Showing posts with label okoumefest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label okoumefest. Show all posts

Friday, March 11, 2016

Boat Plans And Patterns | Idea 19 an Italian Variation of our TLC19

Boat Plans And Patterns


In late 1988 I was commissioned by Nebe Boats in Cape Town to design a 19ft trailer-sailer of very modern image and capable of handling the very robust sailing conditions common to the Cape of Good Hope. The result was the TLC 19, a speedy and capable little boat with fractional rig, fine bow, long waterline and scoop stern. It also had transom-hung rudder and swing keel or fixed wing keel options.
TLC 19 sailing on False Bay
The TLC 19 hull plug later became the hull for Anthony Stewards boat for his circumnavigation. Anthonys epic voyage was completed in 1993 and to this day nobody else has accomplished his feat of sailing an open boat around the world. The endurance required to sail that distance and for that length of time in a tiny boat without cabin, sailing through whatever conditions nature could throw at him, is incredible to even consider.

Anthony Steward arrives home after circumnavigating.
Another version of the TLC 19 is being built in Italy and can be home-built from strip-wood construction methods. It has been developed by Christian Pilo and uses our hull but a different deck, rig and interior. It is named the Idea 19 and has proven to be a speedy and capable little cruiser/racer. More information is also available on the website of Nautikit, our Italian agents.

Idea 19 sailing in Italy.
 To see more of our designs, please visit our main website at  http://dixdesign.com/ 
or our mobile website at http://m.dixdesign.com/ .

Do you find information about Boat Plans And Patterns are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the Boat Plans And Patterns. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Boat Plans Skiff | Cape May 25 Trailable Gaff Cutter

Boat Plans Skiff


Thirteen years ago Nick and Lindsay Voorhoeve commissioned the Cape Cutter 19 design, which they built in GRP in South Africa. They marketed it very successfully in UK for a few years before selling the company to Honnor Marine, who moved production to UK. It continues to be sold by them through Cape Yachts. We also sell plans for amateurs to build this design in plywood and it continues to be one of our popular small cruiser designs.


"Tiptoe", Cape Cutter 19 built by Ian Allen in New Zealand
Time showed that there was considerable demand for a slightly larger version of the same concept. That resulted in  a client in Australia commissioning the Cape Henry 21. To date we have sold plans for 130 plywood boats between the two designs, with a slight leaning toward the bigger boat.

Cumhur Regay built his Cape Henry 21 in Turkey
More recently I have been commissioned to design two more bigger sisters to the Cape Cutter 19 . The Cape Charles 32 has been waiting in the wings for a long time and will remain there awhile longer. The design is about half-finished and there are a few people waiting for it but there are other things getting in the way (life, sailing, surfing etc). The other one, the Cape May 25, is now complete and plans are ready for anyone who wants to build her.

The Cape May 25 is 253" long on deck and 240" on waterline, with beam of 98". Draft is 2ft with the centreplate up and 54" with the plate down. Lightship displacement is 4500lb. Her weight and beam mean that she is not really a trailer-sailer but is trailable with a large vehicle and will require special permits to be towed on public roads. Her forte will be the ability to sail into shallow areas that are inaccessible to most other sailboats of her size and to be taken home for the winter to save storage costs. Another strong point that she shares with her sisters is excellent speed, resulting from the long waterline, fine bow and generous sail area.
Cape May 25 Sail Plan
My client for this design is a tall person and needs extra long berths and ample sitting headroom, so the forward berths are 2.2m long. The cockpit is also long enough for him to sleep there on balmy nights.

Unlike the smaller sisters, the  Cape May 25 has guardrails. It also has wide cockpit coamings that are comfortable for sitting out, leaning against the guardrails.

Construction is lapstrake plywood, over stringers and permanent bulkheads. This is more challenging than basic stitch & glue construction but it does result in a gorgeous boat that really shows off the builders achievement. The smaller sisters have shown that these boats can be successfully built by amateurs with reasonable but not expert woodworking skills.

To see our full range of designs, go to http://dixdesign.com/priceabr.htm.

To see our range of plywood designs, go to http://dixdesign.com/priceply.htm.

Do you find information about Boat Plans Skiff are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the Boat Plans Skiff. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Boat Plans Pdf | Beautiful Shearwater 45 Available

Boat Plans Pdf


The Shearwaters are boats of which I feel proud. They are very pretty, they are capable in all weather conditions and they are fast. The Shearwater 39 has an enviable reputation as one of the most seaworthy designs ever to come out of South Africa, a country that is known to have some of the most severe sailing waters in the world. These boats turn heads wherever they go, partly because they are so pretty and partly because they sail past many boats that look faster.

Shearwater 39 "Shoestring III" on launch day.
The Shearwater 45 grew naturally out of the reputation that was earned by the 39 and was developed out of the moulds of the 39. It has more length with no freeboard increase and with very little extra beam. The resulting boat is very sleek and gracious to look at and it gained a surprising boost of speed that allows it to outsail most boats of equal size and many that are up to 25% longer. In gaining that speed it has lost nothing of the seaworthy characteristics of the smaller sister. What it did gain is greater responsiveness and fingertip steering due to the change from a semi-balanced transom-hung rudder to a balanced spade rudder.

Shearwater 45 sailing on Chesapeake Bay.
We have good examples of both of these designs available on our brokerage pages. The most recent to come available is the gorgeous 45 "Maggy May". She is lying in the Caribbean and is fully equipped, maintained in top condition and ready to cruise to anywhere that you care to go. She is only being sold due to serious illness of the owner. To view "Maggy May" and the other Shearwaters that we have listed, go to http://dixdesign.com/brokerdd.htm.

Please visit our website at http://dixdesign.com/.

Do you find information about Boat Plans Pdf are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the Boat Plans Pdf. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.

Boat Plans And Kits | Reminder for OkoumeFest

Boat Plans And Kits


OkoumeFest is only a few days away, on May 18th. If you want to see or sail the Paper Jet and live within reach of the Annapolis area, this could be your opportunity. We will have two boats there, the prototype #001 and  #007, generously loaned to me by my friend, Howdy Bailey, for the occasion. My boat will have the turbo rig for experienced performance dinghy sailors to test and #007 will have the standard rig for those who dont feel up to the challenges of a powered-up skiff. See more info on this blog in my posts of April 21st and April 29th.
Paper Jet #007 - Billy Black photo.
Paper Jet #001 - Billy Black photo.
Paper Jet #007 is for sale and is in excellent condition. Come see and test her if you want a good boat but dont have the time to build. She is set up for the standard rig but can be easily upgraded to the turbo rig.

Visit our website at http://dixdesign.com/



Do you find information about Boat Plans And Kits are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the Boat Plans And Kits. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Boat Plans Butler | Paper Jet to Okoumefest

Boat Plans Butler


Every year in May Chesapeake Light Craft hosts a demo day on Kent Island, in northern Chesapeake Bay.  This is to give potential home builders the opportunity to test the various boats ahead of buying a kit. CLC cut the CNC kits for our plywood boats in USA, so we join the happy day of boating on the beach.

We had a two Paper Jets there last year and I will have my own yellow prototype, PJ #1, there again this year. Those who want to test sail her, please join us on the beach at Matapeake State Park, between 9am and 5pm.
Dudley preparing PJ #007 for sailing, Okoumefest 2013.
PJ #007 returning from a test sail, Okoumefest 2013.
PJ #001 patiently waits on the beach for her turn to be rigged. Okoumefest 2013.
Paper Jet sail numbers are now up to 84 and growing. This is a fun boat to sail. Come along to Okoumefest to see and sail her for yourself.

To see more about this design and the others in our wide range, please visit http://dixdesign.com/.

Do you find information about Boat Plans Butler are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the Boat Plans Butler. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Boat Plans Bolger | Search for Missing Yacht in North Atlantic

Boat Plans Bolger


Last week a 12m yacht, the "Cheeki Rafiki",  sailing from Caribbean to UK, started taking on water in mid-Atlantic. They were obviously in a serious situation and contact with the yacht was lost early hours of Friday when about 600 miles off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. A search was started by the United States Coast Guard and the upturned hull of a sailboat was spotted by a tanker crew that reported it but did not investigate further. The search was called off by USCG on Sunday, about 48 hours after the search started.

The USCG press release said "We appreciate the assistance of the U.S. Air Force, Canadian and the three merchant vessels helping us to conduct a thorough search so far from shore," said Capt. Anthony Popiel, 1st Coast Guard District chief of response. "We are extremely disappointed that we were not able to locate the sailors during the course of this extensive search. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families during this difficult time."

There followed a huge outcry against calling off the search so soon and it has been resumed today. This was after many thousands of people signed petitions calling on the USCG to resume the search and many private yacht owners vowed to go out there in their own boats to search if the USCG would not do it.

I have some questions.

1)  Isnt it a primary function of the USCG to go out there and search for whoever is missing or in trouble? This is a department of US government, paid for by the people. Is it that strapped for cash that it cant search longer than 48 hours for four people who are in dire straits, when they have a pretty good idea of where they are?

2) We have watched with fascination how carefully the Southern Indian Ocean has been searched for a missing aircraft. I accept that searching for a missing yacht or liferaft with four people aboard cant be compared with a search for a plane with hundreds. But they know where this boat is, it was even seen from a ship. They are not guessing or relying on foggy evidence to locate a start point for the search. The boat is there and it is/was afloat. If the crew abandoned ship into the liferaft, as seems the most likely scenario, the raft is likely to be downwind or downcurrent, or a combination of the two, of the position of the abandoned yacht. Why would the USCG assume that the crew were in the water and unable to survive when they had a liferaft available for just such an emergency? People have survived for many months in liferafts, surviving tumultuous storms and everything else that nature has thrown at them before eventually being found.

3) Isnt it maritime law that seamen are required to assist each other when in distress? A report in Metro News says that "the overturned hull of the boat was spotted by a passing tanker shortly after they disappeared but it was not inspected as there was no sign of the crew". People have survived in capsized or even sunken boats for considerable time, about two weeks in the most recent case. Why would the captain of the ship not stop his vessel and investigate. He saw the capsized boat. Unless it was storm conditions he should have been able to launch a boat to cross to the yacht. Banging on the hull and listening for a response would have told them if anyone was alive inside. Seeing it, reporting it and moving on did nothing to assist the crew aside from recording a start point for the search. Is commercial profit so important to the ships owners that they would not do everything in their power to ascertain that there was nobody there to rescue?

Thanks for reading my rant.

Do you find information about Boat Plans Bolger are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the Boat Plans Bolger. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.

Friday, February 26, 2016

Boat Plans Wood | Trika 540 Demountable Trimaran

Boat Plans Wood


We are introducing a brand new design, the Trika 540. It is a pretty trimaran kayak that will be a good family boat for reasonably sheltered conditions and gives good speed. It can be built at home by almost any handyman from stitch & glue plywood and can be carried to faraway destinations on the roof of a family car.

The basis is a large two-person kayak than can be paddled by itself. To convert it to a trimaran the beams and amas are added, without tools. Aside from being demountable, the beams can also be folded aft so that the amas lie alongside the main hull to reduce overall beam for easy boarding from a dock or for accessing narrow spaces.

Length overall and on waterline are both 5.4m (179"). Beam sailing is 3.28m (109") and 1.3m (43") folded.
Trika 540 waiting for you to take her sailing.
Trika 540 on a standard car, with amas inside main hull.

The Trika 540 is a nice concept. Much as I would like to say that I came up with it, I didnt. It is the only design we sell that I did not draw myself. It was designed by my German agent, Klaus Metz and I have added it to our design range to expand reach for his design. We serve as his agent in selling the plans and he will supply the plans and will back up all builders himself. This is best because he knows the design and construction intimately.

Please go to http://dixdesign.com/ to see our full range of designs.

Do you find information about Boat Plans Wood are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the Boat Plans Wood. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Boat Plans Stitch And Glue | Update on OkoumeFest

Boat Plans Stitch And Glue



It was a very long day but well worth the effort. We left home at 4am, arrived at the venue by 9am and had the first boat sailing by about 10:30. The two Paper Jets attracted a lot of attention and more people sailed my boat in one day than have sailed her in 6 years. Those who sailed her seemed very impressed, despite the generally light breezes and lumpy water. The lump was generated by wind elsewhere on the bay that wasnt reaching us.

Two Paper Jets nested for towing.
Paper Jet #007 rigged and ready to go.
Two happy sailors return to the beach.
 We finished the day with a visit from South Africans Terry and Greg Clarens, ex Durban but now based in Annapolis. They took the two boats out on the late afternoon breeze with flat water and possibly had the best sailing of the day.

A few people commented about the beautiful detailing and woodwork of the two boats. They have on occasion been described as works of art or sculptures. This was part of the overall design concept and is one of the aspects that make these boats so eye-catching. My aim was to create detailing that would encourage builders to be proud of their work and to strive for a higher standard. Despite being thoroughly modern in shape, the rig details include features more normally found on traditional gaff-rigged craft. These include lashings, soft-eyes and birdsmouth wooden spars that are oh so pretty.

Thanks to all who came to CLC OkoumeFest and particularly those who test-sailed our boats.

To see our full range of designs, go to http://dixdesign.com



Do you find information about Boat Plans Stitch And Glue are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the Boat Plans Stitch And Glue. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.

Boat Plans Bruce Roberts | A Didi Mini Goes Cruising

Boat Plans Bruce Roberts


The first boat to our Didi Mini design, drawn to the Mini 650 Rule, was built by CKD Boats of Cape Town for owner Mike ONeill. She was named "Warlock" and never raced in anger. Mike is a superyacht captain and seldom in the same location as his little boat. Eventually he sold her and the new owner commissioned Fluid Yachts, based in the gorgeous town of Knysna, to transform her into a little fast cruiser. The photos below show "Warlock" in her original form and the transformed "iCandy".

Changes include a reworked interior with as many comforts as could be fitted into such a small hull, extension of the deck to the transom, swept-spreader rig for easier handling and a retro-fitted lifting keel to replace the 2m deep fixed keel.
"Warlock" with 2m fixed keel
"Warlock" had the old style Mk1 aft deck.
"iCandy" with lifting keel to access shallower anchorages.
"iCandy" with extended aft deck for a bigger cockpit.
"iCandy" with tall swept-spreader rig for easier control.
"iCandy" now has a retro-fitted aluminium lifting keel.
Keel-lifting tackle of "iCandy".
Looking aft from the massive forward double berth into the saloon.
The new lifting keel of "iCandy" is to our design and can be retro-fitted to any of the Didi Mini or Didi Cruise-Mini series designs. Keel-down draft is 2m, the same as the fixed keel, but it can lift to reduce draft to 1m, for access to shallow moorings or anchorages.

For more about our Didi Mini design series or our other designs, please visit our main website at http://dixdesign.com/ .


Do you find information about Boat Plans Bruce Roberts are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the Boat Plans Bruce Roberts. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.