Trawler Fest 2015

I am happy to announce I will presenting with some great names in the marine industry and cruisers at this year's Trawler Fest in Anacortes, WA. If your in the area stop in and say HI.

Here are the presentations I will presenting in, and they are many more available, so please check them out here:
 http://www.passagemaker.com/events/trawlerfest-anacortes-2015

BOAT BUYER’S SURVIVAL GUIDE

THE ART OF BUYING A METAL BOAT

CRUISER PERSPECTIVES-AUDIENCE Q&A

Interview With Yacht Designer Dudley Dix

My third interview for a series I am doing for the Metal Boat Quarterly was with Yacht Designer Dudley Dix. Dudley is based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He is originally form Cape Town, South Africa. His designs reflect his experiences of sailing and racing along the coast of South Africa and offshore. They are beautiful and seaworthy. Even though the article was for the Metal Boat Quarterly, the questions were about all of his designs including his plywood designs. Also we discuss his experiences as a sailor and amateur boat builder. As an owner of a Dix designed boat and someone who has worked on building his designs, this was a real treat for me. Visit Dudley's Website at dixdesign.com

Visit the Metal Boat Society at http://www.metalboatsociety.com

Dudley racing on one of his Shearwater designs in the 2014 Great Chesapeake Schooner Race. The schooner won her class.

DB-Dudley, when did you get interested in boats and start sailing?

I sailed with my dad from before I can remember. He was a provincial champion in the Flying Dutchman class and my memories of sailing with him are of high speed, flying spray and lots of laughter. It is no wonder that I am also a speed-freak on a sailboat. We lived on the side of a lake and I sailed my own boat there from my early teens.

DB-You are known as a yacht designer. What some of our members might not know is that you are also an amateur boat builder. Would you tell us about the boats you have built?

I have built 3 big boats and a few small ones. I am a professional designer but an amateur boatbuilder, with all of the passion and peculiarities that go with that title. My first big boat was “Tai-Neam”, a van de Stadt design of 36ft. Next was “Concept Won”, a 34 to my CW975 design. Last was “Black Cat”, prototype of my Didi 38 design and forerunner of my range of designs for radius chine plywood boats.

Of the smaller ones, there are two stand-outs. First was a 15ft tortured plywood beach catamaran in the early 70’s and also the first boat that I designed. The other is the boat that I currently sail and the prototype of my Paper Jet design. This is a high-performance skiff that I sail single-handed on trapeze with main, jib and asymmetrical spinnaker. 

DB-Did building your first boat make you want to be a yacht designer? 

It was building the van de Stadt design that made me want to be a yacht designer. There were some modifications that I needed to the design and van de Stadt did the structural, rig and ballasting changes, while I did the accommodation and deck redesign. That got me interested, so I enrolled with Westlawn and got my diploma through them.

DB-What was your first design?

I never marketed the beach catamaran, so I guess that I shouldn’t count that one. The drawings were hardly more than sketches that only I could use. CW975 was the first complete design that I drew, while not yet half-way through my Westlawn studies. It was for the 1979 Cruising World Design Competition, which it won. At the time we were planning to go cruising on “Tai-Neam”. When I received news that the CW975 had won the design competition my wife told me that no self-respecting designer would own a boat designed by someone else, so “Tai-Neam” immediately went up for sale and I started to build “Concept Won”.

DB-What was your first metal boat design?

I had a friend who built the same van de Stadt design as me but unaltered. A few years later he was planning to build a steel boat to go cruising and I asked if I could design it. He turned me down and planned to build a design from a well-respected designer. A week after I won the design competition he commissioned the new design from me, for a 35ft cruiser that I named the Pratique 35. He later started a professional yard and eventually built over 20 steel boats from 30 to 60ft, all to my designs and most of them new designs that he had commissioned.

DB-How has building your own boats and sailing them influenced your design work?

I was heavily influenced by Ricus van de Stadt, who developed fast lightweight boats and was the pioneer for plywood sailboats. There were many of his boats sailing in South Africa. His standard of detail was very good for amateur builders and I styled my standard of detailing on what I saw on his drawings. Once I got into designing boats I followed my own ideas on hull styling, seakindly hull design, aesthetics etc and soon learned what works and what doesn’t. I sometimes found that I drew details that I thought would be good for others to build, then while building them myself I decided that they were too much effort and figured more efficient methods. In the process I moved away from complicated concepts and ended up at “elegant simplicity”.

How sailing my own boats influenced my design work is more a matter of where I sailed them than the fact that they were my designs. I grew up in Cape Town and that is where I did most of my sailing. Cape Town is known as the Cape of Good Hope but also as the Cape of Storms. Cruising circumnavigators regularly report that the worst winds and seas of their voyaging were experienced rounding the Cape of Good Hope. Sailors from there are well-known for heavy wind ability because we have to learn how to handle the conditions or miss out on much of the sailing. That knowledge and experience affects my designs more than anything else; seaworthiness is a prime factor in what I draw.

DB-You once told me, and I am paraphrasing here, "I suffer from seasickness and I design boats that I would be comfortable on." Could you explain what makes your designs comfortable offshore?

I sailed in the 1993 Cape to Rio Race on a Shearwater 39, a moderate displacement cruiser that is seakindly, quite beamy and very comfortable at sea. During that race I decided to design and build a boat of my own for the next race but it was going to be 50% of the displacement on similar waterline length, so would be a lively boat. Lively motion translates into discomfort in big seas so I had to be careful with hull shaping to make it comfortable. I used a much slimmer hull, shorter overhangs, unbalanced ends and concentrated the major weights in the middle. The result was a very comfortable and light boat that is also very quick.

I can’t claim comfort for all of my designs though. The box-rule boats like the Didi Mini and the Didi 950 are beamy and light, a combination that will produce a lively boat. They will not be as comfortably at sea as boats like the Didi 26 and Didi 38.

DB-Last year you experienced a capsize on a boat you built and designed for the Cape to Rio race. Your articles about this capsize have appeared in Professional Boatbuilder and Cruising World. This must be quite a learning experience for a yacht designer?

Yes, our capsize was a learning experience. Afterwards a few people said that they bet that I wished to have not been there. My response was that, aside from still being in the race to Rio de Janeiro for a good result, there was nowhere else in the world that I would have preferred to have been at that time. There can be few designers currently alive who have been inside a big boat as it is turned over by the forces of nature, to experience the feeling of being mixed up with equipment, cabin soles, stores etc like the flakes of colour inside a kaleidoscope. 

A designer is steered by his experiences on a boat. If I had spent my life sailing in ideal conditions then the boats that I would have drawn would have been very different from those that have grown out of my experiences sailing off the Cape of Good Hope. The experience of what extreme seas can do despite careful preparations is invaluable and will always be in my subconscious when drawing offshore boats in the future.

The experience ratified one of the cornerstones of my design philosophy for offshore boats and that is the need for a healthy stability curve, with high angle of vanishing stability and minimal negative stability if inverted. There are many boats that would not have come back upright if capsized in the way that we experienced or would have taken a long time to do so. We were upright again in well under 10 seconds, yet the boat took in enough water to kill most of the electrics and electronics and left a lot to pump out. Staying capsized for even a few minutes will introduce considerable risk of the boat sinking and some of the crew drowning.

I learned also that just because there is a big wave to turn the boat over there may not be another to turn it back again, so the boat has to be able to do this itself. We were capsized by waves piled on top of each other to form one monster peak that existed only for a few seconds right where we happened to be. After it passed we saw no others even half the height of that monster.

DB-The boat you capsized on was your first radius chine plywood design, a Didi 38. A boat named Black Cat, that just won the Governor’s Cup Race, a race from Simonstown, South Africa, to the South Atlantic Island of St Helena. This is very impressive for a boat and design that are 20 years old. Could you tell us about the design of Black Cat and what influenced you for the design?

All of the boats that I have built have been plywood and that material forms the core of my design range. 

My target when I designed the Didi 38 was to draw a boat that could be built by any amateur with moderate woodworking skills and at moderate cost. It had to be quick to build because I had only two years from start of build to be on the start line for a major trans-ocean race. I wanted it to look like a quality GRP boat, not an amateur-built project. It also needed to have sparkling performance because I don’t like to sail slowly and this was, after all, a race. “Black Cat” has proven that I met every one of those target points. She has always been very competitive and has won some big races in South Africa. Now she has been optimised to the IRC Rule, which has made her even more competitive than before.

The methods that I developed when designing “Black Cat” developed into my most popular design range, with boats from 15ft to 55ft.

DB-You have perfected the radius chine method of boat building (first developed by Ted Brewer) in metal and plywood. Explain why this is a good method for an amateur builder and even the professional.

I don’t believe that I have perfected radius chine boatbuilding, I have just gone about it in my own way. I don’t know who really started the radius chine concept. Certainly, Ted Brewer was one of the first, using a variable radius. Ricus van de Stadt was also working on radius chine methods for steel and plywood designs about the same time but with a tighter constant radius that we called a soft chine. Many others have followed those two innovators and we have each done it in our own way. I learned it through Grahame Shannon, who combined a large radius with developed hull surfaces. I have designed radius chine steel and aluminium boats using my own methods and a large constant radius from bow to stern. 

Whatever method each designer used he had to learn how to shape the rest of the hull to make it work. For the deeper hulls that are needed by metal designs my constant radius forms worked. I learned very fast that those shapes were not practical for the much shallower hulls of lightweight plywood boats. For those I had to use a tight radius in the forefoot and much larger radii further aft. This didn’t matter with plywood because the sections are bent to whatever shape is needed while they are being glued on, in two layers.

Radius chine methods are good for builders because they allow most of the hull to be skinned with flat sheets that fall naturally to the shapes needed. The remaining radiused sections are skinned with plates that, for metal boats, can be pre-formed by most general engineering firms. The result is not true round bilge but is near enough that most people can’t tell the difference.

DB-You have even used this method on two of your catamaran designs. Could you tell us about the designs?

As designers we develop designs as families that are generically similar. We develop one from another and they gradually morph into different boats. The DH550 catamaran hulls were directly developed from the Didi 26 monohull trailer-sailer hull. The method proved to be even better for the long and slim hulls of a catamaran than the more dumpy shapes of monohulls. The Dix 470 developed from the DH550.

DB-Walking around the Annapolis boat show it was hard to not notice how many builders are using hard chines. I have seen them on your new designs. Could you tell how and why hard chines are being used after so many years of being frowned on? 

Chines have been viewed for years as a sign of amateur building and looked down on by production builders, brokers and yachting journalists. A few years ago chines started to appear on box-rule racing boats as a way of creating a more powerful boat that still fitted into the measurement box, giving more speed and a more competitive boat. From there chines started to appear on new class racing boats as a means to promote planing and surfing when power-reaching. Now fashion has taken over and chines are being used on production GRP boats from major manufacturers.

This all happened after I had worked hard to remove the chines from amateur-built boats. I ignored it until I had potential customers asking me to introduce hard chines into my radius chine designs, bringing me full-circle. I did it first with the latest version of my Mini-Transat racer, the Didi Mini Mk3. This is a box-rule design, so it made sense. Since then I have introduced the Didi 950 with a similar hull shape, drawn to the Class 950 box rule. A client asked me to scale down the Didi Mini hull to 15ft, which produced the Didi Sport 15. That will form the start of a series of sportboat designs of similar shape. 

DB-One of your articles in your book, Shaped by Wind and Wave, is titled "Mindset and Goal Setting for Amateur Builders". What would you advise someone wanting to build their own boat?

To just get down and do it. I find that those who think about it too hard will probably never build that boat that they want, whether large or small. When I started building my first big boat, at the age of 25, my friends told me that I would never do it, that I had to wait until I had enough money to complete the project, as they were doing. Twenty years later I launched my third self-built boat and they had not yet started their first, nor will they ever do so.

DB-What knowledge do they need for building a metal boat of one of your designs?

Same question for plywood construction.

For a metal boat, that answer depends on whether they choose to build from steel or aluminium. Steel is a forgiving material to work with, particularly welding. One can start building a steel boat with no prior experience of working with the material, learn as you go and have a good strong boat after a few years, having also gained a bunch of skills along the way. If the choice is aluminium and they are inexperienced in working with it then I recommend that they get formal training at the local community college before they even start on the project. Incorrect preparation and/or welding procedures will destroy the value of the boat and potentially also render it dangerous due to structural problems.

A plywood boat is about the simplest boatbuilding project for most men to take on. Most are accustomed to working with wood and capable of reasonable quality. Traditional wood construction methods need good woodworking skills that will benefit from formal training but modern plywood methods combined with resorcinol or epoxy adhesives and epoxy coatings are pretty tolerant of skill level. I started building my first big boat with no experience of that type of construction and made a good job of it.

DB-Not only are your designs built by amateur builders, you have had boats built in metal and fiberglass by professional yards. What are some of the challenges and differences in designing for the amateur builder compared to the professional builder? 

Professional builders know most of the details that they will use in building a boat. They generally don’t require as much detail on the drawings as the amateur builders do. I still like to show as much detail as possible for two reasons. First, it shows more clearly what I want in the boat when there are different ways that a builder could do it. Second, it opens up the design to use by amateur builders as well. 

Professional builders also have more reference books to answer questions when needed. I recommend in the documents that are supplied with our designs that the builder buys some reference books pertaining to the method of construction, for guidance when needed. 

In the modern world of impatience and instant communications a new problem has developed. It used to be that a builder would ask a question by letter and could not expect an answer for 2-6 weeks, depending on the distance from the designer. Now the same person might ask 3 or 4 questions in one day by email. This has to be kept under control or correspondence smothers us. The builders must take responsibility for reading and absorbing the information in the paperwork provided to them and not just jump onto email to ask a question because that is the easiest thing for them to do. Answering each question takes time and decreases productive creative time for the designer.

DB-You got quite a bit of attention when you designed the training skiff Paper Jet.

What was your inspiration for the design?

I spent a few years in sailing administration in South Africa, at all levels from club through to Chairman of the National Council. A subject of concern to all was the ongoing loss of juniors from sailing, partially because of the old and boring class boats that are used for junior sailing and partially due to the cost of moving up from one class to a bigger and faster boat. At the time I thought that there must be a way to get around these problems with one boat. It took a few years for me to properly apply my mind to it and develop the Paper Jet design. This boat allows one hull to be used with a range of rig configurations, from a simple una rig through to a fully-powered skiff rig with trapeze and asymmetrical spinnaker. It is accomplished with a basic lower mast in combination with two different topmasts and other components to make a modular rig. This allows sailors of different levels of skill to sail the same boat just by swopping some components to power it up or down.

DB-In the Nov issue of Professional Boat Builder you have an article about your latest design the Didi 950. This continues your long line of fast cruisers and racers. Could you talk about some of your new designs?

The Didi 950 is a 31ft plywood boat designed to the Class 950 box rule. This rule is aimed at producing boats that are seaworthy and robust so that they will be suitable for use as fast cruisers as well as racing. I have been commissioned to draw a bigger sister, which will be about 37ft long. That will come onto the drawing board in the 2^nd half of this year.

I am also working on a 32ft gaff cutter, the Cape Charles 32. This is a plywood lapstrake design based on the very successful Cape Cutter 19 and Cape Henry 21 designs. At 32ft it is a good size to be a comfortable coastal or trans-ocean cruiser. With the raised sheer and flush deck, it has very large interior volume.

And in metal boats, I am currently completing an aluminium version of the Shearwater 45. This is a very seaworthy and surprisingly fast cruiser. It has traditional image above the waterline but modern underbody with fin keel and spade rudder. The fibreglass version of this design won the Traditional Cruiser of the Year and overall Boat of the Year Awards in the Cruising World magazine BOTY Awards 2001. 

Dix 56 built by Howdy Bailey

Dix 64 built by Howdy Bailey

Inspecting Marine Hoses

Do you know the condition of your marine hoses? The hoses on our boats live in an inhospitable location and are often forgotten about. Here is my method for inspecting the hoses. Inspect your hoses

What is the most common marine deficiency on all boats, power and sail? The condition of or incorrect type of hose. Often times on surveying boats I find fuel hose and engine water hose from auto parts stores used on boats. Even the highest quality automotive hose does not hold up well in the marine environment. Automotive water hose is not reinforced like marine hose. It will develop wear spots and can easily crimp. But even good marine hose does not last forever. I find hoses that appear to be in good condition until I grab hold of the hose and bend it, at that time cracks are easier to see in the hose. Squeeze the hose, does it have any soft spots? On other hoses the cracks and wear are easy to see, some of the worst are AC intake hoses where I have bumped into them and had water squirt out. I have found thermal imaging to be helpful in inspecting exhaust hose. The soft worn areas will have a warmer thermal pattern in the image. I confirm the areas by pressing against the the hose after the engine or generator is no longer running. 

The use of Infrared Imaging (IR) is useful in finding worn spots in exhaust hose.

The white area indicates a section of worn hose.

We can see in this IR image a small worn spot in the center of this hose.

By using spot measurements we can indicate the rise of temperature in worn areas of this hose.

When was the last time you inspected your hoses? When I had my yacht management business, every 6 months I would crawl around the engine spaces and bilges inspecting hose clamps for tightness and corrosion. At the same time I would inspect as much of the hoses that were accessible. It is fairly easy to do by running your hands along the hose and using your eyes, giving the hose a bend, (after closing the thru-hull valve) looking for cracking.  A good place to check for wear is where the hose goes over a fitting. These create hard spots in the hose. Closely inspect for anywhere the hoses may rub on an area of the hull or other parts. When in doubt replace the hose. 

Visual inspection is used to spot cracks in this hose. If left alone this hose will start leaking.

The cracks on this hose are visible and by touching the hose I am able to confirm the hose is worn.

This hose is cracked where the hose is connected to the fitting. The use of two hose clamps is doing more harm than good. 

The Garcia-Exploration 45 (Jimmy Cornell's New Boat)

Aluminum Boat Building Is Alive And Well (in France)

Allures and Garcia Yachts http://www.garcia-yachting.com/ were well represented at this year's Annapolis Sailboat Show. With the Allures 39.9 and the Garcia Exploration 45. In this review I will be discussing the Exploration 45 built by Garcia Yachts. Also known as Jimmy Cornell's New Boat.

The Exploration 45 was designed with the input of veteran sailor, voyager, and cruiser Jimmy Cornell. The design comes from the board of Berret Racoupeau Yacht Design.

Even though this is a new design, and something I have not seen before, it does have something in common with other Garcias and the Allures Yachts a centerboard with twin rudders. This design makes for a very efficient sailing design because one rudder is alway vertical under sail. At slow motoring speeds having the twin rudders without the benefit of prop wash can make this type of design difficult to maneuver. The Expedition 45 solves this problem with the installation of a bow thruster. I was impressed with how well the boat maneuvered in the tight confines of the marina. With a draft of 3.44' with the board up and 9.14' board down shallow water cruising opens up a new world not usually visited by monohulls. With the board down windward performance is better than you would think of a centerboard yacht. As with all boats this design is a compromise of shallow draft and windward preference. It is a compromise I can live with! In our sail off of Annapolis, Maryland in 15-20 knots of wind we obtained speeds of 7-9 knots. The Exploration 45 handled well, which was to be expected of the design. In the afternoon the wind continued to increase and we decided to put a reef in the main. The process went with out a hitch. Over all, sailing this boat should be very easy for a couple.

One of the most impressive features of the Exploration 45 is the navigation station. The navigation station is located in the forward saloon. This allows great visibility out of the house windows. I was impressed in the fact I was able to see over the bow from this position. The interior was easy to navigate underway and comfortable. My only complaint is the limited access of the engine which is below the sole at the companion way which could make servicing the engine underway difficult. I found the filters and strainers were easy to access. The cockpit felt safe and comfortable. For the watch there is a safe place to sit behind the house with the chartplotter/radar within easy reach.

Down Below Underway

What about the construction? I took a very close look at the construction of this yacht. I am thankful that the Builder and Swiftsure yachts allowed me access to the bilge and systems areas of the boat.

I was very impressed with what I could see. The metal work stands out on Exploration 45. The hull is fair, the welds are well executed, and the hull to deck edge is beautifully done. The cabin top is made from fiberglass composite. The aluminum decks are covered with cork decking to give the appearance of a teak deck. The footing of this deck is very good and it feels good on the knees.

Hull Framing

I would very much enjoy finding myself hundreds of miles offshore, watching the miles tick by on an Exploration 45.

With Allures and Garcia Yachts being marketed in the USA by Swiftsure Yachts http://swiftsureyachts.com/garcia-exploration-45-2/ 

I hope to see more aluminum boats on the water here in the states. I look forward to when these yachts are on the used boat market and I find myself surveying one.

To view a video of the of the Exploration 45 underway go here:  Exploration 45 from Swiftsure Yachts

Metal Boat Festival 2014 Seminar "Paint Systems For Metal Boats"

Paint Systems For Metal Boats

Interview With Boat Designer John Simpson

Interview with John Simpson 

John Simpson has been a boat designer for 45 years. I had a chance meet him at a Metal Boat Festival a few years ago. Now every time I go to one I look forward to hearing him speak. He has a vast knowledge of boat design and is always willing to share that knowledge.

John, you have been a long time member of the Metal Boat Society and contributor to the Metal Boat Quarterly, thank you for your years of support.

DB: When did you get into boating?

JS: My first boating experience was at 4 years old with my dad in an open 16’ rental boat with inboard engine.

When did you realize you wanted to design boats for a living and how did you become a yacht/marine designer?

Even though I had been sketching out boats for several years and had been boating since 10, it was during a university summer job maintaining 3 naval utility vessels (75’, 48’, and 36’) that design and construction got into my blood stream. My first step was to interview several naval architects to get a feel for the business. All were very helpful and one suggested the best path was to marry a rich woman (I didn’t). I did another summer job in a boatyard leading to a 4 year marine design/drafting and engineering apprenticeship at a shipyard where we built several ferries & barges and at that time, the world’s largest semi-submersible oil rig. At completion I had jobs with several naval architects designing yachts, fish boats, dredges, barges, etc. Around 1972 (incorporated 1974) I started doing my own design work and topping up wages working with a boat builder.

Could you tell us about your first commission?

The ‘first’ was a 70’ steel schooner shortly followed by a 33’ fuel efficient motor cruiser(s). Both are still in service

Since that first commission, how many boats have you designed?

By my records about 110 – sail, power, commercial ranging in size from 17’ to 80’ in steel, aluminum, and FRP. Some designs evolved from originals so the total number is higher.

This may not sound like a lot of designs over 40+years  but keep in mind that some designs can be complicated and if they need to meet Government Regulations, must be diligently monitored throughout construction… this and outside consult work absorbs time.

Not only do you have experience designing, but you have experience in building. Could you tell us about your boat building experience? 

From a bare hull: a 9’ sailing dinghy & a 22’ sail boat. Plus, 2 years with one builder followed by 3 years doing custom power boats 30’ – 50’, the latter as foreman, estimator, assistant manager, & designer.   

What lessons  have you learned from building that have helped with your design work?

Try not to design what one boss called an “Architect’s Dream”… ie: impossible to build. It was obvious that the designer had no boatbuilding experience and little boating experience.   I was just getting into my own design business and my ‘boss’ gave me some good advice:

 Never forget that one day:

(a) You may have to build one of your designs.

(b)  You may have to use one of your designs.

I have done both on several occasions

As a designer you are well versed in not only yachts, but commercial vessels. I hope our readers will go to your website  http://www.simpsonmarinedesign.com and take a look at your portfolio. What are some of the challenges with commercial designs that are not present in recreational design?

The challenges are very similar but commercial boat (fishboats, etc) owners often push the limits, sometimes at great risk: Overloading, improper loading, or sailing into harm’s way, is not uncommon.  Not all boats are the same.

What are some of the challenges with recreational and cruising designs?

Very similar to commercial vessels: Different boats (designs) have different characteristics and each must be used within its limits. Putting a hot-tub on the housetop of a pontoon type house boat might be fine but on a motor cruiser, it may not be an option.

Any tips for the amateur builder looking at designs and wanting to build their own

boat?

(a) Choose the right design by getting some boating experience.

(b)  Work up a realistic schedule – with particular attention to time. Unfortunate as it is, I have seen many cases where the ‘boat project’ outlived the builder.

(c)  Don’t underestimate the price. If your dream is a $500,000 yacht, you are not going to build it for $150,000. (not to the same standards at least.) 

(d)  Concentrate on the boat and not the parts. Building your own parts (windows, port lights, engine conversion, etc.) could be a poor investment of time: That 10 year project might stretch into 20…. And never get completed!

(e)  Use marine parts & equipment – it is designed for that purpose. Boats equipped with automotive and/or domestic equipment may put you at risk. 

(f)    Get the ‘other half’ involved- being a “boat widow” is not fun.

(g)  Pay now… or .. Pay later. Doing it properly the first time is a good investment. Corrections later can sometimes be very costly…. If they can be done at all.

Any tips for anyone wanting to modify a design of an existing boat?

Be very cautious: small changes can sometimes have huge consequences. Work with a naval architect/designer (preferably the one who did your boat)

Could you tell us about your consulting services you offer?

This covers wide variety of services ranging from performance estimates, propeller sizing, stability evaluation, to a design check (a review of the design with a second opinion).

Anything on the drawing board you want to tell us about?

A small project for a client that did a circumnavigation in one of my designs. They want to go from ‘offshore’ to ‘inshore’.  It is a 30’, easily transportable sailing punt to be used for exploring various inland waters in North America & beyond.

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It is getting close! The Metal Boat Festival 2014!

We are a few weeks away from the 2014 Metal Boat Festival! You you have an interest in Metal Boats, I hope to see you there.