Above, Nick Lee rests in his Dipper 19, after a lengthy build in a commercial parking garage.
Originally designed to fit in a 20′ shipping container, the Dipper 19 is roomy inside, with a couple of other noteworthy features. The first is her use of twin 4 cycle outboards on the stern. There is no burying of the outboards in a well or trying to disguise them they are mounted proudly on the stern. Part of this plan is to allow them to be de-mounted for the container stowage, but the other part is to allow them to be as efficient as possible and allows for the increased maneuverability of the twin engines. By placing one engine in the forward and the other in reverse the boat can be turned neatly in a tight circle and if you need the other direction to come into play, then reverse the process and she will turn about the other way. With twin 10hp outboards, the fuel burn at 6 knots speed will be something less than 1 gallon of fuel per hour for an efficiency of 1 gallon of fuel burned for 7 miles of travel. At top speed, the twin 10s will offer 10 knots of speed and twin 15s would offer 12 knots of speed.
The cockpit is left open and unencumbered by seats or other appendages. The whole idea is to have a couple of comfortable folding chairs that have the space of being used in the cockpit well without restricting one into one position or another. Flexibility is really the key! With this arrangement, it leaves enough open space for the two outboards to be laid on their sides for transport.
In the cabin, there is a standup galley that has all the ingredients necessary to function and forward under the trunk cabin, there is space for a porta-potti and twin berths on both sides really a remarkable amount of room inside and out for a boat under 20ft. in length. In the evening, the port-potti could be placed in the pilothouse or cockpit and the filler used in the berth area makes a large almost queen sized bed.
Read about the inspiration for the Dipper 19 in Sam’s design notes below.
Study and full construction plans here
Precision CNC cut hull kit here
Dipper 19 Specifications |
|
| Length | 18 ft. – 8 in. |
| Beam | 7 ft. – 2 11/16 in. |
| Draft | 15 in. |
| Displacement | 2545 lbs. |
| Power | Dual Outboards 10 – 20hp |
| Max Speed | 10 – 12 knots @ 10hp |
Dipper 19 Design Notes
This is an all new version of our old classic the “Dipper 16” with several extra spices thrown into the mix, and the resulting dish is a completely different plate.
She is of course three feet longer than the original Dipper and almost a foot increase in beam. A little extra length and width in this size of boat translates to a completely different feel and changes the use and scope of use considerably. But here is the main difference in her, she is designed to be capable of being stored and transported in a 20ft. long container. Her owner John Irving wanted a boat that could be packed tightly into a 20ft. container for shipment from the east coast of the United States to Europe. John’s idea is that shipping costs for a 20ft. container are dirt cheap something in the range of under $2000 dollars to cross the Atlantic and if the boat was fitted well into its little traveling garage then he could afford to take her on many adventures that in other times might only be thought of and not acted upon. In the winter in Maine (John’s home) where literally no one keeps a boat in the water the container could be relied upon to keep its contents warm, dry, and out of the elements and when the calmer spring weather breaks then out she comes and into the drink for a seasons cruising and playing on the water.
Besides the increase in interior room in the design there are a couple of other features that are of note. The first is her use of twin 4 cycle outboards on the stern. There is no burying of the outboards in a well or trying to disguise them, they are mounted proudly on the stern. Part of this plan is to allow them to be de-mounted for the container stowage, but the other part is to allow them to be as efficient as possible and allows for the increased maneuverability of the twin engines. By placing one engine in the forward and the other in reverse the boat can be turned neatly in a tight circle and if you need the other direction to come into play then reverse the process and she will turn about the other way. With twin 10hp outboards the fuel burn at 6 knots speed will be something less than 1 gallon of fuel per hour for an efficiency of 1 gallon of fuel burned for 7 miles of travel. At top speed the twin 10’s will offer 10knots speed and twin 15’s would offer 12 knots of speed.
The cockpit is left open and unencumbered by seats or other appendages, the whole idea is to have a couple of comfortable folding chairs that have the space of being used in the cockpit well without restricting one into one position or another. Flexibility is really the key! With this arrangement and leaves enough open space for the two outboards to be laid on there sides for transport.
In the cabin there is a standup galley that has all the ingredients necessary to function and forward under the trunk cabin there is space for a porta-potti and twin berths on both sides. Really a remarkable amount of room inside and out for a boat under 20ft. in length. In the evening the port-potti could be placed in the pilothouse or cockpit and the filler used in the berth area makes a large almost queen sized bed.
Plans are just completed and we offer them for $225 per boat built. Someday in the near future I am looking forward to seeing many of these boats tooling about in waters near and far away. A good looking boat is always worth a smile to me, and the Dipper 19 is to my eye a very good looking boat!
— Sam Devlin
