2014 Oughtred Grey Seal custom build

2014 Custom Oughtred Gray Seal Custom wood boat with classic lines, and class. 2019 Yanmar 9GM diesel engine and 2014 tandem trailer.Must see to believe.

Engine The boat is powered by a Yanmar 9 hp 9GM diesel engine, which was installed new in 2019. Estimated 20 hours on engine.

Design features About the design: The boat is built to the design of Iain Oughtred, a well known designer of wooden boats. Iain is Australian, but lives in the Pharo Islands now. IThe plan was first published in the early 1990’s, by , and called “Grey Seal.” Oughtred is known for designing traditional small sailboats and rowing boats based on the Swedish Folkboat. They are typically canoe hulls with external tiller rudder, and lapstrake planking. He specializes in designs which can be constructed using epoxy-joined marine plywood. Grey Seal is, I believe, his largest or second largest design. Several dozen have been built around the world by skilled amateurs and professional wood boat builders. The Grey Seal is NOT a racing boat design, although it moves very nicely even in light breeze. It is primarily designed for weekending, or day sailing, although some hearty souls have used them for extended sailing in open ocean. I have never had her in open water. My wife and I have sailed exclusively on the Delaware River and Barnegat Bay.

I followed the design precisely, as well as his material recommendations and construction techniques. Where Iain was unclear, I either contacted him directly for help, or else got advice from professional wooden boat builders and designers. My primary source was John Brady, master wooden boat builder and designer, now retired, who was at the time, the director of the Workshop on the Water, a full service wooden boat construction and restoration shop at the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia for many years. John went on to become the President of the Museum before retiring. As I mentioned, I was a volunteer boat builder there for about 13 years after I retired, and John was my mentor for much of that time.

Equipment: Materials

The hull, cabin, and deck are constructed using 12mm mahogany marine plywood. This includes the strakes in the lapstrake hull, each of which is cut to plan from sheets of plywood. Where required, a standard 6 inch long scarph joint is used to join boards. All surfaces are coated,after fabrication, ,with 2 coats of West System epoxy to fully waterproof the material. All plywood, including the strakes, are fastened entirely with thickened West System epoxy. Six inch scarph joints are used wherever it is necessary to join boards.

Structural members (frames, deck beams, cabin roof beams) are made of ash. Where practical, frames and beams were steam bent. These, too, were epoxy coated after being put in place, and the plywood sheathing was epoxied in place with thickened epoxy.

The exterior keel and deadwood was cut from clear Douglas Fir. The rudder, cleats, mast step, rails, are all made of white oak. Moulding, visible trim and cockpit benches are either Honduras or African mahogany. The engine bearers are larch.

The mast, boom, and gaff are all constructed from clear Sitka Spruce. Gaff jaws are white oak. The mast hoops are made of white oak, steam bent and fastened with copper rivets in the traditional manner.

All metal fittings are fabricated from silicon bronze, including the drifts holding the rudder together, and the keel bolts. The cast hardware (gooseneck, pintel and gudgeon sets) were fabricated by a British foundry to Ian Oughtred’s specs. I fabricated the other hardware (drifts, bolts, chain plates.) The mast hinge is galvanized steel, fabricated at the Workshop on the Water.