Jason, good to hear your boat recovered easily even without ballast. In the event you experience an accidental capsize, you'll want to keep that water from getting below the floor or remove it promptly. Although the extra weight would appear to add stability, the free surface effect of water sloshing from side to side could actually make the boat less stable ultimately. Thanks for the report.
You are correct that it does not need to be in the center, but the board on the SCAMP pivots into a trunk making it a centerboard. A daggerboard is adjusted vertically, as used in something like a Laser.
i did my first capsize tests this week. i didnt tie my centreboard like this one and it fell back in. i capsized it with the centreboard on the low side. i didnta have water ballast in but had my anchor and camping gear stored in the boat. it only took me about thirty seconds to right it again. my skegs are a bit longer then the prototype and easier to grab. what was cool is all the water drained under the cockpit floor. it only took about a minute or so to completely drain. when i did sail it again it sailed a lot better with all the extra water on board. i love my boat. its fun. my brother in law did video tape me on his phone he may post it sometime. i have a cheap bamboo mast as well but it stayed in good. didnt seem to float as good as this sail though.
Perhaps the most accurate description is "off-centerboard." It isn't a daggerboard, which is raised and lowered vertically and doesn't kickup on grounding, and it's not a leeboard, which is located outside the hull or all the way on the lee side. Scamp's off-center board is located in a trunk in the seat. As a result, the cockpit is completely open. Instead of banging knees on or having to work around the centerboard trunk you have an 8'3" cockpit and room to sleep on the sole.
I've recently become interested in boat building as a hobby and I find the very very interesting. I never imagined this was a standard test. I guess it makes sense, you want to test safety features. That boat seems hard to capsize and easy to straighten up. Thanks for posting this. I wonder if you'll add steps to make it easy to board after this test and I see that the video is about 10 years old I wonder if that scamp still exist and how it's doing?
And now that I’ve read previous comments, I realise my observations were redundant and/or inaccurate, in parts. I didn’t realise the drop-keel swung down, so not a dagger. I didn’t put the “s” on the leeboard. That was (un)predictable spellchecker! I still like the cheeky little boat with it’s pronounced buttock lines...
1. Wear a helmet. There are a lot of hard things to hit your head on when you fall out of/into a boat. Ask Natalie Wood. 2. Although the obvious re-boarding point is abeam at the lowest freeboard and least motion, in practice this might not always work so well if breaking waves are filling the cockpit when your weight pulls it over. I'd equip the stern with a step or two maybe cut into the rudder cheeks. 3. Were the ballast tanks filled? 4. Hand rails on the coaming might be handy, eh?
Not really I much a leeboards so much as an offset dagger board. The asymmetry, aesthetically bothers me, but clearly not the scamp. A pair of leeboards would look nicer, I feel, but destroy the simplicity, and no doubt be far less efficient. I don’t doubt she may sail better on one tack than the other.
Looks like Howard really had to try to get her to go over. And very little effort to right her. Very reassuring. What a great boat!
Thanks
Jason, good to hear your boat recovered easily even without ballast. In the event you experience an accidental capsize, you'll want to keep that water from getting below the floor or remove it promptly. Although the extra weight would appear to add stability, the free surface effect of water sloshing from side to side could actually make the boat less stable ultimately. Thanks for the report.
What an excellent design. Hats off to John Welsford. I want one. ❤️
You are correct that it does not need to be in the center, but the board on the SCAMP pivots into a trunk making it a centerboard. A daggerboard is adjusted vertically, as used in something like a Laser.
i did my first capsize tests this week. i didnt tie my centreboard like this one and it fell back in. i capsized it with the centreboard on the low side. i didnta have water ballast in but had my anchor and camping gear stored in the boat. it only took me about thirty seconds to right it again. my skegs are a bit longer then the prototype and easier to grab. what was cool is all the water drained under the cockpit floor. it only took about a minute or so to completely drain. when i did sail it again it sailed a lot better with all the extra water on board. i love my boat. its fun. my brother in law did video tape me on his phone he may post it sometime. i have a cheap bamboo mast as well but it stayed in good. didnt seem to float as good as this sail though.
Perhaps the most accurate description is "off-centerboard." It isn't a daggerboard, which is raised and lowered vertically and doesn't kickup on grounding, and it's not a leeboard, which is located outside the hull or all the way on the lee side. Scamp's off-center board is located in a trunk in the seat. As a result, the cockpit is completely open. Instead of banging knees on or having to work around the centerboard trunk you have an 8'3" cockpit and room to sleep on the sole.
Wow!...
Your Scamp is a wonderful little boat indeed!
Congrats!
Took a fair bit of effort to get that little boat over, pretty impressive stability
Hard to capsize and easy to right -- that's a great design.
I've recently become interested in boat building as a hobby and I find the very very interesting. I never imagined this was a standard test. I guess it makes sense, you want to test safety features. That boat seems hard to capsize and easy to straighten up. Thanks for posting this. I wonder if you'll add steps to make it easy to board after this test and I see that the video is about 10 years old I wonder if that scamp still exist and how it's doing?
Agree!. very reassuring boat. Maybe my next project ;-)
That boat is assum. The recovery and the ease which the man climb back in...not many boats would have done better!!!
beautiful boat
Impressive recovery.
What an interesting design....the off-centre centreboard. I would love to know if it causes the boat to favor one side of the wind.
I believe that's mostly cancelled out by the asymmetry of standing lug rig.
And now that I’ve read previous comments, I realise my observations were redundant and/or inaccurate, in parts. I didn’t realise the drop-keel swung down, so not a dagger. I didn’t put the “s” on the leeboard. That was (un)predictable spellchecker! I still like the cheeky little boat with it’s pronounced buttock lines...
The guy obviously knows what he's doing don't know how a novice like me would fare good video 👍
Awesome.
Does anyone know of it is ballasted in this test?
Looks like the hardest part about capsizing is getting back in lol
Could also be an off-center daggerboard - OCD... thats ironic
If you put her over on starboard side with off center board closer to or in the water, how much more difficult might it be to right her, I wonder.
No more difficult, I imagine, and possibly easier to reach!
Virtually as easy if not easier.
What was the wind speed? I see you were reefed, but I don't see any white caps.
Pretty difficult to capsize, I thought they are much more tender than that
How many Knots of wind?
1. Wear a helmet. There are a lot of hard things to hit your head on when you fall out of/into a boat. Ask Natalie Wood.
2. Although the obvious re-boarding point is abeam at the lowest freeboard and least motion, in practice this might not always work so well if breaking waves are filling the cockpit when your weight pulls it over. I'd equip the stern with a step or two maybe cut into the rudder cheeks.
3. Were the ballast tanks filled?
4. Hand rails on the coaming might be handy, eh?
See my reply to ExpatMoe above
Wow she is very forgiving , you struggled to capsize her.
Yes..yes..
shouldn't it have a bigger ballasted keel fin?
That would make it much harder to put this small boat on a trailer. Instead it has a ballast compartment that you fill with water.
Not really I much a leeboards so much as an offset dagger board. The asymmetry, aesthetically bothers me, but clearly not the scamp. A pair of leeboards would look nicer, I feel, but destroy the simplicity, and no doubt be far less efficient. I don’t doubt she may sail better on one tack than the other.
Seen this small sail biat oiwrr causing icw buy swing yaght
very good! ＾O＾/
if its on the side its a leeboard
Its not a centerboard, its a daggerboard and they do not need to be in the centre.
It is a centerboard not a daggerboard.
Barco estranho, sem proa de bico! Na virada o mastro fica no meio da vela, que coisa?
lol
Not really SO much... sorry.