River Belle - Atkins design

[JoshuaAhab]

Looking at the body plans view now. To my amateur eye none of the stations appear to have tumblehome. When you receive the plans I wouldn't mind discussing cabin styling too. Atkin's cabin is very utilitarian and equally unaesthetic; sort of like a shipping container with windows. Captain AB's cabin is tricked out splendidly. However in my area I need less sail space so to speak to make it easier to cope with local winds.

[jacquesmm]

Good, I'm happy that this was a customization for Rhapsody in glue.
The regular plain topside will be stronger and easier to build than the lapstrake one.

About the accommodations: I have no intention to redesign the topsides or show accommodations changes but I will show new stations and some bulkheads/frames if they don't match the stations. I will help for the accommodations and discuss what is possible but not redesign the whole boat.
One advantage of building her in plywood epoxy sandwich is that it gives us a great freedom with the layout. You will need frames and stringers at regular intervals, there will be a maximum span but besides that, you can do almost anything you want.

[JoshuaAhab]

Yeah I can understand that. The cabin styling discussion I mentioned was more of a "What can I change without harming the structural integrity of the vessel?" issue.

This is so far in the future I'm not sure what I want for cabin/cockpit layout at this point anyway.

[jacquesmm]

. . . The cabin styling discussion I mentioned was more of a "What can I change without harming the structural integrity of the vessel?" issue.

You can do almost anything. I"ll give dimensions for "cuts" through the hull like bulkheads and stringers and you build up from there.

[CaptainAB]

Yes, Captain AB's web site is very informative. I wish he would post more pictures.

Hi Folks - firstly, an apology for "highjacking" glossieblack's thread. It wasn't intentional, but Rhapsody generated more interest than I expected.

If anyone would like more pictures of Rhapsody being built, I have thousands. What would you like to see? I can post some here in the gallery.

On the subject of copyrights, remember that although you need to buy the large scale drawings from Mrs Atkin if you want them for the extra detail, the actual Offsets Table necessary to build River Belle and the scantlings were published in both a book and a magazine in the 1940s and are therefore "in the public domain". Unless you particularly want the large scale drawings, I don't believe that there's any separate license or copyright fee payable to Atkins to build a River Belle. I did buy a set of drawings of course, but they have been of limited use since I have changed the boat a fair bit.

Rhapsody is absolutely true to the River Belle design up to the chine, but from there on, is completely different. From memory, the River Belle is fully developable - it has no compound curves anywhere except perhaps a small flair in the bow. Although the hull wasn't designed for plywood construction, it actually seems to have worked very well. It is quite easy to check too if you enter the Offsets Table into the free Freeship (Now called Delftship) hull design software to create a wire-frame model. Then, although there is a bit of a learning curve with the software, it does provide some useful stuff like displacement for various drafts, Center of Buoyancy, Wetted Area and the like and of course, it's free, which is always good.

If I can help with any other information, please let me know.

CaptainAB

[jacquesmm]

If you confirm that the table of offsets from the books is the same than on the plans, I can draw the lines from it but as you say, only for those who buy the plans from Atkins first and then order my plywood files.

[CaptainAB]

If you confirm that the table of offsets from the books is the same than on the plans, I can draw the lines from it but as you say, only for those who buy the plans from Atkins first and then order my plywood files.

Hi Jacques,

The Offsets Table for RIver Belle, in the book "Forty designs for Postwar Boats", is the same in all respects as the one provided with the plans from Atkin's Boats except in two small details. And surprisingly, it's the Table in the book that is correct! The Chine half breadth measurement at at Station 1 is short by 1.5", but the Station 0 figure is over by exactly one foot !!! Simple transcription errors at a guess!

CaptainAB

[CaptainAB]

in my area I need less sail space so to speak to make it easier to cope with local winds.

Hi JA - You are quite right - Rhapsody sits high above the water and has nothing much in the water, so the area of windage is a bit of a concern. In reality, I suspect it will be a handful to manoeuvre when its windy. I did consider a bow thruster, but funds preclude.......

CaptainAB

[jacquesmm]

I am used to errors in offsets, no problem. I'll start as soon as you commit.

For the maneuverability of the tunnel boats: that is somewhat delicate. They don't do well in reverse and you can't "whip" the stern with the rudder as well as in a regular boat.
I am not a big fan of bow thrusters, you"ll get used to the boat.

[JoshuaAhab]

Hi Jacques,

I thought I better chime in here. I'm the one sending plans and money. At least I think you need copies of the plan. If you don't need the plans I can send the money out tomorrow. Otherwise I have to wait until I can get to a large copier. That might take a while . As I type this I'm in the middle of a blizzard big enough to get a name. Apparently meteorologists name a blizzard if it gets an eye ( as in eye of the hurricane). This one is named "Mars". It's the kind of weather Cracker Larry fantasizes about.

AB,

As I said earlier, you're certainly flattening out my learning curve and speeding up the build process. Wind is always an issue here. It's just a question of direction. I have to figure out a "windage versus cabinage" ratio I can live with.