Boatbuilder Magazine - The Journal of Boat Design and Construction

In this 1978 photo, George Beuhler's father, Roy, rows one of his son's Bainbridge Mudhens, a good tender for one person. George says its one of the best rowing boats he's ever tried.

I lived on my last sailboat four years and built this little dory as my tender. The Hen is a 9-foot cross between a banks dory and a MacKenzie river boat. It's a good tender, although there isn't enough buoyancy in the ends to make it safe in choppy water with more than one person in it. But there is enough buoyancy for a 180-pound man to sit in the stern while painting the hull of a large boat, and it's safer to stand up in than a Gloucester Gull. It will float three adults in calm water, although it looks sort of funny going along with 3 or less inches of freeboard. For some reason it rows easier than any skiff its size I've ever tried.

Construction is quite simple, with plywood bent around a jig. There are no frames or stringers. Instead, little finish nails tack the sides to the bottom, then a heavy coat of fiberglass or epoxy resin and cloth is put on the seams. This chemical holds it together quite well.

The original Hen saw six years of heavy use before meeting its destiny on the rocks.

A couple of final points: It tows very well and never swamped or flipped on me. Its springy sheer lets it sit across a deck without sliding around, and its distinctive appearance makes it unlikely to be stolen.

Materials

Sides: 1 sheet, 1/4-inch by 10-foot marine or MDO plywood
Bottom: 1 sheet, 1/4-inch by 8-foot marine or MDO plywood
Transom: 3/4-inch plywood
Stem: 2x2
Inside sheer stiffener: 3/8-inch x 1/2-inch fir or something
Seats: 1x10
Seat supports: 1x2, with 1/4-inch bolts through sides
Keel skeg: 1x4, fastened with 1/4-inch bolts

Jig Material

A 10-foot 2-inch for the "strongback," several long 2x4s, some 1x4s, and some 1/4-inch plywood for gussets.

Although all the dimensions are given, the Hen is still a boat, so that means you should loft it. That's easy. Just draw the dimensions out on the floor full size.

Making the Jig

Saw the 2x6 to fit the curve of the bottom. Subtract from the front end the thickness of the 2x2 stem, and at the back the thickness of the 2x2 stem, and at the back the thickness of the 3/4-inch transom plus the thickness of an edge-mounted 2x4 (usually 3-1/2 inches).

Notch the 2x6 at each station to take the 1x4 forms. The station line on all boats always marks the widest part of the station, so forward of the middle notch forward ofthe line and aft of the middle notch aft of the line.

Now, make the forms out of the 1x4s by assembling them over the lofting. Make gussets out of 1/4-inch plywood to hold the side and bottom pieces together. Mark each one where the sheer is.

Nail a 1x4 across the molds on the high side of the sheer marks, and allow it to stick out several inches on each side. This makes it easier to position the side panels. Lay the 2x6 backbone piece on the lofting. You'll notice the drawings show all lines continuing to a baseline which will be the shop floor (you're building the boat upside down). Nail edgeways a 2x4 to the back of it, and screw the 2x2 stem to the front. After the boat is built, you want to be able to unscrew the stem from the strongback. Stand the strongback up, set the forms in place over it and screw them into the strongback. Nail a 2x4 on the floor at each mold and screw each mold to it to keep things from moving around. This stuff is simplest if you've lofted on a wood floor and can set the jig up right over the lofting. If you've lofted somewhere else, you'll have to do extra measuring at the building site.

In this case, it would be easiest to loft on some taped-together butcher paper that you could unroll at the building site and assemble the jig over. Once this jig is completed and standing up, it looks like a large bug, and is rather neat.

Saw the transom out of a piece of 3/4-inch plywood. The plans show how wide it is at the sheer and bottom, and the lofting shows how long it is. Make it several inches longer so you can saw a curve in the top with a sculling notch. Screw the transom to the jig.

Now make a pattern for the sides. Since both sides are supposed to be the same, you only need to make a pattern on one side. To do this, wrap a 1x2 batten around the side of the jig, about in the middle. Nail a strip of 1/4-inch plywood 3 inches wide to it at each mold and on each end parallel to the end. Mark where the sheer and bottom are on each of these battens.

Lay your pattern on a 10-foot sheet of 1/4-inch plywood and position it so you'll be able to get both sides out of the sheet. Transfer the sheer and bottom marks from the pattern to the plywood. Remove the pattern, drive an 8 penny nail at each point, wrap a batten around the nails, and draw a line. After you saw out the side, lay it on the other piece of plywood, trace around it, and saw it out. You now have both sides.

Using plastic resin glue and 3/4-inch ring nails, fasten the side panels to the transom and bow stem. Lightly tack the panels to the forms with finish nails, really close to the sheer and bottom. Leave a bit of nail sticking out so you can pull it later.

Lay an 8-foot sheet of plywood on the bottom and tack it to the molds. Run your pencil around the outside, remove the panel, and saw out the bottom. Put it back in place, nail it to the bottom of the stem and transom with 3/4-inch ring nails, and use very thin 3/4-inch finish nails to fasten it to the plywood sides. This is tricky since you need to drive the nail exactly on the right angle. If you come through the side, pull the nail and try again. Put these nails as far apart as you can get away with to hold the bottom tight to the sides. Seems to me I put one every 2 inches or so.

Fiberglass cloth and mat is what holds the dory together. Epoxy sticks better, but it costs more than polyester, so it's up to you. I used two layers of 8-inch mat and two layers of 8-inch cloth on the chine, then covered the whole outside with one layer of cloth. By the way, pull all nails and screws holding the boat to the form before you glass.

Once this mess has dried, pull the boat off the jig and flip it over. Put a layer of 8-inch cloth and mat on the inside chine. There's no need to glass the whole inside. If you don't sand the fiberglass, you won't get that awful dust on you.

Glue and clamp the sheer stiffener to the inside of the sheer. Nail it in with thin nails. It will split unless you drill first.

Bolt the 1x2 seat supports to the sides with 1/4-inch bolts and install the seats. Note the middle seat is just forward of the middle. This makes the boat float bow down with one person in it, making it row easier. Bolt on oarlocks about 12 inches aft of the middle seat. Saw a skeg out of a piece of 1x4 and bolt it through the bottom with three 1/4-inch bolts.

I use 6-foot oars. They're longer than necessary, but give lots of power. Install an eyebolt about 3 inches up from the bottom through the stem to tie a rope to. Put another one near the top of the transom. That's it.

Buehler is known for his collection of bad habits, friendliness to stray dogs, and the sterling qualities of his friends. He's a croquet ace and a fair trap and skeet shot. As Dean Martin used to say, George is "Just tryin' to have a little fun."