Hickman Sea Sled
Scott Aleckson
(it's an inverted vee hull). This hull has recently been brought back
from the original designs in some very good performing aluminum hulls.
The few companies and builders who are commercially making this hull are
being very tight with their plans (one wanted $16,000 just for the
plans). It was originally a wood hull, and several thousand were
manufactured in the first half of this century. If anyone has seen one
of these or knows anything about the design, I would love to hear about
it.
Thanks,
Scott
Jacques
--
Scott Aleckson wrote in message <36517860...@alaska.net>...
There was an article about Hickman in Wooden Boats 2 years ago. Go to their
web site, search the back issues and you can order online.
There was another article about the Sea Sleds by Dave Gerr in Boatbuilding
magazine this year, not as good as the Wooden Boat one.
There are lines for a Sea Sled in the old edition of Skene's.
The patent expired last year and the lines are now in the public domain but
the main problem is not the lines but the engineering. I have unfinished
plans for an 18' one in stitch and glue, I'll get back to them one day.
replies to:
Boat Plans Online
http://www.bateau.com
Dave Carnell
from the U.S. Patent Office for $3.00
Dave Carnell
Pat Ford
<alec...@alaska.net> wrote:
>I'm looking for any information on the Hickman Sea Sled hull design
>(it's an inverted vee hull).
There is a very brief article on a Sea Sled in the Fall 97 issue of
The Rudder, the online periodical of the Antique and Classic Boat
Society.
http://www.acbs.org/rudder6.htm#Sea Sled
Regards,
pcf
Classic Boat Discussion Board at
Pacific Northwest Antique and Classic Boat Society website: http://www.halcyon.com/pford/acbsx.htm
International Headquarters ACBS: http://www.acbs.org
Tony Bigras
> >from the original designs in some very good performing aluminum hulls.
> >The few companies and builders who are commercially making this hull are
> >being very tight with their plans (one wanted $16,000 just for the
> >plans). It was originally a wood hull, and several thousand were
> >manufactured in the first half of this century. If anyone has seen one
> >of these or knows anything about the design, I would love to hear about
> >it.
>
A buddy of mine built a 18' Hickman Sea Sled in my back yard in the 70's
It was ply and glass with double diagonal on the bottom and had sort of
a wide bevel on the chine joint. I remember riding in her after launch
and the most notable feature was the reverse bank in turns.
The design seems a natural for aluminium as the structure is demanding
and the curves near the bow are quite extreme for a thick sheet
material.
Tony
alma
It is interesting that I should see your request about the sled, as
my son had just introduced me to the news group system. If I make
mistakes it is because I am a novice. You are right as to the
availability of Hickman plans,as those who pocess them tend to hoard
them. My father[ARTHUR STAPLES] built a few in the late 1950's to early
1960's under strict conditions set forth by the late Mr. Hickman. At
that time the patents were so tight that you had no other choice. During
construction of two 33 footers Hickman died. the patents just ended a
short time ago. I have some original plans in my files.
We also built an 18 foot craft,very fast for the horsepower applied.
These craft are where I learned to build boats and they are not an easy
choice for beginners. I hope to build at least one for my self.
If you would like more information from a Hickman Sea Sled builder
please contact me.
Art E-Mail <mem...@injersey.com>
alma
ATDcaptLou
Capt Lou of "Nautical Talk Radio" heard every Sunday afternoon from 4 - 5 on
95.9FM WATD serving every coastal community in Massachusetts including Boston
and Cape Cod (from Gloucester to New Bedford).
John Young
for them, here is the URL: "http://www.cybertours.com/hamlin-smith/plans.htm"
Good Luck,
John
In article <36517860...@alaska.net>, alec...@alaska.net says...
>
>I'm looking for any information on the Hickman Sea Sled hull design
>(it's an inverted vee hull). This hull has recently been brought back
>from the original designs in some very good performing aluminum hulls.
>The few companies and builders who are commercially making this hull are
>being very tight with their plans (one wanted $16,000 just for the
>plans). It was originally a wood hull, and several thousand were
>manufactured in the first half of this century. If anyone has seen one
>of these or knows anything about the design, I would love to hear about
>it.
>Thanks,
>Scott
>
--
www.pioneer.net/~young
******************************************************************
Fish On Adventures -Sturgeon -Salmon -More
2424 Nashville Rd. -Fishing on the Oregon coast
Eddyville, Or 97343 and the Columbia River
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alma
My father and I custom built and operated sleds in the late 1950's.
We built them from original Hickman plans and under his direction.Two 33 footers
with 30 inch surface props and quite a few eighteen foot craft. A very fast craft
with low H.P.
To all who read this,my scanner is down at present but as soon as it is up I
will post pictures.
alma
A lot of plans are showing up made by designers so be careful what you buy. This
craft can not be changed to much and still be a true sled.
Jacques
Anyway, during this exchange, our office received 5 or 6 requests for a
Hickman sled. It happens that we have such an unfinished design that we
started 5 years ago for a local builder. The local builder decided to stay
with more traditional hull shapes but during our study, over two years, I
saw at least 10 small Hickman sleds or inverted vees. I really believe in
the concept but the builder must understand that such a boat is more
complicated to build than a plain vee hull. That type of hull suffers more
torsional stress than vee hulls and this was the reason of some problems
with the wooden sleds. Also, late in life, Hickman admitted that the sleds
had tripping problems in turns and we designed her with anti-trip chines.
We decided to revive that plan and hope to show it at our site begin next
year in 2 versions, 16 and 18' long. Building material will be
plywood-epoxy-fiberglass composite (2nd generation stitch and glue), same as
our Phantoms.
--
replies to:
Boat Plans Online
http://www.bateau.com
John Young wrote in message <73676a$q...@hpcvsnz.cv.hp.com>...
alma
Having built these craft I would agree that you are correct to a point. The
original sleds did not have the horse power that we used in the 1950's to
demonstrate the 18 footer. Hickman admitted this after we tripped one in one
such demo. The anti trip feature needs to be modified to accommodate today's hp.
There are a lot of other things too. As for building one, it is not at all easy
and I personally do not agree with stitch and glue with this hull design.