36′ Streaky Bay

I’ve called this the ‘Streaky Bay’ after a great bay north of Port Lincoln in South Australia.

I think this boat will both comfortably and economically satisfy a lot of smaller cruising power boat requirements, as well as being quite capable of long distance ocean voyages. All my boats have added reinforcement in the keel area so they can be beached whenever desired. In Australia, beaching purposely is nearly a daily practice, as the propellers are completely protected by the hull. The drawings show a substantial belting of white beech completely around the boat to take the bumps of normal use.

In the long cabin version the clear area of cockpit is 5′ x 13′ (7′ x 13′ in the short cabin version). Access to the front deck can be around the side (330mm wide side decks) or through a very sensible front hatch that is accessed via stairs at the helm station. This works so well that I am thinking of reducing the width of the side decks as I doubt they will be used.

The internal fitout is flexible to a degree to suit individual preferences. W.C. and shower can be upstairs or downstairs utilising standard household systems as much as possible. They discharge into holding tanks that are emptied using either gravity or pump discharge methods.

Depending on requirements there is adequate room in the cockpit and a side opening door to carry and load/unload bicycles or even a small motorbike.
A substantial tender can be carried on a set of davits across the transom.

2 x 125 hp will return approx 24 knots at 5600 kgs displacement. With a pair of 75 hp motors the first boat returned just under a litre per mile total at 14 knots. At lower speeds the range will be considerably greater.
The boat is constructed from a pre-routed Duflex kit, including plywood temporary frames and epoxy. There is a tiny bit of strip planking in a section of the hull under the waterline. The build procedure has been refined after more than 20 years of boatbuilding to minimise the build time and maximise build strength. The hulls are built in two halves with the outside panel left off until the fitout is completed and engines etc are fitted. This maximises access and minimises time spent climbing up and down ladders. I would expect an experienced amateur to have a completed boat with a simple yet comfortable fitout up in around 2500 hours.

(Click on the images for .pdf versions)

Photographs of “Silhouette”