5/23/04
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