Takapart
A 10' 6" Folding Punt
By William Atkin
A Folding Punt
Any man who has a small cruiser finds the deck room all too limited for stowing a dink unless the latter is of diminutive size and in all likelihood far too small to carry the crew ashore in case of disaster; and it as for the owners of small cruising boats that Takapart was been designed. Some of you may gasp at the form of the boat, a punt! Well, it can be said after having been in several craft of this model that the punt is not in any way an undesirable type; if it is lightly built, and of fair model it rows easily, is very buoyant, will carry a heavy load, and is the finest kind of craft to step ashore from. Of course there are punts, and punts, some good, some bad; however, if you build the little boat shown here precisely as the plans show the craft will be satisfactory for the purpose in view.

Now it will be seen that Takapart will be three boats in one, or even four. The bow and middle sections bolted together will supply a 7 foot 4 1/2 inch square sterned scow; but she will not carry a heavy load on account of the drop down in the bulkhead. This can be helped by making a separate piece the thickness of the bulkhead which will form a false stern. The middle section might be used alone. But the best combination would be the two ends which when connected will make a tiny punt 6 feet 6 inches long with a beam of 3 feet 2 1/4 inches. If there is a small boy in the family the last named craft will be his joy. Where else is there a boat like this?

In folding the boat do not expect it to fit together like a set of children's hollow blocks for it will not. The ends will nest together fairly well and they in turn will stow in the middle section making a unit 4 feet long, 3 feet 4 inches wide and about 1 foot 6 inches high.

It will be noticed that the three sections are all of different lengths. The purpose of this is to permit the ends to stow within each other and then for both to fit inside the middle section. Therefore the stern section is 3 feet 1 1/2 inches long, the bow section 3 feet 4 1/2 inches long, while the middle section is 4 feet long; the thwarts being of course removable.

There are half dozen different methods by which the parts might be fastened together. Bolts with wing nuts through the bulkheads would serve this purpose, but in grounding, or in rough water, a lot of strain would come on the bulkheads, and before long these would probably split or come away from the side planking or bottom. Short brass straps could be used, one being on the outside in the middle line of the boat, the other two on the top sides just below the sheer moulding. Or a wooden cleat made of 3/8 by 3 inch white oak as indicated on the plans can be used. One advantage of the wood is that it will serve as a rubbing strip and will be easy to make as well. These cleats should be about 2 feet long and there should be two bolts with wing nuts through each at the ends; one being near the bulkhead with the other an inch or two from the end. The bolts should have a square shank to prevent turning and inside there must be a washer under the nut. Make the bolt holes a snug fit and when the nuts are screwed down snug water cannot leak by. On each rail use a strip of flat brass for the connector; this being 1/8 inch thick by 1 inch wide and 2 feet long. The brass connectors will be fastened to the rail with 1/4 inch diameter brass bolts with washers and wing nuts, same as the bottom cleats. Make the spacing between the holes on all the connectors and the bottom cleats exactly alike so that they are interchangeable, for it will be a perfect bother to be messing around, perhaps in the dark, trying to learn which fits which.

Large scale plans for Takapart are $100
Takapart may also be built from The Small Boat Book
We apologize for the inconvinience, but we are no longer accepting orders at this time. The ordering process is in transition.
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