Tanja
A 16' 10" Utility
By William & John Atkin
A Big Little Utility Boat
Tanja is a very good example of how a small wooden boat should be built in expectation of a long and useful life. She is the kind of small boat that would have delighted the eye of my old friend, the late Charles G. Sammis of Huntington, L. I., a boat builder who had the honest knack of putting a boat together with consummate skill and loving care. Tanja is a very big little motor boat, and is a good example of a husky and well constructed hull; a hull in the manner of my old friend Charles G. She is not a fancy craft but has the air of business and an understanding of the sea in its rougher moods, and not too much fear of a lee shore, or a landing float without a rubber buffer fender.
Tanja is 16 feet 10 inches in over all length; 16 feet on the water line; 6 feet 4 inches in breadth; and draws 1 foot 8 inches of water. The freeboard at the bow is 2 feet 7 1/2 inches and at the stern 1 foot 11 inches. The depth amidships from floor boards is 2 feet 4 inches; this is indicative of the hull's capacity and size. She is of round bilge model and of very wholesome form and character.
The cockpit is open with a seat aft and a seat forward. The motor is protected by the housing shown. Doors in the forward end give access to the motor and room for starting if hand starting is desired. Clutch and throttle are on the after end of the housing. The fuel tank is located under the forward deck and has a capacity of approximately 18 gallons, sufficient for a trip of very close to 400 miles at a speed of 7 miles an hour. The rudder is one on the outside of the stern and is made from wood. A slot in the stern carries the tiller inside where it is rigged up to steering lines extending completely around the inside below the coamings. A side lever or steering wheel can be installed if desired but is not necessary.

There is reasonable flare and flam in the sections above the water line forward with modest tumble home in the aftermost sections. Below water the sections show firm bilges with good deadrise and a reverse turn into the rabbet beginning at station 4 and continuing aft to the stern. These sections do several things; this form gives strength and rigidity to the keel assembly, gives better depth beneath the motor thus permitting heavier floor timbers for the motor beds, saves a lot of useless timber in the shaft log and deadwood, and provides a better underwater form; better from both the standpoints of speed and seaworthiness. The bottom of the keel does not extend in a straight line to a point below the propeller. Breaking the line at station 9 and sweeping up gives a far better water flow into the propeller and also gives excellent protection to the tail shaft and propeller. If Tanja is grounded the rudder will clear the bottom by nearly half a foot; the propeller, too, will have adequate protection. One disadvantage of the metal shoe, which usually extends from the keel to the heel of the rudder, is that it is easily bent if it strikes bottom hard, damaging not only itself but the propeller and the rudder as well.

Tanja has flat buttock lines through the middle body, but is not of the wide and flat box stern model. Therefore she should not be over powered; too much power will pull the stern under and that will kill the speed. The plans show a most modest amount of power. The motor is a two cylinder two cycle slow speed Palmer, 4 to 5 horsepower at from 600 to 800 r.p.m. Weight is 280 pounds.

Plans for Tanja are $100

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