Thread: An exercise in the beauty of constructing a racing puddle duck

These blokes..... (ducks)

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...46&postcount=1

While you chaps have been whiling away your time with flippancy, Boatmik and I have been busy little beavers indeed.

A big parcel from Boatcraft arrived today, with epoxy, bog powder, glass and primer.

Yesterday I bought the tarp for the sails ($40, but we'll get four sails out of it with a bit of luck), and we scrounged enough scrap timber to do all the framing, centreboard, rudder and even a mast or two.

Today I'm off to find some plywood.

Maybe we won't get them painted over the weekend (after all it does take time for epoxy to cure)... but things are looking promising!

Cheers,

P

So if I made one of these things, do you reckon I could sail it out the mouth of the Pambula River, or does that stretch the definition of 'puddle' a bit?

Originally Posted by silentC

So if I made one of these things, do you reckon I could sail it out the mouth of the Pambula River

Yep! Just after you finish rewiring your house using only advice from the reno forum!

P


(Maybe on a quiet day.... and if you do die, the loss of the boat won't have much of an impact on the total value of your estate after all!)

Originally Posted by echnidna

Who wants ta race ducks in puddles anyway

Specially when you can use them as tug boats?

They went to sea in a Sieve, they did,
In a Sieve they went to sea:
In spite of all their friends could say,
On a winter's morn, on a stormy day,
In a Sieve they went to sea!

Silent,
Boatmik has just drawn to my attention, that under the class rules, there is nothing to stop you building a self-righting, full keeled version of the boat, which would be capable of sailing round the world.

I suspect that you would get quite lonely.

In the meantime, since this is a design thread, and we have now moved to the construction phase, please refer all future correspondence here:http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...195#post264195

(Unlike the Eureka Canoe thread which seems doomed to stay in the design thread for eternity!)


Cheers,

P

Oh man where have I been?

I have a damn river right in front of my house but I have never thought about building a boat.:eek:

Should I or should I not?:confused:

You know you have an obligation to your ancestors to carry on their great maritime traditions

Don't think any more......

Cheers,

P

Originally Posted by bitingmidge

Don't think any more......

Why think at all? Works for Midge

Richard

Originally Posted by Wongo

Oh man where have I been?

I have a damn river right in front of my house but I have never thought about building a boat.:eek:

Should I or should I not? confused

Dear Confused,

Be not confused!

During the 1960s there was a huge number of boats built of plywood in garages, sheds, kitchens and living rooms.

These boats and their owners formed the basis of the boom in sailing clubs that used to be in every bay and estuary around Australia.

Now sailing boats are So stupidly expensive that all those little sailing clubs have died out or are struggling against diminishing participation.

Now everything has become too serious - with basic boats for a kid or couple of kids costing between 5 and 12 thousand dollars.

Thus the drop in participation. As soon as a class goes to fibreglass the costs rise and rise.

As a kid I used to go down to the beach, rig my boat and go sailing during holidays, weekends, whenever - and there would be heaps of other kids doing the same thing in their boats. The boats were wooden and available relatively cheaply. My first boat was $70, my second was $250. I think my father was earning about $200 a week at the time.

As a teenager I was learned to paint, repair and make bits for my boats. Now if there are thousands of dollars wrapped up in the boat they have to go back to the factory.

Puddleducks avoid all this silliness - they put the ability to go for a float into just about everyone's hands.

Modest boats sailed for fun!

The Puddleducks are perfect for all the above reasons. The other nice things are

* They are small enough and light enough for two people to move around easily - or one person to move easily enough.

* If you can build a box (or a rocking horse) you will find one simple to build, repair and maintain (thats one of the reasons we decided to epoxy coat ours - it reduces the maintenance down to less than a fibreglass boat).

* They are so cheap that it won't be burden to own, it is cheap enough not to be precious whick makes it easy to lend to other people without becoming fretful. Why not build two so you can watch your friends or family sail the other one!

* They are so simple to rig that you can get home from work, see that there is a nice sailing breeze and be pushing out from the shore within 10 minutes.

* The best reason of all is that you are living right on the water. Lucky you!

You know you want to!

Best wishes
Michael

Dear sir,
With your permission I would like to give your post a home on my web site.

www.summerlandpuddleducks.org.

You have captured the spirit of the Puddle Duck to a T. I will also share it with the Puddle Duck Forum in the states. Eloquence such as yours must be shared.

Originally Posted by Boatmik

Dear Confused,

Be not confused!

Now sailing boats are So stupidly expensive that all those little sailing clubs have died out or are struggling against diminishing participation.

Now everything has become too serious

Thus the drop in participation. As soon as a class goes to fibreglass the costs rise and rise.


Puddleducks avoid all this silliness - they put the ability to go for a float into just about everyone's hands.

Modest boats sailed for fun!

The Puddleducks are perfect for all the above reasons.
You know you want to!

Best wishes
Michael

Originally Posted by OkanaganDuck

Dear sir,
With your permission I would like to give your post a home on my web site.

Please go ahead - nice website too! We will be making one later too.

Best Regards
Michael

Look forward to it BM