Dear Mr. Drewry, Sorry for the delayed response. This design is a bit narrow for a catboat so she rows decently. In fact Rushton adapted his largest dinghy (15' x 5') for this sailboat. You get good stability for sailing and at least decent rowing. If someone wanted me to build it again I would strongly suggest stretching the lines to 17' to provide more room in the cockpit for up to four adults. It is a bit cramped as is.
Sorry for the delay. A hard chine boat like that would have decent initial stability that would degrade pretty quickly as it heeled over. We haven't had a capsize yet despite classes at five schools.
Dear Mr. Howe, Thanks for your comments. If you are really interested in that boat I blogged about the whole process starting here: http://blog.douglasbrooksboatbuilding.com/2017/01/garden-boat-for-takamatsu.html. You can see the construction from beginning to end along with some of my weekend side trips. Thanks, Douglas
Dear Georg, Tell me if you get an email informing you that I responded to your comment. I assume you do. That has always been one of my favorite photos. Need to get back to Sado and see these boats again. Would be interesting to see how many are still used fishing. Douglas
Dear J.D. Thanks for your comment. That was a fun event. A couple of years ago I built a tub boat as an exhibition at Lowell's Boat Shop. Sincerely, Douglas
Dear Ellen and Seth, You can also visit the "taraibune" page under Japanese Boats at my website for more information. Email email me and I can send you my 1997 WoodenBoat article about them. Sincerely, Douglas
Dear Dan, As I mention in the caption this was not a traditional design, but purpose-designed to carry passengers in the garden. The common canal cargo boat was called a tenmasen and I listed one in this show I built for the Anderson Japanese Garden in Illinois. Go to my Profile then My Listings and look for it. At my website you can see several types of tenmasen I have built, all very different. But if you are looking for a term for a small cargo boat it would be tenmasen. "Tenma" can mean "horse" so some theorize the name...
Dear Dan, Thanks for your comment. I have enjoyed developing and teaching this class at the college level as well as at two boatbuilding schools. Visit my website's Teaching page for more information. Douglas Brooks
15′ Rushton Catboat (2010)
Dear Mr. Drewry, Sorry for the delayed response. This design is a bit narrow for a catboat so she rows decently. In fact Rushton adapted his largest dinghy (15' x 5') for this sailboat. You get good stability for sailing and at least decent rowing. If someone wanted me to build it again I would strongly suggest stretching the lines to 17' to provide more room in the cockpit for up to four adults. It is a bit cramped as is.15′ St. Lawrence River Skiff (2020)
Sorry for the late reply. I am not aware of that design and I can't be of any help. Hopefully you can Google the design name and get something.14′ Japanese Ayubune Fishing Boat (2015)
Sorry for the delay. A hard chine boat like that would have decent initial stability that would degrade pretty quickly as it heeled over. We haven't had a capsize yet despite classes at five schools.14′ Japanese Tenmasen Canal Boat (2014)
Dear Mr. Spenle, Please visit my website, www.douglasbrooksboatbuilding.com, for much more on Japanese boats and boatbuilding. Thanks, Douglas Brooks13′ Ritsurin Garden Boat, Takamatsu, Japan (2017)
Dear Mr. Howe, Thanks for your comments. If you are really interested in that boat I blogged about the whole process starting here: http://blog.douglasbrooksboatbuilding.com/2017/01/garden-boat-for-takamatsu.html. You can see the construction from beginning to end along with some of my weekend side trips. Thanks, Douglas5′ Japanese Sado Island Tub Boat (1996)
Dear Georg, Tell me if you get an email informing you that I responded to your comment. I assume you do. That has always been one of my favorite photos. Need to get back to Sado and see these boats again. Would be interesting to see how many are still used fishing. Douglas5′ Japanese Sado Island Tub Boat (1996)
Dear J.D. Thanks for your comment. That was a fun event. A couple of years ago I built a tub boat as an exhibition at Lowell's Boat Shop. Sincerely, Douglas5′ Japanese Sado Island Tub Boat (1996)
Dear Ellen and Seth, You can also visit the "taraibune" page under Japanese Boats at my website for more information. Email email me and I can send you my 1997 WoodenBoat article about them. Sincerely, Douglas13′ Ritsurin Garden Boat, Takamatsu, Japan (2017)
Dear Dan, As I mention in the caption this was not a traditional design, but purpose-designed to carry passengers in the garden. The common canal cargo boat was called a tenmasen and I listed one in this show I built for the Anderson Japanese Garden in Illinois. Go to my Profile then My Listings and look for it. At my website you can see several types of tenmasen I have built, all very different. But if you are looking for a term for a small cargo boat it would be tenmasen. "Tenma" can mean "horse" so some theorize the name...14′ Japanese Ayubune Fishing Boat (2015)
Dear Dan, Thanks for your comment. I have enjoyed developing and teaching this class at the college level as well as at two boatbuilding schools. Visit my website's Teaching page for more information. Douglas Brooks