Preview: A Good Boat Up Close, The Melonseed Skiff
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September 24, 2021
Email this Video to a FriendDescended from the rowing and sailing workboats on the Jersey shore in the 19th Century, the Melonseed Skiff has a long and proud history. They are speedy, handy, and remarkably stable in breezy, lumpy conditions. A perfect boat for spring, summer and fall conditions out on the bay.
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12 Responses So Far to “A Good Boat Up Close, The Melonseed Skiff”
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charles parker says:
Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington NC had a wooden boat show last month… I went to it. They have a fabulous boatbuilding program… Simultaneously they were building a Seaford Skiff and a Melonseed.. Someone asked if the “skiff” was a good sailer… I mumbled YUP. The guy looked at me and I said—sailed em as a kid…. and smiled…..
Nathan Bayreuther says:
Interesting conversation at the beginning about airline pilots and sailing. I’m the President of the Mariner Class Association (usmariner.org), and in the Association’s 55-year history, there have been 51 National Championships. A whopping fourteen (!) of them were won by a gentleman who first flew helicopters in Vietnam and then flew for American Airlines as a Senior Captain. (He also had eight second-place finishes.) His record is unlikely to be matched any time in the near future, and he largely attributed his success to his knowledge of wind currents based on being a pilot.
Robert J England says:
Here’s an interesting video of a simultaneous build of two melonseed skiffs by EyeInHand. I met the owner, Barry, at the Mid Atlantic Small Craft Festival in Maryland a few years ago. These are lovely boats. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKbVySkMfMo
stephen santoro says:
Awesome
John Haswell says:
Wonderful video. Thanks Guys
Andy Bullock says:
I like her, but what is she like in a strong wind? She has a large sail plan combined with a relatively narrow hull with slack bilges. Is there any built-in bouyancy? I sail in Tasmania, where the winds can be gusty and sometimes savage.
Steve Brookman says:
You can always reduce sail when needed and it has 2 sets of reef points. I’ve rarely used the deep 2nd reef and it was surprisingly docile in strong gusty conditions. Jibing in a strong breeze can be challenging.
Steve Brookman says:
I opted for buoyancy bags in the bow and stern instead of built-in, easier maintenance.
charles parker says:
like the seaford skiffs of the great south bay of long island;;;;;;no better boat to go messing around in……..
Walter Allan says:
Here is Alex Hadden’s melonseed he built for me from the line drawing by Howard Chapelle that Alex got from the Smithsonian. A great boat and a nice video, Eric and Steve.
http://scienceworksremote.com/melonseed/melonseed.html
Bruce Lyle says:
Very nice very nice.
Philip Myer says:
Pretty little boat.