Persistence Design Origin

Bead and cove daysailer with a shapely wineglass transom, stayed gaff rig, and wide, flat, keels, for easy trailering.

Designed by Marc Barto from lines of Howard Chapelle

LOA - 16'
LWL - 15' 2"
Beam - 4' 10"
Draft (cb up) - 4"
(cb down) - 2"
Weight - about 250 lbs.
Sail Area (gaff) - 90 sq. ft.
Construction:  1/4 bead and cove strip built with fiberglass overlay

Persistence does not use the traditional "barn door" style rudder, but rather a spade style rudder actuated by a Dotan Rudder Head.  The design yields light responsive steering and a rudder which is engaged by a flick of the wrist on the tiller

Sailing the Persistence

 This is a short collection of S/V Persistence rowing and sailing photos and videos 

Rowing on Racquet Lake, Adirondacks  

Sailing on Blue Hill Bay Maine

Launch Video Muddy Run Park Pa.

Very fast Sail on Raquette Lake NY

Boat Trailer, tie downs, boat cover

 

Galvanized Trailer with torque tube suspension and custom bunk boards

                                          
                                                                             

Light and license bar secure to trailer via nylon straps and heavy rubber bungees

        

Crutch mounted in mast partner ring secures one end of mast for transit

Mast secured to boat for transport via strap led through mainsheet block

Plastic Rain Cover

Would make a nice pattern for a canvas boat cover which would stand up to highway speeds

Coaming, rub rails, toe rails, and other trim

Persistence's trim is varnished Sapele.  The rub rails are Hickory  




 

The coaming is cold molded two ply ribbon figure Sapele.  Check out the beautiful grain in these photos

The outer stem is laminated Sapele with a thin cap veneer so you don't see the ply end grains 

Spars, Standing Rigging, Sail, and Running Rigging

 The Spars -  Mast, Gaff, & Boom are tapered Bird's Mouth Construction made from Eastern White Pine

Setting Mast in mast step 

Mast is light enough for one person to insert in mast step while boat is on trailer

Setting the mast rake by fixing the location of the "Partner Ring"

Running Rigging is phenolic pullies with Dacron twisted line.  Mainsheet is secured to a floor mounted swivel block with jamb cleat, and to a rope traveler with Laser style blocks and brummel hook connector. 

Custom Sail by Dabbler Sails, 4 copper riveted wood hoops, bronze hoop connectors 

Mast Hoops and bronze connectors

Standing Rigging is Spliced Dyneema line with SS turnbuckles and attached to bronze plate chain plates 

Rudder / Centerboard / Deck / Flooring

In this section I show elements of design and fabrication of the Rudder, Centerboard, Deck, and Flooring.  Photos are selected out of the construction sequence so, all of a sudden the boat is painted.

The Dotan rudder head & Spade Rudder, PVE pipe center board pivot, and Mast Tube are key features of the Persistence design.

 The Barto design calls for a typical "Barn Door" rudder.  I opted for a more modern spade rudder / fin keel underbody to improve sailing performance and overall balance.  I selected the Dotan rudderhead to provide effective actuation and retraction of the spade rudder without using strings and pullies

Rudder Assembly Drawing 

Rudder and Centerboard Drawing

Dotan Rudderhead Actuation

At Anchor with Rudder in up position

Centerboard trunk floors and long deck beams installed

Short Deck Beam and Support

Installing the Centerboard in the Trunk

Pennant is spliced into trailing edge of Centerboard

Board is easily raised or lowered from the cockpit. Rowing seat is also shown.  Deck is marine plywood epoxy sealed and attached to beams and the shear clamp

Centerboard rotates on a PVC pipe nipple pin.  Pin is captured by threaded caps. Water is sealed out  with "O" rings under the caps  To remove the Centerboard unscrew one of the caps and slide out the pin, the board is held in place by the pennant.

The Mast Tube is tapered to fit and guide the mast as it is inserted into the partner ring

Oak floors with drain holes

Cypress Flooring sealed with Tung oil and Boiled Linseed Oil Mixture 

Cypress Slats joined with White Oak tie pieces 

Floor boards installed supported by oak floors

Construction of Persistence Hull

Transferring Patterns to Molds with dress makers tools

Molds ready to stand up

Molds up on Strong Back

Scarf joint joining two halves of the bottom plank

Making Sapele Transom Blank 

Shaping transom shape

Laying up the inner stem

Mounting the inner-stem and bottom plank on the molds 

Molding machine making bead and cove strips

Bead and Cove Strips

Assembly at Stem

Assembly at transom

Making Bottom Scarf Joint

I wanted to join the hull planking to the bottom with a strong scarf joint without using heavy chine logs.  I'm not sure you will find this feature on other Wooden Melonseed Boats.  This is my first departure from the Barto Plans

Planing Hull to Bottom Scarf Joint

Continuing the hull planking up over the bottom

Planing the excess planking to make a smooth hull

Hull Faired and ready for glass

Hull complete glassed on the outside and off the molds