Ebihen

Ebihen 15

Ebihen 15 (previously named Ebihen) is a seaworthy, stable boat with good carrying capacity, it is suitable for family sailing, as well as fishing. Despite its length of 4.50 m, it offers a big and pleasant cockpit. She was inspired both by the fishing boats of Northern Brittany, especially Saint Jacut (the Ebihens are the islands in front of that port), and by the boats of Basse-Normandie, which were clinker built.
Many different rigs may be chosen according to your specific needs, from the very simple lug sail to the well-canvassed gaff cutter (see drawings). Ebihen 15 is fitted with a metal centreboard that allows excellent stability and good windward ability.
A well for the outboard motor is built aft of the cockpit, with the motor handle at helmsman reach. The propeller is just ahead of rudder for good manoeuvrability. A 4 strokes – 3 to 6 hp – motor may be installed.
Ebihen 15 can be built and stored during winter time in a common garage. It is of course trailerable. The first boat of the series was strip-planked, with laminated frames and backbone, and almost no plywood. It is a beautiful wooden construction. The clinker version is mainly made of plywood, for the hull planking but also backbone and transverse bulkheads, then much more easy to build by a first-time amateur.

Ebihen 16 is a lengthened version of Ebihen 15. As such, she is a seaworthy, stable boat with good carrying capacity, it is suitable for family sailing, as well as fishing. She offers a big and pleasant cockpit. She was inspired both by the fishing boats of Northern Brittany, especially Saint Jacut (the Ebihens are the islands in front of that port), and by the boats of Basse-Normandie, which were clinker built.
Four different rigs may be chosen according to your specific needs, from the very simple lug sail to the well-canvassed gaff cutter (see drawings). It is also possible to choose a lug yawl rig or a “flambart” rig. Ebihen 16 is fitted with a metal centreboard and a water ballast (180 litres) that allows excellent stability and good windward ability.
A well for the outboard motor is built aft of the cockpit, with the motor handle at helmsman reach. The propeller is just ahead of rudder for good manoeuvrability. A 4 strokes – 3 to 6 hp – motor may be installed

Ebihen 18

Following the success of Ebihen, a beautiful hull, stable and seaworthy, I have been asked to design the same boat one metre longer, as most owners wish it to be. Then, Ebihen 18 came out of my computer. She is half decked for safety, with a wide space to spend a full day wandering or fishing. It is also possible to spend a night on-board under a tent. Boat and personal equipement are stored in large lockers. Even the long sculling oar is stowed on the floorboards.
To resolve the required heavy displacement (about 1 500 kg loaded) of such a traditional hull and the possibility for it to be trailered behind a car, I have fitted a water ballast tank and a steel centreboard. The tank arrangement is quite simple : a drain plug in the hull and a dinghy type inspection hatch cover just over. After launching, open the plug. When the tank is full, lock the plug and shut the cover. After recovering, just open both to empty. It is also possible to drain into the bilges and to pump the water out before recovering the boat.
The hull is strip planked over a criss-crossed structure made of a plywood backbone, including centreboard case, and plywood transverse bulkheads. The planking is sheathed for better resistance to chafe and to reduce maintenance.

O'Connor Wooden Boats. Unit 4, 12 Day rd. East Rockingham. 6168 Western Australia. Phone 08 95921826.

Mobile 0423 284502