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
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.
The conservative viewpoint is that traditional rigs are not very efficient. However allied to efficient hulls and set up correctly, lug and sprit rigs can be very efficient indeed – not too much slower than “modern” rigs, particularly when the same lessons are applied to trad sails and way cheaper.
This is a WIKI drawn from the group on the Storerboats forum discussions on setting up lug and sprit rigs for best performance building on the information in my webpage.
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!
Winter has been really harsh in North America.
It has even been snowing in Texas – and not just a little bit.
Kenny and family (more north than Texas) are really active on the PDRacer front but like many others are getting cabin fever from being icebound inside their houses.
So during one of the better days … there was boating to be done – but not boating as we know it, Jim.
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.
Peter Hyndman has made some PDRacer wallpapers that you can download for your iPhone and some other devices.
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 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.
It is the highest I have ever sailed by far – about 2500 to 3000ft above sea level.
A very nice bunch of folks. And got to meet BobWes (from my forum), John Kohnen (the author of the “mother of all nautical links”), Jon Kowitz and Andrew Linn (puddle duckers that sailed in the Texas 200 so triumphantly) David Luckhardt (who I missed in S.F.) and a whole bunch of other boat people and a swag of interesting boats.
Rick LAndreville wins the Canadian PDRacer Championships in an OzRacer carefully modified to match the PDRacer rules.
Slideshow of sailing around Goolwa and the Murray Mouth over a weekend during the worst drought in living memory
We have moved much of our activity to the Facebook Groups. See the links in the Menu above. But there are so many great questions asked and discussed on the Oz Woodwork Forums..
Ok … balance lug vs sprit boom triangular sail – what are the advantages and disadvantages of each of these two rigs that naturally control sail twist
