One of the sacrifices made in reducing the
length of a boat is its sleek appearance. The original Slipper Launches
were mostly in the 25' to 30' range, and all have a lean and graceful
look. When this is reduced to 20', the look changes. Because the size
of the
passengers and drivers has not got any smaller over the decades (in
fact, precisely the opposite) it is not an always an option to reduce
the
beam and height of the boats in proportion to their length. To do so
would achieve a very tight configuration abreast, and would leave the
occupants of the boat popping over its top like Big Ears and Noddy.
The
Selway-Fisher
design makes no attempt to compensate for the shorter
waterline, in fact it is beamier than the original boats despite being
shorter. This is probably good news for the comfort level of the modern
day boater, but does nothing for the aesthetics of the vessel.
The shorter the boat, the more pronounced is the problem.
One
way
of increasing the appearance of litheness is to apply an
optical illusion to the paintwork, such that the boat appears to be
lower in the water than it really is. The critical factors in this are
the height of the boot top, and the width of the bright strip. If the
intervening paintwork can achieve a long, narrow look, so will the boat.
So it is important to delineate the bright strip and the boot top, preferably in strongly contrasting colours to the hull, so that the boat looks leaner. Just look at the difference in this 20' Selway-Fisher boat when a rough computer generated paint job is applied to it.
The actual boat (above), and after the bright strip and boot top are defined.
To my eye the paint job gives it a much leaner appearance, but too wide a bright strip will negate the effect, as will too high a boot top. The best proportions will closely follow the lines of the original boats, and here the height of the boot top is already fixed to about half the depth of the transom. The bright strip is able to be varied anywhere between 110 mm. and 150 mm. and should maintain a ratio of about 1:6, bright strip: hull side, foward of the windscreen.
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So it is important to delineate the bright strip and the boot top, preferably in strongly contrasting colours to the hull, so that the boat looks leaner. Just look at the difference in this 20' Selway-Fisher boat when a rough computer generated paint job is applied to it.
The actual boat (above), and after the bright strip and boot top are defined.
To my eye the paint job gives it a much leaner appearance, but too wide a bright strip will negate the effect, as will too high a boot top. The best proportions will closely follow the lines of the original boats, and here the height of the boot top is already fixed to about half the depth of the transom. The bright strip is able to be varied anywhere between 110 mm. and 150 mm. and should maintain a ratio of about 1:6, bright strip: hull side, foward of the windscreen.
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