Return to The Boats of Swallows and Amazons
Return to All Things Ransome.
Judy Brickhill: "Ladies of the Lake" in The Boatman, November/December 1995 (The Boatman is a British magazine which ceased publication in September 1996.)
Hugh Brogan: The Life of Arthur Ransome
Jonathan Cape, London, 1984
Christina Hardyment: Arthur Ransome and Captain Flint's Trunk Jonathan Cape, London, 1984 (Contains the only known photo of the Swallow.)
John Leather: Clinker Boatbuilding
Adlard Coles Nautical, London, 1973
Eric McKee: Clenched Lap or Clinker
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich UK, 1974
Eric McKee: Working Boats of Britain
Conway Maritime Press, London, 1983
Roger Wardale: Nancy Blackett: Under Sail with Arthur
Ransome
Jonathan Cape, London, 1991
Combination rowing/sailing work boats were common in North America also. While few of the American boats are really comparable to the Swallow (most were centerboarders), many could be used like the Swallow for comfortable, capable, low-stress adventuring and generally messing about.
John Burke: Pete Culler's Boats
International Marine, 1984
A catalog of some of Pete Culler's designs, with comments on how they
turned out. Pete Culler is one of America's best spokesmen for the
virtues of traditional designs and designers of good boats.
The Culler design plans are now in the
Mystic Seaport Museum,
Ships' Plans Division,
P.O. Box 6000,
Mystic, CT 06355. Phone
203-572-0711.
Howard I. Chapelle: Boatbuilding
W. W. Norton, 1941 (New edition reprinted recently)
Wooden boatbuilding the old-fashioned way, includes lines and plans for
several small boats.
Howard I. Chapelle: American Small Sailing Craft
W. W. Norton, 1951 (Still in print)
A classic by the man who, single-handed, started the movement to
preserve the designs of American workboats. Contains the lines and
construction sections for many rowing/sailing boats. The
Providence River Boat, 12' 4" by 5' 4", on
page 242 , is the traditional
American boat most like the Swallow
that the author has encountered. A couple of sailing Peapods
on pages 219 and 220 would also be good small keel sailing/rowing boats
to use like the Swallow.
R. D. "Pete" Culler: Skiffs and Schooners
International Marine, 1974
While Pete Culler never designed any boats exactly
like the Swallow,
he did design many small rowing/sailing boats of classic form, almost
17th or 18th century in style, though more modern in shape. This book
contains the lines for several small boats, but it is mainly Culler's
boatbuilding tips and tricks. Probably not
intended for the complete beginner,
except it is great inspiration. Lots of pine tar, tallow, oakum and other
wonderful smelly stuff, great ideas about good boats and how to use them.
R. D. "Pete" Culler: Boats, Oars, and Rowing
International Marine, 1978
The pleasures of rowing traditional boats. How to make your own oars and
outfit a pulling boat. Lines of a few rowing/sailing boats in the
appendix.
John Gardner: Building Classic Small Craft
International Marine, 1977
Complete plans and building instructions for 24 small boats. Excellent
discussions of various building techniques, including lapstrake. Some of
the boats are rowing/sailing designs.
John Gardner: More Building Classic Small Craft
International Marine, 1984
Complete plans and instructions for 23 boats. The ones of interest to
Swallows and Amazons fans are probably the
Matinicus Peapod and a 16' Swampscott Dory.
Appendix on making wooden planes.
John Gardner: Building Classic Small Craft
The above two books have been reprinted in one volume that goes by the
same name as the first.
John Gardner: Classic Small Craft You Can Build
Mystic Seaport Museum, 1993
Plans and instructions for 16 boats. The Maine Reach Boat
on page 60 is a samll keel rowing/sailing boat, 13' 4" by about
4' 5" that is not unlike the Swallow, and a nice
little 14' rowing/sailing flat-bottomed skiff might make an
inexpensive and easy to build introduction to boatbuilding and messing
about in boats. The book also has a good chapter on balancing the rig
of a small sailboat.
John Gardner: Wooden Boats to Build and Use
John Gardner: The Dory Book
International Marine, 1978
The history of dories, and how to build them. Plans and building
instructions for several dories. Dories are quite unlike the
Swallow, but the round-sided ones, fitted for sail,
would make good boats for using like the Swallow.
Walter J. Simmons: Lapstrake Boatbuilding
International Marine, 1978
Lapstrake Boatbuilding, Volume 2
International Marine, 1980
Simmons tells you just about everything you need to know about building
traditional lapstrake boats, New England style. He builds most of his
boats on a plank keel, but other than that everything could apply to
building an American Swallow. You could even bolt an
external keel to the plank one if you felt like it.
The Arthur Ransome Society
Among many other things, has photos of Mavis (AKA Amazon) in its pages.
Abbot Hall Museum
Kendal
Cumbria LA9 5AL England
Classic Boat Magazine
UK:
120-126 Lavender Ave.
Mitchum Surrey CR 43 HP England
US:
P.O. Box 3000
Denville, New Jersey 07834
Phone: 800-875-2997
Arch Davis
Study plans for the Penobscot 14 $8.00;
complete plans $75.00; video $30.00.
P.O. Box 119
Morrill, Maine 04952 USA
George B. Kelly
Sells plans for Pete Culler's designs. A price list is $1.
20 Lookout Lane
Hyannis, Massachusetts 02601
Phone: 508-775-2679
John Leather
Many plans of English and other sailing
and rowing dinghies and other craft.
c/o Classic Boat magazine
Mystic Seaport Museum
Has 60,000 drawings on file from small craft to ships.
Drawings for about 100 traditional small craft
are offered for sale, at $10.00 per sheet, in
the Watercraft Plans Collection catalog (free). John
Gardner was small craft curator at Mystic for many years, and was
responsible for many of the plans.
Mystic Seaport Museum
Ships' Plans Division
P.O. Box 6000
Mystic, Connecticut 06355
Phone: 203-572-0711
Iain Oughtred
Complete design catalog, including the
Grebe and other fine sailing and rowing
boats, $10.00 US.
Iain Oughtred,
Struan Cottage, Bearnisdale, Isle of Skye, UK, IV51 9NS
Phone: +44 (0)1470 532 732
The Smithsonian Institution
All of the designs in Howard I. Chapelle's books are available from the
Smithsonian, full size and at a very reasonable price, plus many more
interesting plans. Their catalog costs $10. Here are the plan numbers of
some boats from American Small Sailing Craft that may be
of interest to Swallow fans. Include $5 shipping
for up to 12 sheets.
Sailing Peapod (pg. 219) ASSC-83 Lines, offsets, sail plan,
scantlings, 1" scale, $3 (1 sheet)
Old Sailing Peapod (pg. 220) ASSC-84 Lines, offsets, spar
dimensions, 1" scale, $3 (1 sheet)
Providence River Boat (pg. 243) ASSC-93 Lines, offsets,
details, sail & spar plan, 1 1/2" scale, $3 (1 sheet)
Ship Plans
Division of Transportation
NMAH - 5010/MRC 628
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, D.C. 20560
Andrew Wolstenholm
Plans for the Mallard and many other
traditional and modern clinker dinghy designs.
The Flint Barn
Westbourne Road
Coltishall, Nr. Norwich, Norfolk
NR12 7HT England 01603-737024
WoodenBoat
Free catalog; they have back issues of
WoodenBoat magazine, and a number of
fine boat building books; and a school.
P. O. Box 78 Naskeag Road
Brooklin, Maine 04616
Phone: 1-800-273-SHIP
Or go to the
Glossary
Be sure to visit The Nautical Pages:
John Kohnen's Nautical Stuff