This is a concept to suit the following requirement. A boat that is seaworthy yet also beachable. To increase seaworthiness I have included a modest amount of waterballast to increase stability and a small cabin that provides protection for the crew. My estimate for appropiate water ballast is 80L to 110L. I anticipate it having the same effect as conventional internal ballast.

For this concept I have chosen the Skylark 14 pram from Selway Fisher, although other boats may well be suitable. I have increased freeboard by two inches to keep water out and provide more protection from the elements. Freeboard is still much less that the John Welsford' Treadlightly boat. Whereas Treadlightly is a proper cabin boat, this concept is a skiff that has some protection from the elements.

Inspiration for this concept comes from many sources. The voyages of the Wayfarer dingy to Iceland were one example. This voyage shows what can be done. I have tried to take this concept and hopefully make it less extreme by adding ballast and a small cabin. I have tried hard to keep the cabin very low in order to keep windage and topweight low. Should the boat be capsized the volume to the cabin would aid in righting. The sloped cabin sides provide a shape that can be righted easily from an inverted position.

The twin masts provide good opportunities to string a boom tent between them for comfortable sitting space in light to moderate winds. The single crew sleeps with there feet aft in a footwell. This doubles up space between cabin and cockpit, allowing for more space in the cockpit and less changes in trim from when crew is in cabin or cockpit. There are watertight storage areas fore and aft. In addition there are many places for storage in the cabin. The cabin roof has a large hatch which hinges upwards to provide comfortable sitting up room.

The boat has a double bottom which is filled with salt water ballast whenever the weather seems threatening enough to justify it's use. When low weight is preferred in light winds or to take the boat up a beach it can be drained. The version below shows a slightly larger cabin and a smaller cockpit. It would thus be suited more to one person due to the small cockpit.