I won't be available this weekend.

Unless you come to the Port Vincent and Stansbury Boat Festival.

I'll have a couple of PDRacers there. Unless the weather looks really bad.

We expect it clear tomorrow - so will be at the festival from around 11.

Best wishes
Michael

Three PDRacer Sailboats Launched in Senegal West Africa

I was going to put more pictures up here but decided not to.

The story is much too good to make a short version valid. In a way it is nothing special - just a family building three little boats - but I think there IS something special.

The Story is here with all the photos and the main parts of our conversation.

Maybe it is the photos, maybe it is because the location, maybe the yearlong process of gradually getting the boats together.

The three kids Caleb, Laurel, Isiah built the hulls and I am really impressed by the great colour schemes.

Their Dad Jonathan built all the bits - centreboards, rudders, masts, booms and rudderbox.

That's about it for a PDRacer.

Oh - except for the sails which are made out of polytarps - probably the biggest selling point for boats being built in West Africa!!! We use the same materials in Australia and are impressed at how a $40 sail can push an efficient boat in all directions. You can see our Australian sailing videos if you don't believe it works. Our sails are two years old now and still going fine.

The UBeaut forum site is real gem for digging out information about boats and woodworking. UBeaut Woodworking.

Also what we did about the rudder failures on their first sail and the easy fix.

Hope you enjoy the story as much as I did!

Second interview up on FurledSails.com

The first part was up last week.

This week we talk about traditional vs modern sailtypes - everyone knows I am a fan of trad rigs because of their low cost - but here I go into the influences on the other side.

I love the efficiency of modern rigs so I use all the same methods on the traditional rigs to get brilliant performance.

Also I'll tell you EXACTLY why you should never name a boat in haste.

http://www.furledsails.com/article.php3?article=761

Thanks again to the Furledsails.com crew - Noel and Christy - and you should have a good look at their archive of brilliant interviews.

Can the OZ PDR use a Sunfish Rig - Frostbiting Sunfishers?

David Parker chased this one up with me.

He had a Sunfish sail already and needed to see if it would fit on the OZ PDR.

The dimensions of the sail he had were
Luff - 4m
Foot - 4m
Leach - approx 4.28m

It looks like it works according to the picture right.

I would make the mast an extra 50mm longer than the measurement shown for a total length of 3184mm. If using the OZ plans to make a square hollow mast it needs to be the same width as the standard mast at all the same heights. So it is sorta like the standard mast has been cut off.

Remember while the general PDR rules condone the use of second hand sails, the OZ rules do not as we feel it will lead to an eventual arms race of moving from old sails to only slightly second hand ones.

However, you can sail with the general PDR fleet. If you set the boat up for the OZ type square mast you can have the bigger OZ rig and drop it in the same hole.

Yes, in other words this rig is about 10sq feet smaller than the standard OZ. This won't matter too much.

However there is one slight defect - the boom ends up a little bit lower than the standard OZ, but you can't take it up too much higher than shown as it will make the boat harder to hold up because of excessive heeling moment.

Anyway - this means that a whole bunch more people can use, sail or race PDRacers. Some Sunfish sailors might want to sail something a bit dryer during the colder months. Yeah - it won't be quite as fast - but it still goes upwind fine and you'll be able to step ashore with dry feet.

PDRacer sailing days in South Australia 6th April and boat festival 11/12/13 April

Now we haven't had a huge amount of luck with our PDRacer days in South Australia. While I did make a new PDRacer speed record, the conditions were mostly too strong at the Goolwa wooden boat show.

However there are a couple of opportunities to see (and possibly sail) an OZ PDR if you are in South Australia in the next fortnight.

WEST LAKES
Date : 6th APRIL
However Rob Badenoch and I are looking at going to West Lakes on Sunday 6th as a practice run to make sure the PDRacers are all working OK for the Stansbury Wooden Boat Festival the following weekend.

Still finalising time, but similar low key approach to last time. Start around midday, go for a couple of hours, "hang out" and watch the boats and sail a bit.

Oops - I had better check to see there are no rowing comps.

Planning to have two or three PDRs for starters - so all others are welcome too.

But watch here for further information. I'll also put a post up there if the weather is doubtful.
More information as it develops here.

STANSBURY/PORT VINCENT BOAT FESTIVAL
Date: Fri, 11-13 Apr 2008
Most of the small boat activities on Sat and Sun.

It is a great local festival in an area with a great maritime heritage. I'll be over there as part of the Duckflat contingent and then dashing back to Adelaide for the Duckflat Autumn Boatbuilding School.
More information about the festival here

Interview on Net of Designer Michael Storer at furledsails.com

Furled Sails - They call themselves the "World's First Sailing Podcast" based in North America.

Anyway, last week Christy and Noel called me up chatted to me for a couple of hours.

So they have an interview with me on their site followed by a part 2 next week.

This looks like the permanent link
http://www.furledsails.com/article.php3?article=760

They also asked a lot of questions about lug rigs which will be in next week's separate program.

I was frightfully nervous - I am much happier typing than I am talking.

Best wishes
MIK

How to have the best looking boat on the bay!

For many people building the boat is the easy bit, but they really shy away from finishing off with a nice bit of signwriting. Vinyl lettering isn't too expensive, but it's not really in the Puddleduck spirit, and particularly now that computers are commonplace it's pretty easy to get a reasonable job with just a bit of patience.

Have you ever noticed how all the girls flock round the best looking boats, and the best looking boats have all got terrific signage that looks as though it was professionally done, and great sail logos as well?

Then you will obviously be wondering how that can be done for almost no cost using a few basic implements without actually having to own a signwriting store.

Read on, and change your life!

Warning, the skills that you learn hear, will equip you to become a rabid street artist. Please resist the urge to tag every building with the PDR logo. Just do the places that have high visibility!

For more information go to the "signs" menu under the "building" heading on our main menu.

High Praise For Steve!

From Jim Michaels on the PDRacer Group:

After we get this one knocked out, I'll work on an OZ PDR for myself - take my time and strive to build it in a truly craftsmanlike manner.

Has anyone else seen the new paintjobs on the OZ PDR page?

That red-orange duck with the white interior struck me the same way I felt when I saw my first Schwinn Sting-ray bike as a kid, or '65 ragtop Mustang: The epitomy of class and fun - I want to build that boat.

But now, before my kids turn into teenagers and while they still want me to goof around with them, I think I'll build the boat we can build together most easily and get out on the water. The three of us together have outgrown the Sunfish, and with the quick PDR we can all be on the water at the start of this season, and maybe even catch a messabout at Rend lake.

Jim in St. Louis

Jim is of course talking about Steve Wagstaff's beautifully crafted boat that features in a few of our recent photos! Steve likes it a bit too!