DIY dinghy – Streaker?
Printed From: Yachts and Yachting Online
Category: Dinghy classes
Forum Name: Dinghy development
Forum Discription: The latest moves in the dinghy market
URL: http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=11390
Printed Date: 14 Jul 25 at 3:54am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.665y - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: DIY dinghy – Streaker?
Posted By: ChrisB14
Subject: DIY dinghy – Streaker?
Date Posted: 10 Mar 14 at 8:26pm
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I don't quite know, if it's an indication of a looming midlife crisis, but I have this sudden wild idea that building a (wooden) dinghy might be a wonderful means of spending (wasting?) my time. Not having undertaken a similar project before, it should be something fairly straightforward and ideally the result would be something fun to sail as well (paddle duck racer is out of question). There is no huge rush to have a boat on the water, rather I am looking for a project to fill those windless weekends. Having spent a bit of time reading, it appears that a Streaker might be a good boat to start with. Keith Callaghan's designs look really interesting, but I expect them to be well outside my capabilities as a first time builder. To get to the question: who else out there has built a wooden dinghy themselves and are there any resources that you guys would recommend? Surprisingly, searching on the web turned up a surprisingly small amount of detailed information. But that might just be Google not liking me ;) Any advice and comment is much appreciated. Including the ones telling me that I am a complete nutter and/or on the wrong forum board. Chris ------------- B14 GBR 748 Bullet B In build: Farr 3.7 GBR 410 (both sail number and the current number of loose parts) |
Replies:
Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 10 Mar 14 at 8:39pm
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There are a couple of recently home built streakers at my club, but the chap who built them does have a good bit of wood boat experience.
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Posted By: didlydon
Date Posted: 10 Mar 14 at 8:52pm
I can recommend checking out Watercraft magazine. There is a whole world out there of plans and designs available good technical articles hits tips & reviews of tools & materials. Have you seen the Farr design often mentioned here? What a lovely boat....plus you'll have fun learning to trapeze if you can't already! Building your own boat is a great thing to do....highly satisfying sailing the seas on something you've built with your own fair hands... Go for it!  ------------- Vareo 365 |
Posted By: Jack Sparrow
Date Posted: 10 Mar 14 at 8:55pm
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It's not a Streaker... But we have a great start to finish blog from one of our Farr 3.7 members who has just finished building his first wooden Farr. Go here to %20" rel="nofollow - http://www.uk3-7class.org/index.html there are also other links to other build blogs showing other people projects. I hope they are of help on your search for information for your project. ------------- http://www.uk3-7class.org/index.html" rel="nofollow - Farr 3.7 Class Website https://www.facebook.com/groups/1092602470772759/" rel="nofollow - Farr 3.7 Building - Facebook Group |
Posted By: winging it
Date Posted: 10 Mar 14 at 9:00pm
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you can self build lots of boats if you can get hold of the plans. you can buy plans on ebay as well as plenty of other sites. You can even build a woodie phantom if you join the class. What you build should depend, however, on whether you want to sail it yourslef, in which case there's no point in building something that wont carry you, or will over power you, that would just be the ultimate frustration. ------------- the same, but different... |
Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 10 Mar 14 at 9:08pm
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There are many out there, but look for a designer with pedigree - nothing worse than building a design that sails badly. Holt, of course, is ideal, and the Streaker a nice boat, if you aren't too big. Are kits still made? They have slots in, I believe, so make everything go together right. Building down to weight appears to be quite hard, though.
------------- Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686 |
Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 10 Mar 14 at 9:40pm
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Oh, the other thing to be aware of, there seem to be designs that are intended for building rather than sailing! Particularly true of boats from what I call "books of plans" designers. As you're a committed sailor I'd recommend sticking to classes that have a good home building ethos rather than the books of plans boats, which may not all be quite as good to sail as to build...
The Farr 3.7 laser cut component route does get you a very easy route into what is basically a very sophisticated build. I'd love to see one built with sapele tiger stripe ply with the veneers across the width ply rather than lengthways. Don't know if its available now, but IMHO that makes for a very pretty boat - the stripes are vertical on the topisdes and across the decks. The very easiest practical boat to build is probably John Spencer's Firebug. Its a little 8 footer which is probably of dubious value unless you have a youngster available, but the great man managed to get a nice little boat shaped scow type coupled with very easy to build features - the chine angle is identical all the way along, stuff like that... Being an 8 footer there isn't too much money in materials either. |
Posted By: Caveman
Date Posted: 10 Mar 14 at 11:06pm
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If a kit is your preferred option then the Streaker would be a great choice. It is particularly suitable for a lighter helm although I am advised by an owner that helms up to 13 stone can be competitive. Dave Butler of Butler Boats produces a kit. By happy coincidence I see he has just started building the Farr 3.7 as mentioned above. It looks like a lot of fun. I might be wrong but I reckon Dave Butler just might sell a kit for that too. Another alternative to consider is the Solo dinghy. I believe that Tony Thresher has offered kits to self builders. Finally, if none of the above appeal, you might want to consider Fyne Boats. They do a range of kits for various boats and I was rather smitten by their National 12. A Google search will link you to the websites for the above. Good luck. ------------- Enthusiasm>Skill |
Posted By: RS400atC
Date Posted: 11 Mar 14 at 12:01am
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You could also llook at Keith Callaghan's boats like the Hadron. BTW, what 'appened to the paper dart thingy on the IoW? |
Posted By: Alan Gillard
Date Posted: 11 Mar 14 at 9:55am
| Chris B14, a Streaker is an excellent option if you are interested in building your own boat. The Streaker is available in all building options. From associations plans, £130 which includes the sail number/building fee and membership of the association. There are a number of Streaker owners now who have built their boats from the plans, these guys are all approachable if you have any issues with the build yourself. As a kit of parts? Butler Boats can offer the Streaker as a kit, in any state of build you want really? If you wanted the hull already built maybe for you to finish? or perhaps a FRP hull. Don't get the idea either that in building a 'wood' Streaker the boat will not be competitive? The nationals has been won recently by a Streaker built from wood. There is not a problem building down to the minimum hull weight of 48kg, you just need to be carefull with the selection of wood, but also the epoxy used and how many fittings you want to put on. If you want more information contact me through the Streaker class website. http://www.streaker-class.org.uk/" rel="nofollow - http://www.streaker-class.org.uk/ |
Posted By: GarethT
Date Posted: 11 Mar 14 at 10:02am
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If you're not necessarily looking for a racing dinghy, have a look here for some inspiration: http://www.campionboats.co.uk/apple-range.html" rel="nofollow - http://www.campionboats.co.uk/apple-range.html Tom is a great guy, genius craftsmen, and excellent sailor. When I used to be a member at Haversham he would race these boats in the handicap fleet, although always seemed to get crucified by yardstick he was given.
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Posted By: Jack Sparrow
Date Posted: 11 Mar 14 at 1:07pm
Yep Butler Boats will do you a Hull with bulkheads for you to finish off. Also if you buy a set of Farr 3.7 plans there is an option to purchase with the AUTOCAD file for getting your wood laser cut. Laser cutting is about £100. Loads of places do it. Robbins Timber are also set up to supply laser cut wood for the 3.7 using there chosen laser cutting service, so you could order straight form them. But you'd still need the plans etc... ------------- http://www.uk3-7class.org/index.html" rel="nofollow - Farr 3.7 Class Website https://www.facebook.com/groups/1092602470772759/" rel="nofollow - Farr 3.7 Building - Facebook Group |
Posted By: ChrisB14
Date Posted: 11 Mar 14 at 2:01pm
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Thanks for the large number of helpful and supportive responses! I have followed up on all of them, doing some more reading and am now beginning to lean more towards the Farr 3.7. In more detail with some additional background: This is going to be my wife and me working on the project together. We want to go for a single hander, as they tend to be smaller, but mainly because we have a double hander that we sail together. So a single hander (or two :-) would make an interesting addition. While not necessarily for racing, we do want a performance boat, so the "book of plans" as well as the Campion boats are out. Obviously, we won't find a boat that suits both of our weights perfectly, so the idea was to first go for one that better suits her weight which we would be able to both sail, and then we can tackle building a Hadron or a Phantom for me ;-) I have been in touch with Dave Butler, who was very helpful, but is reluctant to sell a simple pre-cut kit. They clearly prefer selling the hull with bulkheads, which takes away a lot of the risk of building, but also quite a bot of the fun. From what I have read, there are no CAD files for the Streaker available and also the plans appear to be minimally off, making transferring them to ply a bit more difficult. I don't know why I didn't look at the Farr 3.7 in more detail initially. With the option of purchasing the CAD files ready for laser cutting along with the plans, this looks exactly like what we are looking for. We will go through the Farr building blogs and then decide. Keith Callaghan's designs look quite hot, but my impression is that they are a bit more involved to build than a Streaker or Farr 3.7. That might be an option for the next one :-) Watercraft magazine: thanks for that tip. It looks like interesting and useful reading. I will definitely be ordering one or two books from their selection, to help me (us) get started. Firebug: nice design. Once there's a youngster around, it is something I would consider. I have very old plans for an Optimist lying around somewhere ... I will keep keep updating the plans as they develop and we are committed to keeping a blog on the build once we get underway. As before, I continue to be interested in any input. Thanks again, Chris ------------- B14 GBR 748 Bullet B In build: Farr 3.7 GBR 410 (both sail number and the current number of loose parts) |
Posted By: Time Lord
Date Posted: 11 Mar 14 at 2:40pm
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Chris
Do not necessarily dismiss Keith Callaghan's designs as too hard. Have a look at Julio arana's blog which details how he is building a Callaghan design Merlin Rocket in the USA. He does comment throughout how good Keith Callaghan's plans and instructions are. http://merlinrocket.co.uk/forum/main/topic.asp?topic=6971&forum=main&comments=18&page=1&sort=5&order=1&search= Worth a look at the blog (he puts up a new update every month) to see how Julio has tackled the various stages. ------------- Merlin Rocket 3609 |
Posted By: Dave.B
Date Posted: 11 Mar 14 at 11:00pm
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Chris,
I enjoyed every minute of my Farr 3.7 build. I built one from scratch but used laser cut frames. For me the hull framing and stringers were the best bit, seeing the skeleton shape develop.
It took me a year from start to launch, but I purposely had no target launch date and still took holidays, biz trips and other sabaticals. My blog is on the Farr web site, but I'd be more than happy to spend more time to go through the process with you, or if you fancy a trip to Draycote water, come and have a sail
 ------------- H2 148 H2 113 RS300 365 Farr 3.7 397 Build Blog http://davesfarr37project.weebly.com/ |
Posted By: ChrisB14
Date Posted: 12 Mar 14 at 4:20pm
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Thanks for the kind offer Dave and also for the very helpful blog! I am currently working my way through your blog and have already finished reading Peter's build report. It's interesting to see where you guys took different approaches. While we haven't reached a final decision, it is looking more and more likely that we will go for the Farr 3.7. Once we finalize the decision, I am sure I will come back to the offer of discussing the build process and Draycote Water is less than two hours drive away. We are also looking at this as an open ended project. The idea is to have something to work on in the evenings and during weekends we don't drive out to Queen Mary. What has me a bit worried at the moment is that we really have no prior experience with boat building besides epoxy/carbon repairs to our B14. Luckily, Daniela (my wife) has done some very detailed woodwork in the past and has experience with architectural model building (wood, MDF, etc.) and we are hoping those skills we be a good start. ------------- B14 GBR 748 Bullet B In build: Farr 3.7 GBR 410 (both sail number and the current number of loose parts) |
Posted By: Dave.B
Date Posted: 12 Mar 14 at 9:14pm
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I wouldn't worry too much Chris, especially if you already have experience of building something between you. It's just like building a big model aeroplane. It's all down to measure-cut-fix.
It's a great long term project and you'll learn the woodwork as you go along (all the early stages that you learn on are well hidden on the finished boat!)
Best of luck with your choice ------------- H2 148 H2 113 RS300 365 Farr 3.7 397 Build Blog http://davesfarr37project.weebly.com/ |
Posted By: ChrisB14
Date Posted: 18 Mar 14 at 1:36pm
Some time has passed and I have continued my "homework", which included looking into further alternatives. I thought I would share where we are right now. Who knows, it might be of interest to others at some point. We have decided against:
That leaves the two previous options: Farr 3.7 and Streaker. Both were designed to be homebuilt, which is a big plus. Both should be sailable by either my wife or myself (admittedly I am too tall and heavy for both, but my use would mostly be limited to breezy conditions). Both seem straightforward, though still challenging builds for beginners. And finally, both have their own advantages and disadvantages: Farr 3.7: Has CAD plans already available for laser cutting which removes one major source of potential errors. There is no second hand market to speak of in the UK so sails, spars, etc. would all need to be newly bought, which raises the initial price (Though it might be possible to home-build the spars if the right raw material is available. I will need to further look into that.) According to Wikipedia, the crew weight range goes all the way up to 90 kg (yay!), although competitive helms are no more than 85 kg. Streaker: Would require us to transcribe plans to a CAD system first if we want to go the laser cutting route. There is a large existing class in the UK, with an established second hand market for bits and pieces, which would lower the initial costs. Slightly lower crew weight range than the Farr from what I could find. We are now close to tossing a coin. The possibility to keep costs down makes the Streaker a bit more attractive, but the already existing CAD plans and (let's be honest) higher adrenaline factor of the Farr are important points as well. First though, we will check one last time that our build space really will be available for at least a year. Just to be on the safe side. Thanks again for all the helpful pointers and comments! ------------- B14 GBR 748 Bullet B In build: Farr 3.7 GBR 410 (both sail number and the current number of loose parts) |
Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 18 Mar 14 at 2:34pm
Its not. A 14' by 2m (!!) boat in a normal single garage isn't too bad, but a 12' boat is better. A 17ft boat, even if under 1m wide, is a right PIA. Unless you have a remarkably uncluttered garage then it might even be worth seeing if you can rent a lockup garage down the road or even use one of the storage companies for all the other stuff in the garage whilst the build is going on. Aprt from anything else its good if the pushbike/lawnmower/whatever doesn't get too covered in the inevitable dust. |
Posted By: ChrisB14
Date Posted: 19 Mar 14 at 10:29am
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17' by < 1m ... I wonder what that might have been ;-) We had our B14 in a single garage for some repairs late last summer and while there was enough space to work on it, it was tight. ------------- B14 GBR 748 Bullet B In build: Farr 3.7 GBR 410 (both sail number and the current number of loose parts) |
Posted By: gordon1277
Date Posted: 19 Mar 14 at 1:03pm
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Why the Garage? I re varnished the decks on my 505 in the lounge.
Please note I was single at the time and it had to sit on the gunnel to fit in. A few doors up a friend built a fireball in his lounge in the same type of house. So if you want to think bigger look at room in the house. Why not a phantom it was originally designed for home build? ------------- Gordon Lossc |
Posted By: alstorer
Date Posted: 19 Mar 14 at 1:49pm
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garages tend to have a more convenient access door. ------------- -_ Al |
Posted By: ChrisB14
Date Posted: 19 Mar 14 at 2:04pm
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Sadly, the boat wouldn't fit up our staircase. So we are stuck with finding a garage ;) Although to stay off topic, there was a Cherub repair job that was done in the back of a modified van: http://uk-cherub.org/doku.php/tech/ ------------- B14 GBR 748 Bullet B In build: Farr 3.7 GBR 410 (both sail number and the current number of loose parts) |
Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 19 Mar 14 at 2:12pm
He mentioned a wife... |
Posted By: craiggo
Date Posted: 19 Mar 14 at 8:03pm
| I'm trying to do some winter maintenance (re-varnish the deck) on my Graduate at the moment, and in a 1980s single garage, you cant work around the boat with all the normal stuff in the garage as well, its just too tight around the gunwhales. If you have epoxy or varnish going off, then you are bound to brush past it as you squeeze around the boat, ruining the finish and destroying your clothing. |
Posted By: Telltale
Date Posted: 19 Mar 14 at 9:44pm
You will be judged by which one you consider more distressing !!
 |
Posted By: craiggo
Date Posted: 19 Mar 14 at 9:52pm
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You should see the state of my clothing!!!!
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Posted By: ChrisB14
Date Posted: 20 Mar 14 at 10:34am
We've only worked in (nearly) empty garages before and intend to stick to that. Otherwise it's only a matter of time until stuff goes horribly wrong. ------------- B14 GBR 748 Bullet B In build: Farr 3.7 GBR 410 (both sail number and the current number of loose parts) |
Posted By: winging it
Date Posted: 20 Mar 14 at 10:41am
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http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/455975/Michael-Schumacher-mentor-Eddie-Jordan-sees-32million-super-yacht-get-off-to-a-slow-start" rel="nofollow - and it can go horribly wrong, even for rich people!
------------- the same, but different... |
Posted By: Alexv
Date Posted: 23 Mar 14 at 4:20pm
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I had idea to build my own wooden dinghy a few years ago. Unfortunately I failed badly mostly because of lack of knowledge and practice with wood. |
Posted By: ChrisB14
Date Posted: 24 Mar 14 at 11:30am
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Alexv: that's were the wife's expertise in woodwork and (architectural) model building comes in :) At the moment we are doing a lot of general background reading, to get a feel for things. The Gougeon Brother's book on boat building is proving informative and Chesapeak Light Craft have a whole collection of tutorials, tech notes and instructionals on their website: http://www.clcboats.com/shoptips/ Fun times! ------------- B14 GBR 748 Bullet B In build: Farr 3.7 GBR 410 (both sail number and the current number of loose parts) |
Posted By: boatshed
Date Posted: 24 Mar 14 at 12:03pm
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Hi ChrisB14, I've seen a lot of wooden boats being built and restored when I lived near Falmouth. Everything from plywood dinghies to a 120 ' schooner. The more you watch the process, the more you realise how skilled these people are. They also have very good tools ; hand, power and fixed workshop tools . You shouldn't under estimate this. It is almost impossible to get good tight wood working joints without and you will definitely need to be able to prepare lengths of wood to your precise dimensions, often with bevels on them. The minimum workshop tools I would personally want are : A bandsaw with various blades, a planer/thicknesser, pillar drill, router and router table, a table saw and a compound mitre saw. Then you can add a belt sander and various hand tools including chisels and many more clamps than you ever think you will need. You will also need a decent sized and strong bench with a wood workers vice. Most of this will fill your garage ! Yes, it can be done with far less but I think the end product will be compromised. ------------- Steve |
Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 24 Mar 14 at 12:27pm
| Oh good grief, a huge list of nice to haves there sure, but absolutely no need for most of them... |
Posted By: Jack Sparrow
Date Posted: 24 Mar 14 at 12:35pm
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Err... if ChrisB14 builds a Farr 3.7 using the AUTOCAD files supplied with his plans the majority of parts are laser cut plywood. The build base can be built from MDF, accurately pro cut at the timber yard he chooses to supply him. And is simply built.
Most of the woodworking is in shaping the 'stringers' and 'scarfing' the ply sheets. Which doesn't need all the gear you are talking about needing 'boatshed'. Take a look at Dave Barkers blog %20" rel="nofollow - http://davesfarr37project.weebly.com/1/archives/01-2012/1.html He will need lots of 'clamps' though! Or, as Dave used... bicycle inner tubes!! ------------- http://www.uk3-7class.org/index.html" rel="nofollow - Farr 3.7 Class Website https://www.facebook.com/groups/1092602470772759/" rel="nofollow - Farr 3.7 Building - Facebook Group |
Posted By: ChrisB14
Date Posted: 24 Mar 14 at 12:37pm
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I would like to add a 3D printer to the list ;) Seriously though: I would say the Gougeon Brothers have a lot of experience with both professional (themselves) and amateur (their clients) boat building. The list of "required tools" plus "would be a nice thing to have" reads shockingly similar to what a certain US drama series Special Agent uses on his builds plus a power sander and power drill. Almost disappointing. I was hoping to use this project as an excuse to buy new toys ;-) ------------- B14 GBR 748 Bullet B In build: Farr 3.7 GBR 410 (both sail number and the current number of loose parts) |
Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 24 Mar 14 at 12:39pm
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I've been working on boats for years without most of that lot. It may cost a bit, but a timberyard (or friendly woodworking place - I have a window maker nearby) can size wood etc, and loads can be done with simple power and hand tools. If you can make and put up a bookshelf, you are well on the way to being able to build a boat - with a learning curve, of course, but then that is the point of the project. ------------- Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686 |
Posted By: Roger
Date Posted: 24 Mar 14 at 12:46pm
IMHO it shouldn't necessarily compromise the end product, but it may compromise the speed at which the end product is achieved, Most (not all) the tools you describe will speed up a job, but the same results can be achieved with much less, just at a slower pace. I don't get the impression that speed to deliver a finished boat is that important in this project. |
Posted By: boatshed
Date Posted: 24 Mar 14 at 1:24pm
I bet the OP will end up buying several on the list ! Get them second hand and flog them again afterwards. ------------- Steve |
Posted By: ChrisB14
Date Posted: 24 Mar 14 at 1:39pm
If time was important, we would buy a finished hull from Butler and add the deck, rigging, etc. It's a hobby, a better way of spending an evening than lounging in front of the TV. Learning some stuff on the way is good and having a fun boat to sail in the end is better. ------------- B14 GBR 748 Bullet B In build: Farr 3.7 GBR 410 (both sail number and the current number of loose parts) |
Posted By: Noah
Date Posted: 24 Mar 14 at 6:44pm
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My dear old Dad, Gawd bless 'im, built our Cadet & Geep from plans & woodyard bought timber. No pre-formed / pre-cut stuff for him. The only power tools used were a (home made) circular saw bench (lethal - 'elf n safety would have carted us kids off to social services!), and the power drill. To that, today, I would add a router to do what his trusty plough-plane did. The secret, IMHO, is being able to get / keep the tools sharp. I can't and that's why I'm a cr4p woodworker. Hand tools were what should be found in any decent workshop: Tenon, Dovetail, Panel & Jig saws, Chisels, Plane, Pencil (obviously), Straight Edge... Measure, measure and measure again before cutting. Yes - a zillion clamps were used, but the Spanish Windlass was also very useful. All this was done in a 1950's single garage that had been extended lengthways about 6-8 feet. Width was never a problem really. ------------- Nick D-Zero 316 |
Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 24 Mar 14 at 7:30pm
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Measure, measure, measure, cut, then realize you were simply repeating the error each time... ------------- Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686 |
Posted By: Bootscooter
Date Posted: 24 Mar 14 at 10:38pm
Is it wrong that I'm already planning to start building an Oppy the moment news arrives of an impending Grandchild (daughter currently 17, son 15 and neither anywhere close to providing)? I guess that as soon as I (finally) finish the Oppy I'll get started on the Farr!  ------------- |
Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 25 Mar 14 at 8:00am
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It is good to plan ahead, but you could probably build a boat in the 10 years or so before you need to start the Oppy?
------------- Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686 |
Posted By: gbrspratt
Date Posted: 26 Mar 14 at 5:44pm
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Anyone seen a stealth?
http://www.sailingcatamarans.com/stealth.htm ------------- |
Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 26 Mar 14 at 5:56pm
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Richard woods has a good reputation when it comes to cats, but I don't know this boat, despite the claims of it being sailed all over the country. Looks quite nice, though, so long as you can get it without the yellow sail - bit 90's, that.
------------- Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686 |
Posted By: gbrspratt
Date Posted: 26 Mar 14 at 5:59pm
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I have spoken to him and it sounds very good. Almost to good? Apparently Dan Holman is the only laser to beat him.
Must say I'm very tempted ------------- |
Posted By: blaze720
Date Posted: 26 Mar 14 at 6:28pm
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Richard Woods won one of the early Blaze Championships ... and was a very able helm but I suppose he is better known for his Cat designs ... Mike L. |
Posted By: Daniel Holman
Date Posted: 26 Mar 14 at 7:12pm
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I have known Richard since I was a nipper. When he had a byte I sailed against him in my 4.7, when I was radial sized he got the blaze for a bit and like Mike says, he won a nationals.
He then built the stealth and sold a few plans I believe but never marketed it hard. Shame as it was a good little boat - he only sold his because he was out of the country fairly indefinitely. Not many people look for their racing dinghies on plan! He is a first class designer and sailor and a nice guy. Where he stands out is designing sailors boats that are innately suited to the material and construction method. He spends most of his time now cruising around in his own designs off the back of having sold lots of plans. Good on him. Some of his bigger cat designs have really stood the test of time as sailing boats and aesthetically. I suspect the stealth would be a doddle to build if you have skills. I never sailed it but in paper it is quite eps like in beam, length, sail area etc. The good thing is that since you wouldn't take it out of class, you could pimp it with a carbon stick and modern sail. Dan |
Posted By: gbrspratt
Date Posted: 26 Mar 14 at 7:33pm
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He hasn't sold his old one. Yet! We are in talks about that too!
So potentially it is as good as it sounds? ------------- |
Posted By: Daniel Holman
Date Posted: 26 Mar 14 at 7:48pm
| Well it's something a bit cool and different in the 300/eps speed/sailing territory. I suspect it'll be well put together so worth throwing newer gear at if you are that way inclined. It was a bit of a special colour wasn't it? |
Posted By: gbrspratt
Date Posted: 26 Mar 14 at 8:11pm
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I believe its purple. but that could be overcome pretty quickly! Well its reassuring that he's so well known. Carbon mast and boom to look out for now then. ------------- |
Posted By: Daniel Holman
Date Posted: 26 Mar 14 at 8:16pm
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A phant rig would work pretty well on it I reckon. You could maybe get a nice square top main custom
Made. Current main is yellow if memory serves! |
Posted By: gbrspratt
Date Posted: 26 Mar 14 at 8:19pm
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Currently has a carbon/cedar daggerboard made by Biffa boats, an aluminium rudderstock/tiller. Proctor C mast (from a Hornet but without the spreaders) and a Superspar boom (from a Blaze).
He's using the sail on another boat but being a sailmaker that shouldn't be to much of a challenge ------------- |
Posted By: Daniel Holman
Date Posted: 26 Mar 14 at 8:37pm
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Have the original unstayed punk boat mast (and sail) on the go, and dagger and fixed rudder if any of that is of use.
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Posted By: gbrspratt
Date Posted: 26 Mar 14 at 8:40pm
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I think I need to sort out whether to build or buy and then make the move! But I may be in touch. ------------- |
Posted By: maxibuddah
Date Posted: 26 Mar 14 at 8:40pm
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I remember that Stealth turning up at our club once, in fact the photo of the yellow sailed one half way down on the page was taken at our club. It wasn't that windy but it struggled to keep up after the 1st beat iirc. I certainly beat him in my 300 by some distance. It was different though and looked pretty good. Shame nothing really came of it.
------------- Everything I say is my opinion, honest |
Posted By: Daniel Holman
Date Posted: 26 Mar 14 at 9:17pm
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Tbh I don't think he was ever really bothered about making a class, he just held plans for it like his bigger racing and cruising cats. He just preferred his dinghy sailing in s/h monos, was pretty handy but
didn't feel catered for. |
Posted By: ChrisB14
Date Posted: 07 Apr 14 at 10:25am
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The first step is taken: just ordered the plans from the NZ Farr 3.7 owner's association. ------------- B14 GBR 748 Bullet B In build: Farr 3.7 GBR 410 (both sail number and the current number of loose parts) |
Posted By: Dave.B
Date Posted: 07 Apr 14 at 12:48pm
Excellent  !
You won't regret it. The build gave me enormous pleasure
There are 5 or so others in build right now. Let us know via the association site when you get started, we'll be happy to help share our experiences.
I had an incredible sail yesterday, we had buckets of wind, and apart from a few groans (can't decide if that was me or the boat) it held together ok.
Best of luck
Dave ------------- H2 148 H2 113 RS300 365 Farr 3.7 397 Build Blog http://davesfarr37project.weebly.com/ |
Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 07 Apr 14 at 1:25pm
| Enjoy! |
Posted By: ChrisB14
Date Posted: 08 Apr 14 at 12:56pm
I'm quite certain we won't regret it (though I suspect there will be some frustrating days, but that's all part of the fun :-) I have been collecting a few smaller questions regarding building options, but I'll take those to the association website and forum. First I want to have a detailed look at the plans, though. Thanks again for all the comments and suggestions from all of you! Chris ------------- B14 GBR 748 Bullet B In build: Farr 3.7 GBR 410 (both sail number and the current number of loose parts) |
Posted By: ChrisB14
Date Posted: 23 Jul 14 at 5:32pm
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Following an apparent shortage of mylar to print sheet 1 of the plans on, the plans finally arrived a couple of weeks ago. Since then I have worked out the bits and pieces that need to be ordered. Now it is matter of placing the actual orders (tomorrow!) and waiting for all the materials to arrive. As mentioned somewhere earlier in this thread, we will be blogging our progress (and mishaps!): http://farr37build.wordpress.com/ Fun times ahead :-) ------------- B14 GBR 748 Bullet B In build: Farr 3.7 GBR 410 (both sail number and the current number of loose parts) |