PocketShip
Encyclopedia
PocketShip is a stitch-and-glue
pocket cruiser
sailboat
designed
by John C. Harris of Chesapeake Light Craft.
was built by Geoff Kerr at Two Daughters Boatworks in Westford
, Vermont
. Commencing in mid-January 2008, it took Kerr 525 hours to complete the hull and spar
s. The hull was rigged
at Chesapeake Light Craft in Annapolis
, Maryland
, and launched
on May 10, 2008. Sailing trials were completed in various waters from Maine
to Maryland with crews of 1–4 adults in winds of up to 20 knots.
As of February 2010, PocketShips have been completed or are under construction in the United States
, Canada
, France
, Australia
, and Japan
.
, provide dry camping
accommodations for one or two adults, and tow behind a four-cylinder car." The cockpit
was designed for comfortable daysailing and can be used for sleeping if necessary. A portable head
stows beneath the cockpit, sliding forward into the cuddy for use.
Auxiliary propulsion can be provided with a pair of oar
s, a yuloh, or a small outboard motor
.
sloop
s set with a gaff-rigged mainsail
and a roller-furled
jib. A spinnaker
may be set for flying downwind
.
Stitch and glue
Stitch and glue is a simple boat building method which uses plywood, epoxy glue, and "stitches" and eliminates the need for stems and chines. Plywood panels are cut to detailed profiles and stitched together to form an accurate hull shape, without the need for forms or special tools...
pocket cruiser
Pocket cruiser
A pocket cruiser, microcruiser, trailer sailer or pocket yacht is a small lightweight sailboat with a cabin, designed for recreational cruising. Pocket cruisers can be readily loaded on a trailer and towed by most passenger automobiles. Both commercially made and designs for home built pocket...
sailboat
Sailboat
A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails. The term covers a variety of boats, larger than small vessels such as sailboards and smaller than sailing ships, but distinctions in the size are not strictly defined and what constitutes a sailing ship, sailboat, or a...
designed
Sailboat design and manufacturing
This article attempts to give an overview of the design and manufacturing of sailboats and the evolution of this industry. Details should be found and contributed through linked articles.-Early sailing vessels:...
by John C. Harris of Chesapeake Light Craft.
History
The first PocketShip hullHull (watercraft)
A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...
was built by Geoff Kerr at Two Daughters Boatworks in Westford
Westford, Vermont
Westford is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,087 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 39.3 square miles , of which 39.3 square miles is land and 0.04 square mile is...
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. Commencing in mid-January 2008, it took Kerr 525 hours to complete the hull and spar
Spar
In sailing, a spar is a pole of wood, metal or lightweight materials such as carbon fiber used on a sailing vessel. Spars of all types In sailing, a spar is a pole of wood, metal or lightweight materials such as carbon fiber used on a sailing vessel. Spars of all types In sailing, a spar is a...
s. The hull was rigged
Rigging
Rigging is the apparatus through which the force of the wind is used to propel sailboats and sailing ships forward. This includes masts, yards, sails, and cordage.-Terms and classifications:...
at Chesapeake Light Craft in Annapolis
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, and launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on May 10, 2008. Sailing trials were completed in various waters from Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
to Maryland with crews of 1–4 adults in winds of up to 20 knots.
As of February 2010, PocketShips have been completed or are under construction in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Design
The PocketShip is a "refined model, meant to sail well on all pointsPoints of sail
Points of sail describes a sailing boat's course in relation to the wind direction.There is a distinction between the port tack and the starboard tack. If the wind is coming from anywhere on the port side, the boat is on port tack. Likewise if the wind is coming from the starboard side, the boat...
, provide dry camping
Camping
Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
accommodations for one or two adults, and tow behind a four-cylinder car." The cockpit
Cockpit (sailing)
In the Royal Navy, the term cockpit originally referred to the area where the coxswain was stationed. This led to the word being used to refer to the area towards the stern of a small decked vessel that houses the rudder controls...
was designed for comfortable daysailing and can be used for sleeping if necessary. A portable head
Head (watercraft)
The head is a ship's toilet. The name derives from sailing ships in which the toilet area for the regular sailors was placed at the head or bow of the ship.-Design:In sailing ships the toilet was placed in the bow for two reasons...
stows beneath the cockpit, sliding forward into the cuddy for use.
Auxiliary propulsion can be provided with a pair of oar
Oar
An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end. Oarsmen grasp the oar at the other end. The difference between oars and paddles are that paddles are held by the paddler, and are not connected with the vessel. Oars generally are connected to the vessel by...
s, a yuloh, or a small outboard motor
Outboard motor
An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom and are the most common motorized method of propelling small watercraft...
.
Rigging
PocketShips are single-mastedMast (sailing)
The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
s set with a gaff-rigged mainsail
Mainsail
A mainsail is a sail located behind the main mast of a sailing vessel.On a square rigged vessel, it is the lowest and largest sail on the main mast....
and a roller-furled
Roller furling
Roller furling is a method of furling or reefing wherein a sail is rolled around a stay or rotating spar. Roller furling is most commonly encountered on foresails, such as jibs, with mainsails a distant second.-Furling methods:...
jib. A spinnaker
Spinnaker
A spinnaker is a special type of sail that is designed specifically for sailing off the wind from a reaching course to a downwind, i.e. with the wind 90°–180° off the bow. The spinnaker fills with wind and balloons out in front of the boat when it is deployed, called flying. It is constructed of...
may be set for flying downwind
Windward and leeward
Windward is the direction upwind from the point of reference. Leeward is the direction downwind from the point of reference. The side of a ship that is towards the leeward is its lee side. If the vessel is heeling under the pressure of the wind, this will be the "lower side"...
.
Further reading
- Harris, John C. How to Build PocketShip. Matt Cordrey, ed. Annapolis: Chesapeake Light Craft, 2008.
- – Manual for PocketShip construction; available from Chesapeake Light Craft.
- Harris, John C. "Plan Study: PocketShip." Small Craft Advisor 55 (January/February 2008 [2009]): 52–53.
- – Overview of PocketShip by the designer; available from Small Craft Advisor.
- Segal, Dan. "Small and Simple Cruising: The PocketShip from Chesapeake Light Craft." WoodenBoat 207 (March/April 2009): 76–81.
- – Review of PocketShip; available from WoodenBoat.