The Melonseed is a well-known 16’ dinghy originally designed and built in the 1890s. I bought the plans drawn by Marc Bartow and spent several months (I’m retired) learning how to draw using Rhino3D. I drew and faired the boat on the computer using Marc’s plan then pulled all the parts off the drawings and cut them on a CNC. Though the lines seemed just right I wanted more of an hourglass transom and Rhino has a tool that allows you to push and pull shapes so I squeezed the transom to get the shape I wanted. The mast and spars are hollow making it easy to step the mast. I strip planked the hull with big-box 2X4 lumber ripped to 3/8″x 1″ leaving a 1/16″ gap between each and filling the gap with thickened epoxy. I used a larger sail plan from a Melonseed designed by John Bradly. The decks are quarter-sawn Douglas Fir and trimmed with Sapele. The fiddle headstock on the stem was hanging around the shop for a few years and just seemed the right spot for it. A joy to sail but it’s a wet and exhilarating ride if it’s blowing over 15 to 20
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John – Beautiful work. I’m just down the road from you in Chevy Chase. I’d love to know where you sourced your lumber and where to access a CNC locally. takraus@gmail.com
She’s a beaut! Good choice opting for the Brady rig, I’ve used it for 7 years on Rivus, my 16′ Barto seed. If you want I could add Plug to the melonseed fleet at http://traditionalsmallcraft.com/Melonseed.html.
Steve! Thanks so much! Rivas has been my desk top photo for the past year. What an inspiration that photo and the others on traditional small craft’s site have been. I owe everyone who portrayed their boats there my gratitude. Plug is my second build and being able to see how others approached the process helped me a lot. I took the Brady sail idea from you Steve. Plug has only been in the water 5 times before winter hit. What a joy. Yes, please include me in the fleet and I can share more of my build. I hope to sail with you and Rivas some day
John
I’ll get Plug added. Glad Rivus was an inspiration, you took the construction to another level or levels. Do you have a link to your build? Not going to be able to use this boat show page.
Come join us for the Small Reach Regatta, pandemic pending. We typically have 3-4 seeds, that, of course, never race each other! http://downeasttsca.org/SRR.html
Great to see your Melonseed. Soooo vet interesting to see what you did with what looks like a bass violin head as the stem. Especially because I’ve said many times, about my much beloved Melonseed Skiff, in trying to describe what she’s like to sail. I’ve said, “she’s like sailing a floating violin”! So looks like you, my kindred spirit will truly understand!
My 13.5 ft Melonseed, was not only drawn by Marc Barto, but actually built by her, and he reportedly did so, for her first owner, in just three months! The paperwork I was given, indicates he built her at O’Connell’s Wooden Boat Shop, in Chestertown Maryland , and delivered her to her first owner in early Spring of 1995.
She was built of glued lap mahogany with steam bent oak frames. there appear to be no fastenings, but he also glassed her bottom from the waterline down.He also built a very light but solid epoxy and ply solid cover for her cockpit, which also secures all her spars, when trailering, and added a canvas cover over that. So she still looks nearly new, and doesn’t leak a drop!
She’s also in the show here so you should check her out, if you haven’t already. To spot her more quickly search 15ft or less (When they asked us for overall length, I said 15 only because of her barn door rudder Her name is now, “La Vida e Bella”, and I live and sail her out of Port Townsend, WA.
Be sure to click also on the “Lister’s Profile” because there was some confusion in how I posted her here initially, and you’ll find out more about me there, other boats I’ve owned and cruised, and details about how I raised her mast height and added sail area, to greatly improve her sailing characteristics beyond what Barto initially designed for her.
I’d be wonderful to hear back from you more about your experiences sailing or cruising your larger version. And also whether you’ve cruised her at all. I’m definitely hoping to trailer cruise Bella at least in Southern Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands this Summer, and if we can reign in Covid, enough that our border opens again, I’d really like to ferry her north to Vancouver Island and cruise the Gulf Islands for a couple of weeks.
I’m also hoping to try to encourage perhaps a small fleet, here in Port Townsend over the years ahead. I sold my previous Crawford Melonseed to a neighbor, and I have another friend up in BC who would join us. There’s one other wooden one built to Barto’s lines nearby.Another friend has an older east coast relic Melonseed that predates Barto which he’s intending to restore, and one more friend, who has sailed mine and is very pumped up now to have one built by a professional in Virginia, to closely match mine and my rig, but strip planked. He wants to race me!!!! Don’t know if you’ve ever thought about showing your’s ,here at our Port Townsend Woodenboat Festival, but again, if we can beat Covid, you’d sure be welcome. Our festival is reported now to be the third largest in the world and is amazing fun for all involved. Also a chance that if my latter friend does get that boat built in Virginia, ( And I think he’s quite serious now about doing so.) he and I may decide to drive east together, with my “Bella” in tow, so we can take in some Rendezvous and festivals out east, before we head back home to PT.
I’ve only once briefly sailed on the east coast. But I was very fortunate then to have scored a spot as crew aboard a Chesapeake Log Canoe out of St. Michaels. It was great fun, though a bit spooky out on the end of those hiking boards!
Hope my comments here cheer you on abit and that I might hear back from you about your history and adventures as well!
John – Beautiful work. I’m just down the road from you in Chevy Chase. I’d love to know where you sourced your lumber and where to access a CNC locally. takraus@gmail.com
Beautiful job of construction ,as well as the boat it self!Love it. Congratulations.
She’s a beaut! Good choice opting for the Brady rig, I’ve used it for 7 years on Rivus, my 16′ Barto seed. If you want I could add Plug to the melonseed fleet at http://traditionalsmallcraft.com/Melonseed.html.
Steve! Thanks so much! Rivas has been my desk top photo for the past year. What an inspiration that photo and the others on traditional small craft’s site have been. I owe everyone who portrayed their boats there my gratitude. Plug is my second build and being able to see how others approached the process helped me a lot. I took the Brady sail idea from you Steve. Plug has only been in the water 5 times before winter hit. What a joy. Yes, please include me in the fleet and I can share more of my build. I hope to sail with you and Rivas some day
John
I’ll get Plug added. Glad Rivus was an inspiration, you took the construction to another level or levels. Do you have a link to your build? Not going to be able to use this boat show page.
Come join us for the Small Reach Regatta, pandemic pending. We typically have 3-4 seeds, that, of course, never race each other! http://downeasttsca.org/SRR.html
Great to see your Melonseed. Soooo vet interesting to see what you did with what looks like a bass violin head as the stem. Especially because I’ve said many times, about my much beloved Melonseed Skiff, in trying to describe what she’s like to sail. I’ve said, “she’s like sailing a floating violin”! So looks like you, my kindred spirit will truly understand!
My 13.5 ft Melonseed, was not only drawn by Marc Barto, but actually built by her, and he reportedly did so, for her first owner, in just three months! The paperwork I was given, indicates he built her at O’Connell’s Wooden Boat Shop, in Chestertown Maryland , and delivered her to her first owner in early Spring of 1995.
She was built of glued lap mahogany with steam bent oak frames. there appear to be no fastenings, but he also glassed her bottom from the waterline down.He also built a very light but solid epoxy and ply solid cover for her cockpit, which also secures all her spars, when trailering, and added a canvas cover over that. So she still looks nearly new, and doesn’t leak a drop!
She’s also in the show here so you should check her out, if you haven’t already. To spot her more quickly search 15ft or less (When they asked us for overall length, I said 15 only because of her barn door rudder Her name is now, “La Vida e Bella”, and I live and sail her out of Port Townsend, WA.
Be sure to click also on the “Lister’s Profile” because there was some confusion in how I posted her here initially, and you’ll find out more about me there, other boats I’ve owned and cruised, and details about how I raised her mast height and added sail area, to greatly improve her sailing characteristics beyond what Barto initially designed for her.
I’d be wonderful to hear back from you more about your experiences sailing or cruising your larger version. And also whether you’ve cruised her at all. I’m definitely hoping to trailer cruise Bella at least in Southern Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands this Summer, and if we can reign in Covid, enough that our border opens again, I’d really like to ferry her north to Vancouver Island and cruise the Gulf Islands for a couple of weeks.
I’m also hoping to try to encourage perhaps a small fleet, here in Port Townsend over the years ahead. I sold my previous Crawford Melonseed to a neighbor, and I have another friend up in BC who would join us. There’s one other wooden one built to Barto’s lines nearby.Another friend has an older east coast relic Melonseed that predates Barto which he’s intending to restore, and one more friend, who has sailed mine and is very pumped up now to have one built by a professional in Virginia, to closely match mine and my rig, but strip planked. He wants to race me!!!! Don’t know if you’ve ever thought about showing your’s ,here at our Port Townsend Woodenboat Festival, but again, if we can beat Covid, you’d sure be welcome. Our festival is reported now to be the third largest in the world and is amazing fun for all involved. Also a chance that if my latter friend does get that boat built in Virginia, ( And I think he’s quite serious now about doing so.) he and I may decide to drive east together, with my “Bella” in tow, so we can take in some Rendezvous and festivals out east, before we head back home to PT.
I’ve only once briefly sailed on the east coast. But I was very fortunate then to have scored a spot as crew aboard a Chesapeake Log Canoe out of St. Michaels. It was great fun, though a bit spooky out on the end of those hiking boards!
Hope my comments here cheer you on abit and that I might hear back from you about your history and adventures as well!
Kirk Gresham