PRIDGER'S ARK

THE PLANS
"Pridger's Ark"

By William R. Carr

Pridger's Ark, is so embarrassingly similar to the Sea Witch, in almost every respect, that I cannot claim it as my own design. I must give all due credit to Sea Witch designers, Huge Angleman and Charles Davies, reserving only to myself credit for such changes as I've made, and for any fall from excellence which I may have introduced. The plans may change as time goes on, of course, but here are the sail plan and lines drawings as presently done.

The Sail Plan

The only obvious deviation from the Sea Witch sail plan in this drawing is my use of a top mast section and a more substantial "cross-tree," rather than a full-length mainmast with yacht-style spreaders. This is to facilitate more traditional rigging of the shrouds, and the ability to house the top-mast. Another difference is that I have added a raised section of deck aft, or poop, which I call the "quarterdeck." This puts the cockpit slightly higher, with a six inch break in the main deck, in hopes it will result in a drier cockpit working to windward. It also provides more room for storage beneath. Additionally, it extends the stern a few inches aft and enlarges the transom some. My design is a few inches short of the original Sea Witch on the water line, but overall length is about the same due to the extension aft.

The Lines

The original Sea Witch had the long and straight keel, and sharper forefoot, of older type traditional craft. This was changed later on when it was found that the boat sometimes had difficulty coming about. I have put a standard type keel/rudder aperture in for the propeller. Sea Witch had an offset propeller shaft which didn't pass through the horn timbers and stern post. This, I believe, was to facilitate stepping the mizzen mast properly at the keel. I have opted for a centerline shaft, and constructing a mizzen mast step above the shaft.

RETURN TO BOAT PAGE