This was the first Diesel Duck and the following spiel is the descrpition I wrote back then when I sent the drawings out to various magazenes. It repeats some of what you're read elsewhere (so what else is new) but I decided to leave it all in as the enthusiasm this was written in is still fun (for me anyway) to read today!
This stout little motor ship was designed
for Pat and Joe Blackshaw, a long time live aboard couple who
were retiring from their jobs and decided to swap their sailboat
for a cruising power boat.
The goal was to create comfortable full time living space for
two with enough sea-keeping ability to be reasonably safe cruising
the coast between Alaska and Mexico, all in the smallest length
possible. 38 foot seemed to be the shortest we could fit a real
adult sized interior in, and is about as small as I'd want for
cruising the North Pacific coastline.
DIESEL DUCK has a full displacement hull. She's not meant to plane,
so her stern lines end above the WL at the transom so the hull
is actually double ended at the WL and won't suck the ocean behind
it. She slides easily through the water under low power.
Although her 80 HP Cummins can power her into as much weather
as anybody aboard would care to buck, she'll normally be throttled
way down. This being the case, a version showing the wonderful
Sabb 30 HP, with compression releases and hand starting ability,
is also offered with the plans and is how I’d like to build
the boat. The problem with this is that SABB discontinued the
engine recently, so, we're back to the Cummins (or equal). But
that's OK; I have a Cummins 6 banger in my Dodge pickup. There's
220K miles on it and it is just like new. I carried my camper
4,000 miles in 6 weeks recently, and used under a pint of oil...
According to my computer, in calm conditions,
she should idle along at 7.3 knots, which is a speed/length ratio
(v/l) of 1.2, using only 13 HP, which would take about .75 gallons
an hour. I once sailed from Puerto Vallarta to Honolulu and for
the first 2,000 miles the ocean looked like a lake, so I know
there's many times when low power is all that's needed. Running
at this 1.2 v/l in calm conditions her 580 gallons of fuel will
give a range of over 5,000 miles. Running at a V/l of 1, which
is 6.05 knots, needs 5.2 HP which gives a range of about 11,000
miles. In practice most engines don't like to idle that long,
and the weather isn’t flat that long, so I think the 1.2
v/l is a better calm weather ratio to use. At 8.17 knots (v/l
of 1.35) my computer says she needs 31.7 HP, using about 1.9 gallons
an hour, for a range of 2491 miles. Now, if for some reason you
have to buck against it, the reserve HP is there to do it, but
of course the fuel consumption goes up as you open the barn door.
For example, 60 HP needs about 3.6 gallons an hour. However, Pat
reports that she cruises at almost 8 knots at just under 1 gallon/hr.,
so I guess the computer is overly cautious. These of course are
calm weather figures but still give a good idea about her range.
In practice, a cruising powerboat will be like a sailboat; NEVER
going to weather unless you really need to. Why? Because regardless
of what the sailboat ads say, pointing against any sea is terribly
uncomfortable, although more uncomfortable under sail because
of the heel.
She is quite heavily built and plans are available in either wood
or steel. Versions have been built in both. I like steel boats
just fine but I'll likely always be a (unrepentant too!) wood
boat guy, so all my designs are also available in wood. But you
dedide! Wood still mnakes sense for budget minded homebuilders....
Unlike far to many so called "cruising
boats," this boat's prop and rudder are completely protected
by her keel and she can take groundings (she has!) or even collisions
with anything near her own weight without damage. Throughout the
design thought was given towards strength, simplicity, and reliability
of systems. Plus, the hull lines were "faired" by computer
and the plans drafted using AutoCad which makes them accurate
to 1 mm, so as a result the boat is quite straight forward to
build and will be simple to maintain. For example, she has a very
large outboard rudder which is unusual on powerboats these days.
This rudder is very stout, practically foolproof, doesn't have
a thru-hull fitting, and increases the waterline length by 2.5
foot which gives more speed and fuel economy per HP. It's large
size makes the boat extremely manageable, even in reverse, able
to be steered when barely moving. She does have a bow thruster
as a backup but maneuvers so well with the rudder alone in tight
quarters that the thruster isn't used much at all and I wouldn’t
buy one if I was building her.
There are two interiors offered although a builder can change
her if he wants! I like the version with the 5’ x 7’
bed in the stern, but the original was built with the two singles
and head in the stern. Although two overnight guests can sleep
in the forward cabin, the interior was planned out to be comfortable
for two to live aboard.
The living area and sleeping area are completely separated by
the wheelhouse. The stern cabin has two good sized bunks, lots
of clothing storage, and a large "head" (original version
only) with a vanity and shower. The wheelhouse has a couch and
an easy chair, with a centerline steering station. The engine
room is below, and is 6' long with 6' of headroom between the
floor beams and the keel. Fuel tanks run on each side of the engine
room, and their top serves as a tool bench on the starboard side,
with storage shelves for lube oil, parts, and other items you
don't want to keep in the living area, to port. The engine room
has watertight bulkheads on each end to completely seal it off
from the rest of the boat.
The forward area of the boat is the galley and main living area.
There's a 3 burner propane range and enough counter space to be
able to work. The rest of the cabin is devoted to lounge space,
with two "easy" chairs, and a table and couch. The back
of the couch folds up to make a second guest bunk, and the table
has a folding leaf so it can feed four people if needed. Between
the front wall of the house and the "crash bulkhead"
making a backup chain locker (the primary anchor system is a cable
drum on deck) is a 36" "clean storage" area for
linens, out of season clothing, and so forth. There's a very deep
bilge that serves as a "storage locker," with plenty
of room even for a rolled up Avon raft. The hull is heavily insulated,
and thanks to her little diesel heater stays warm and dry inside
regardless of what's happening outside.
The outside appearance is pure "work boat" and her plumb
stem, vertical pilot house, and large flush aft deck with cargo
boom that has an electric winch to launch her skiff or to swing
a bicycle to the dock, make her a real standout. Everywhere she
goes people admire her.
She was built in 5 months by Millerick Bros. COAST MARINE CONST.,
Catati, California. Soon after construction started Joe died,
and Pat took over and ran the project herself. She lived aboard
in Alameda California for 4 years and in spring of 1996 sold the
boat to a guy who plans long cruises. Pat had a lot of fun with
the boat and reported that DIESEL DUCK proved to be all we hoped;
a comfortable and fine seaboat, giving a real feeling of security
even in bad weather.
Length on Deck:
38' 3" LWL: 36' 8" Beam: 12' 9"
Draft: 4' 9" Displacement: 32,600 lbs. Power:
50 to 80 HP
Estimated speed and HP requirements, calm conditions, according
to the computer. In real life she does better, we assume because
of the 2' of the outboard rudder....
Here's a wood 38 being launched in Africa. She needs the "Little Toot" windows in my opinion...... She was built by Roy Mcbride in S. Africa. His company is CKD Boats. They thinking about offering kits of these boats. For more info email him at roy@comlumber.com
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