plywood racing sailboat plans

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[ >> NEXT, I start Building ]

I decided to make a new Boat, a Puddle Duck Racer

• Part One, What's a Puddle Duck?
• Starting to Build
• My Puddle Duck Racer goes 3D It's official, I get my hull number.
• Next, I add flotation compartment.
• Bottom gets fiberglassed and Gunnels are added.
• Daggerboard case and seat get made.
• Making the daggerboard.
• Adding weight to the daggerboard
• Making the kick up rudder along with a tiller.
• I made a wooden sprit
• Finishing the carbon fibre mast I made a few years ago.
• Replaced the Broken Carbon Fibre mast with a wooden one.
• My PDR gets a mast step, plus side and front decks and more glass
• Finally Finishing the hull
• The Duck gets some hardware
• I make a Sail for the Puddle Duck
• My Puddle Duck Gets Launched!!

Being perfectly satisfied with my little Skerry, I decided to make a new boat.

What is a puddle duck racer.

Quoting the Puddle racer website:

"The PDRacer is a one design racing sailboat that is basically a plywood box with a curved bottom, and is the easiest boat in the world to build. Free plans, ... all boats must have have the lower 10" of their hulls be alike, but the rest is up to the builder. You can put any type of sail rig or underwater fins that you wish. Also the interior and deck above 10" is completely up to you. A simple hull can be made from 2 sheets of plywood, titebond II glue, and latex house paint. It only took me 10 hours to make the basic hull on my boat. The sail can be made from polytarp, or borrowed from another sailboat. You could literally make a complete boat for $100 or less using materials that came from your local Home Depot. Or, there are many different ways and configurations you could use to build your hull."

So far there are well over 1000 hulls registered as of 2017. (You can get a hull number once you have gone 3-D). My Boat Hull Number is: #457. Here is a link to the registry page for international Puddle Ducks

"Brick started as an exercise in how much boat could be built out of three 4x8 foot sheets of plywood. ... It's disconcerting that these box boats do everything better than elaborately modeled boats of the same overall dimensions, if they both have to carry the same load."

Many were build and well loved. Here is a page talking about the differences between the Brick and the Puddle Duck Racer.

WHY build a Puddle Duck Racer?

Where will i build.

The nice thing about building a 8 feet x 4 feet boat is that it will fit just about anywhere. So far I've been working in the basement and then in the back yard. It's moved to the garage now. My long suffering Nick is eying his shrinking garage with alarm.

Can it actually sail?

This is the surprising part. YES. It has even been made to plane. Because of it's footprint it is extremely stable. Various people have developed sailing rigs and lee-boards or daggerboards that have performed extremely well for an 8 foot box. Crazy groups have taken Ducks to Gulf of Mexico races. Texas 200, Everglades challenge

There is an active building community hell-bent in experimenting and just plain playing.

To be class legal the lower 10 inches have to conform to the official shape. Everything else is pretty much open for experimentation and sometimes just plain silliness.

• Official Website Designer of the boat Shorty Routh website. Free plans and lots of info and links to Duck related pages. There is tons of interesting material, and photos (Most of the finished boats on this website come from the official PDF website, with thanks!) If you plan to make a boat this is your first stop. You can get plans and lots of suggestions for rigging your boat, playing games, and you can register your hull and get an official hull number at no cost!
• Michael Storer's Oz Racer It's often referred to with the OZ prefix. He has produced plan which includes his rigs, improved foil sections and spars. In particular he has refined the shape of the profile for the daggerboard / rudders. Slight variation (no flat spot) in the hull profile differentiates it from the official PDR. He has also perfected the oversize version the OZ Goose.
• There is an active yahoo group on the PDRacer.

Lots of video are available on youtube about PDR's here is one example among many.

Sails for the Puddle Duck Racer

The triangular sprit also known as leg of mutton sprit and a few other names is often seen on Puddle Duck racers. It's easy to make out of polytarp and allows for a clear deck free from low head banging spars. Many "serious Puddle Duckers" have experimented with Balanced Lug Sails.

There is no regulation class sail for Puddle Duck Racers and just about every rig has been tried.

Some puddle ducks sport ridiculously large sail rigs. Because the boat is so stable it allows for lots of experimentation.

There have been many terrific paint jobs as well.

[ >> I START BUILDING ]

emails: Christine

This web site reflects my personal ideas and doesn't represent anyone else's point of view.

What is a Puddle Duck Racer

The PDRacer is a developmental one design racing sailboat that is basically a plywood box with a curved bottom and is the easiest boat in the world to build. The rules are aimed at keeping the lower 10" of all hulls the same but the rest is up to the builder. A simple hull can be made from 3 sheets of plywood, titebond II glue and latex house paint. If you work hard for 2 weekends you can go sailing on the 3rd weekend. If you are really in a hurry it is possible to go from lumber to the lake in 5 days. Here are our free plywood sailboat plans

What our club is about

Interesting niche racing.

Most of the other sailboat classes fit in one of the two basic categories. 1: One Design where the class keep the boats as identical as possible so that the competition is between the skill of the crew. 2: Developmental class where the competitors engineer different sailboats so that their boat design is a significant part of their ability to compete. This category also tends to become a competition of who has the financial resources to gain the best engineering solutions.

Our class fits in an area between those 2 general types, we are a "developmental one design". Our hulls are a fixed one design shape, the sail rigs and fins are open for development. The result is our racing competition is blend of both the sailing skill of the skipper AND boat engineering & building skill. Because our boat is so small, that imposes a natural limit on the cost so our class will always be within the grasp of an amateur garage level competitor.

Getting Started On Your Duck

You don't need permission from headquarters, just build your duck, contact other duckers to get out there & do our motto !! If nobody else is organizing events in your area, then stand up and take the initiative to organize a local fleet and make the magic happen !!

Free Plans Site Map - All Pages On This Website Subscribe PDRacer Newsletter Contacting Other Duckers

Many other uses.

Our boat is not just for racing, she is great for all sorts of other purposes and in most states a boat this small does not need to be titled or registered. The hull shape carries 630 lbs. One member took 2 adults and 3 kids for an afternoon sail. Another went on a 3 day cruise with his wife and slept aboard at anchor every night. If you think about it, many people go backpacking for long periods, a PDRacer can hold much more gear and water than a backpack. She also works good as a row boat and motor boat. free plans diy boat oars

I often take my kids out rowing in mine, instead of a sail rig I put a big beach umbrella in the mast sleeve so they can sit in the shade. If you like fishing, you can row her into the shallow areas that power boats can't get to and launch in areas that don't have a boat ramp. She is very stable, enough that you can stand up and cast.

Which boat to build?

If you just discovered boat building, very soon you will become aware that there are TONS and TONS of different boats you could build. For some odd reason, many sailors think they should only have one sailboat - please realize it is perfectly OK to have several (or many) sailboats at the same time. Consider building a puddle duck to get some experience and have fun sailing with other duckers. The lessons you will learn will give you better understanding of how to build boats and make your next project go a lot faster. The duck is big enough to carry a 2nd passenger but small and easy to store. If you lose interest or don't have time, then stand her upright in the corner of your garage or out back till you get the itch to go sail her again.

Don't know how to sail?

For many people that build ducks, it is their first boat and they don't know how to sail either. Sailing is easy, just point the boat in the direction you want to go, then pull in the sail till it stops flapping. The best way to learn is to have your own boat and take her out on a very light wind day, on a very small lake and give it a try. Take a set of oars, if you can't figure out how to sail back then drop your sail and row back. If you know a sailor then invite them along and they will help you out, the PDRacer can easily carry 2 adults.

Afraid it will leak?

All boats leak especially wooden ones. Just because it might leak, doesn't mean you will sink, that is what the airbox flotation chambers are for. Besides, when you are sailing on a very windy day splashing along you will get more spray water than from any leak. Take along a bottomless chlorox bottle and when the water gets to about an inch deep inside the cockpit just do a couple of scoops to flip the water out.

If you are worried about capsizing, see our info about emergency flotation and recovering from knock down pages. Then go practice capsizing with your duck tied to the dock with a long line. After you learn how to recover from a knock down, you won't be afraid of them anymore.

Afraid it won't be perfect the way you build it?

A big part of puddle ducking is to continually tinker with your boat to improve it. Figure which configuration attracts you the most and start building it. Later if you change your mind, you can reconfigure her or just build another hull and move your parts over. They have almost no resale value so no matter what you do, she will be worth the same.

Club Membership

All you have to do is build (or get) a class legal PDRacer and register her. Registration is FREE and Shorty has tried to keep all other aspects of puddle ducking free, offering free plans and full instructions here on the website and requiring entrance to the world championship be free to any registered puddle ducker and their crew. There are no protected territories and any puddle ducker is welcome to organize events and invite others to go sailing.

We have an open member list, if their email address is listed, that means you can contact them direct for duck related activities.

Hatch Events

Want to increase the number of puddle ducks in your local area? One of the things we do is organize "hatch events". This is where people organize a day (or weekend) to get together and build ducks. Many times these are as simple as having a friend (or two) come over and just try to build what you can with no prior preparation needed or can be elaborate events on a big scale with 15 or more ducks being built at the same time. If you are interested in doing a hatch, consider inviting the other local duckers to come help because we really like any excuse to build another boat or help someone else build theirs. :)

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Building a Classe Mini 650 from Plywood

• July 3rd, 2016

Ships are pure magic, don´t you agree? It seems they are directly connected to human emotion. Upon seeing a ship, few people can resist the sudden feeling of wanderlust, the longing for adventure and a flood of stories, pictures and memories. It doesn´t matter if this ship is an old rusty harbor tug or a fancy sleek carbon-made IMOCA racing yacht. Ships did enable us humans to conquer this planet. I guess this fascination for hulls, sails and sailors is not only part of our history, but maybe physically detectable in our genetic heritage.

One of the boats I find particularly interesting is the Classe Mini 650. These compact pocket racers are roughing up the sailing community since their first appearance at the Transat Race in 2001. Sturdy, powerful and very seaworthy boats they are. Class Mini 650 boats have since then defined a new class of racing yachts and opened up a whole new approach to single handed offshore ocean racing with a low entry level budget-wise and a fast (very fast!) sailing-style. Mini 650 boats and their class box rule have inspired spin-offs such as the famous Class 40 racing yachts (here´s an article on my first experiences with a Pogo 40 Class 40 racing yacht ).

A brand new Pogo 3 will come in at some 54.000 Euros incl. VAT which really isn´t such a big deal for a CE-category B offshore racer. But it seems that there are alternatives: Getting a used boat is obviously one. Or maybe … what about building a Classe Mini 650 by yourself? I am lucky having found Alex Lang from Berlin who is undertaking this venture in building his own Class Mini 650. From Plywood.

„I am totally in Love with Chines and Fat Sterns.“

NO FRILLS SAILING.com: “Alex, glad to meet you. Such a fascinating project, building an oceangoing ship from your own hands. What brought you to this project?”

Alexander Lang: “Well, I was first playing around with the idea to buy a boat. I was fascinated by the Pogo 30 which I had the pleasure to test sail. But I wasn´t able to raise the budget of more than 100.000 Euros. And I still cannot afford today. Buying a used boat second hand was out of question for me since I wanted a new one. No old boats for me: I am totally in love with modern designs like chines, wide stern sections, square top sails and all that stuff …”

NFS.com: “… and here the Mini 650 comes onto the stage …?”

Alex: “Exactly. It was by chance that I was stumbling upon the website of Jacques Riguidel who was building his SOLAIRE 34 from plywood at this time. He was regularly posting a lot of fascinating pictures on the build on his Facebok-site. I instantly caught fire and got more and more obsessed by the idea of building one by myself too. You see – I am earning my money by sitting in front of computer-screens.”

NFS.com: “Did you have any skills in manual work? And what is your sailing background?”

Alex: “Manual skills? Well, I do have some now (he laughs) . I am 34 years old now and in real life working as an IT-specialist and programmer in my own software company in Berlin. I started sailing at the age of 9 in an Optimist and had my first ever appearance at a yacht race at the age of 10. When I finished last. Sailing on the 4 meter OK jolly-boats and 420 dinghys I switched to cruising on a 5 meter Ixylon. Later on, in 2001, I was able to charter my first 28 feet yacht for a trip on the Baltic Sea without any legal certificates – I was glad everything turned out okay. I then got all necessary certifications afterwards and I am now chartering a yacht anywhere in Europe once a year. I love sailing fast French yachts like Pogo or RM-yachts, which are actually made from wood. My biggest adventure so far has been an Atlantic crossing as part of a yacht crew in 2010.”

“Dudley Dix Yacht Design is where I finally obtained the Classe Mini 650 Plans.“

NFS.com: “You are currently building a Classe Mini 650 from plywood. Where did you obtain the construction plans?”

Alex: “I was searching online for designs and quickly found the website of Dudley Dix Yacht Design . They do have a Classe Mini 650 in their portfolio and are offering their DIDI MINI which is a Class 650 indeed. After some further research I finally opted to buying a kit.”

NFS.com: “With no manual skills at all?”

Alex: “At the start I really didn´t have any skills, yes. So I began to read a lot of books on boatbuilding and working with wood in particular. I enrolled at an introductory course in boatbuilding here in Berlin. The next step was a 3-day carpenter´s course and as a final test if you want I built a small dinghy from a pre-cut construction kit made of plywood and epoxy. I was quite confident to being prepared and had a good feeling for the project.”

NFS.com: “Judging from the pictures you did built a kind of yard first?”

Alex: “Yes, I needed a building space big enough to house the yacht, yet affordable. It´s quite a tough task to find a hall or a workshop here in Berlin that is not destined to be pulled for new fancy luxury real estate nowadays. But I finally found a spot and rented a part of a hall. Here I added a kind of cailing to some brick walls to create a separate room for my build. And here we go: I do have my own yard.”

„Boatbuilding is not quite like IKEA.“

NFS.com: “You are now in the midst of finishing the boat´s hull. What is most challenging in boatbuilding and working with plywood from your perspective?”

Alex: “Well, I would say there is nothing really challenging about it skill-wise. But it is a very time-consuming process indeed. Sometimes I can only manage to glue a handful of parts together and that´s it. It requires a lot of patience. Most complicated from my point of view would be the logistical part.”

NFS.com: „How are you organizing the building process and integrate the project into your normal life?“

Alex: „I reduced my working time at my job to 80 per cent by taking a free day every Friday. So that enables me to work a full day per week on the boat. Sometimes I would work a full 3 day weekend, but that doesn´t happen very often.”

NFS.com: „So besides the fact that you spend too little time with your baby – which is a problem with every refit- or building-project I would say – it´s easier than expected?”

Alex: “Oh yes it is. The plans from Dudley Dix are very detailed and I have no problems with interpreting them. Along with the plans I bought a construction set from a Greek company containing all the essential parts of the build pre-cut. Since the plans by Dudley Dix already do refer to a plywood-boat I won´t have to perform calculations for material thickness for example or GRP-to-wood formulae. But it´s definitely not like assembling a Billy by IKEA on the other hand. When I am unsure of a certain detail I do an online research or simply ask people who have already finished in building this Mini 650 kit. In other cases it´s just trial and error. And sometimes using my brain will be helpful too …”

„I am fascinated by the Details of the Class Mini Build.”

NFS.com: “So tell me more about the Mini 650 kit.”

Alex: “Well, apart from the detailed plans it contains some 50 pieces of pre-cut plywood parts. That´s essentially the bulkheads and plywood for the decking and partially stuff for the hull. Some strengthening parts for the keel. The rest I have to fabricate by myself.”

NFS.com: “Most of the connections of the different parts are done …”

Alex: “… with a special glue. I do use 100% West System Epoxy. It´s fascinating that this boat will contain no screws or bolts whatsoever. The whole structural integrity is ensured by strong joints and the adhesive properties of the epoxy-glue.”

NFS.com: “What are the main milestones in the Mini 650 building process anyway?”

Alex: “I essentially started by fabricating the building stocks. This is used to bolt the bulkheads onto just to hold them in their exact position. The bolts are later taken off again. The next big milestone – and a very long period I am working on right now at the moment – is the application of the longitudinal bracings and stringers. These are glued onto the bulkheads and secured by special fillets. When I am finished with that work it will be the planking sheets coming onto the skeleton to form the body shell.”

NFS.com: “Then the hull will be finished?”

Alex: “Oh no, not yet. There´s a whole lot to do afterwards. The biggest thing will be the flipping of the hull. Right now I am building the yacht upside down. Before flipping the hull will be laminated with a layer of glass-reinforced fiber. This is not a measure of structural integrity but to further harden the ship and securing a waterproof outer sheeting. Then it´s of course the interior fitting of the cabin, decking and ceiling and for the last milestone it´s the equipment and fittings I will bring onboard like winches and cleats, rudder, rig and electric stuff.”

NFS.com: “Rigging and sails?”

Alex: “I hope I can afford buying a light and stiff carbon-mast. If not, aluminum will certainly do. As for the rigging, I am thinking of applying Colligo Dux standard rigging made of Dyneema. I don´t know yet where to get the sails from, but I´ll certainly have an idea when it comes to finishing the boat.”

NFS.com: “What about the keel?”

Alex: “That will be the very last part of the project.”

NFS.com: “I do like all the fresh and colorful designs of the Mini 650s. Do you have a certain vision of the hull-design of your Classe Mini?”

Alex: “Well, that´s something I don´t particularly think about too much at this stage. I know some talented designers who I am going to approach for a proper design. But for the first part I will have her painted in a neutral, classic color. Design will be added by using foil technique.”

“Sailing should be Zero Emission.”

NFS.com: “When I stumbled upon your project I found one particular detail interesting: You want to build a zero-emission-yacht. Can you explain what this means?”

Alex: “It´s basically two things. First, during the building process I try to facilitate only ecofriendly materials. That´s for example using flax instead of glass-reinforced fibers. There´s also epoxy-resin – partially – based on natural ingredients rather than crude oil. But I am honest: I am very cautious with that since first aim is to achieve a sturdy construction. I won´t do any experiments here.”

Alex: „Second thing is sailing. A Diesel engine is a no-go for my boat. I want to have the whole energy-supply provided by solar panels, propulsion will be ensured by having an electric engine for maneuvering. Maybe I can also install a hydro-generator but I fear that won´t be an easy task with such a small boat. Anyway, I am trying to use resources with discernment and be as sustainable as possible.”

NFS.com: “Speaking of the future, when are you planning to have the boat in the water?”

Alex: “I am now planning to have her under sails in spring 2018. That´s this and the coming full year of building and fitting of the ship.”

NFS.com: “A brand new Pogo 3 will have a 54.000 Euro price-tag, what´s about the budget of your project?”

Alex: “Up to now I do have some 150 net working hours and roughly 17.000 Euros spent on the ship. That´s including the training sessions, the test-trial with the small dinghy and all the tools required. I pay 300 Euros monthly rent for the building hall and to be honest, I am constantly re-writing the overall budget due to the process. But I guess in the end there will be something around 40.000 Euros spent.”

 “Mini Transat? Well, probably … No.”

NFS.com: “Where will you be sailing your brand new Mini 650?”

Alex: “She will probably have her berth somewhere at the Baltic Sea. Certainly a marina I can reach fast from Berlin. I think this sailing area will do best for obtaining my first sailing experiences with the Classe Mini 650 boat and getting to know her intimately.”

NFS.com: “After trialing the boat, which projects do you envision?”

Alex: “Well, for longer cruises this boat is definitely too small-sized. But I think it´s perfectly possible to have longer weekend-cruises and maybe some trans-baltic legs to Sweden or Finland. I definitely want to attend some races with her – as my aim is to participate in the Silver Rudder race around the Danish Island of Fyn.”

NFS.com: “And what about the MiniTransat?”

Alex: “As tempting as it may sound, but I have no such plans at all in this stage. But … never say never.”

Alex, thanks so much for talking about your fascinating project and letting us take a closer look onto the Mini 650 building process. All the best for you and the boat – and I hope to get a chance to talking to you sometime in the future when you little strong boat is further up in the build, which I am able to follow on your facebook-Site .

Here´s an interview with Pro-Sailor Lizzy Foreman on her MiniTransat Race 2015  

Two great articles on the bigger brothers of the Mini650 – sailing a Class 40 Pogo to Helgoland and taking her back very fast with Gennaker

Pictures with kind permission by Alexander Lang / Pogo 3 by Pogo Structures

How to Build a Wood Sailboat

Introduction: How to Build a Wood Sailboat

I've been wanting to combine my two favorite hobbies - woodworking and sailing for a long time, so I thought I'd build a boat. It's got classic lines and looks so dazzling in the sunshine that people constantly stop me at the boat ramp to ask me about it. There's something unbelievably rewarding about building something like this from scratch. This is definitely a boat that is much better built than bought . Here's how I did it.

The boat takes about 100 hours to build. I did it over 3 months, working a little bit just about every day and full days when my schedule permitted.

It will take about $1,000 in total to build if you buy everything at full retail cost (not including tools you might need to buy), but you can spread that across the length of the project. For example, you only need to buy one $30 sheet of plywood at a time, take it home, draw out the parts (loft) that fit on just that sheet and cut them out. That will take a couple of hours right there. Some boating supply stores (chandleries) might let you setup an account which might give you a discount if you tell them you're building a boat.

All of the skills needed to build a sailboat can be learned slowly, one step at a time. For example, if you've never fiber-glassed plywood before, just practice on a small piece first to get your confidence up. This was my first boat build, so I did a lot of learn as you go . Not only am I going to show you the right way to successfully build your own sailboat, but I'm going to share with you the mistakes I made along the way to hopefully save you from repeating them.

The end result will be a very attractive little 8 foot long pram, that is easily made out of 4x8 sheets of plywood that is light enough to put in the back of a small pickup truck or roll down to the local lake on the optional dolly. Anything longer would require you to either make a scarf joint (which is a bit tricky) or buy longer sheets of plywood (which is considerably more expensive).

What you will need:

Boat building plans

8 panels of 1/4" oak plywood 4'x8'

Pencil, Sharpie, ruler, tape measure, yard stick, etc.

Long flexible straight edge

Box of 1" brad nails

2 gallons of epoxy resin

1 gallon of epoxy hardener - SLOW

1 quart silica thickener

5 quarts wood flour thickener

1" masking tape

Japanese pull-saw

Table saw (helps, but optional)

Round-over router bit

Flush trim router bit

Palm/random orbital sander

220 sanding discs

Combination square

Drill bit set

Drill bit extension

Basic hand tools

Small diameter wire or zip ties

Wire cutter

12 C-clamps - 3"

Mixing cups, mixing sticks, rubber/nitrile gloves

16' x 60" of 6oz fiberglass cloth

2" plastic spreader

Gallon of waterproof glue

Glue roller

Silicone bronze screws

Stainless steel fasteners

Small blocks

Gudgeon & pintle - dinghy size

Patience - large

Elbow grease - large

For more detailed explanations on each step and more specific info/reviews on the materials and parts used, check out my boat build blog: www.Midnight-Maker.com

Step 1: Cutting Out the Parts...

First, you'll need boat building plans. I purchased some very nice ones from a popular boat building website because I had a specific style in mind to build, a "pram". It's a Norwegian design with lots of buoyancy in the bow and building a pointy boat is a little more difficult. There are a bunch of free boat building plans (search "dinghy") online. Also, I wanted my boat parts to fit in a standard (read cheap) 4'x8' sheet of plywood. It also had to be light enough for me to load/unload/move myself. This boat weighs in at about 70 pounds. When on the custom dolly I built, it's very easy to move from the parking lot to the lake.

Next, you'll need to draw out the parts of the boat full-sized onto the plywood (lofting). I actually did this step on hardboard/masonite because I wanted to make templates of all the parts in case I ever wanted to build another one.

This step requires you to be very meticulous. Carefully transfer the measurements (offsets). They may or may not look correct because it's very non-intuitive to look at curved boat parts that are laying flat. Some parts actually bend the opposite way you think they should. To make the curves, I nailed a bunch of 1" brads into the panel and used a long, flexible straight edge (yard stick, etc.) bent to follow the curve, then I traced the curve with pencil/Sharpie. Once I removed the brads, I had perfectly smooth curves. Keep in mind that with the side panels that are symmetrical to both sides of the boat, only draw out one version and cut two stacked sheets at a time. This ensures the boat will not be lop-sided. Make sure to immobilize the two sheets together with screws outside of the boat parts or use double-sided tape/clamps, etc. to keep the parts registered properly.

Using a Japanese pull-saw allows you to control the cuts very carefully and it can follow the graceful curves. They cut on the pull stroke which means they're very easy to control. Make sure you leave a bit of your cut line, meaning cut just outside the line. This allows you a bit of a safety margin and you can always sand to the line to sweeten it up. This is where the elbow grease really kicks in. It takes hours to cut out the hull panels by hand, but it's worth it. I tried cutting the first part out with the jigsaw and it wandered all over the place and quickly cut inside the line before I knew it. Also, a jig saw blade can lean to one side which could mean two panels might not be the exact same shape. Using hand tools is a classic way to do woodworking and is a very gratifying process. With hand tools, things happen slow enough for you to be in total control, whereas power tools can quickly do unexpected damage. With the understanding that you're building a classic boat, using hand tools wherever possible is part of the philosophy.

The plans I bought were in metric and called for 6mm (1/4") and 9mm (3/8") plywood, but I wanted to make everything out of 1/4" plywood so the thicker parts in the plans were glued together with two layers of 1/4" (so at 1/2" they were a bit thicker than designed). I actually liked this because it made the boat feel sturdier and of course it was cheaper that way. The trade-off was that the boat would be a bit heavier.

For any of the parts that need to be doubled-up/laminated (e.g. the transoms), now is a good time to do that. Make sure you use "waterproof" glue instead of "weatherproof" glue like I did...

Spread a thin layer of glue over one of the "bad" sides (plywood usually has a good side and a bad side, glue bad sides together so good sides show on both outside faces), making sure it's completely covered (I used a special glue roller), then carefully place the other half on top. Align all of the edges together, then clamp them in place. Now put heavy things carefully on top to press the parts together. The glue should be dry in about 6 hours.

NOTE: It's considerably easier and safer to do any woodworking processes to the parts before you assemble the boat. This way, you can safely clamp pieces to the work bench and cut out handle holes, etc. Since my boat is a "lapstrake" design, I had to route a rabbet (groove located on the edge) carefully on the bottom edge of each side panel. This creates a shoulder for the parts to sit on, positively locating them while you're stitching the panels together. Likewise, the grab handles in the transoms are much easier to cut out before putting the boat together.

Also keep in mind that any mistake will be considerably more painful the further you are along in the build. For example, if I biff cutting out the grab handle holes while they're just loose pieces rather than when they're a permanent part of the boat, it's much easier to recover - just make another transom. If you had to patch a hole in the boat, it would be difficult and possibly never look perfect. No pressure...

Step 2: Assembling the Hull...

Once you have the bottom and sides cut out, you can start to "stitch and glue" the hull together. This is a technique used usually for smaller boats to be able to pull the hull form together without the need to build a frame or mold (which can take almost as long and as much wood as the boat itself).

I built a gauge stick to make sure my holes were perfectly spaced at 4" at 1/2" in from the plywood edge. It was 1" wide so either edge was the required 1/2" from the centerline. I worked my way down one side of each of each mated seam and drilled all those holes at once while the panels could lay flat on the bench. Make sure to use a backer block to prevent tear out on the back side, even with such a small drill bit.

With one mating panel drilled with a 1/16" drill bit, hold the mating panel in it's relative position. I used some spare twine to wrangle my panels into the proper orientation as I was marking them. Make a pencil mark where the mating hole should be, remove the pre-drilled panel and drill the second set of holes 1/2" in from the edge. This makes sure there's enough strength to hold the boat together.

The first pass on the stitches is just to get the hull together structurally. You can always go back and make the stitches fancier/tighter and tweak the position of the panels.

The stitches go from the inside out. Cut 6" lengths of wire and bend them into long, narrow U's that are the width of the distance between the holes. Stick the ends through the holes and carefully twist the tails together on the outside of the hull, making sure not to damage the plywood. If you're using zip ties, then the holes you drill will need to be bigger and you'll have to start on the outside, go in, turn around, then back out, then "zip".

Make sure your panels' rabbet shoulders are resting securely on the mating panel and carefully tighten all the stitches. For my boat, once I had two panels stitched to the bottom panel on each side, it was time to attach the transoms (ends). Once all of the exterior parts are stitched together, you should have something that looks like a boat. It will be a little rickety at this stage, but that's okay.

NOTE: In the photos I took of my build, you'll notice that the transom doublers (reinforcers) aren't in place. That was because I was following the instruction manual, but I think that was a mistake, so I highly recommend laminating (gluing) the doublers to the transoms before you stitch the boat together.

Step 3: Reinforcing the Hull Joints...

Now that the hull is stitched together, flip it over upside down. You'll be surprised at how stiff it is, considering how difficult it was to wrangle all those panels into position. Be careful, there's lots of poky wire ends sticking out all over the place.

I used a technique called "tabbing", meaning I made small, structural tabs from thickened epoxy that fit between the stitches, then I removed the stitches and made one long, larger fillet to connect the hull panels together.

Make sure your panels are perfectly aligned and tightened. I used a nipper to lop off most of the tails so they wouldn't get in the way, but that left very sharp spikes.

Make sure your boat is square. Take diagonal measurements from corner to corner, make sure the boat parts are parallel to each other, etc. because if there's a twist in your boat, the next step will make it permanent, which will affect the boat's performance.

Now mix up a batch of epoxy and silica thickener according to the manufacturer's directions (meaning each type of epoxy has a different resin to hardener ratio) until it's between the consistency of thick ketchup, but runnier than peanut butter (make sure to mix the 2 parts of epoxy together first very well before adding a thickener). Too thick and it won't fill the void, too thin and it'll run down inside the boat. Both are bad. I used a small syringe to inject the mix into the V intersection between the panels and checked underneath/inside to see if there were any runs.

Once the epoxy has partially set, use a glove wet with denatured alcohol to smooth out the "tabs" so they fit inside the V groove and don't extend above the intersection between the panels. This will give you good practice for the seams that will show on the finished boat. Be careful of the wire spikes.

Repeat this process for every seam on the hull. Let it cure overnight.

Once the tabs have cured, carefully remove the stitches. If the wire seems to be epoxied permanently to the hull, heat the wire with a lighter. That will soften the epoxy enough to pull the wire out. Be careful not to scorch the boat (you don't want a Viking funeral). Now repeat the thickened epoxy process for each overlap, except this time each seam will need to be one long, smooth joint. Let it cure overnight. This goes a long way in making the boat hull structural.

Step 4: ​Fiberglassing the Hull...

Now that you've got a permanent hull shape, it's time to make it waterproof and rugged. Fiberglass and resin over plywood is a tried and true Do It Yourself boat building technique which makes it strong and light.

Mask off the bottom panel and roll out your fiberglass cloth. Smooth the cloth out very carefully so as not to snag or tweak the fibers' orientation. Mix up an unthickened batch of epoxy (it will be the consistency of syrup). Starting at the stern, pour a small puddle of epoxy and spread it out nice and thin. You should be able to squeeze most of the epoxy out of the cloth, leaving only saturated cloth with no dry spots (which will appear white) but the weave should still be showing (meaning no extra epoxy is pooling). You should easily be able to see the wood grain through the cloth now.

Let the epoxy partially cure and using a razor, slice the dry fiberglass cloth away on the taped seam. Then remove the masking tape. Let the epoxy cure overnight.

Flip the hull over and mix up a batch of epoxy that is the consistency of peanut butter. I masked off the joint, but this step is optional, but keep in mind that it will be visible if you plan on finishing the interior bright (varnished wood). It's not as critical if you're painting the interior. With a plastic spreader, carefully make a large radius transition (fillet) between the bottom panel and the first side panel (garboard). Remove the masking tape when the epoxy mixture is partially cured and carefully scrape/wipe any unwanted mixture. It's much easier to remove now than having to sand it all off later. At this point, it's also a good time to fillet the transoms to the sides using 3/4" radius tabs between stitches and 1" finished fillets after you've removed the stitches. Let the fillets cure overnight.

Now, repeat the entire fiberglassing process on the inside. Except instead of just doing the bottom panel, make sure both the bottom and the garboard are fiberglassed. This is basically the waterline of the boat. The fillet should allow the fiberglass cloth to smoothly make the bend between boards. Remove the excess cloth when partially cured and let sit overnight. Some people fiberglass up onto the transom at this stage which will make the boat stronger, but that means you have to have already filleted the transoms to the bottom.

Step 5: Installing Interior Parts...

The bulkheads get stitched in place just like the panels. They will make the already stiff (and much heavier boat) completely structurally sound and push/pull the sides into their final shape. Then make 3/4" "tab" fillets between the stitches to lock them in place, remove the stitches and make long, smooth 1" fillets. The smaller fillets will get covered by the larger fillets. I used two different modified plastic spreaders to do this step. Each spreader was cut with a box knife and filed/sanded into its final shape.

While you're doing the previous steps, if you're in a time crunch, go ahead and build the daggerboard trunk. It's made of numerous parts that are pre-coated with a couple layers of unthickened epoxy, then glued together with silica-thickened epoxy. This makes it strong and waterproof as it will be below the waterline so must be completely waterproof.

The daggerboard trunk is the most important part of the boat, especially if you're making a sailboat version (this boat can easily just be used as a rowboat). Not only does it support the center seat (thwart), but it has to transfer all of the force from the sail to the water and if you run the boat aground, it takes all the shock loading from the daggerboard.

The daggerboard gets filleted into place like everything else. Make sure it's perfectly on the centerline of the boat as that will affect its sailing characteristics.

Next, let's make the daggerboard slot in the center thwart. I set up a straight edge with a spiral upcutting router bit. Make sure to enlarge the slots at the end of the center thwart so that it can fit around the fillets of the center bulkhead. Now is the time to ease the edges of the center thwart because you'll be sitting on it a lot, so it needs to be comfortable. Because it's so thin, I only routed the top edge of the center thwart that shows and just hand sanded the edge underneath (it's very problematic to use a round-over bit on the second side of a thin board). Paint all of the thwarts with three coats of unthickened epoxy, especially the undersides. Once the woodworking is done, the thwart can be epoxied into place with peanut butter (or you can jump to cutting the daggerboard slot in the bottom of the hull). Make sure the thwart fits snugly in place. Drop dollops of peanut butter on the top edges of the center bulkhead and daggerboard case and spread it out evenly (make sure none gets inside the slot to interfere with the daggerboard). Firmly seat the thwart (pun intended) into the goop and weight it down. Let it cure overnight.

While you've making sawdust, cut out the mast hole (partner) in the forward thwart by drilling holes in the four corners (for the square mast we're going to make), then cut out the sides, file it smooth, then round over the top edge with the router.

Any time after the bulkhead thwart fillets have cured, you can seal the airtank chambers. Paint the bottom, sides, inside of the bulkhead and transom up to the level where the thwart will be.

Step 6: Rail & Sailboat Parts...

There are several processes in this boat building instructable that can be done concurrently. While you're waiting for the epoxy on one part to cure, you can be doing woodworking or epoxying another part. This step illustrates that point. While you're waiting for the epoxy on the rub rail (outwale) to cure, you can be fabricating the sailboat accessories (e.g. daggerboard, rudder, tiller, spars, etc.).

In order for the outwale to be thick/strong enough to be effective, you'll need to laminate it in two strips on each side. You can't bend a single piece that thick around the curvature of the hull without either breaking the wood or softening it by steaming it which is a complicated process.

Take a strip that's half the final thickness and a little longer than the boat edge (I made mine a bit beefier), mix up some peanut butter with the colloidal silica and carefully spread it on the inside of the strip. Starting at the stern, clamp it in place, perfectly align it with the top edge of the plywood. Now you have a long, springy lever to bend the wood strip along the compound curve. It dips both vertically (shear), and bows out at the widest part of the boat (beam), then back in toward the bow. At least every foot, clamp it as you go, moving forward. More is better. Toward the bow, the strip will get stiffer as it gets shorter. Once clamped in place, scrape/wipe off all the squeeze-out. It's much easier to remove now than after it hardens. Let it sit overnight. You'll have to repeat this three more times, meaning this step takes four days (if you're using "slow" epoxy hardener).

During those four days that you're dealing with the outwale, you can make major progress on the sailboat parts. They're completely separate from the hull. If you're just making a rowboat, then you can skip making these parts.

The daggerboard and rudder are cut out and laminated. Then a bevel is ground onto the leading and trailing edges to make it slice through the water more efficiently. Then they're covered in layers of epoxy. The mast step is assembled. This has to be very strong because all of the force of the sail is transmitted to the boat through the mast step and the mast is a very long lever arm. The rudder cheek plates and tiller also have to be assembled similarly to the daggerboard case.

NOTE: Whenever there's a hole to be drilled into any part of the boat, you must take additional steps to make sure the water doesn't penetrate and damage the wood. The correct procedure is to drill an over-sized hole, completely fill that hole with epoxy (I usually put a piece of masking tape on the back side to act as a dam), then once the epoxy cures, re-drill in the center of the epoxy plug the correct hole size. That makes each hole in the boat possibly a 2 day process, so plan accordingly. You can also use 5 minute epoxy to knock out a bunch of holes quickly, but be careful, they're not kidding. This stuff gets rock hard very quickly and will permanently glue anything touching. This is exactly how you drill the hole for the pivot point for the rudder/cheek plate assembly. If the pin is 1/4", then drill 1/2" hole and fill that with epoxy. Now the 1/4" hole will fit nicely in the center and be completely waterproof.

Since all the parts need several coats of unthickened epoxy and they just about all have holes in them, I hung them up with some twine and painted them on all sides, one layer at a time, for several days. Make sure the rudder doesn't get too thick to fit inside the cheek plates.

Step 7: Making the Spars...

More sailboat parts you can make while waiting for other parts to cure are the spars, the structural parts that support the sail. The mast is another glue up. I used 3 - 1x3's of hemlock. A relatively soft wood, but with a nice tight grain with no knots. A mast would break at a knot, regardless of how strong the wood is. Using the waterproof glue, align the pieces as perfectly as you can then clamp up the assembly and let dry overnight. Then run it through a table saw to get the final dimensions. Use a router and a round-over bit to ease the edges. Cut to length and sand the sharp corners. It should fit easily, but snugly into the forward thwart.

The boom (bottom of sail) is a little more complicated. Cut out the gooseneck (boom pivot point) by using a hole saw first, making sure to clamp it securely to the workbench, then cut out the profile. This gets attached to another piece of 1x3 hemlock, after it's been cut to length and the edges have been rounded over.

The yard (top of sail) is easy. Just cut to length and round over the edges. Drill and fill any holes in the spars at this time. You'll need at least one hole on each end to lash the sail grommets to.

This time, everything gets covered with several coats of varnish, epoxy is not necessary. The varnish protects the wood from water and UV damage.

The reason we had to make at least the mast at this point is because we'll need it in the next step to establish the location of the mast step.

Step 8: Finishing Up the Interior & Exterior...

Once the outwales are successfully attached, trim them flush with the face of the transom(s). While you're at it, use a flush cut saw (with no sawtooth offset to mar the wood) to trim the sides flush with the transom. This will show you how well your injected silica mix worked earlier. Now you're ready to install the mast step.

The mast step must be precisely located on the floor (sole) of the boat to give the mast the proper angle (rake). This is very important because it directly affects the boat's ability to sail upwind. Using your mast, insert it into the forward thwart (partner) and into the mast step. With the mast at a 3° angle (mostly vertical but with a small, yet noticeable and graceful tilt toward the stern of the boat), trace the location of the mast step. Use a combination square to make sure it's perfectly aligned side to side (athwartship). You can now set the mast aside. Drill and fill holes in the bottom of the boat so that you can securely screw the mast step from the outside of the hull. The mast base must also be epoxied to the sole with peanut butter. After it's screwed into place but before the epoxy cures, make sure to test fit the mast again and verify the rake angle is correct. It would be a little messy at this point if you had to tweak it, but at least you wouldn't have to cut it off.

Now comes the most unpleasant part of the whole build. On your hands and knees, make a 1" radius fillet on the underside of every part in the boat. I didn't worry about making these pretty, just structural and water tight (these create the flotation tanks that keep the boat from sinking if you capsize). Let that cure overnight.

Next is the scariest part of the build, making the slot in the hull for the daggerboard. Using a drill bit extension, from the inside of the boat, reach down through the daggerboard case and drill a hole at each end of the slot through the bottom of the boat (make sure to use a backer board). Drill a couple holes in between, then take a jigsaw and connect the dots. This weakens the hull enough so that the router won't tear out any extra wood. Note, this step can easily be done prior to affixing the center thwart. Using a flush trim/laminate router bit, let the bearing run around the inside of the daggerboard case. This will make the hole in the hull perfectly match the slot. This is important because you don't want a shoulder on the inside for the daggerboard to hit and you don't want to damage the waterproof lining of the case. Last, ease the sharp edge of the daggerboard slot with the router and a small radius round-over bit.

The skeg must be cut to fit the curve of the hull (rocker), then using silicone bronze screws, attach it to the hull using the same drill and fill/peanut butter techniques. Make sure to snap a chalk line on the centerline of the boat for reference. Then make a 1" fillet where it meets the hull which will support the skeg and make it strong. The skeg keeps the boat tracking straight in the water. I optionally used some fiberglass cloth to cover the skeg and overlap onto the bottom to make the entire assembly stronger and more waterproof. The skeg will take the brunt of the abuse when launching, beaching, loading and unloading, etc. I also installed a stainless steel rubstrake on the aft end of the skeg with this in mind. In wooden boat building, silicone bronze screws are often used because they won't corrode when encapsulated like stainless steel screws can.

Install the skids parallel to the skeg. These are solid pieces of hardwood because they will also take a lot of abuse when the boat is sitting on shore, protecting the thin hull from rocks, etc. They get installed the same way as the skeg, although it's a little tough to bend the wood along the rocker. Scrape off the excess peanut butter once they're screwed in place.

I also installed the optional outboard motor pad at this point because I plan to use an electric trolling motor on the back to quietly putter around the lake in the evenings to relax with the family after work.

That should be the last parts that go into making the boat!

Step 9: Finishing the Hull...

Now comes the last dash to the finish line. One of the more tedious steps is that you now have to sand the entire boat. I actually built the entire boat inside, but for the sanding stage, I took her outside. Several hours of sanding all of the fillets nice and smooth. Everything will show in the finished product whether you paint the boat or leave it "bright" (unpainted). If you've been careful about cleaning up the peanut butter as you go, you should be able to sand the boat with mostly 220 grit. Be careful not to sand through the thin veneer of the plywood. After the sanding is done (make sure to use a dust mask), vacuum the entire boat and then wipe it down with a tack cloth to remove any dust. I also reversed the hose on the shop vac and used it to blow the sawdust off since I was outside.

Next, you must coat the entire interior and exterior with 3-4 coats of unthickened epoxy. This makes the entire boat waterproof. It will also give you an idea of how beautiful the wood will look when varnished. This is why a lot of boat builders decide to leave their boats bright so the beauty of the wood shows through.

Mix up 1 cup batches of unthickened epoxy and pour out large puddles onto the surface. Taking a foam roller, distribute the epoxy in a smooth coat. Now take a wide foam brush and gently smooth (tip) the rolled out surface. This should remove any lap marks or bubbles. Move along to the next area, making sure to not touch the wet parts. Also, make sure no dust or bugs get on your finish or it'll mean even more sanding later.

Start with the exterior first. It'll be much easier to get good by practicing on the convex surfaces. The interior is more tricky because you want to prevent sags and pooling by only applying very thin coats.

Make sure to check with the manufacturer's directions during this step in case you have to deal with "blushing", a thin layer that can sometimes form on the surface of epoxy when it cures. This could cause your layers to not stick to each other. If your epoxy does blush, it's easy to just wipe the entire boat down with a rag soaked in acetone after each coat has cured. Some people sand between coats of epoxy. This is how you would make an extremely smooth/shiny finish, so if you want your boat to be museum quality, invest the effort. I'm planning on banging my boat around so opted out of an extreme, fancy, mirror finish.

I was originally going to paint the exterior of the hull, which would require priming and painting, but I'm leaving it bright for the time being. The good news is that you can always paint later if you change your mind, but if you paint it and change your mind, it's tough to go back. There aren't a lot of pics of this step, which took a couple of days because there wasn't much visible progress after that first coat went on. At this point, any surface that's not painted should be varnished using the same "roll and tip" method as the epoxy, with the optional sanding between coats. Note that epoxy has no UV resistance, so to keep your boat from getting sunburned, you must either paint or varnish every surface. Giving a boat a "museum quality" paint and/or varnish finish can literally take as long as building the boat.

Step 10: Making the Sail...

Another step you can do while other parts are curing is make the sail. This particular design uses a "lug" sail, a classic looking sail for small boats with wood masts. It increases the sail area (therefore the force generated by the wind) without it having to be as tall as a modern sailboat mast made of aluminum. There is a kit from an online sailmaking company that you can get for a reasonable price. The Dacron cloth panels are all cut out by a CNC machine, so they fit perfectly together. I used a regular, domestic sewing machine, not an industrial one. The only time I had trouble was when sewing through all 7 layers at the reinforcement patches. When I got to those parts, I had to manually push down on the foot of the sewing machine with a flat-bladed screwdriver (minus) to help push the needle through the Dacron. We jokingly call Philips head screwdrivers "plus".

The panels/parts all come labeled. The directions were a bit confusing because they suggest you make sub-assemblies after the fact to make wrangling the large sail easier but they mention it after you've already sewn the large panels together. It's important to understand what parts go together while the panels are still small and more manageable. For example, the batten pockets are tricky enough to build on a single panel, much less the finished sail. Building the sail was about as difficult for me as building the boat, but it was worth it.

The lug sail gets reinforcement patches on all four corners where you attach it to the spars (bend), and there's also a reefing point for when the wind starts to pick up (freshen). Modern sails have three corners (Marconi rig).

I opted for the less expensive white Dacron sail kit, but there's also a classic red (tanbark) colored kit that's $100 more expensive. Before I sewed a single stitch, I carefully traced every part of the sail kit onto painter's tarp poly film so I can always use the templates to build another sail, all I need to do is buy the tanbark cloth.

Step 11: Rigging Your Sailboat...

This seems to be the trickiest part for most people, probably because there are numerous ways it can be successfully rigged, depending on your experience, preferences or criteria. It's confusing because you have to know what the finished setup will look like in your mind while you're staring at a pile of ropes. I chose a setup that allows the most room in the cockpit for a full-sized adult, so the mainsheet is led forward of the skipper's position. This keeps the skipper's attention forward so they're looking where they're going. I have another boat where the mainsheet is behind the skipper and it takes some practice getting used to.

The lines I made up (rope becomes a line when you give it a job description) were the halyard (hauls the sail up), the mainsheet (adjusts the angle of the sail to the wind = trim) and a traveler bridle (where the mainsheet attaches to the boat). I got fancy and spliced all my ends, but you can just as well use a bowline knot.

I installed a cheek block at the top of the mast instead of the large diameter hole in the directions. I wanted the halyard to run as smoothly as possible when setting the sail. Then I installed a pair of cleats at the base of the mast, one for the halyard and one for the downhaul (cunningham). With both of these lines pulling in opposite directions, it locks the sail in place, flat, so it effectivley acts like a wing. The main halyard attaches to the gaff with a snap onto a padeye. This allows easy on/easy off when rigging at the boat ramp. I also used a small loop (parrel) around the mast and through the eye to keep the gaff located close to the mast. I looped the downhaul over the boom and down to the cleat to try to keep the gooseneck from twisting. Note, except for the blocks, just about all of the hardware used on rigging a boat this size can come in stainless steel or brass/bronze, depending on the look you're going for. If you plan on installing oarlocks to row the boat, this decision becomes even more important to the final look of the boat.

For the mainsheet, I made a short bridle between the handles on the transom with a small eye tied in the center. This allows a place for the snap on the end of the mainsheet to attach to. I could've just as easily allowed the snap to slide, which would give the bridle the function of a traveler, but would affect its pointing ability (sail upwind). The mainsheet is then run to a block on the end of the boom, then to another block in the middle of the boom. This leaves the main cockpit area unobstructed with running rigging. Make sure your mainsheet is long enough for your boom to swing forward of 90° to the boat, with enough to still come back to the cockpit for the skipper to control. A stop knot at the end of the mainsheet will keep the mainsheet from getting away from you and give you something to grip.

The rudder pivot hardware (gudgeons and pintles) must be installed perfectly vertical and on the exact centerline of the boat so that she will sail well. Drill and fill the necessary holes for this hardware. Be careful with the spacing. It's designed to be easily installed and uninstalled while underway.

With this particular rigging layout, when under sail, the skipper must constantly keep the mainsheet in hand, which is a good idea anyway for safety reasons (if you get hit by a gust of wind = puff, you won't get blown over = capsize). The tension on the mainsheet is easily manageable for any size skipper. On larger boats, the mainsheet is held by a fiddle block with a cam cleat, which is not necessary for a boat this size. With that being said, a possible future upgrade would be to install a block and a camcleat somewhere on the centerline of the boat so that more advanced sailors wouldn't need to constantly have to oppose the tension on the mainsheet. Of course the trade-off would be the hardware would probably be somewhere you might want to sit.

Another upgrade I figured out after actually taking her sailing would be to rig up a bungee/shock cord system that will hold the daggerboard both in an up and down position. With the current setup, the centerboard is held down by gravity and must be pulled out of the slot when beaching.

Step 12: Go SAILING!

Because I wanted to be able to go sailing by myself if needed, I made a dolly out of 2x4's and large pneumatic tires (which makes the dolly float). The dolly fits securely between the center and aft thwarts when driving out to the lake. The sides on the dolly lock against the skids on the bottom of the boat so it can't twist. Roll the sail up with the spars and wrap it with the main halyard. At the designed length, the mast doesn't fit inside the boat, but it seems a bit long, so some people have cut the mast down enough so that it fits inside the boat.

Out at the lake, unload the boat, slide the dolly underneath and you're ready to roll down to the ramp. At the launch, roll the boat out into the water until it floats off the dolly, toss the dolly off to the side out of everybody else's way. Drop the daggerboard into the slot and install the rudder assembly. Facing into the wind (important), stick the mast into the receiver hole (partner), tie off the downhaul (cunningham) and hoist the sail until the downhaul is tight, then cleat off the main halyard. Reave the mainsheet (run the line through the blocks) and you're ready to go sailing.

I've found that this boat sails very well. The lug sail makes it very easy to sail upwind (weather helm), it's a little more tender for a large adult, more so than a boat with a hard chine, like an El Toro/Optimist but it's a lot more graceful looking. The payload is very reasonable for a boat this size. My wife and son can easily (and safely) go sailing with me and I don't even need anyone's help to get it rigged and launched. All in all, this is one of the best projects I've every built. I hope you too can discover the joy of building your own boat and then take her sailing. Remember, in sailing, the wind is free, but nothing else is...

This is my very first Instructable after many years of referencing this excellent site to build numerous cool projects (you should see my next post). Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and please feel free to ask any questions you may have and I'll do my best to answer them. I'm planning on building a larger boat in the near future so stay tuned...

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IDEA 19 originates in 2005 as a modification of Dudley Dix’s TLC 19, a small GRP trailerable sailboat; at the end of the work the only things left from the original project were hull lines, every other aspect of the project was refined, boosted up, and modernized and the plans were converted to a modern wood-plywood and epoxy building system.

Our first and best selled plan suited for homebuilders.

IDEA 19 originates in 2005 as a modification of Dudley Dix’s TLC 19, a small GRP trailerable sailboat; at the end of the work the only things left from the original project were hull lines, every other aspect of the project was refined, boosted up, and modernized and the plans were converted to a modern wood-plywood and epoxy building system. IDEA19  is a 6m fast paced trailerable sailboat; she can be built by homebuilders in both GRP and wood-plywood & epoxy resin, with strip planking system for hull, and plywood “stitch and glue” system for cockpit, deck and cabin; plans are suited for homebuilders ranging from absolute beginners to intermediate;

hull is a good balance between a quite full bow, sleek amidship lines and a flat and large transom; the boats have achieved a huge amount of miles sailed, both cruising and racing, in all conditions, including several nasty squalls; performance are very sparkly, and the cockpit is surprisingly dry and sound for a small sailboat, with fair and predictable reactions; she has proved to be a tough competitor in club racing (GPH approx. 740 for ORC club rating).

IDEA 19 plans grew in these years as a “family“ of sailboats: you can build her in a long cabin version or in a shorter one, with a really huge cockpit, both in sandwich GRP or in wood & epoxy resin, with retractable or fixed keel, with plywood chined or solid wood round cabin; plans are highly detailed, including all aspects of building and rigging the boat.

The boats launched have sailed thousand miles in these years, in a wide range of environments, from lakes to the open sea, and in a wide range of activities, from family cruising to club racing ; they took beatings in harsh sea conditions up to 30 knots of wind, clocked speed in excess 18 knots planing downind; the boat proved to be a study, forgiving, fun and fast pocket rocket , a very good choice given her overall dimensions.

A lot of building pictures and whole building sequences are on the web, which is something that can mark the difference and speed up the boat building process.

Plans are available both in Italian and English.

Plans are available in imperial units upon request.

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       I’m Arch Davis – I learned boatbuilding and design in New Zealand in the 1970s. I have been helping people to build beautiful wooden boats since 1988. You can see a few of them by clicking on Picture Gallery . My approach to design is to put into your hands the means to use modern materials – marine plywood and epoxy resin – to build a truly lovely boat with classic lines.

      I believe that a boat should be beautiful, not just by virtue of her lines, but also in her construction. No material makes this possible like wood. My aim is to take advantage of wood’s unique strengths, in a structure that captivates the eye. I want you to feel that you are always doing good work in building one of these boats.

       You’ll see that I have a small collection of designs. That is because I understand your need for clear, comprehensible, detailed plans and instructions. I put a lot of time into my drawings, building manuals and DVDs. I also spend a lot of time helping people through their projects, on the phone or by e-mail. I really am here to help!

      If you see something that you like in my collection, please feel free to contact me with any questions. I am available on the phone at 207-930-9873, or email me at [email protected] .

Wooden Boat Plans and Boat Kits by Arch Davis

Grace's Tender - More than just a tender, this little dinghy is a fine vessel in her own right. She is a pleasure to row, and sprightly under her simple sailing rig - a great boat for youngsters to mess about in. Bay Pilot 18 - an 18 ft pilothouse cruiser for outboard power. Laughing Gull - 16 ft self-bailing sailing/rowing skiff. Ace 14 - 14 ft performance daysailer Penobscot 13 - 13 ft little sister to Penobscot 14. Penobscot 14 - 14 ft glued lapstrake sailing/rowing skiff. Penobscot 17 - big sister to the Penobscot 14 Sand Dollar - 11 ft sailing/rowing skiff. Jack Tar - 26 ft plywood lobster boat design Jiffy 9-7 - suitable for rowing or a small outboard motor Jiffy 22 - outboard powered cabin skiff Jiffv V-22 - vee-bottom sister of the Jiffy 22

About My Boat Kits

       I also have epoxy kits and plywood packages for all my designs, plus sails, rigging, and numerous other items. Here's my daughter, Grace, setting up the frames for a Grace's Tender kit.

Please call or write to me at: Arch Davis Design 37 Doak Road Belfast, Maine 04915 Tel:207-930-9873  

If you would like to receive a newsletter from Arch Davis Design, send me an e-mail at [email protected]

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• BOATBUILDING SUPPLIES
• Aluminum & Steel Powerboats
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MIKE WALLER 

Yacht design.

WE SPECIALIZE IN BOAT PLANS FOR AMATEUR BUILDERS

We provide stock boat plans for both monohull and multihull sailing vessels, including sailing skiffs and sharpies. Our designs mainly feature timber construction, in plywood or cedar strip plank composite construction, using the W.E.S.T. system (wood epoxy saturation technique). Our designs are intended mainly as cruising boats, although several have done well in racing. All designs are suitable for amateur boat builders.

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 multihulls  , photos from our builders.

Photo galleries are provided on each design page where available

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• Prao Vaka 990
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Boats plans for self builder - in metric

Imperial plans on duckworks.

Jérôme Delaunay Naval Architect - Nautline design office in naval architecture: I design and draw custom boat and sailboat plans, in plywood epoxy and other materials. Sailboat plans for shipowner construction and professional construction. Plans of multihulls, plans of catamarans, praos and trimarans. CFD hull study, digital hull basin, engine optimization. I offer scantling calculations, keel calculations, mast and rig calculations. Composite sampling calculations. DXF digital plans for CNC digital cutting.

Home » LIST of WOODEN BOAT PLANS – By Michael Storer » Choose Simple Sailing Dinghies for cheap family sailing basics to adventures

Choose Simple Sailing Dinghies for cheap family sailing basics to adventures

Sailing dinghies are the most common introduction to sailing basics – and the best teachers..

Sailing dinghies are the most popular sailing boats, responsive and not expensive – good for sailing basics, fast – good for the experienced, relatively easy to store and available inexpensively second hand or build from plywood from a sailing dinghy plan.

People sail with their families, go on picnics, some race, some cruise or go on expeditions and adventures, some go camping.

Here are sailboats getting ready for the Texas 200 mile event. A non competitive event over 5 days for small boats.

Below I have a rundown on different ways of getting low cost sailing dinghies and  how to make sure it is a boat that fits your needs and works well with minimum extra expenditure.

Here are some of  the sailboats  you can build from our plans, but read the text below to fill in general information about buying used sailing dinghies, restoring or even building your own.

Sailing basics to experienced doesn’t need to be expensive in a Sailing Dinghy

The sailing dinghy boom was in the 1960s and 1970s. In many countries it was powered by the growth of the middle class with an increase in leisure time and some spare money from the paycheck.

Most of these sailboats were built at home using new methods that allow prefabrication of sailing dinghies from relatively large flat pieces of plywood rather than lots of small pieces of timber.

This is how our oz goose sailing dinghy goes together – actually all our plans work this way. Everything is made of the flat and the hull goes together in a short time.

And the result of the easier methods of building your own boat was the boom in sailing dinghies in the 1960s and 70s.

Sailing basics and more on the cheap in modern times

So it seemed for some time that sailing would finally become a pasttime everyone could afford. Within the sailing mainstream this was a promise that was lost with lots of money thrown at very small increments in performance – but there are alternatives.

But there is a boom in inexpensive sailing outside the expensive mainstream. Maybe the new mainstream! From sailing basics in a simple boat to expedition sailing in groups like the RAID group below.

However there are several ways of getting an inexpensive sailboat for you, your friends and family can use. You can also introduce your kids to sailing.

Sailing Classes in your own sailing dinghy

There is an implicit trap in sailing classes. They can be cheap or expensive, but often when people finish the classes they find few realistic ways of continuing to sail either individually or as a family group.

Sailing classes with a sailing club are often a cheaper way and then there is often support for helping you be into participating in the club. You may find the sections below on choosing a second hand boat useful as well as all the links to restoration of an older boat.

Commercial classes often tend to be more problematic. They are very simple to enroll in. But often afterwards there is no real route into applying the sailing basics once the sailing class ends.

Whether with a Sailing Club or recreational sailing on your own, your own small affordable  sailing dinghy can be the best option.

Because not everyone has sailing instruction available I have put together a sailing course – Click to view lessons.

All Free Online Sailing Lessons – Index

• Sailing Upwind with less effort
• Increase confidence in Stronger Winds
• Downwind with less distress
• Gusts, Gybes and tacks easily
• Not hitting other boats and more

Three main routes into sailing on the cheap using inexpensive sailing dinghies

• To Buy a sailing dinghy Secondhand ready to sail – which usually means a test sail. We have an article on things to look for and to look out for when buying a used sailing dinghy .
• To Restore an older sailboat – which can be hit and miss. If you find an older racing dinghy then you have to work out whether to keep it or burn it. Some are really big bargains – A group of case studies and advice about fixing up an older sailing dinghy.  
• Build a sailing dinghy. Many plans are setep by step and the skill requirement is unintimidating. There have been huge leaps made to make boats that go together much easier and faster to put together with limited skills, tools and time.
• The glues allow gaps to be filled easily
• Plywood boats are often considerably lighter than fibreglass ones
• Modern plywood sailboats have very low maintenance
• Modern takes on traditional rigs make boats cheaper and fast to setup.
• Don’t  need many tools – Usually a jigsaw, a cordless drill to drive  in temporay screws while the glue sets up, a sander saves time, but after that it is rulers, pencils and so on
• You don’t need huge numbers of clamps – boats can be stitched together with cable ties or temporary plasterboard/drywall screws. 

See the assembly of a simple canoe which can be used for paddling or sailing. The important principle is that the panels are cut out and directly assembled into the canoe shape.

That’s what we do. Excellent plans and excellent building support online or direct.

NEW – Viola 14 – Sailing Canoe Plan

A sailing canoe to make dinghy sailors happy – 75lbs.

Viola 14 Sailing Canoe is fun and exciting. Easier than a sailing dinghy to transport and store. Canoe performance and Dinghy stability.

Viola is extremely stable allowing the crew to stand up and step and unstep the lug rig mast while on the water. Try that in a symmetric paddling canoe hullform!

Three Sailing rigs with two piece masts 4.7 and 6.0sqm full batten rigs. 6.3m balance lug with three reefs. 75lb hull. Four sheets 4mm plywood

 More about the Viola 14 Sailing Canoe Plan here

Goat Island Skiff Plan

Simple, light, easy build sailboat and great sailing by yourself to four adults..

Justifiably famous.

Simple to build but light, fast, pretty. Rows and Motors and will sail rings around other character boats.

If building a sailboat build something extraordinary. Visit the Goat Island Skiff group on Facebook .

More information about the Goat Island Skiff Plan

Oz Goose Light Simple effective DIY sailing boat

Low cost family sailing, regattas and teaching.

The Oz Goose is a small sailboat that is a super easy to build, has excellent club racing performance sailing with 1 or 2 in the boat. Boat speeds are very matched for excellent tactical racing when not heading off for a family picnic with two aduts and a bunch of kids aboard

For training the goose will carry an instructor and two adults to sail with good sensitivity and speed. In stronger winds we commonly see downwind speeds of 10 to 13knots and sometimes much more.

Also visit the Oz Goose Group on Facebook

More information about the Plywood Oz Goose – see the website

“BETH” Sailing Canoe – Elegant plywood boat plan

Simple, brilliant performance – one person cartop.

A touch of the 1870’s but fast about as much fun as is possible on a plywood boat. Yawl Rig with speed – a wooden canoe that can scare the Lasers at your local club . Racing dinghy experience recommended! 

A small sailing dinghy for amateur boat building that is light enough for one person to roofrack 70lbs plywood canoe hull. Sailing Canoe boat plan

Click here for more about the  plywood BETH Sailing Canoe Plan

Two Versions of the 8ft Oz Racer

While we strongly recommend the 12ft Oz Goose above as it has much better performance and can carry three adults or two adults and three kids with the same sail and other components as the 8ft OzRacers

The RV has an leeboard built into the side airtank

The Mk2 has a dagger centreboard case for more performance

Compare the RV to the Mk2

Sailing Canoes

Click if you like the idea of sailing Canoes which are even more compact than sailing dinghies. canoe are easier to store and transport. And usually use even less building materials.