the horse's mouth

What!

How now Brown Cow is this possible in a box boat? The innovative Micheal Storer does more with less than any boat designer out there.

Michael Storer -

My race Oz Goose in something of a breeze. Also a good test of the jumbo boom of 3mm wall ply.

I hit 18knots for 2 seconds surfing waves on this day.

Shape is nothing. Volume balance and lightness is everything.

UFO Spotted In The Air Over Portsmouth.

The new AC.....boat?
Picture from Steve A Wenham from Portsmouth harbor.

Fair Winds And Following Seas. Glen L. Witt 1918 to 2017.

I just got this email from Gayle.

It's with a heavy heart I announce that my father, Glen Lewis Witt, passed away on June 13, 2017. He lived until age 98 and we are so grateful to have had him with us that long. He founded Glen-L Marine in 1953 and will be remembered for the lives he's touched all these years through the hobby of building boats.

I'm blessed to be able to continue his legacy here at Glen-L, but will miss his presence, support, encouragement and tremendous knowledge of all things boat building. We sincerely hope you'll help us keep his legacy alive by building his boats as we continue to serve you.

The family is making plans for a memorial and we will keep you informed. In the meantime, you can make a comment and post photos on the memorial site we are building.

Gayle

Why Designers Should Stay Away From Designing Boats, Ships And Yachts.

Talk about windage!
In the back of my mind, I see a movie with this yacht out at sea in a storm. Up from the deep dark depths emerges a monster from some old sailor's tale who breaks off the curvy superstructure thingy and bites down crushing the terrified caviar eating Russian oligarchs (the targeted clientele).

Let's listen to the marketing spiel from the boy wonder "Designer," Gabriel Teruzzi.

“There are precious examples like the Tower of Babel, the Pyramids in Egypt and today in the magnificent skyscrapers.

“The wish to touch the clouds continues to be present in the most powerful minds.”

Via the Sun, and Daily Mail.

Look Ma, It's A Flying Cow...I Mean Scow!

All the sailing zines are talking up the Quant 23. Wet your pants, "It's the first flying keelboat."

Am I the only one that thinks that it's butt ass ugly? It looks like a high school "scow" boat building project.

The Egg And I.

What is this strange looking thing?

Would you like your egg hard or soft boiled?

She floats!

I hope that Wooden Whale doesn't try to mate with her!

Ah, she heard me.

Will cocktails be served?

Permission to come aboard the Egg, Sir!

Reclaimed red cedar strip planking was used on the exterior shell.

Sleeping on a hammock like a real sailor!

Now that's something you don't see everyday: A giant floating egg! Yes, Virginia. The British are a little different from you and me. Not only are they super competive, they're very eccentric. Thank God! We need a little more levity in this seemingly sour world.

"Created by Stephen Turner, the Exbury Egg will be  a temporary, energy efficient self-sustaining work space for artist Stephen Turner in the estuary of the River Beaulieu. It is a place to stay and a laboratory for studying the life of a tidal creek, a collecting and collating centre with integral storage & display areas. It will take on the patina of 730 daily tides below the water line, and 365 days of weathering by wind, rain and bleaching by the sun above."

Via Designboom.

One Of The Benefits Of Sailing A Modern Sport Boat.

Stability!

A competitive approach to sailing: above all, speed. Relatively small, overcanvassed and overpowered boats, suffering notorious lack of stability, dominate the contemporary racing scene. - C. A. Marchaj

Maybe I should rethink the whole spot boat thing and stick with my orginal idea of building an outrigger sailing canoe.

PT11 Nesting Dinghy.

She sails.

She surfs! (This caught my eye.)

She has a nice cockpit.

She comes apart.

Bring her along with you on that cruise across the Pacific.

Throw her into the back of your truck.

Keep her in your side yard or if you live in an apartment, the front closet. 

Eleven feet of fun.

Do you want to get more people involved in sailing? This could be the ticket. 

Specifications
LOA:11ft
Beam: 4’2”
Nested Package:
L:6ft x W:4ft2”
H:20” bow/stern end, 17” bulkhead end.
Weight completed: 85LBS

PT11 Brochure.

 
PT11 information page. More photos of her in action, and nested, More videos.

Coquina.

For the moment, I'm on a traditionalist..luddite..kick. Pictured above are images of the Nathanael Herreshoff designed Coquina. 

LOA - 16' 8"
BEAM - 61"
DRAFT, 8" board up, 36" board down
WEIGHT - with rig, 450 lb
HULL TYPE - round bottom lapstrake
CONSTRUCTION - glued lapstrake plywood or traditional cedar over oak 

Do you want to build one? Doug Hylan has the plans for sale.

Whisp.

Sail, row, fun. See Steve for more information.

Hi-yo, Silver! Away!

TECHNE


Il concorso Mille e una vela per l’Università, indetto da Roma Tre con l’intento di coin- volgere gli atenei italiani, nasce per “sotto- lineare il ruolo formativo dell’esercizio fisi- co non solo come aspetto complementare a quello intellettuale…, ma soprattutto come indispensabile catalizzatore di rapporti so- ciali, capaci di promuovere e sviluppare soli- darietà nella realtà internazionale e multiet- nica del mondo universitario”.

In fase di progetto si è cercato il giusto compromesso tra propensione alla planata, governabilità, stabilità e riduzione degli at- triti: uno skiff spiccatamente planante, che richiede un equipaggio esperto, con le linee d’acqua della carena studiate per staccare prima possibile lo scafo dall’acqua, carat- terizzate da una leggera V nell’estremità di prua, a forma quasi piatta e spigolo di separazione fra la carena e le fiancate dalla deriva a poppa, minima superficie bagnata, sezione massima piuttosto spostata verso poppa, specchio di poppa troncato in modo netto, coperta che non intralci i movimenti repentini dell’equipaggio in regata, terrazze sporgenti di quasi mezzo metro.

Le regate si sono svolte dal 21 al 23 settem- bre 2007. Il Politecnico di Milano si è ag- giudicato il trofeo con le due imbarcazioni al primo e secondo posto davanti a quelle degli Atenei di Bologna, Firenze, Roma e Venezia. L’evento sportivo è stato affiancato dalla mostra-concorso “Progettare una barca”.

Al progetto Polis & Techně sono stati at- tribuiti:
“Premio per la migliore interpretazione del tema progettuale”
“Premio per la migliore rappresentazione grafica del progetto”

Who was that masked man anyway?
Oh yeah, you can build the little filly pictured above at home. It costs 200 € for the plans.

Do We Have To Use The Wayback Machine Again, Mr. Peabody?

"Sherman, set the Wayback machine to the late sixties. We are going to San Francisco."



"Will we be hanging out in the Haight with the hippies, Mr. Peabody?"



"No Sherman, we are going to meet David Allen Keiper, one of the pioneers of hydrofoiling sailboats. Our colleague Gary suggested the trip."



"So in less time than it takes to tell the tale, Sherman and I found ourselves back in the late sixties."



"Mr. Peabody, if I didn't know any better, I would think I am hallucinating. Is that because we had mushrooms on our pizza or is that really a hydrofoiling trimaran?"

"Sherman, you are not hallucinating. What you are looking at is the 32-foot Williwaw, the world's first hydrofoil sailing yacht. She was developed by Dave Keiper. The Williwaw cruised around the Pacific in the late 1960s, early 1970s, sailing as far south as New Zealand."

Remembering Dave Keiper and WILLIWAW...

[29 Mar 00] I was lucky enough in life to have sailed with Dave Keiper in the summer of 1971 on the most incredible boat I have ever sailed on. We were anchored in the middle of Hanalei Bay on the island of Kauai when Dave came in and dropped anchor. We had seen WILLIWAW flying around Waikiki a month or so before and were surprised to see her here. I had sailed over with a man named Gordy Gladson on his tri, and as all trimaran sailors in those days knew each other, we swam over to have a visit . Of course Dave (most gracious) had to show off the boat. We put out to sea in about a 15 knot trade wind on a beam reach. The boat started heeling like a monohull, and then the foils got a bite and the boat came up out of the water and accelerated like a car...what a rush!!! The boat was so fast and stable Dave could walk away from the tiller and she would run like she was on rails. This was truly one of the most memorable days of my sailing life of 35 years. .... -- Jim Wrenn

Eye Candy! The SC20.

I love her classic lines.
If you are in Europe, head over to London this weekend to the RYA Dinghy Show at Alexandra Palace to see the SC20 in person.



I'd like to take her out for a spin. Michael, are you going to be selling them? Let's go sailing.

The SC20 appears to be very dinghy like in her performance. My kind of boat.

Measurements:

L.O.A.: Beam: Keel draft: Shoal draft: Displacement: Ballast (50%): Upwind sail area: Downwind sail area:

5.86 m (19’ 3”) 1.30 m (4’ 3”) 1.40 m ( 4’ 7”) 0.35 m (1’ 2”) 0.34 ton (750 lbs) 0.17 ton (375 lbs) 12.8 sqm (138 sqf) 28.8 sqm (310 sqf)

It's Nice Being A Czar.

Roman Abramovich, a Russian oligarch, has a new boat called the Eclipse. She exceeds 540 feet and has two helipads, a swimming pool, bulletproof glass, a steam room and a personal submarine. Price for this floating palace is a cool $1.2 billion. It's good to know that some people aren't hurting during this recession.

"Let them eat borscht!"

Boat Of The Day.

If it walks like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck. I don't care how many hours you spent building her, Dog, that's one ugly looking boat.

Warning: The viewing of some home built boats can cause your brain to eject out of the mouth. Please drink to ease the pain. I'll have a double barkeep!

Photo via Duckworks.

Technorati Tags: ugly boats, bad design, yikes!, double yikes!, triple yikes!, sailing?

Hot New Skiff From Switzerland?

The Urban Skiff.
Hmmmm.



A boat in a bag?
Hmmmm.







Looks a little flimsy to me dog. I think I'll pass.



The Catapult Cat is a much better option if you want
a boat in a bag.

Links: Yanko Design | Thomas Etter | Catapult Cats

Technorati Tags: sailing, design, dinghy sailing

Kite Power Part 3.

For those skeptics out there, here a couple of old posts from version 1.

Speaking of Kites.
posted 12/08/04

Look Ma, no spinnaker!


Sean Langman’s 66-foot AAPT will use a kite instead of a spinnaker in this
years Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.


Kite boarders can apply! The approach to Sydney Harbor.

The OutLeader™ kite flies in the stronger stable
wind well above the level of the boat’s masthead, providing enormous pulling power.
The kite looks like half of a giant parachute, but measures as a spinnaker. Unlike a
normal spinnaker, it is sheeted only from the deck, so it doesn’t contribute to heeling
the boat or burying the bow. This means that the risks of uncontrolled spinnaker
wipe-outs are almost eliminated.  

KiteShip rocks! I want one for my boat. I'll have to wait for them to build a
smaller chute for my little boat. :( When that happens I'll say, "See ya later spinnaker!"

Return...

Outrigger Kiting?
posted 12/10/04

Here is a picture of our heros using a Robbie Naish kite on an outrigger
canoe. Damn, that's cool.

They launch near Mama's Fish House (excellent food and Mai Tais) on Maui and
head out into the very windy Pailolo Channel.


"Holy Shit...Take off!"

Via Wet Ass.
Photos from Kiteboat.

Return...

What Was Once Old Is New Again.
posted 10/05/05

A return to sail power? Kite powered ships, no masts required!
The Economist has a nice article on the return of sailing ships in it's September 23rd issue.

Kites are popping up everywhere. Kite surfing, sailboats, outrigger canoes,
kayaks and now ocean going ships. I would like to get one for my Cape Dory
and one for my kayak.

Links: SkySails | KiteShip | KiteBoat | TopKayaker | The Economist

Return...

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Arachnid On The Bay.

Ugo Conti's spider boat, the Proteus, goes for a spin on the bay.
The boat made it's public debut yesterday, unfortunately I did not get to see it.
Read more about Spidey at SFGate or Sailing Anarchy. Pics here.

Tags: WAM-V, strange boats, ugo conti, proteus

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What A Sweet Boat! Skiffhead Alert. New R Class Hull - Sea Trials.

Many of you know that I have a special place in my heart for skiffs. Some critics, OLE, look at these as not being boats. Okay, I concede that you aren't going to take your Aunt Martha fishing on it, but what a rocket! A big plus for me is that this boat can be built at home.

The new R Class hull designed by Dan Leech.

Here she is ready to go.
The new lady is introduced to her admiring public. She seems to be watching her weight coming in at a mere 29kg. Atkins? South Beach? Nope, Kiwi!

Sorry Aunt Martha, you can't come!
Look at her go! She makes me weak in the knees, how abou you?.

More Wally.

That's more like it.
Just a wee bit bigger than my dinghy.