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Super Shallow Draft Sailboat: The Leeboard Sharpie
September 7, 2024 · 8 min · 57K views
What this video covers
Sharpies are flat-bottomed, hard-chined sailboats with leeboard keels that allow sailing in inches of water, and their simple construction from common lumber makes them viable home-build projects.0:29 Originating in New Haven, Connecticut around 1848 — James Goodsell of Fairhaven claimed to have built the first with his brother — they spread along the East Coast as oyster-fishing workboats, with nearly 200 working the Fairhaven wharfs by the 1880s.1:45 Their flat bottoms produce low drag and reported speeds exceeding 10 knots under sail.2:25 Commodore Ralph Monroe's Egret, a 28-foot double-ender designed for South Florida's shallow inlets and the Gulf Stream, is cited as a landmark example.4:03 Leeboards — pivoting keels bolted to the hull's exterior — eliminate the need for a centerboard trunk, prevent hull penetrations that can leak, and leave the cabin floor unobstructed.7:23 Only the leeward board deploys at any time; the windward board retracts to cut drag.5:31 The primary offshore limitation is that most Sharpies are not self-righting, because ballast sits inside the hull rather than in a deep keel.4:36 Plans are available from Duckworks for $40.8:07 Sharpies suit coastal gunkholing, the Bahamas, and the Gulf Coast but require large size for safe bluewater passages.2:54
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