Crawdad is a 7’6" parody of coastal workboats. It is an effort to create a usable knockabout with 3 sheets of ply and some scrounged lumber. Although unfinished, Crawdad, like a friendly puppy, draws folks’ attention, comments, and good vibes when we float by. She’s cost me less than $50 so far and, when done, should tilt the books for no more than $100. TMB will be a reflection of this kind of boating.

Crawdad

Banjeau is a 16’ mini-houseboat I designed and built to use as a camper on the trailer and houseboat on the water. She was inspired by the boxy designs of Phil Bolger and Jim Michalak. Michalak has a design called Harmonica that is a neat little minimalist boat but I wanted something a little larger, heftier, and more stable. Banjeau weighs in at around 1000 pounds, has traveled from North Carolina and back via California and Canada. I’ve had a few requests for plans but never got the motivation to polish up the pencil sketches I built her from. This is the original flat-top version with a central opening that Bolger developed and Michalak uses. While it’s very handy for fair weather day-cruising, it’s not the best for cruising/camping. So we made some changes before going to the Florida Keys.

The flat top has been removed and a curved one is being installed. I’ve found that how much I enjoy boats is usually inversely proportional to the amount I spend on them, so I try to hold down costs where I can. The formers are cut from a couple of hollow-core doors bought from a Habitat for Humanity re-use center supplemented by a couple more damaged ones retrieved from their dumpster. Four sheets of

Banjeau actually performs better than I anticipated for what’s essentially a barge with a house. The flat bottom curves up only in the forward 3 feet to allow 13 feet of uninterrupted flat floor in the house (the boat has a double bottom with I-beam bracing), so at 5-7 knots, she pushes a sizable bow wave like any barge, particularly if you’re sitting on the front porch. But, surprised as I was, with a 15 horse Johnson, she’ll plane and has topped out at 17 knots or just under 20 mph. Of course with the additional windage, speed drops with a headwind. Draft is about 4 inches and you can walk all over this boat with very little movement. With the flat top, I used to climb on top and stand at the stern corner just to marvel at how little she listed. The guy who built Michalak’s prototype Harmonica says the boat tried to throw him the first time he jumped aboard so I was a little surprised at how much extra stability results from additional length, width (6’) and weight.

The dock at John Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo nestles among mangrove swamps and provides good shelter from Atlantic winds. Motor trouble thwarted my cruising time but we did get in one afternoon of putzing about the swamps and a little time in the bay. I was cautious since I hadn’t tried the boat with the new top before leaving North Carolina. I needn’t have worried - anchored and cruising in 15 knots she listed very little and tracked well. There are three 2x2 skegs on the bottom - one in the center and one on each chine. The nice thing about funky boats of questionable heritage is the folks they attract. Respectable boaters tend to avoid you but the most interesting people come by to see just what the heck they’re looking at. Dogs and odd boats are great people magnets.

Thanks to:

Bill Sandifer

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