Gavin Atkin's OarMouse as a Day Boat

 Gavin's OarMouse is a V-bottom 14 foot row boat made from two 4' by 8' sheets of plywood... one person, fast and easy to build.

Overview of OarMouse plans by Gavin Atkin

Plans are free and available at Duckworks.

Using the plans, I built a concept model (scale 12:1) of a day boat based on OarMouse. 

The view above shows the 6' 3" (1905 mm) cockpit, 10' (3 m) oars, reverse reading compass, slatted floor boards that enable the foot brace and rowing seat to be adjusted to fit the rower, and the outriggers which are also adjustable and which provide a span of 5' (1524 mm).

Profile View: Why Windage is Not an Issue

No technical reason why the reverse transom other than I like the way it looks. And "Roci..." is a "hero" of one of my favorite science fiction series: The Expanse (James S. A. Corey). 

The Bow Transom Sloped Forward 30 Degrees

Fitted Out with Sleeping Tent 

Specifications of the Day Boat:

• LOA: 15' 6" (4.7 m)
• Beam: 3' (914 mm)
• Cockpit opening length 6' 3" (1905 mm)
• Cockpit width 1' 9" (533)
• Cockpit length (for sleeping) 7' (2.1 m)
• Water Line Length: 15' (4.6 m)
• Water Line Width: 30" (762 mm)
• WLL/WLW Ratio: 6:1
• Hull Speed: 5.2 knots, 9.6 kph, 6.0 mph

 Conversion of OarMouse to a Day Boat:

• Lengthened the LOA from 14' to 15' 6" (4.7 m) by re-spacing the stations to achieve a 15.5' length. 
• Slanted the aft transom forward by 30 degrees.
• Slanted the bow transom forward by 30 degrees. Note that these 3 changes were the only changes to the hull shape/size in the original plans.
  
  
• Made the two frames into two waterproof bulkheads 7' (2.1 m) apart providing generous flotation in the two end compartments.
• Surrounded the cockpit opening by 3" (76 mm) high coaming.
• Added a 4" (102 mm) V-shaped splash guard to the forward deck.
• Added a fairlead to the bow. See this article (at the end of the post) for how to anchor from the cockpit without crawling out on the fore deck.
• Provided outriggers. See this post for a description of these outriggers.
• Provided demountable hoops for supporting a shelter.

Summary-Pros: 

• A straight forward build from the free plans.
• She will be one of the fastest boats of all those in this blog.
• The full-decking, coaming and splash guard will result in a more sea-worthy boat than an open version of the hull. However, she is only designed for protected waters.
• Very low profile means she will be little affected by cross-winds when rowing.
• Plenty of storage space in the cockpit for supplies in waterproof bags. 
• Two waterproof compartments provide flotation.
• Long boats such as this can be car-topped.  See the comment by John Welsford at the end of this post.

Summary-Cons:

• The narrow V-bottom hull makes this boat tippy (but fast). Keep weight low and centered. See John Welsford's technique for reboarding long narrow boats such as this.
• No built-in waterproof storage.

This boat would be ideal for day trips in protected waters. A boat that moves through the water this easily is a joy to row.