SPECIFICATIONS

LOA   19' 2" | LWL   17' 6"
Beam   50-1/2" | waterline beam 35.4”
Draft    7" | Depth amidships 16"  
Hull weight 145 lbs | Displacement 542lb
Downwind sail area 60 SF

Once the 17-foot Drake Rowboat was on the water for a year or so, I began thinking about a larger version that would be as exceptionally seaworthy and still fast, but more suitable for tandem rowers or a single rower who wanted to take gear and do more serious camp-cruising.

The idea stewed until a customer came along who saw the design brief for the D19 and said, "that is my boat". Unfortunately he is a hermit and off-the-grid so pictures and stories have been very hard to pull out of him! But the sea trials went fantastically.

The D19 is stable -- easy enough to stand in like the D17 -- yet is slippery through the water with great glide. The boat has enough flotation for a person to self rescue with the side tanks and flotation in the ends. With the sliding seat, I had an easy time of slicing through choppy water solo and picking up very good speed. In wind and chop, like her smaller sister, she excels and wants more!

Of course performance is highly dependent upon the proper set up of the rowing stations and getting the ergonomics right, which is rower dependent. But the seat height, which is somewhat established by the side tank height, feels very good and more height can be gained by adding seat padding. 

For two rowers, fixed seat rowing this boat in open water is a dream. She will take as much wind, chop, and waves as long as the rowers are strong and capable. In smooth water, the glide and stability will delight. Like the 17-footer, I expect she will win most fixed seat, double rowing races. Boatbuilder and friend George Costakis of Bartender Boats in Oregon built his own D19 to row tandem, sliding-seat, with his son in the infamous Seventy-48 race in Puget Sound. They rowed both years and did well, even though they were not out to win, but finished inside the pack and had a great time. He also rowed it solo twice and finished both times.

The Poseidon sliding seat rig is the choice slide rig and is designed into the boat. The 7/8" Stainless pipes sit in the precut bulkheads. The footrest for the 19 is designed to be separate from the pipes so that the floorboards can roll up and lay out on the pipes acting as a sleeping platform. This tested very well during sea trials, and a long nap could have been had! A tent can be designed to go over the boat and make camping aboard very comfortable.

In the 2025 update to the design, we added the ability for a standard 11” sliding seat rig to install directly into the structure of the boat. The parts for these rigs can be sourced by various suppliers (e.g., Vespoli) and can even be bought as a kit. The fixed seat set up has not changed except to be held in place with thumb screws for easy adjustment and removal and there are now two footrest options. If the rowers choose to go fixed seat, in lieu of the sliding seat, wooden cleats are attached to the side tanks and the fixed seats sit on top. They can more fore and aft to adjust for trim.

The Drake 19 is in a class by itself and we hope to find her on the shores of every continent in good time!