France’s rugged Atlantic coastline is a popular and challenging cruising ground, but it was not so long ago that countless fleets of small workboats called its remote harbors and rocky estuaries home. These traditional voile-et-aviron (sail-and-oar) boats inspired the French naval architect François Vivier to design boats like the Morbic 12, the Ilur, and a host of others. Like the Ilur, the Morbic 12 has become very popular in France, and in the last few years has attracted the attention of small-boat builders and sailors in the United Kingdom. The Morbic 12 is one of a series of Morbics that includes 8′ and 10′ lengths as well as an 11′ strip-planked version. The Morbic 12 has become a favorite with builders wanting something similar to the 14-1/2′ Ilur but a little smaller and easier to store and transport.Vivier designed the Morbic 12 with the International 12 in mind. A hugely popular racing dinghy and tender for larger boats dating back to before the First World War, the International 12 set the standard for smaller sailing dinghies for many years around the U.K. and Europe. The Morbic 12 was inspired by both the older competitive 12′ racing dinghy class as well as the traditional inshore fishing boats once ubiquitous around Brittany. It has more beam and freeboard, comfortably carries a crew up to three, and is capable of coastal cruising under sail, oar, or even a small outboard. The construction manual is suited for those with some prior experience in modern glued-lapstrake construction; a novice builder might need expanded guidance for each step. I found Eric Dow’s 1993 book, How to Build the Shellback Dinghy, which I had used when I built a Shellback, a useful reference during the construction of the Morbic’s hull. There are buoyancy chambers under the foredeck and each of the side benches. The oars stow out of the way on the sides of the chambers. To the port side of the transom's outboard cutaway there is a smaller notch for sculling.
Photographs by Patricia Wisdom
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The boat looks very fine and I appreciate the excellent photos of the interior details.
It seems from these photos that the boat has only one lower rudder pintle. I also see the photo of the boat with the outboard attached neatly in the centre of the transom. Is there some useful trick here to allow an outboard to fit on the transom without fouling a fixed upper pintle? This is a problem I now face having purchased an electric outboard and now trying to use it on our 10′ Limpet dinghy.
Tony
Yes, the upper pintle is easily removed to facilitate mounting a 2.5 hp Suzuki on the transom. This is intentional. Both rudder
attachment points, like all the other drilled and through-bolted components, were over-drilled, filled with epoxy, allowed to fully cure, and then redrilled to the hardware’s diameter to create a barrier to moisture. In the case of the outboard, I simply remove the pintle’s two bolts, nuts, and lock washers, stow them in a ditty bag and mount the engine. Easy, simple, and effective for the Suzuki. Other industry outboard models up to the Morbic’s max capacity of 4hp may just mount easily without removing any rudder attachment hardware.
Hi Mark, both lovely and practical – as are all the Vivier designs.
I have a query on the fixing of the thwart cushions – can you explain how you went about it please? I’m just making cardboard templates for thwart cushions in my 12′ Essex Smacks boat and would appreciate any advice from making yours.
Thanks,
Paul Pearson, UK
Beautiful, Mark! I will have to keep my eyes peeled for this on the bay next summer!