Bosuns Mate 23ft runabout by Bowdidge Marine Design

This just has to be a great way to move about on the water,the graffics are brilliant!kits will be available quite soon.

The thought behind the design:

BREAKING camp early, the morning fog lifts
as you slowly explore and work your way
through the endless estuaries, inlets and
headlands. The smell of the coffee and the warmth
of the mug within your hand, reminds you of the
simple pleasures of life. A life away from the endless
grind of work and suburbia.
Exploring your way around a small headland, you
notice a break within the giant boulders. An
opening finally appeared with clear waters, a sandy
beach, and grasslands behind. The excitement
begins to build as the kids begin jumping up and
down and pointing. We’ve finally found our next
campsite and even better, there’s no one around for
miles.

Design brief:

Approached by Warren Jacobsen of JACOBSEN
TIMBER BOATS, we were asked if we could design
a boat of similar nature, only lighter in construction,
to the one he was building at that time, a heavy
‘traditional plank on frame’ boat.
With rising fuel costs, could we design a workboat
to suit his professional client’s needs, ie: a
fisherman’s workboat, that would not only suit that
market, but would also appeal to the recreational
fisherman and coastal explorer market. Overall, our
main priority had to be a simple open plan design,
with the priority being the reduction in fuel
consumption without compromising the strength,
durability and safety.
On discussion the points noted were:
• It had to be an open boat;
• Length overall - around 23 ft (7m);
• Beam overall 6-7 ft (1.82 - 2.13m);
• A recreational boat for camping and fishing
expeditions;
• Workboat for Professional net fisherman/
crabbers and the like;
• A multitask design;
• Loads of storage compartments and seating;
• Lighter in construction;
• Easily built;
• Easy to handle getting on and off the trailer;
• Long range;
• Minimal Horsepower requirements;
• Less fuel consumption;
• The fraction of the cost of a similar size new
alloy power boat.
Overall, it had to be a simple design, pleasing to
the eye, but capable of many concepts and tasks.