Polliwog Sailboat Plans

How To Build POLLIWOG An 18-foot cruising sailboat. Beam: 6 feet 5 inches. Draft: 2 feet 10 inches. By William Garden Naval Architect

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Polliwog is built upside down. Here, the stem and the four sawed frames are in place on the harplngs. Stern will be added next.

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OLLIWOG was designed for young people who love cruising. Lively under sail and roomy on deck and below, she's a good type to acquire when thoughts of a voyage of exploration begin pushing aside studies and other trifles. While she is but 18 feet long (the size of the usual day-sailer), she has adequate depth and enough outside ballast to enable her to make coastwise passages in safety—and for exploring, the draft of less than three feet is ideal. For auxiliary power, we suggest installing a one-cylinder, four or five-hp marine engine. Several manufacturers make such engines. Among them are the Kermath Manufacturing Co., Detroit 8; the Nadler Foundry and Machine Co., Inc., Plaquemine, La.; and Palmer Bros. Engines, Inc., Cos Cob, Conn. The layout in the snug cuddy cabin has been kept simple to allow maximum use of the available room. A piece of netting runs along each side for stowing clothes and gear. A couple of air mattresses on the flooring are ideal for sleeping or lounging. Two shelves at the forward end of the cabin take cooking utensils and food. The cockpit is long enough so that it can be converted into an extra sleeping location by rigging a tent over the boom. Construction is not too difficult. After a little study and thought, the general method of procedure will become apparent. Since standard boatbuilding operations are followed, no specific instructions are needed. We advise you to get a good book on boatbuilding, such as Monk's Modern Boatbuilding or Steward's Small Boat Construction, for answers to the problems that will come up on the job. All oak specified in the Lumber List as being bending oak should be green when purchased; it is impossible to impart very

much bend to oak that has been dried. The hull is built on four sawed frames with small intermediate frames bent in between. Since sawed frames are ticklish to get right (they require beveling and exact work to make the boat fair up), we have kept them to a minimum. The intermediate frames can be bent in hot after the planking is on. The ballast keel will require a pattern so the foundry can make it the right size. Cut the stock up into several pieces, glue and fasten them together, and fair off the forward and after ends as shown on the lines drawing. Mark the locations of the bolts on the top and bottom to spot the cores. Be sure to plane a slight taper from top to bottom and screw two eyebolts in the top so the pattern can be pulled out of the sand. Finish the pattern by carefully sanding it smooth. The photos show the boat being built upside down. By going at the job in this manner, the'planking is easier to work and most fastenings are driven at a downward rather than an upward angle. After Polliwog is planked, bore the keel-bolt holes; then get a gang together and turn the boat rightside up onto her iron keel. Make the mast and boom from spruce or fir. Spruce spars are preferable because they are lighter and better looking. For fir spars, find a stand of timber where the young trees are bunched so they have had to grow straight to get to sunlight. Cut one that's about 4-1/2 in. in diameter and another 3-1/2 in. in diameter. For best results, they should be cut in January, when the sap is down. Skin off the bark, rub some tallow on the exposed wood to slow the drying process, and put the sticks out of the sun in a shed or some other cool place to dry for about three months. Then plane them down to the right diameters by first squaring, Mechanix Illustrated

With planking completed and deadwood in place, Polliwog is ready to be flopped over and bolted to her iron keel, which is positioned nearby. Here is the completed hull. If you want a boat that will last, apply at least three coats of best-grade marine finish to exterior of the hull.

Large-Scale Plans will s i m p l i f y building. Please specify Plan No. B-210 and forward $3 to MECHANIX

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Plans Service, Fawcett Bldg., Greenwich, Conn.

then cutting to eight sides, then rounding off. When smoothed up and sanded, apply two coats of hot boiled linseed oil and finish with three coats of varnish. A detail shows the manganese-bronze

headstay fitting. The foundry will require a pattern. When making the patterns for this and for the keel, shrink can be disregarded since we aren't working to close tolerances. •

Mechanix Illustrated

DECKTREAD" OR SIMILAR COATING ON PLYWOOD DECK.