Thursday, October 01, 2009

Al Zuger in NY impresses his sailing friends with his OZ PDR

From Al Zuger in Brooklyn, NY who is extending the envelope of operating his PDRacer.

So I finally took my little ducky out in a real bay yesterday. I went down to the south shore of long island about an hour out of the big city, and man was it ever nice!

Up until now i Have only taken it out near my shop on a small estuary of the east river. It is still a lot of fun, but the wind is unpredictable and the tidal current can be very strong. Not to mention there is a decent amount of barge traffic. (though the tug crews get a pretty big kick out of the little guy and are very friendly)

This time i was out with my friend who grew up sailing, and skippers a 40' charter cat in the Caribbean (dirty job but someones gotta do it!) and we had a blast. The wind was good and strong with puffs that really made the duck get up and go. Hiked out a few times it felt like we were up on plane! I had been out with two before but only in lighter wind and always fighting a current, so in contrast this was unbelievable. No one around there had seen anything like it, and the passers by couldn't believe it when one person hoisted it off the car, then 10 min to rig and we were off. My buddy loved it, and wants one as his dinghy on the big boat. I keep getting more and more impressed with the simplicity and ease of the design, and can confidently say that i have caught the bug!

One thing i have found though, is that especially with 2 full sized adults in a strong breeze tacking back and forth, is that it is hard not to get tangled in the tiller. I'm gonna make a second rudder box with a pivoting tiller and see how it works soon. I don't think it would take much to get the handle up out of the way a bit, and make it easier for me get under it without having to go so far forward on every tack. Just an idea.

Gotta say I'm super impressed, and haven't had this much fun with something in a while! I have to start my Goat this winter, as I've been checking out the charts and waterways around here and have found a bunch of little islands and waterways perfect for weekend long beach camping expeditions with my fiancee.

(Callsign- that is indeed a girl in the boat with me, but just so no one gets the wrong idea, she's a good friend, and Sasha, my girlfriend, and as of very recently fiancee, took the picture. Sash is quite entertained by and supportive of my newfound obsession with boat making and sailing)
Best,
Al

Monday, August 31, 2009

Puddle Ducking on Lake Allatoona, Georgia

Nice little story from David Chamness. Just nice text ... no pics ....

I took "Whack Whack" (pic from launching day) out to Victoria Landing the other day for a sail. The
conditions were light and variable, with short periods of decent wind
interspersed with longer periods of light or non-existent wind. The lady at the
State Park entry gate smiled smugly as I came through and paid my $4.00 entry
and parking fee. "Taking your little sailboat out again?" she asked. It's nice
to be noticed.

I got two other comments from people as I was setting up to launch. One guy
said, "You must be the bravest guy here." and "I wouldn't go out in anything
that small." I explained that it is actually quite large enough for my
purposes, and support much more weight than I need. I let him know I've had the
entire family out in the boat before. He was, um, skeptical.

The wind was blowing in nice and steady, at maybe 10 knots, while I stepped the
mast and stowed the gear in the boat. Since the wind was blowing pretty much
directly into the boat ramp, I didn't raise sail until after I had parked my
truck and paddled the boat away from the dock.

I put the dagger board down and raised my sprit sail and was immediately off,
sailing directly past the end of the ramp. Oops. I know sailboat have the right
of way over power boats in open water, but I've got a feeling cutting people off
while they are coming into the boat ramp is frowned upon. Fortunately, I was
only there for a couple of minutes.

I sailed Northwest on a broad reach, all the way to the opposite shore, all of
about a thousand meters. I decided against turning to the southwest, since that
would mean heading downwind, on a day when the wind was suspect, so I came
around almost 180 degrees and sailed back towards the beach (just northeast of
the boat ramp.)

Just after I made my turn and was feeling good, the wind died. Well, not died,
exactly, but dropped to just a whisper. I was amazed that even in wind I could
barely feel, I was still able to make some forward progress. Okay, so it was
only a knot or two, but but I was still moving.

It was a beautiful day, and the lake was fairly busy, especially right around
Victoria. Quite a few boats passed me as I was making my way back, some of them
fairly large. It's humbling realizing that the wake off of a 30 foot cabin
cruiser is larger than the sides of my homemade boat.

Being new to sailing a Puddle Duck, I wasn't sure how much of a "sea" my boat
could take without being swamped. I shouldn't have worried. Whack Whack was
stable and uncaring. The wind picked up and I felt her surge forward as the
mast creaked with the new strain. I fairly flew forward and became a moving
target to the motorized traffic. I must have been going five knots! The spray
off the bow was almost as impressive as the sound of the foils cutting through
the water.

Just as I reached the little island that marks the western edge of the swimming
area, the wind died again. Have you ever tried to tack with no wind? It's...
embarrassing; I had to use my paddle.

Over the next two hours, I worked my way back and forth across the channel,
making my way upwind with each tack. Okay, so I could have done it in about five
minutes in my pontoon boat, but where's the fun in that?

All told I spend almost four hours on the water. It was my very first long
sailing session on the new boat. I had a blast. I know sailing the Puddle Duck
is old hat to most of the guys on this forum, but it's new to me. I don't have
access to coastal waterways, steady winds, or long sails to the Caribbean, so
this will have to do. So far, in my limited experience, it's doing the trick.

stolen from the worldwide PDR forum
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pdracer/message/29844

Monday, July 13, 2009

Michael Storer's shoestring tour of the USA

The PDRacer community and Duckworks have grouped together to collect small amounts of money to put together to bring me to the USA to go to various "messabouts" (messing around in boat weekends) as well as the Intergalactic Championships of the PDRacers in Georgia in October.

Duckworks is collecting and managing the contributions.
http://www.duckworksbbs.com/boatmik.htm

The PDR communitiy will host me at different houses and organise lifts between different places as much as possible - a real shoestring tour.

My aim it to pay back people's generosity by doing anything that they want me to (within reason!!!). So talks, discussions, Q and A, boat setup clinics, sailing lessons, boatbuilding workshops. All is fair game!

My itinerary is looking something like this...
_______________________________________________

Arrive LAX around the 15th unless I can find a cheap way to stay in LA to catch a couple of museums/galleries.

Train or Bus to Oregon

_______________________________________________

Sept 18 to 20 Coots Messabout Timothy lake – Oregon
http://coots.org/calendar/2009/0909/0909.htm


Plane to Salt Lake City - $90
_______________________________________________

Hosted by Chuck and Sandra from Duckworks (my USA Agents) through to From Utah to Texas
http://www.duckworksbbs.com


Sept 24? to Oct 5? Jim Thayer's Kokopelli cruise – Lake Powell, Utah
http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/09/gatherings/koko/index.htm

South East by Road to Texas with Chuck and Sandra.
_______________________________________________

TEXAS! (maybe side trip to Florida to see cousins and Paul Riccelli PAR and others - funded by Storer)
_______________________________________________

Hopefully get a lift from Texas to Georgia with one of the Duckers - John Wright has offered.

9 to 11 October - Georgia PDR 2009 World Championship
The location is the Victoria Campground on Allatoona Lake near Atlanta, GA.
Here is a link to details about the campground: http://tinyurl.com/m4meuo
_______________________________________________

17 to 18 October Texas Messabout.
_______________________________________________

NE (Maine, NY etc - need to check with contacts - don't have any messabouts or events set up yet).

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Now a bigger version of the OZ PDRacer

The PDRacer international forum started discussing a longer version of the humble PDRacer - and I had some drawings on hand already for a 12ft version because of Bob Alston. He actually thought up the name, which I quite like.

We really do recommend the OZ PDRacer for most people and you do need to purchase the plan for the OZ PDR to build the new almost 12ft PDGoose.

For $20 extra you get an additional plan and license to build a 12ft version of the OZ PDR.

The Story

Bob Alston contacted me a couple of years ago wondering how to change the just under 8ft (2.4m) Oz PDR into a just under 12ft (3.5m) boat more suitable for two people. The standard OZ does take a passenger fine and sails well, but it is not a particularly participatory place to sit.

However, stretching the boat to 12ft allows two people to sit side by side as in the cover illustration. So it would be simple to share the sailing responsibility. One with the rudder and one with the mainsheet. Much better for sharing and learning.

The nice point about the PDGoose (Bob’s name for it) is that it uses ALL the bits the same as the OZ PDR – so rudder, tiller, centreboard, mast, the same two sail options. So if you have an OZ ... you can build a OZ PDGoose hull and go sailing with friends

The 12 footer will be able to carry quite a lot of weight and might make a good boat for events like the TEXAS200 event, though a lot of preparation and knowledge about the boat is necessary for tough events of this type. We recommend the lug sail with an extra reef point.

A bigger boat when friends drop round
The PDRacer is the ultimate in cheap, light and easy. It is a boat that a sailor can dominate because it is so small, simple and light. Not to mention easy to store and transport.

There are lots of arguments for not getting a bigger boat if you really don't need it. Listen to them! The great thing about the original PDRacer is that it is so simple and quick to use. The hull only weighs about 65lbs.

However I think some PDRacer owners will enjoy having a PDGoose as well as more people can go sailing with you and it will be a little bit faster than the PDRacer which might be useful sometimes.

The goose has the same enclosed side tanks as pioneered on the OZ PDR so if you do capsize the boat will float on its side and then will come upright with very little water aboard. See the capsize sequence for the PDR here.

Uses the same bits as the OZ PDR
Everything for the OZ PDRacer and the OZ Goose is identical except for the hull. This means if you have a PDRacer, you can just build the Goose hull and transfer all the working bits across.
One Caution
The mast for the OZ is strong enough for one person leaning out hard – so you can sail the PDGoose very hard singlehanded. However when sailing Two up I would recommend that the crew only sit comfortably on the side decks and not lean out hard – otherwise the mast might break. If you do want to build a real two person OZ PDGoose mast I will be designing a new mast for it later.

From Bob
I will bet you thought I dropped off the end of the world when I never got back with the results for the PDR Goose version.

I must confess I did not take the boat out at all last year, but, the goose is FANTASTIC!!! I had a bout with the "big C" last year, and didn't get much done at all.

However, the hull you designed is so great I intend to build another one just for use with a motor.

In 2007 I took the PDR GOOSE out a couple of times with a motor before my health probs kicked in, and I went in the water, on purpose, and brought all 155 kilos of me up over the side of the boat with NO problems. got caught out in a sudden blow where the wind was hitting 38 miles and hour with my wife on board and took no water in. the hull design is fantastic.

(Michael says: this is probably an exaggeration as to wind speed and probably represents a high point for the day taken from the weather report in the evening. I don't recommend that beginning sailors go out in that wind strength and some experienced sailors will probably decide not to as well!)

Do I owe you something for the hull I am building now? this one is only for use with a motor, but adhering closely to your design.

Sorry I took so long to get back in touch, but just thought you would like to know about the goose.

Have a great day, and have some FUN with it

Bob Alston

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Texas 200 mile race has several ducks



This year's event started on Monday - Texas time!

It is a 200 mile event with a fleet of boats making their own time up the coast to meet for the Magnolia Beach Messabout.

They meet together at a camp each night.

It is predominantly a downwind sail - PREDOMINANTLY!

The fleet numbers looked like being around the 50 mark with 5 PDRacers in the list.

From the top is Andrew Linn's Salem Electron, derived from the OZ Mk2 PDRacer. It is yellow now.

Gordo Barcomb from Texas and then Jason Nabors - with another of his extraordinary cabin PDRacers - TENACIOUS TURTLE. Just heard that Jason spent 13 hours on the water today making his 40 miles to cover the distance in the 5 days.












Kevin Allison "Duck 'n Out". Jon Kowitz and "Ranger"














I will post here as the event continues.

MIK

Thursday, May 14, 2009

PDRacer launched in Slovenia

We had one PDR launched in Romania last year. Now we move a little to the south.

Koala and Theodor are both building OZ PDRacers after building one of my Eureka Canoes last year.

Theodor was interrupted a bit because he and his wife have had a baby, but Koala invited him along to the launch.

Koala launched his green PDR onto a local river. Neither of them has sailed before ... and they had a great time.

They had better get some practice in. Csaba in Hungary is not too far from their favourite sailing lake and is build an OZ as well!

Well, we had a launch day on monday!!

Beautiful weather, nice wind at first. And it was great. Theodor and I each had a go. It was, well, beyond words. Have a look at how it went. There were a lot of kids arround so it was a bit hectic. But we have some shots of my start:


And here is Theodor:

Later on I went in with my son to paddle a bit and the wind got stronger so it carried us to the other side of the lake. Theodor cam to rescue.


From Theodor (Mark):I am so sure Peter is holding a clip of the video showing my attempt at the 'Capsizing Drill', and then he'll say that I was a wreckless sailor and had no idea how to handle the boat, blah blah blah...

I think we both had a fantastic time trying to get a handle on things .. it never ceases to amaze me how many things you need to concentrate on while sailing - direction, mast tension, wind direction, what the centreboard and rudder are doing, etc. I think it'll take a few more attempts to get a good feel for the boat - I was completely surprised when the corner of Pete's PDR kept "digging in" (see the two times the back corner came up). So I'd love some Storer sailing hints before we get out again.

I must admit it was very inspirational to get cracking on my one.

From Koala

Funny, we did have a capsize drill. But Mark was so fast turning the boat arround that by the time video camera turned on he was already climbing on the boat.

I didn't want to show the whole world just that moment as someome might think Mark just fell off the boat

Yep, this is really a nice boat - thanks to Mike's detailed plans. Considering
1. I was a first time boat builder
2. I have never done any sailing.


This was the first time I stepped into a sailing boat and you know the feeling when it's your boat

The small boat is BIG enough to keep us buisy learning to sail and enjoying the power of the wind on lakes and sea.

Speaking of wind. I really had problems seeing the wind direction besides the fact that wind was changing speed and direction quite often.
Mostly I didn't see the white flag on the top of my mast so I was just looking at how and when the sail was behaving.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

PDRacer Questions answered - Forum Index

I have compiles a list of topics discussed on my forum. Hope this is useful.

To see all the images and information you do need to be a member, but it is free and you won't receive any annoying emails unless you ask for them!

OZ PDRacer – Puddle Duck Racer
PDR - OZ PDRacer Mast Timber Thickness - 10mm?
PDR - PD racer, outboard & row
PDR - A newbie PDR owner
PDR - A plywood centreboard and rudder for PDRs
PDR - Another OZ MK2 PDRacer build in Sydney "Wood Duck"
PDR - Building the PD Racer
PDR - Building the PDRacer in Slovenia
PDR - Cruising a PD Racer - 3 days on the Rhine.
PDR - Goolwa - the first Oz PDRacer championships
PDR - Jib on A PD Racer? Gennikers or "Code 0"
PDR - Luis Builds a PDRacer - a pro woodworker view from Mexico
PDR - New PDR build - Boston, MA USA
PDR - New Queensland PDRacer Build
PDR - Nick's PD Racer
PDR - Oz PDR build in Adelaide - sexy black PDRacer
PDR - OZ PDR Sails - using a Sunfish sail for some serious frostbiting - USA only
PDR - OZ PDRacer - Dylan's build in the Philippines
PDR - OZ PDRacer Sailing under bridges
PDR - OZ PDRacer Vids
PDR - Query concerning marine ply for OzPDR
PDR - The Rally Cars didn't make it to DAKAR but the PDRacers did
PDR Build in the Philippines.
PDR in Perth?
PDR newbie introduction and questions - TEXAS!
PDR Racer State Titles???
PDR Sail Rig and spars (or Boatbuilding in the Philippines)
PDR skids
PDR Storage/Moving by hand
PDR, a good boat for a beginner? Can I use Hoop Pine plywood?
PDR, Lug vs. Spirit
PDRacer - Comparative Performance
PDRacer - just starting out
PDRacer - Lug rig option - yard too short?
PDRacer - optional solid mast
PDRacer - Oz Mk2 Version plans released. Comments, Questions etc.
PDRacer - Painting Polytarp Sails
PDRacer - towing behind larger boats
PDRacer & Goat Island Skiff Trailers
PDRacer and all other boats - is a lug, sprit or lateen the best?
PDRacer bottom undersize problem. Also is the bottom long enough? - no probs and yes
PDRacer Hungary; Egyszerű vitorláshajó építése Magyarországon
PDRacer Mast
PDRacer OZ - Can I use metric ply sheets
PDRs in the USA - Long voyages, meet-ups
Puddle Duck in the UK

General Building and other stuff.
RE: Using the Metric System in USA - getting tape measures and others
A cautionary tale.....
A different slant on flat bottomed boats
An easier way to set off? Tricky Launch spot.
Another amazing Storer Innovation
Antique Wooden Racing Dinghies with original parts - Pics
Boat design for fishing??
Brisbane Timber and Working with Wood. Boatmik/PDRacer
Changes/lessons from storerboats
Clamps for boat builders.
Computer cut kits
Design Question: What characteristics make for a good planing hull for a scow
Dory Boat yahoo group - interesting discussion :-)
FAQ - does a shallow keel improve tracking or upwind performance - canoes
Finding stuff on Storer's sites ... new search engine
getting sails and sailing lessons
Goolwa Wooden Boat Show 2009
Hollow Square Section Masts
How to paint, repair then repaint boats with a minimum of labour
I'm teaching at the Duckflat Autumn School
Lug Rig Heaven
Lumber quantities and a cutlist for the GIS
Making a Polytarp Sail
Mast making - Grain direction for mast staves
Michael Storer WoodenBoat Plans Forum - WELCOME
Michael Storer's Interesting Boat Links
Mik the Aussie Bolger! You there?
Modifications to a Whilly Boat
Murray River Photos from flight 221 (er actually 756) - a bit scary
Ooops...Epoxy Mistake
Proa PJOA Baltic trip 2008
Painting an epoxy coated boat.
Roofracking Canoes and small boats
Rudderbox, OZ type - OZ and Goat and Storer style rudderbox - avoid breakages
Saw blade for thin plywood?
Similar plans
Single-handing Goats on the Ground - all boats
Slippery cockpit floors and easy non skid surface
Small application for the scale of ruder etc.
Solid wing mizzen on Beth, RAID41?
Storer Boat Photos - Launchings and others
The Goat Lug...another use
They Let Him Loose
Traditional rig costs vs Modern rig costs
Two Storer Interviews at furledsails.com - podcasts boat design lug rigs
underlayment plywood
Where can I get Gaboon Ply in Sydney?
Where to sail?