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.

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

Cliff and PJ live in Warm Queensland and Wintry Tasmania. However they both like to go the the yearly (June) wooden boat festival in tropical Far North Queensland.

This year they decided to build one of my Quick Canoes. They started on Saturday and finished including putting the canoe on the car roof by the following thursday.

They are experienced woodworkers so added some very nice details.

Perttu took his recently built “Quick Canoe” on a trip down a river in Finland.

We don’t have rivers like this in Australia! To see them is quite exciting.

The Quick Canoe is designed to be very cheap and easy to build, but still work OK.

Finally after many years of selling the plan I have a photo of a boat with the outriggers from the drop-in outrigger plan.

Every part of the outrigger is very light. The first one we built had each component under 10lbs.

It can make a canoe or kayak into a killer sailing boat. Or can convert a canoe, kayak or suitable dinghy into a stable fishing or diving platform for paddle or outboard.

Perttu is building his Quick Canoe in almost impossible conditions.

The middle of the Finnish Winter.

But the boat is going together well. He is building it very cheaply out of ply and polyester resin.

The plywood “disposable” canoe (see here) has been renamed the more salubrious “Quick Canoe”. I quite liked the name of “Disposable Canoe” but I agreed with the critique that it hinted at something that was poor quality rather than simple and Easy.

It has been designed to be as easy to build as possible while keeping some of the qualities of a good paddling canoe – in particular the ability to track.

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.

OZ Racer plan information The PDRacers have a saga published at Duckworks about the Texas 200 (the 200 mile sailing event up the Texas Coast). It is not by a Ducker but by one impressed by them. Extract The Mighty Ducks clung to the port, with all manner and various sort of other craft abeam [...]

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.

I don’t have a car so how can I go canoe touring? Its something I fell in love with in the USA on Lake Powell.

This is an idea for a simple, cheap, almost throwaway (or give away) canoe. I can get the materials shipped to somewhere on a river, build the boat over a couple of days then go for a paddle.

At the end I can give the boat away or store it for the next part of the trip.

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.

Gifted Amateur Boatbuilder Chris Perkins has laboured during some of the most difficult boatbuilding weather to produce the prototype of the new RAID41 (this is the building photoset. It is designed as a one person boat for distance cruising. Once I finish the detail plans, of course. Anyway Brian Pearson, the owner of the boat [...]

First we had a computer drawing Then pics of a mock up model Now we have pics from American where one is being built by some young people as part of the Compass Project organisation’s Classes. Often I am quite surprised by the actual appearance of a boat over what I expect. This plywood rowboat [...]