Canoe stern - why?

[Edik]

Every time I see a sailboat with a canoe stern, I wonder what motivated the designer - other then esthetics - to choose this type of stern. I mean what is there to gain, I see only drawbacks. What am I missing?

 

[charisma94]

Great sea keeping qualities when sailing hard down wind in big following seas...

But yeah, also lots of drawbacks.

 

[mckenzie.keith]

At one time, canoe sterns were thought to be especially seaworthy. I had a Freya 39 (a Halvorsen design with canoe stern) and I also believe that there are only drawbacks when considered practically (as opposed to considering what pleases the eye). I don't really like the look of any double-ender nowadays, but I used to like them. My taste has changed.

 

[mckenzie.keith]

Great sea keeping qualities when sailing hard down wind in big following seas...

Do we still believe this, though, or is it legend/superstition?

 

[Autonomous]

As Ole the Norhoovian said about double ended boats.
Dey'll goo a looong vey. Und take a looong time a gettin' dere too.

 

[charisma94]

Do we still believe this, though, or is it legend/superstition?

Having sailed wide arsed boats hard down hill, and canoe stern boats hard down hill... the canoe stern was drier, easier to steer and less prone to being throne around. That's my own experience, yours could be different.

Still, the many drawbacks aren't worth a canoe stern IMO. Wouldn't buy one.

 

[GlennP]

What drawbacks?

 

[Zonker]

Tell me what part of the back of a canoe stern boat is IN the water, even in big seas. It isn't the pretty rounded bit above the waterline for the most part...

Fashion not function. "Parting the following seas" is pretty much a myth.

Having sailed wide arsed boats hard down hill, and canoe stern boats hard down hill... the canoe stern was drier, easier to steer and less prone to being throne around. That's my own experience, yours could be different.

That could be a function of beam more than anything or sail balance.

 

[charisma94]

What drawbacks?

Less volume down below.
Difficult swim ladder placement.
Difficult tender stowage.
Difficult getting on board in choppy conditions, when a wider stern provides a lee to waves.
Smaller aft cockpit.
Difficult access when stern-to docking.
Prone to hobby-horsing in sloppy conditions.
And there's more...

They're pretty though to my eye. Just wouldn't own one. Maybe a Perry Valiant or a Hans Christian though. Gorgeous boats.

 

[charisma94]

Tell me what part of the back of a canoe stern boat is IN the water, even in big seas. It isn't the pretty rounded bit above the waterline for the most part...

Fashion not function. "Parting the following seas" is pretty much a myth.

That could be a function of beam more than anything or sail balance.

The boat I was thinking about was a 1964 40ft narrow-ish Alan Payne design. She seemed to want to squat more at speed with plenty of stern IN the wake over a wider boat - less volume to lift her up? Dunno.

 

[Evan Fullerton]

My experience is limited (~12k miles offshore) but a Crealock 37 is a reassuring place to be in nasty conditions. Tracked straight, water rarely came into the cockpit, motion was slow but a lot of amplitude. Never a creak or a groan or a worry about anything breaking in 40+ knots of wind and 20ft sea state.

Farr 1104 is a handful in over 20kts of wind, lots of broaching but easily 2-3 knots faster at almost any wind speed.

 

[Matagi]

Less volume down below. -> function of overall design
Difficult swim ladder placement. -> dogs swim, sailors don't
Difficult tender stowage. -> tow or foredeck. Or davits if we're talking really big.
Difficult getting on board in choppy conditions, when a wider stern provides a lee to waves. -> that full backend might be the reason you find yourself in those conditions in the first place.
Smaller aft cockpit. -> that's a good thing, no?
Difficult access when stern-to docking. -> but easier to cast off in tight quarters.
Prone to hobby-horsing in sloppy conditions. -> that's rather the overall hull form
And there's more...

They're pretty though to my eye. Just wouldn't own one. Maybe a Perry Valiant or a Hans Christian though. Gorgeous boats.

See my corrections. Apply grain of salt
It's mostly beauty, if done right:

 

[Go Left]

Great sea keeping qualities when sailing hard slowly down wind in big following seas...

But yeah, also lots of drawbacks.

 

[Go Left]

Every time I see a sailboat with a canoe stern, I wonder what motivated the designer - other then esthetics - to choose this type of stern. I mean what is there to gain, I see only drawbacks. What am I missing?

The motivation is that he got his fees paid and another happy client - who gets his opinions from "Wooden Boat" - sails slowly, very slowly, off into the sunset.

 

[Hitchhiker]

And then of course there was……

 

[DELETED]

I know the northmen/Vikings used starboard mounted rudders/tillers(hense ‘steerboard’). But did they ever make Bow/stern interchangeable boats?

180’ the mainsail yard around the mast, swap the rudder over, thus the bow becomes the stern, sail off the beach from which you landed on the katabatic/changed wind?

 

[Livia]

Every time I see a sailboat with a canoe stern, I wonder what motivated the designer - other then esthetics - to choose this type of stern. I mean what is there to gain, I see only drawbacks. What am I missing?

Never been in a proper gale then.
But special at loading up the helm when heeled.
But easy for old time boat builders to plank up.
see last reason!!!

 

[slug zitski]

Popular Before inboard engines

They move thru the water easily with an oar

 

[Jethrow]

'Cause a 20' waterline length and a 30' LOA rates real well!

 

[knh555]

Some of those old IOR boats might not've quite had canoe sterns, but they were close. As a kid, I sailed on one of these Brit Chance-designed PTs. (pictured boat not ours) Stable downwind was not in the cards, but the huge J/spinnaker plus the hole-digging bow also had a bit to do with that. The tiny back-end didn't make it easy to move much crew back there though.