Thread: just starting out

Originally Posted by Captain Pugwash

may i ask if there are any canadian pdracers out there, possibly in the ottawa area. so that i might be able to go and look at a racer in real life. as i would like to see what is what in the building of this boat.
having never built anything like this before, i would like to get to know the in's and out's before i start to wood butcher. just convinced the other half that our basement would be a good workshop.

next i ask for info on the plywood required. what would be the best type to get. the only 1/4 inch i can find is 3ply. outer solid with a pressed inner core. should i be looking a marine ply instead.

Don't know about Canadians - but the PDR website should be able to tell you based on registrations.
If youu get Michael's plans for the OzPDR, there is a complete set of step by step instructions. If you can put flat-pack furniture together, these plans make building a boat much easier!
Get good marine ply! The ply is a relatively small fraction of the cost of the boat and the saving is just not worth it!

Others more knowledgeable will be along soon to give more detailed answers...

This is the fleet list.
http://www.pdracer.com/fleets/index.htm

A lot of them are home designed, but the OZ is the one that will sail well from the first time it hits the water.

Some get the OZ plans anyhow because they want to use the rudder method or the centreboard to improve performance - or just a nice light hull that they can put a different sail on.

In Canada there is a criminal mastermind called
Gordon Seiter
who organises hatches (group builds) of simpler PDRs that go together real quick (they don't sail as well as the OZ - but they definitely sail)

Best wishes
Michael