Sam Rabl's Buzz Bomb  
By Russell Livingston - Dallas, Georgia - USA

I pull at the wrapping off a newly acquired antique book retired from the Special Service library of our own US Air Force. A 1947, first edition Boat Building in Your Own Backyard by Sam Rabl. I had not realized that this first edition copy had a completely different set of boat designs from the one I kept racking up late charges for at the local library. A whole new set of designs to study! Everything from flatiron skiffs to hermaphrodite brigs was at my fingertips for study and pondering.

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I had to build a model of this little cuddy cruiser runabout just to see how she’d be.

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Some of the craft were too big for my appetite (and garage). One boat caught my eye though. This beamy, seventeen-foot, cuddy cabin, outboard boat would fit the bill nicely. We have a nice lake nearby with lousy sailing wind. Sailing usually turns into bob and bake on the lake. Powerboats rule here. A small, fun, trailer bound, outboard boat that we could overnight on would be just the ticket. Ok- maybe we wouldn’t sleep on her but a sheltered place on a hot day might be pleasant. We also have to be cheap. No varnish to maintain and we have to use an old antique outboard given to us. To fly around and scare folks at the lake the design name is Buzz Bomb (apparently named after captured rocket terror weapons used by the Axis powers in the war that made a buzzing sound as they flew).

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Let’s look at this rocket inspired craft. She has a large open cockpit for putting out lawn chairs and lounging after buzzing across to your cozy destination. The cuddy cabin could hold a couple of six-foot berths with air mattress accommodations. This is accessed through an aircraft styled door in the cabin bulkhead. A hatch in the top of the deck allows air circulation and access to the bow when handling the anchor and rode. The two windows in the sides are eighth inch Plexiglas and non-opening. I chose a different style windshield for the model. I favor it a little better than the book version but my version would prove tougher to build. The arc bottom is built in three eighths plywood set in a slight double curvature. The bottom is planked in three sections resting on the stringers to get that tough bend. The side and deck planking are one-quarter inch plywood. These are screwed and glued to 1”x 3” oak frames and fir stringers. She has an oak 2”x 6” keel as well.

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This rugged but light structure is to stand up to a large power mill (for 1947). A twenty-five horse ‘big twin’ would work well enough but I think our boat should do with a vintage quad as specified. The big motors require the reinforcement next to the keel as shown in the section view as a ‘joint stringer’. Instead of the standard transom knee the designer specifies two steel pipe braces running from the top of the transom and bolting through the keel. All that’s left is to paint her and get the camping gear loaded.

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I had to build a model of this little cuddy cruiser runabout just to see how she’d be. The hull is one-sixteenth inch sheet balsa with an acetate windshield. The boot stripe was accomplished with self-adhesive car pinstripe. I proved to myself that the hull could be built as he describes in the text. I was planning furniture for the cockpit but then thought better of it. I built the model hull just like the real thing: upside down. The frames extend all the way to the base line (floor) and are cut off after the planking is completed. I love the character of Sam’s designs and the Chesapeake flavor in them. You can get these old books at Amazon.com at times. I’ve got two boats to finish now but I’ve got my eye out for the right parts to start this one. Happy building and see ya on the water!

Ps-I’ve yet to decided whether or no I would put the aluminum lightning bolts on the hull!

Russell Livingston

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