"Fast" Scow Design from 1800's

[BoatEngineer]

During Covid, I pulled the lines for the purportedly fastest scows on San Francisco Bay back in the late 1800's. The hull was about 4' long when completed and bowsprit and main boom overhang to about 5'6".
Made of odd blue pine and fir. This is the "James McKenna". 62'

 

[BoatEngineer]

The rig was roughly based on the drawings, but truthfully, I eyeballed the proportions. No money was spent on this model. Which added to the fun!
I can't find the photo where I piled 4 clay bricks on the port gunwale and the stability was shocking.

 

[BoatEngineer]

https://youtube.com/shorts/L9mC1ZdqzH8?is=u4YyXdfxA8gUWc0R

Sailed great for an hour in the town pond. It got hung up on a post by the fountain. 4'water depth. No way I was going to wade 100' to fetch it in the blue-dyed "recycled" water from the sewage treatment plant. I saw what that water did to our High Schools' football field!

Apparently the stays wore through overnight. And the boat washed up on the distant shore...reportedly grabbed by some homeless guy who I'm sure saw a gold mine in his find



Oh well. It was fun, and I just wanted to understand how these boats sailed before building a half scale

 

[BoatEngineer]

Prints for McKenna

 

[HelmutSheina]

Well done and shame you lost the model; but it looks like fun was had. What is your intended usage for the 31' half scale version?

 

[BoatEngineer]

I live near the Petaluma Slough and have 3 acres of farmland. I'm thinking of loading up my produce and chickens and sail to San Francisco and sell farm fresh on the waterfront, identically how and where it was done 146 years ago.

 

[wet feet]

An interesting project.I have seen one or two B&W photographs of the old scows and thought they weren't that far removed from the swim headed Thames barges of the same era.In both cases the end users sought ample cargo capacity and a simple build.I hope we get to see photographs of the build and ultimately,the launch,followed by reports on the behaviour of the boat.

 

[alan craig]

Here is a hay schooner scow by Phil Bolger from his book "Boats with an open mind". 28ft x 10ft x 15". Picture is a bit distorted as the book doesn't lay flat.

 

[BoatEngineer]

Here is a hay schooner scow by Phil Bolger from his book "Boats with an open mind". 28ft x 10ft x 15". Picture is a bit distorted as the book doesn't lay flat.
View attachment 209137

Hi Alan, I have this book and have looked at all the interpretations of Hay Scows. I am most interested in the original vessels, some of which have been documented. The best resource are the archives at the San Francisco Maritime Museum for the traditionalist. Second best is this publication, "Scow Schooners of San Francisco Bay". I love this book. Dimensionless drawings are provided and lines drawings for several of the thousands which had been built and operated on all of the tributaries of the Sacramento and San Juaquin rivers, both of which flow into San Francisco Bay. The ships were ideal for one to pull right up to a levy adjacent to ones fields, load up with Hay/Produce/Livestock, and with the next tide, head down river to trade your goods, often for lumber to build most of Northern California.

Roger Olmstead is credited with starting the San Francisco Maritime Museum, and saving from destruction, her primary current exhibits, all after WWII.

 

[HelmutSheina]

When I was a younger man I lived in coastal town in the tropical region of Western Australia known as the Pilbara. There was no daily newspaper and the local radio station announced community events and personal advertisements. They also announced when a prawn boat was in town and locals would flock to the town wharf to collect these live crustaceans.

Now those steel hulled diesel trawlers lacked the romanticism of a timber scow schooner, but the idea was extremely sound and viable with clear benefits to all parties.

Can it survive in this age? I say why not? People are yearning for what was and the impact of giant "food" corporations is visible to all. Best of luck, I wish you many imitators.