Angus Expedition Rowboat
- Skill Level Intermediate
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Performance
Stability
Speed
Cockpit Room
Payload
Ease of Construction
Overview
Chesapeake Light Craft has partnered with Angus Rowboats to manufacture and ship kits for their designs from our shop in Annapolis, Maryland. Builders will purchase the plans directly from Angus Rowboats, while kits for these designs are ordered through CLC.
Angus Expedition Rowboat
The Angus Expedition Rowboat has a higher parts-count than the Angus Oxford Wherry, but it's a straightforward build. The assembly guides are created with the novice in mind. A computer-cut kit from CLC will save time, improve accuracy, and remove the challenge of sourcing marine-grade materials.
Outstanding Performance
Although payload and performance in waves were essential to the design brief, these attributes were incorporated into the Angus Expedition Rowboat without sacrificing speed. Contributing to speed is a long waterline, plumb bow and stern (increasing waterline length), minimal wetted surface (no keel, rudder or skeg), excellent tracking, light weight, modest rocker, and minimal windage.
The hull is flat-bottomed, providing substantial initial and secondary stability. The defined angle between the keel panel and the first chine provides excellent lateral resistance and tracking, eliminating the need for a skeg or other tracking aids.
While tracking is excellent, the boat can be turned quickly and deliberately. Those used to sea kayaks, canoes, and racing shells will be pleasantly surprised by the Expedition Rowboat's nimble handling.
Fast, Seaworthy and Expedition Ready
The Angus Expedition Rowboat is seaworthy, fast and can carry a month’s provisions. Under-deck storage is accessed through extra-large waterproof hatches, and the roomy cockpit is adequate for rowers of all sizes.
The Expedition Rowboat was commissioned for an extraordinary voyage, recounted in the book Rowed Trip - From Scotland to Syria by Oar. Over this long and arduous track, the boats handled well in conditions ranging from stormy coastlines to placid canals.
Open Water Performance
Five watertight chambers are a huge safety benefit. Thanks to the Angus Expedition Rower's breadth and stability characteristics, the boat is very difficult to capsize, and can be righted quickly if it does. All water drains from the cockpit as it rights, no bailing required! The cockpit is easily re-entered from the side, and the rower can be underway again in minutes.
The greatest challenge in designing an open water rowing shell is in shaping it so that cockpit isn't swamped in genuinely rough conditions, such as gale force winds off the treacherous northwest coast of Vancouver Island. To protect the cockpit, designer Colin Angus raised the freeboard and incorporated flotation chambers in tanks on either side of the cockpit. These boats have been rowed thousands of kilometers in adverse conditions.
Faster than an Olympian-Propelled Rowing Shell?
In February 2008, a British Olympic Gold Medalist rower tried breaking the rowing speed record for crossing the English Channel. He used a high-performance, custom-designed rowing scull and took just over six hours. Two months later, Julie and Colin crossed the English Channel in two Expedition Rowboats, each laden with a bicycle, trailer, and other gear. The two boats reached the shores of France, covering 43 kilometers, with a time of 4 hours 56 minutes.
How could Colin and Julie, in expedition-class rowing craft, beat a gold medalist in a shell? Here’s Julie’s response: "The weather was rough, but the stability of the boats allowed us to put our full energy into propulsion, instead of balancing."
Vancouver Island Champion
The 700-mile-long, storm-ravaged coast of Vancouver Island has been a proving ground for some of the toughest fastest sea kayakers, who vie to beat the record for the fastest circumnavigation. No one had ever attempted this challenge in a sliding seat rowing boat, because conditions were thought to be too rough for anything but a sea kayak. Colin Angus believed the Expedition Rowboat was the steed for the job, and in 2010 he made the circuit in 15-1/2 days, smashing the record by a full day.
Spacious Cargo Capacity
Whether it's for a weekend "glamping" trip, or an expedition through the Northwest Passage, the Angus Expedition Rowboat can absorb huge payloads.The Expedition Rowboat is still on good lines with 400 lbs of gear aboard and can manage more. The midships hatch is large enough to accommodate a mid-sized mountain bike and break-apart trailer. But even if you aren't lugging a bike equipped for ambitious unsupported expeditions, there's nothing better than arriving at the camping site ahead of all your kayaking friends, and being the only one with a full sized cooler, crab trap, double burner propane cooker, deck chairs, and a proper air mattress for a good night's sleep.
In calm waters, the hatch to the spacious middle compartment may be removed so it can accommodate a passenger. Add some seat cushions, and your passenger can straighten his/her legs, recline, and enjoy an uninterrupted panorama in the equivalent of an easy chair, complete with arm rests. In rough conditions, of course, the hatch should be closed.
The Expedition Rower is suitable for amphibious human-powered travel. It is light enough to be towed behind a bicycle and has room to carry the bicycle and bicycle trailer.
The Angus Expedition Rower is designed to be propelled with a sliding seat rowing system and sculling oars. Angus Rowing sells sliding seat and rigger kits suitable for the Expedition. Step-by-step assembly instructions, illustrated with photographs and diagrams, make it a project suitable for patient beginners.
Specifications
Length Overall: 18' (5.49 m)
Weight: 85 lbs (38.5 kg)
Waterline Length: 17' 10" (545 cm)
Width: 35" (89 cm)
Watertight Compartments: 4 (5 if forward bulkhead is closed off)
Sprint Speed: 7 knots (12-13 km/hr)
Cruise Speed: 4 knots (7-8 km/hr)
Maximum Recommended Touring Load: 600 lbs (270 kg)
Maximum Recommended Short Distance Load: 880 lbs (400 kg)
Main Gallery
Line Drawings
Videos
Rowboat Stability and Capsize Demonstration
Take One of our Boatbuilding Classes
We offer classes for many of the boats we sell. Teaching sites stretch from Maryland to Washington State and from Maine to California. Click here to find out more.
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