Friday, January 01, 2010

Sailing Canoe ‘Sara’




Albert Strange


While surfing the Net I came across the Albert Strange Association’s web site where there was a link, ‘Boats for Sale’. Such an invitation was irresistible. I clicked my mouse to find another link, ’15 ft Sailing Canoe, SARA’ which revealed photos of an attractive sailing canoe designed in the alluring style of an Albert Strange masterpiece. This delightful vessel differed somewhat from Albert’s traditional wooden Victorian creations by being built with a combination of sheet plywood and strip-planking bonded together with epoxy, but her easy-flowing lines were in keeping with the artist’s eye for beauty. Double-ended and having a cute cockpit, she looked just right for her crew of one or two, where they could relax on a quiet day - I imagined her gently gliding over the water at the behest of a zephyr, causing ripples to flow outwards from her curved bow. The only distraction for me was her tall slender mast, sporting a Bermudan sail, unlike the low aspect gaff yawl rig I would have expected. Nevertheless, she was indeed an attractive sailing canoe conceived in the spirit of the Master. Had I not been the owner of a boat at the time I would have made an offer to sample her delights. Now, I note that she has been acquired by some fortunate fellow* who may romance with her, learn her ways, and enjoy the best she has to offer.


*Please excuse my assumption that ‘Sara’ was ‘acquired’ by a ‘fellow’, but it better fits the romantic relationship - except, these days, you never know!


Links


Albert Strange Association

http://www.albertstrange.org/


‘Sara’ for Sale - Sold

http://www.albertstrange.org/?p=415


PDF Link with details and photos of ‘Sara’

http://www.albertstrange.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/sara.pdf

3 comments:

Tweezerman said...

Sara looks very similar to a 16.5' sailing canoe I drew up several years ago. Mine would have a yawl rig as is traditional for the Yanks. Thanks for the posting.

William Serjeant said...

Thank you. I love the 16x30 canoe video at your Blog:
http://earwigoagain.blogspot.com

Cheers,
Bill.

John Summers said...

Hi, Bill:

If you like 16-30's, I'm happy to tell you more. I'm the guy who designed the one that Rod blogged about a short while ago. There's a how-to-build article starting in the March/April WoodenBoat.

Regards,

John Summers [authenticboats@gmail.com]