Don’t
build, buy (used) instead.
Build
a work of art using the best materials and masterful woodworking
skills.
Build as cheap
as possible, using innovation, and scientific creativity.
Building your own sailboat is NEVER a practical alternative to buying one
Don’t
build, buy (used) instead.
Build
a work of art using the best materials and masterful woodworking
skills.
Build as cheap
as possible, using innovation, and scientific creativity.
Big (small homebuilt boats have been already extensively researched and developed by others)
As classic in appearance as possible for a low-cost boat (tourism is important to this region)
Shallow draft – but also suitable for more challenging waters (a big boat that can only sail this lake is not significant enough for WSU)
The odd looking water-ballasted Martha Jane is a box-shaped sharpie designed by Phil Bolger. His book, Boats with an Open Mind, revolutionized home boatbuilding by emphasizing that home-built wooden boats should not be an imitations of other boats. So-called "instant" boatbulding methods, such as stitch-n-glue, are well suited to novice boatbuilders.
Martha Jane (click to enlarge)
Stevenson’s 16-ft (LOD) gaff-rigged Weekender is an easily fabricated homebuilt boat that looks like a 19th century fishing schooner. Beautiful and ideally suited for these waters, the Weekender has already been invented, so building one would not constitute “research”.
Weekender (click to enlarge)
If any yacht has attained cult status, it is the Nordic Folkboat. Not at all suitable for the amateur boatbuilder, it was invented by the (neutral) Swedes in the depths of World War II. The Folkboat is highly regarded as an honest boat that sacrifices the comfort of a large cabin and the convenience of large sail area – all to achieve ocean-crossing seaworthiness. The heavy Folkboat, with its very low freeboard, is the opposite of the Martha Jane in almost all respects. Both are good boats, but one is better.
Folkboat (click to enlarge)
I. A Problem with 3 Solutions II. Constructing a Sailing Barge III. Odd looking dinghies
