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Hi guy's
very interesting discussion!

I do have a McNamara sail too, similar as Richard Harvey. Second one made by Michael McNamara. I have a pictures attached with this sail that shows the shape...

Hi MIK,

I think you are right on balance; roach does not do that much on overall balance........but as long as it is flat. As soon as it becomes baggy, like an old sail, it's a pain. I personally...

Just before launching my GIS on a windy day I was wondering how to get simple hicking straps fixed quickly. I had some dynema rope, soft plastic tubing and pipe-isolation foam available, so I tried...

I think your approach is right.
If you are replacing the ply I personally would go for a varnished deck too, that makes it an absolute beauty.
Sailing a F.D. is GREAT, so every effort to get it...

I was aware of this and totally agree with your statements. The only point I am trying to make is: if you want less regular maintenance you should go for a well done epoxy system, otherwise you will...

I never tried that system so I wanted to stick with my own experience using sand.
regarding weight; I did use 1.5 kg of sand to poor on, but after removing the excess there is just a very fine coat...

Quite interesting discussion about varnishing, but if you want to have less "sanding and varnishing every year" you really need to consider using epoxy on bare wood and use a high-tech UV resistant...

I would use a few coats of epoxy as a "primer" and use UV resistant Yacht varnish on top of that.
Epoxy has a much better bondage with wood than original varnish. It also gives a great waterproof...

Last week I made non-slip area's on the bottum. Especially under rough circumstances and when you are roll-tacking GIS can have a great angle of heeling. These non-slip area's make it much more...

FYI
I am making a Blog now about sailing with my new GIS. I will try to regular update with experiences and tips&tricks.

Sailing a Dutch Goat Island Skiff

I have used a few tricks to make rigging as simple as possible.

Around the mast on deck I have drilled four 8mm holes, rounded them with a router and epoxied them carefully ( I did it already...

Hi Ian,

Just FYI;
my boom ( with loose-footed sail ) has a 36 x 72 mm square midsection with diam 12mm rounded corners, tapered towards 36 x 55 to the front and 36 x 45 to the back ( kept the...

Yesterday I have sailed GIS with Bf3-5 on a bigger stretch of water. Parts were sheltered, but on the main river ( about 1.5 mile wide ) there were bigger waves also due to frequent passing...

Last week I have launched my new GIS; the third one in the Nederlands.
Most building information will be found in my other thread "start building another Dutch GIS"
This new thread is dedicated...

As far as I remember from "the old days of dinghy racing" ; wooden spars tend to become more flexible over time. This is most appearant in the first year. Has nothing to do with delamination (...

Hi Clint,

A standard sail will probably make a nicer bundle. Especially the top leach batten of a "performance" sail will be in conflict with the yard. That's not a real issue if you are making a...

Hi MIK,

I was also surprized on the tacking abillity. I needed to tack 1,5 mile against this unpredictable wind on a quite narrow canal. Under these circumstances steering balance, keeping speed...

Hi Ian,

it's McNamara's, indeed. Looks like a great sail to me, but you need to take in consideration that it has a quite hard-finish cloth and the leach battens are a bit in the way if you want...

Two other "birds eye view" pictures from my GIS. You see the good and powerfull aerodynamics of a well set-up balance lug rig.

Hi Ab,

Indeed, also the mothership has a dark red coulor.................but initially I was going to the shop to buy a "mid grey" ish paint. That was sold out, but then I saw this coulor and...

I am not shure about the yard yet. It is quite stiff, but seems to have sufficient flex in a stronger breeze ( using full bodyweight on the side ) .
The stif boom and loose footed sail seems to...

Today I was able to launch my GIS for the first time! I sailed with it on a narrow stretch of water close to my house. Not the best sailing conditions, gusty winds from different directions between...

Just today I had a first sail with my GIS, it's to soon to tell if my boom and yard work better, but they seem to work well. I will give you the dimensions asap.

best regards Ralph

Hi MIK,
You are right about contacting the manufacturer, but It's always complicated to get any "proof" of how you prepared things and how things went wrong. I am rushing now to get GIS launched,...

Fortunately I was able to take an extra day off this week, so I was able to sand the inside and put 2 coats of varnish on my GIS to speed up things. Not the best brightwork I have ever...

Nice coincidence that we have the red, white and blue Dutch flag together now :o
Now we have to find the right windmill and wear our wooden shoes to make the perfect Dutch GIS picture for MIK :U . ...

I totally agree that most paint systems do not work as perfect as manufacturers try to let us believe. And if you put a complaint it's mostly due to "preparation, weatherconditions, temperature,...

I also finished preparing my box-trailer to hold GIS. Wooden holding clamps covered with pieces of kitchen-carpet ( waterproof stuff ) .
The idea is to drive the box a little bit into the water,...

We had another few days of rainy weather and now my hull is painted.:U
I have used a dark red ( bordeaux-red ) one-pot polyurethane yacht-paint.
Two coats are on now. Not perfect yet, but...

I remember Joost had an issue using a single-pot primer on epoxy?
I had an issue using yacht-varnish on fresh ( 2day old) epoxy ( felt sticky for a long time ).
In general it seems that some 1pot...

Deviding my spare time between a GRP Classic yacht, a fast growing garden, painting the house and holidays certainly does not speed up finishing my GIS. But due to fact that we had a few days with...

I did sail a Finn for several years, recently and also in the old days, with flat side decks and coamings
I personally would go for a foam padding in stead of a wood construction. It's more...

Very valuable information for me!

Regarding the boxtrailer; I like your idea of a simple trolly in combination with a box-road-trailer. Perhaps I can work out a single handed version? I agree the...

Great boat and great pictures! Looks like you have lots of fun with it.

I see you are using a standard boxtrailer, like I am planning to do too.
Does it work well? I imagine you could stand in it...

This central compartment is about 135 litres, and meant to be additional flotation ( and dry storage ). But since it is devided left-right by the centerboard case it could hold about 25-30l of water...

In my GIS I do have the opportunity to fill the boxed middle seat with water to get a smooth learning curve :U I would recommend water to be used as ballast anyway, since it's safer if you capsize (...

Hi MIK,

Great design as you made it, espcially for single-handers and occiasional 2people. I like the enclosed front deck as it will certainly minimize bailing out. For me that is a mayor safety...

Very Interesting Thread !
I have not finished building yet, but did a light wind test sail with Joost. Two handed is seems a remarkable easy handled dinghy, I was surprized about the easy movements...

You are probably right, I was just refering to inexpensive glas-kevlar masts they used on some 80-ies windsurf rigs. Stiffer than glas-only masts in those days.
Anyway; my main message is that...

Hi Brian,

I agree using alloy tube spars would make it much easier to finish a DIY design. I am not shure if performance would be improved, but it's shure a lot of work to find the right wood and...

Hi MIK,
Got the message............Be shure there will be "another Dutch GIS " sailing around this summer:U. I have just been working on the rudder and that's almost finished........."nice" to have...

Hi Guy's

I didn't follow the forum for a while, since I have been busy looking, buying and now preparing my new GRP Classic Old Vic...............but :
I totally support the idea of a 12ft...

" Soon" means after sanding, another coat of epoxy, turning, sanding, another coat of epoxy, sanding, finalcoat of epoxy, turning, sanding, varnishing 1, sanding, varnishing 2, sanding, varnishing 3,...

Yesterday I finally put one of the last coats of epoxy on the inside of my GIS and it looks glossy now :U. I probably put one extra coat on the gun and inwale for extra protection, and there are a...

Hi Woodeneye,

It's designed by Dick Koopmans sr, his son Dick Koopmans jr is now running the business. Locally he is pretty well known for pretty, fast and very seaworthy designs. He also sailed...

Thanks!
Actually, with this old engine it could end up having GIS as mothership towing a 3500kg Classic..........:C

Completely off-topic ! but I just have bought a Classic GRP 28 foot yacht; a 1968 Dutch build Victoire 28 with beautifull lines and beautifull woodwork on deck and interior. Complete with the...

In the Netherlands we do not have very strong regulations if your overall trailer load is below 700 kg ( trailer included )
This was a lightweight boxtrailer ( you can not load it full with heavy...

Hi MIK,

Thanks for your advice.
I have a used a pretty heavy build trailer and wide axle ( box is 200 long by 130 wide plus wheels ) so I am not so worried about that. Besides that in Europe max...

I also needed trailer for my GIS and in my "Just Use Common Available Stuff Building a GIS" filosophy I have been thinking to use a standard multi-use trailer.
First of all....I had one..........so...