19
Building your own Drake
Drake is built of 6mm Okoume over frames
(CNC-cut or laminated frames) and employs Red
or White Cedar and Douglas Fir for the backbone.
Gunwales are Pine or Spruce with a hardwood
capping. The strongback for Drake is CNC cut.
Planks are precut in the kit and precisely fit the
frames and molds set up. The lines are guaranteed to come out as sweet as can be. The interior in
Drake is clearly laid out in the 11x17” plans. Seats
are removeable and located at each frame. The
hull can be built with permanent flotation tanks
fore and aft, or rangs are installed with tie-offs for
air bags. It takes about a 175-250 hour project built
from a kit and at least 250 for a scratch build.
Drake for the Family
Drake is a great boat for family and kids. With my wife,
I have rowed tandem and been very satisfied with the
speed and seaworthiness. I have taken my kids out in
varied but safe conditions and always felt comfortable
as a young Dad with my kids aboard. Only recently
have I felt the need for a larger boat, because these little humans grow! A Drake 19 is in the offing for this
reason and to satisfy demand for folks who wish to
install a sliding seat or have a Drake with more capacity for coastal cruising.
Single or Tandem Drake
An important feature of Drake that is carefully thought out
regards the thwart arrangement. In order for a rowboat
to trim properly when converting from single to tandem
rowing and back, the thwarts must be removeable so that
the rower’s center of gravity is always properly located relative to the center of flotation. The aft and middle thwarts
are removeable and three sets of oarlocks are installed. In
the photo above you can get a good feel for the interior arrangement.