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My computer screen is a window through which I can see the world; I can see it in great detail by courtesy of Google Earth and I can focus upon any area of my choosing, and from there to a subject of my liking. More often than not, my preference is for a detailed look at a small sailing boat, and on that score I’m spoilt for choice, but now and again I come across a breathtaking beauty that leaves me speechless. One such diamond is the Melonseed Skiff built by Roger Crawford of Crawford Boat Building Shop in Marsfield, Massachusetts.
The pedigree of this 13’ 8” sprit-rigged sailing and rowing skiff goes back to the late 1800s when the original was built as a gunboat for duck shooting. Howard Chapelle immortalized the boat by including her lines in his book, ‘American Small Sailing Craft’. A variety of lines have been drawn since then, including a 16’ version. Some of these have been built using the sheathed strip-planking method, while others have been adapted to marine plywood, but the most well known of the currently built boats is the Crawford fibreglass version finished with top quality wooden trimmings.
I was particularly captivated with a Crawford Melonseed owned by Roger Rodibaugh. He uploaded a photo of her to the photos section of my second Smallsailboats Yahoo! Group and from the moment I saw his ‘Nancy Lee’, I fell in love with her sweet lines. She has very little freeboard, a voluptuous sheer, a slightly hollow bow and an attractive, almost heart-shaped transom. Besides her obvious aesthetic appeal she’s a very practical little craft; for example, her sprit-rig can be set up in a jiffy and it can be struck and stowed within the cockpit just as easily to allow her crew to take up the oars. She’s not too large to sit on the roof rack of a large car, although my preference would be to have her on a road trailer for launching and recovery. With a 4’ 3” beam, a sail area of 62 sqare feet and a displacement of 250 lbs she can perform well in a variety of conditions. Launching from a beach is easily done, because her rudder follows the line of her skeg and her normal draft of 2’ 6” can be regulated by the amount of lowered daggerboard; meanwhile her spritsail feathers into the wind - there’s no shaking jib and snarling sheets to contend with. The foredeck and side decks keep her reasonably dry, except in the roughest of conditions, which means a hardy solo cruiser-type could carry minimal camping gear, but mostly these boats are used for friendly racing and day sailing.
I currently own a Paradox cruising sailboat, but I would also like to have a Crawford Melonseed if I could find $8,900 for the boat, plus more dollars for extras, plus the shipping costs and the import duties to the UK. I only know of one UK owner who has a genuine Crawford Melonseed and I’m pleased to say he has kindly agreed to let me see his beautiful ‘Ratty’ which he sails at Woodbridge, in Suffolk. Roll on the spring of 2008 when I’ll have this pleasure. I might even have a chance to experience sailing her.
http://www.melonseed.com/ Melonseed – Crawford Boat Building
http://www.mindspring.com/~councill/sbjournal/melonseed/melon1.html Melonseed Skiff
http://www.patmedia.net/follansbees/melonhead/mystic_mseed.html Melonseed Skiff Historical Notes
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/melonseedskiffmelonheads/ Melonseed Yahoo! Group
http://www.melonseed.com/assets/applets/South_Shore_Living.pdf Melonseed - Living Legend.
http://www.brushcreekyachts.com/melonseed.htm Strip-planked Melonseed.
http://www.woodenboatstore.com/Prodinfo.asp?number=400-120&item=1 16' Melonseed Plans
http://www.windfallwoodworks.com/wooden-boats/melonseed_skiff.htm Melon Seed Skiff by Windfall Woodworks
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