Wakeful
A 20' V-Bottom Runabout
By William Atkin
An Able 20 Foot Runabout
Wakeful is a useful boat of simple construction for amateur and professional building. Not expensive, and not excessively powered. She was designed for ability to go in rough water rather than for very high speed. At speeds between 18 and 20 miles an hour the little boat will travel along without pounding and in comfort. The sharp deadrise carried well aft will let the hull rise and fall with the sea, thus easing the motion, and removing the cause of pounding which is flat sections. At low speeds flat sections are all right; over ten miles an hour it is better practice to avoid these when preparing a motor boat design.
The arrangement shows the motor installed under a suitable housing amidships. The middle seat makes a comfortable station for the steersman. Tiller lines should run all around the boat under the coamings. A steering lever both sides will prove useful. The forward and after seats give Wakeful a capacity of five; this is enough of a live load for a 20 foot runabout. It is dangerous and fool-hardy to overload any boat. If the forward end of the coaming is rounded as shown, a canvas spray hood can be fitted to keep off spray and driving rain.

Wakeful is exactly 20 feet long, over all; 19 feet, 6 inches on the water line; 5 feet, 11 inches in breadth; and 1 foot, 5 inches draft. The free board at the bow is 2 feet, 4 1/2 inches, and at the stern 1 foot, 9 inches. The sheer shows a fair curve with a pleasing lift at each end. The bottom sections are straight and the topside sections straight forward of station 6; abaft of 6 there is a slight round in the sections. This round helps the appearance a lot, especially at the stern, and does not make the work of building over difficult. There is ample flare in the topsides to assure dryness. The keel and deadwood are cut away as much as possible to reduce wetted surface and weight; the bottom of the keel is well rounded and that the deadwood tapers aft to ease the water flow into the propeller. This is an excellent form for a keel and really presents very little more resistance than a single legged strut and exposed shaft. This also is cheaper construction and much stronger than hanging the shaft and propeller on a strut. Also without a strut the boat can be handled more easily out of water.

The motor shown in the drawings is a four cylinder of about 40 h.p. Any good marine motor of similar cylinder capacity, 143 cubic inches; and approximately equal weight, 520 pounds, will be satisfactory for installation in Wakeful. At 2,000 r.p.m. the speed of the little boat will be 20 miles an hour.

Plans for Wakeful are $100

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