Thread: Ocean Explorer - Nano Cruising boat from Perttu and Boatmik

When are we going to see an OozeGooze?!?

I love this, I saw the article on duckworks (some how I stumbled upon it) and went to look for the plans which weren't available yet!

I've since bought the oz racer plans.
I figure, having never sailed on my own not had lessons, and with my sailing experience limited to being an extra hand on a 24ft endeavour, that I would build the oz racer and learn on it before jumping into the OE.

That being said, I might keep an ear to the ground and watch this little boat blossom and once I get my own place, WITH A GARAGE (renting a unit at the moment) and get my sailing experience up, I will most certainly make one of these!

I love your work guys! There is just not enough space for all these boats for one kid like me!

Originally Posted by MiLKey

I love this, I saw the article on duckworks (some how I stumbled upon it) and went to look for the plans which weren't available yet!...

Since you've already purchased the OZRacer plans, this might be too late, but the Ocean Explorer plans can be found at Duckworks here: Ocean Explorer

That said, the OZRacer seems like a great first project. Some will tell you (with some merit) not to build a "starter" or "learning" boat but to build the boat you want. But in your case, you might do well to slap together an OZRacer and get on the water. The whole Puddle Duck concept is to not take the boats too seriously and to have fun on the water. The OE on the other hand (and/or its bigger brother Ooze Gooze), might be a boat to cherish for years and would benefit from better materials, more care in building, etc.

I Just reviewed MIK's write-up on the Duckworks plans page and thought I'd repeat this little tidbit:
"I ended up pulling out all the spar, rudder and centreboard information and the sailmaking guide from the OzRacer to complete the Ocean Explorer. In fact, like Perttu, you could have the two hulls and then use the other bits on the one you wanted to sail in that day. The same bits also work on the almost 12ft Goose."
While your living accommodations would need to evolve before that can come true, you can see that building an OZRacer as a prelude to an OE is a natural progression and makes good economic sense.

Be sure to write to MIK for the plans supplement for the Lug rig if it's not included in your set.

And then start your own build thread here! Good luck!

I have the plans from duckwork. I have started the transom and bulkhead. How do you shape the bows curved top? I can cut the bevel straight with my tablesaw but don't know how to bevel on the curved top boards?

Originally Posted by drsmith44

I have the plans from duckwork. I have started the transom and bulkhead. How do you shape the bows curved top? I can cut the bevel straight with my tablesaw but don't know how to bevel on the curved top boards?

If you mean the bevel where the top deck meets the side panels, you probably should just cut the deck slightly oversized ("proud" as they say) and then plane down edge to meet the side panels. No angle calculation required.

If you mean the bevel of the edge of the side panel, you might be able to use the front transom as a guide and knock off the offending corner with a plane. Same for the top edge of the front transom; place the deck on top, see how much to shave with a plane, rinse and repeat. If you are using epoxy as you glue, you need not worry of getting a perfect fit because the epoxy will fill any gaps and solidify the joint. If you're using wood glue of some sort, you'll probably need better mating. If you haven't decided yet, this is a good argument for using epoxy.

Good luck and welcome to the Storer forum!

yes .. a plane.

Often with boatbuilding you have to use a plane rather than the table saw because of curved edges. The luxury of this boat is a lot of it IS straight edges!

Unusually so!

Michael

Hi

Spokeshave is great tool! Most jigsaws cutting angle can be adjust, but after that you need to plane it even.

Perttu

How about this photo ? it really let good feeling to me! That´s what boatbuilding is about!!



Perttu

Getting close...





PErttu

Lovely...

A boatbuilder with a sense of humour

Three things I like:

1. The bow transom turned into a smilie by adding an anchor

2. The cute little boat/artwork on the cabin bulkhead where you would expect a compass or electronics

3. The forward facing air vent on the cabin roof. ( I think MIK would call this a "Nuisance Water Collector" .... )

It looks like the mast is completely rounded?

I think if you look carefully at the second bottom pic the photo shows the squareness of the mast. It was designed square!

I think it looks square

MIK

Hi
Marshall Kaz lift his yatch to water!!!


He is very happy how the boat works and looks forwardt to doing some advetures with it!
Thanks
Perttu