L. Francis Herreshoff (LFH) 17' Pulling Boat was originally presented in
Sensible Cruising Designs by LFH. Later, John Gardner formalized the design in his
Building Classic Small Craft, Vol 2.
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| Lines of the LFH 17' Drawn by John Gardner |
Later, Jim Michalak, using Gardner's lines, drew a
plywood on frame version. Comparing the set of lines above by Gardner to those of Michalak below, the most noticeable difference is the shape of the sheer line and that in Jim's version both (fore and aft) halves are identical.
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| Lines of LFH 17' Drawn by Jim Michalak |
Stewart River Boatworks sells a slightly modified LFH 17' based on the Gardner version. The modification adds slightly more flair to the topsides at the bow than Gardner's lines call for.
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| A Finished LFH 17' Offered by Stewart River Boatworks |
Chris Jones built the boat pictured below. This was his first boat and he built it based on Gardner's plans and instructions in
Building Classic Small Craft.
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| Chris Jones' LFH 17' He Built |
I've read about people who have built the LFH 17' as a skin-on-frame (SOF) using Jim Michalak's plans. However, I could not find any photos nor the articles about them.
Specifications:
- Length: 17' (5.2 m)
- Beam: 45" (1134 mm)
- Water Line Length: 16' 6" (5 m)
- Water Line Width: 36" (914 mm)
- WLL/WLW Ratio: 5.5:1
- Hull Speed: 5.4 knots, 10 kph, 6.2 mph
Building LFH 17' Skin on Frame:
I bought Jim's plans and made a scale model with 4 modifications:
- Built it SOF
- Made the bottom panel of plywood rather than SOF
- Added 2 bulkheads approximately 7' feet apart for a central cockpit
- Added framing for SOF decking at each end and along side of the cockpit opening.
The photos below show the build process, which is quite straight forward using Jim's plans.
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| Scale Model of LFH 17' with Plywood Bottom and First Ribands Installed |
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| All Framing Installed, ready for "Skin" |
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| Skin Started... |
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| ...and Showing SOF Deck Partially Completed... |
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| ...and What Happens When the 'Heat Gun' (for shrinking the skin) Gets Too Close |
Summary-Pros:
- A tested design originated by one of the
premiere boat designers (L. Frances Herreshoff) and then modified by Jim
Michalak for building with modern materials and techniques.
- Seaworthy due to flare in hull and added decking.
- Low windage means she will not be overly
affected by cross-winds.
- Decking and flotation as suggested make her safer
in most any weather.
- Light enough to car-top. Very light if built
SOF.
- Adequate storage space for supplies. If built
SOF, water-proof bags would be needed for perishable supplies.
- Fast due to high WLL:WLW ratio (5.5:1).
Summary-Cons:
- Narrow hull makes her tender and confining.
- Flotation would need to be added to make her
safe in rough water, regardless of how she was built.
My opinion is that the LFH 17', using Jim's plans, would make an outstanding oar cruiser. She would be light, very sea worthy, fast and very pretty.
Steve Chambers (member of our local TSCA) has built at least 2 SOF LFH17. He wrote an article for Duckworks:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.duckworksmagazine.com/12/projects/lfh17/index.html
I purchased the first one he made, thinking it would be a nice car toppable rowboat and might be able to add a slide seat. Kept it for a year but only used it a few times. There was really no advantage to car topping when I already have a trailered row cruiser. It's faster to just hook the trailer up than load the car top boat, and even easier to launch.
Fixed seat, the LFH was about as fast as the slide seat Walkabout. I decided it was too fine at the ends to convert to slide seat. As a row cruiser, for me it would be too narrow and not enough interior room to be very comfortable.
There are a few pictures in this Flickr album, of the boat I had and the second one. Some pictures have both:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ricks_boats/albums/72157657548215626
Rick, thanks so much for the photos... She is a very lovely boat... I agree that she's more of a 'day boat' than an overnight cruiser.
DeleteSurprised that you could row her (fixed seat) as fast as your Walkabout with sliding seat... I assume this is primarily due to lighter weight and less water line width.
It looks like she was made with both an internal keelson AND an external keel, giving her the slight V bottom pictured in the underneath view in the garage. Right?
I see what you mean by the garage picture, but that's just a bad photo angle. The bottom is flat plywood, no V.
DeleteShe's 1/3 the weight of Walkabout and a lot narrower, so that's the speed effect. There's more acceleration and deceleration during a stroke, less carry than the heavier boat.
James McMullen and I did a row with the LFH and the Walkabout, swapping boats part way. The two boats rowed at about the same speed.
My impression from a lot of TSCA rowing events is that most of these decent rowing designs go about the same speed. We bring a lot of boats and rowers to an event, and all arrive about the same time averaging around 3 kts.
You bring up an interesting issue... what's the trade-off between weight and 'carry' between strokes... Do we add ballast to a boat and will average speed increase?
DeleteMy gut says no. More wight means more wetted surface (whetted?). And it takes more energy to overcome the larger mass. (Then why does a flywheel work on an engine?) (Yea, but modern engines don't have a flywheel) (Hmmmm) I need a mechanical engineer.
Less weight of the boat makes it more subject to cross winds.
Tom (confused)
Tom (confused)
Hi Tom! What do you reckon is the beam on this boat? I've found myself thinking it might be nice to cruise the great lakes in a longer pulling boat. My Shellback, lovely as she is, is a bit on the short side for all-day rowing, though it can be done. I like Paul Gartside's Bob design quite a lot.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gartsideboats.com/custom-boatbuilding/16-ft-open-water-cruising-skiff-bob-design-115.html
Cheers, Mark
Hey Mark... 3'5" is width of Michalak's design... I'd assume that Gardner's would be very similar, if not identical.
DeleteSee http://www.duckworksbbs.com/product-p/jm-lhf17.htm for Jim's plans.
"Bob's" boat is about a foot shorter and 15" wider... I suspect she would be a little slower than LFH 17 and a more difficult build. Both are very pretty boats.
Personally, I'd opt for the LFH... I like the slimmer design and looking at the photos that Rick linked to in his Jan14 Comment above, the LFH is, to me, a beautiful boat. I'd build her with a plywood bottom and then rest SOF, including fore and aft decks.
Let us know what you decide!
Thanks Tom! No doubt the LFH would be the faster of the two and I'll certainly investigate Jim's plans. One thing I like about "Bob's" boat is the sailing rig for running downwind. On my trips in the Shellback I've found that unless it's blowing considerably (say 12-15kn or more) and the it's on the beam or stern, then you're better off rowing. Nothing more discouraging than beating into the wind and having the canoes pass you by!
DeleteI'm guessing that "Bob's" greater beam makes the boat more stable on a run. I also like that Paul cruised a similar boat for hundreds of miles along the Alaskan coast and this one incorporates his "lessons learned".
Mark
Hey Mark... Yes, she will have more 'ultimate' stability, but initial stability will still be low... i.e., she'll be tender, which is easy to get used to.
ReplyDeleteI too like the idea of Bob being a 'lessons learned' from Flashboat, the predecessor... I love the photo of Flashboat (see http://theoarcruising.blogspot.com/2017/06/paul-gartsides-flashboat.html ) waiting for the surf to go down on his Alaska voyage.
Tom
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ReplyDelete