Yeah, it surprised me how short the tiller was. I constructed it just as the design described it, but this was one of Dudley Dix’s early designs, I believe. It’s the Argie 15.
I did make one change early in the life of this boat: the tiller definitely swivels up and down now!
Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter books are public domain. They’ve got those on Project Gutenberg, but they may be too much “stock characters” for you.
Would some of the Lewis Carroll stuff scratch the “science fiction” itch?
It’s a bit of a stretch, but Mark Twain’s Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court at least has the character development. And, strictly speaking, it is time travel. ;)
Finally, if quasi-fantasy and mythopeia do anything for you, there are things like George Macdonald’s Phantastes and G. K. Chesterton’s The Man Who Was Thursday. Both those authors were influences on C. S. Lewis. But we’re really straying away from anything that’s strictly science fiction there.
This fascinates me, but I’ve got stupid questions:
Yep! It took about 6-9 months the summer of 2021. It’s a rough ride, and I’m not always thrilled with the performance. If it breaks, though, I get to keep all the pieces, and sometimes I even know how to put them back together!
The design was chosen because it was about as big as I could get and still fit it on a trailer in the garage.