Duckworks has a nice interview with one of our favorite canoe designer/builders.
When did you become a boat designer and what was your first real design? I started drawing boats when I was about eight years old, and I built my first one at fifteen from a photo in a magazine. That first project was an eight foot lake scow with an underbody similar to the current Puddle Ducks…
The third annual Race to Alaska starting gun goes off at 5:00 am on June 8. 750 miles, no motor, no support from Port Townsend WA to Ketchikan AK. As per the previous races, there will be plenty of multihulls vying for the $10,000 first to finish prize, and perhaps a new course record, though last year’s time of 3d 20h 13m set by Team MAD Dog Racing is a tall order.
New this year is the Buy Back offer: Each team that finishes and…
The original CSK Polynesian Concept 35 is for sale in Newport Beach, CA. This boat was designed and built for Buddy Ebsen, the actor and TV star best remembered for his role as Jeb Clampett in the CBS sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies. The listing dealer appears to be banking on the star power of the yacht, but the listing is still worth a look due to the good photos.
Tarpon Springs FL based smallcraft designer/builder JF Bedard has posted an informative recap of his experience racing the 2017 Everglades Challenge in his self-designed and built micro-cruiser: RoG. Great for any fan of long-distance challenges like the EC and the R2AK. Besides, I am especially taken with Bedard’s diminutive racer, its distinct lack of multiple hulls notwithstanding. Bedard Yacht Design.
BROOMSTICK is a 15’ home-designed & built hydrofoil trimaran by Doug Halsey. It first sailed as a foiler in 2004 and has been refined gradually each year since then (only sailing a handful of times per year). Although it wasn’t intended to be the ultimate in speed, it routinely exceeds 20 knots, with a lifetime best speed of 28.7 knots. Box section hulls, round aluminum tube beams, deep-V hydrofoils and used beach cat sails - what’s…
A report by Peter Adrian from Sweden on his crab claw rigged iceboat:
Am sailing my second season my modified iceboat: an Isabella Classic with 5m2 (54 sq. ft.) crab claw sail. Just a win-win over all compared against the same boats with conventional Bermuda rig. Just one thing I’ve noticed is she no longer lifts the windward runner at over 60km/h (37 mph).
The yard is made fast to the apex of a bipod mast and fixed to the hull at…
The first production proa in a long while hails from Warsaw. Pjoa Laguna is based on Marshall Islands tradition, with a few changes. The form factor and distinctive crab claw sail are certainly “old school” canoe, however this version offers a sun deck, enclosed storage, dismountable for car-topping and storage. Like the original, this canoe is also 100% recyclable (no glass-reinforced plastics).
Read more here, and see them at Boot…
Continuing in the ‘Old School’ vein, here is the 1924 Savoia-Marchetti S.55 - a twin-hulled flying boat that set 14 world records for speed, payload, altitude and range. “The most incredible serial-built flying boat of the Interbellum.”
Designed by Alessandro Marchetti, the S.55 achieved great fame through spectacular long-distance flights: Lieut-Col the Marchese de Pinedo flew the Santa Mariafrom Sardinia to Buenos Aires and then…
Venerable multihull builder, skipper, designer and author Jim Brown is treating us to a series of podcasts done in his inimitable style - recounting his personal stories and experiences spanning over 50 years. Subjects range from Woody Brown and the birth of modern catamarans in Hawaii, to storm survival, cat vs. tri comparisons, and even a few proa related talks. View and download the collection here at Outrig Media.
Photo: before he…
Modern multihulls got their start in the 1960’s by being relatively cheap and embarrassingly fast when compared to the monohull sailing yachts of the day, and so attracted an enthusiastic following of iconoclasts. Since then, multihulls have cruised relentlessly up market - leaving the “cheap” aspect in the wake of history. Bernd Kohler is one multihull designer and pioneer who still appreciates the virtue of thrift, and his online…
