The first New Zealand Goat Island Skiff has been launched by Ian Howeth.

He has taken a year to build it as spare time became available.

It was launched during the Xmas break

More videos of John Goodman’s Yawl Rigged Goat Island Skiff.

He is trying out some rigging variations to see if we can simplify the building of the yawl rig version.

At the moment this is inconclusive, but wow, he got some good videos

The TEXAS 200 sailing event is on again. A 200 mile sail and camping trip up the Texas coast that runs every year.

I am going to be in town, so would be crazy not to attend. This is a call for all interested storerboats to consider attending.

Photos and slideshow from the Goolwa Wooden Boatshow 2011.

Over 250 boats – mostly in the water. Wooden hydroplanes, “restricted 21s”, riverboats, putt putt launches, classic sailing boats, kayaks, canoes and more.

I had the quick canoe, the eureka canoe and the OzRacer on the stand that was shared with Duck Flat Wooden Boats and Boatcraft Pacific. Good time was had by all.

Cameras, digicams, video cameras are fun on boats, but it is hard to get good pics of yourselves sailing the boat or the boat doing its stuff nicely.

John Goodman and Family built their Goat Island Skiff GIR and sailed it in the Texas 200 event as well as some solo river cruising.

They used a camera boom to great advantage – to move the camera away from the boat. Another alternative is a wide angle lens which can produce dramatic effects for marine photography but the toom seems much more useful. It works well with the steadying of anti-shake electronics.

You can pay money for dry bags to store gear in when canoeing, kayaking or sailing. Or pay even more for buoyancy bags that keep you boat afloat after capsize.

Here Ian tells us how we can make our own cheaply.

The dot in the bay above is Perttu’s Microcruiser sailboat on a three day trip on the extensive Finnish waterways.

The boat is tiny – 8ft long and is based on my successful OzRacer design (formerly OZ PDRacer)

It is a brilliant concept and sails well upwind and down on inland waters.

For the Goose – a first sailing report in moderate winds – and it works.

Also a free plan for a ketch/yawl version, and …

… Michael goes on a bit about the real differences between a ketch and a yawl

I am currently helping at the twice yearly duck flat boatbuilding school in Adelaide.

There are boats designed by me, Oughtred, CLC Kayaks, Joel White and Woodenboat.

People are from Queensland, NSW, Victoria and Perth.

First detailed sailing report of the Goose 12ft sailboat.

The Oz Goose is a 12ft sailboat derived from the smaller OzRacer/PDRacer/Brick line. It uses all the same running gear as the OzRacer.

There are a number of different suppliers in different areas. You can of course build direct from the plan and mark out the shapes. We have a system that minimises the chance of errors. However these suppliers all produce very good kits for Storerboats.

My friends Rob and Jane Hylton run sailing boat and canoe hire on some of my favourite sailing waters – the lower Murray Lakes – just an hour south of Adelaide.

The boat hire is quite cheap but linked with you overnight staying in the small town of Clayton Bay – on the edge of the Murray River. There are a number of different options. My favourite is a tent or an on site caravan on the river’s edge camping area. But there are classier (?) options as well.

Low season is quite cheap and the days down there can be very beautiful in winter with a good weather report. They also offer sailing lessons which can include a picnic and/or a tour of the fascinating Murray wetlands.

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 [...]

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

Jim Post has built the hull of his PD Goose – a 12ft version of the OZ PDRacer.

He has done a nice job with a couple of nice additions. A seat in the middle and a stylishly angular splashboard on the foredeck. I am dying to hear how it sails!

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 [...]

I was sitting in Chuck’s car as we were driving to the Lake Conroe Messabout. I knew that he had some plans for the Texas 200 event – to extend the concept and starting a new small boat festival on the Texas coast in a couple of years.

This is a podcast of that interview.

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.