Thread: Hybrid sort of PDRacer / Goat/ Beth / Raid Boat.

You'll get no argument from me on the aesthetic value of a PDR, it puts the U in ugly.

There are plenty of performance oriented, small sailors available. I have a few designs, I'm not sure what Michael offers in this size.

It's difficult to get performance and the PDR's stability in the same length. A pointy ended PDR will loose a fair bit of volume in the forward sections. You'd still have a healthy bit of stability, but you'd lose precious interior space.

I guess it's a question of how "much do you want to sail". By this I mean small performance sailing requires some effort on the part of the skipper, usually hiking and working lines and helm. You could easily take a docile boat like the Glen-L "Bull's Eye", "Topper", "Feather" or similar boat and erect a bigger rig on them. You'd increase the SA/D and performance potential, but now you'd have to "sail" them, instead of casually loafing about the harbor. A mistake might reward you with a quick capsize, instead of a close call.

The other issue is LWL. You only have so much potential with a short boat. A longer boat has more potential just because it's longer, regardless of the shape of the bow.

Howdy,

I can't really see myself doing a "performance" boat around the 8ft mark. I think it might look sexier than a PDR and probably not go much faster. It wouldn't be able to carrry as much sail for one and as PAR points out it would be a lot less idiot proof.

Also I would have two designs fighting in the same marketplace.

I would have done something a bit different to the PDR had I designed around that size at the beginning, but I don't think it would be good at doing what the PDR is good at ... introducing new adults to sailing. That was and is the main point of the class to me - and it was doing that happily before I came along. My aim was a boat that would be satisfying to sail too. So that people wouldn't start sailing a PDR and get frustrated when they realised its limitations.

The up side for me has been how much I have learned from designing a version and sailing that very extreme boat.

I do have the long distant plan to extend the GIS and MSD Rowboat family with a 12 footer, probably oriented toward singlehanding performance sailing, but with the chance of taking someone with you without bogging the whole thing down too much.

But it is a long time away. I have more important things to do for the business first ... and quite a long list.

MIK

Originally Posted by nickpullen

Hi.
Just wondering.
<snip>
So What would a boat be that is PDracer length that goes like a goat and is light enough for single handling.
<snip>
Ideas?

A wind-surfer.