Having owned several larger cruising boats, I thought a simple, lightweight, and easily trailerable boat would be great way to downsize. For years, I’ve admired the designs of Sam Devlin, and I even owned one of his cruisers. When I stumbled upon the Pelicano 18 design, the classic look, along with Sam’s lyrical Design Notes, sucked me right in.It’s remarkable that he created such graceful lines using only six flat plywood panels. The Pelicano might be a perfect starter boat, but for me the attraction was its economy and simplicity: it can be stored on a trailer without marina fees, haulouts, and storage. There is no pesky bottom growth, no through-hull fittings, no oily bilges, no systems to troubleshoot, and nothing to winterize. In the Devlin shop, the first Pelicano 20 takes shape on a form of interlocking pieces of oriented strand board. The plywood bulkheads and frames appear solid here, but openings, interior shapes, and deck and cabin-roof contours have been partially cut by the CNC router.
Devlin Designing Boat Builders
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Beautiful boat. Devlin knows how to draw great lines.
It reminds me a lot of the small boats that used to inhabit the Jersey Shore before ‘glass became the normal. I mean that in a very good way, as I always thought those boats were pretty, utilitarian, and sweet riding. I miss those boats, they all went to the great boat-burning pyre in the sky long ago.
My first build was Devlin’s Polliwog, 20 years ago and I still own it. Living on Buzzards Bay in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Love the looks of this ,it reminds me of a downsized Crosby striper. Are there any plans for this or a similar boat up to 22′ with an inboard 4 cyl. diesel about 120hp? I’m very interested so I can build that retirement boat.