« Tomales Bay One-Design "Jessie", Design #113 »

This little boat was built for a sailor from Tomales Bay, just north of San Francisco. In summer the bay funnels the prevailing northwesterlies, making it a lively place to sail a small boat. After trying a number of dinghies the owner knew he wanted a boat beamy enough to make proper use of crew weight and capable of sailing well in strong winds.

Fifteen-foot daysailer "Jessie"

After spotting "Skylark" in WoodenBoat #149, he went up to Oregon to sail that boat and subsequently placed an order for one of similar model.

This new boat is a foot longer than "Skylark" with a little less deadrise and a flatter run to make the downwind legs as exciting as possible. We also added decks to keep her drier and provide a good hiking seat. She has a steel centerboard of 5/16 plate that guarantees a positive action and puts some weight where it will help.

The gunter sloop rig provides one of the best compromises between performance and practicality for an unballasted dinghy. The mast is short, so there is little danger of her blowing over on a mooring - always a worry in a wind over tide situation. Although the spars don't fit inside the boat, they tuck up under the foredeck so very little extends past the transom and it is easy to trailer the boat.

This rig puts more weight aloft than a one-piece mast, but the sails set every bit as well if they are set up right. I doubt there would be a noticeable performance difference. The mast is hollow fir, and to make it quick to take down, the rigging is set up with lanyards.

Hull color is Alerion green, which the owner spotted on the "Curlew" replica Warren Barker wrote about in WoodenBoat #138. Warren was very helpful with the paint source, Kirby Paints shared their color recipe, and we were able to get a pretty good match. With cream decks and a varnished cove stripe cut in the yellow cedar sheerstrake, she is a very pretty boat.

Plans for "Jessie" are available in the Catalog of Stock Plans.

At the framing stage

Jessie was built upside down on bent frames. Temporary building molds are set up on a ladder frame, and the backbone is dropped into place. Temporary fore and aft ribbands are notched into the molds to complete the jug. Steam bent frames are fitted over the jig.

Two layers of red cedar plankingJessie is double planked. After the frames have been installed and faired, a layer of 1/8-inch cedar is fitted and glued at a 45° diagonal. This is followed by the outer planking of 1/4-inch red cedar laid fore and aft, laid in epoxy glue.

Right side up, floors and centerboard case in place.With planking complete, the hull is lifted off the building jig. The inside is then carefully scraped and sanded. Here the fit out of the interior is underway. The floor timbers have been fitted together with the beamshelves and seat risers. Note red cedar centreboard trunk with gumwood chafe strips.

Deck frames nearing completion

Laminated yellow cedar mast bench and sawn yellow cedar carlins. Deck beams are Douglas fir.

"Jessie" gets the finishing touches

Trim is varnished oak. Paintwork: cream decks, green topsides and white bottom. Her sheerstrake is yellow cedar with a ½" routed cove line, finished bright.