Robert Hoffman has been busy using his BETH sailing canoe that he built over a cold Polish winter.

There are now videos. I have also linked to all my videos on youtube – so you can see many storerboats sailing.

Reprint of an article I wrote a few years ago for Watercraft magazine in the UK.

The article points out why I think most of the discussion about boat design being a “compromise” is rubbish and taking that point of view means that the design is sure to be compromised.

What happens if we don’t accept the compromise?

John Goodman who recently spent 5 days semi racing a Goat Island Skiff in the Texas200 event got back to me with some observations and even some pictures of aspects of the boat and the sailing.

I have responded with suggestions to make some further improvements. Between John and me there are some useful tips about setting up a boat for more speed.

However the standard setup of the Goat is fine for most – it is still pretty quick in standard form.

There is advice for both lug and sprit traditional rigs here.

Plan info – yawl rig info, please contact me. John and Mark are pretty happy with the Goat Island Skiff Yawl. You can see some of the story here Goat Island Skiff Plywood Boat sails 200 miles up the Texas Coast. There are some more pics Nice woodworking detail in that one above! For much [...]

This page compares the two plywood canoes in my range. Both have detailed plans and are simple to build.

The page is to explain the differences and to help potential builders see if one of the boats suits their needs.

Lots of links to pictures, build articles and even videos.

The cla

Exciting News, John and David Goodman finished the Texas200 event in their lime green Goat Island skiff.

Five days and 200 miles up the Texas coast dodging huge barges and commercial traffic.

They had a great time and are very happy with the performance of the Goat

The discussion on this topic went on.

Dave asked if people would laugh if they saw a PDR sailing in company with something more conventionally shaped.

Luckily I had a video clip to hand.

A little bit of writing how form in boat design seldom follows function in terms of what “looks good”. It was prompted by a discussion about whether the PDR is good looking or not.

My Podcasts on design also cover this idea to a greater depth – they are in the menu at the top of each page.

A nice little article by Jackie Monies who is turning into the writer in residence for the PDRacers.

It posits the idea that because of its cheapness, ease of building and the creativity in the group that it qualifies as the “All American Boat”.

Actually I think it is the perfect boat for places that are water rich and cash poor. Anyone can afford to go sailing in these cool little sailing boats. The options of material and design solutions allow the boats to be built of local material just about anywhere. Very cheaply.

This podcast/mp3 talks about why Australian (and New Zealand) wooden boatbuilding is different from the rest of the world..

Click to listen to the talk. This is the third of three.

This is the second of my talks in the USA. It focuses a bit more on construction and some of the methods that can be used to keep a boat light and simple, but very strong and stiff.

It also discusses how there is a “creep” in boatbuilding and design that increases the weight of boats way over what is really needed for a strong structure.

This talk is the first hour of my exposition on boat building and design. There are two more parts to come. This covers some of the background and design issues. The second is more on the building side and the last is a bit more about why the Australian (and New Zealand) wooden boat tradition is different from the Northern Hemisphere.

You can stream the talks over your internet connection or download them as a podcast.

From Clinton Chase’s blog clintchaseboatbuilder.blogspot.com

On November 1st I was pleased and honored to introduce Michael Storer, an Australian Boat Designer reputed for his simple, elegant, and approachable boats, to a group of 21 members from the wooden boat community in Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Some knew of Storer’s work, others have built his boats, and many knew him as an important name and wanted to learn more about the man and his message.

Invitation to a Talk by Boat Designer Michael Storer

At Clint Chase Boatbuilder, 25 Deblois Street, Portland, Maine
Sunday Nov 1st @ 11am-1pm, Bring Boats and Questions
After some food and chat, Michael will talk to us about making our boats better…

Ralph Gersson in Holland got a very nice mail from Michael McNamara from mcNamara sails UK. He made a nice sail for Richard Harvey’s GIS “Blanche” and Ralph has decided to order.

Michael, a racing sailor with a lot of background talks about the experience of sailing the Goat Island Skiff.

From Al Zuger in Brooklyn, NY who is extending the envelope of operating his PDRacer. So I finally took my little ducky out in a real bay yesterday. I went down to the south shore of long island about an hour out of the big city, and man was it ever nice! Up until now [...]

The trip has been and gone, however you can see the pics, the blog entries and hear the talks all online. Michael’s Schedule: NOTE: Michael would like to give as many talks and workshops as he can while over here. If your club or organization would like to have him come to your meeting and [...]

Ok … lug vs sprit We finally had two PDRacers with either rig option on the same stretch of water. The event was the Goolwa Wooden Boat Festival. The Sprit sail design and making method is in the plan for the PDRacer (a whole $20 for 90 pages – really a course on modern boatbuilding) [...]