Racing to Rio A perspective on Crossing the South Atlantic Ocean

I have crossed the South Atlantic under sail four times. Three times it was with full crew from Cape Town, South Africa, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the Cape to Rio Race. The other crossing was double-handed and going the other way. I will do it again in January but this time the build-up is proving to be very different.

First, I am not there to prepare the boat for the race myself. I have always been there to take charge of the preparations, with much able assistance from my crew and my family. This time I must rely on someone else to sort out any issues and to ready "Black Cat" for her 3,250 nautical mile voyage. That distance is nearly 3800 land miles and more than 50% longer than the famed Trans-Pac Race.

This voyage is small compared with a round-the-world voyage but it is, nevertheless, a major voyage and it is across waters that see very little traffic. Aside from commercial fishing ships and the boats that are racing, there are very few vessels crossing this ocean at any time. We have to be self-sufficient, to take care of whatever situation fate and the weather gods might send our way. We cant make a VHF call to the Coast Guard or US Towing to come fetch us. Each boat has to rely on its crew in an emergency and vice-versa; boat and crew are totally inter-dependent and both have to be fully prepared.  And, in the traditions of all seafarers, all boats are ready and willing to assist each other if needed.

I am very grateful for the work that is being done in Cape Town by Dave Immelman in preparing "Black Cat" in my absence. Dave will be my navigator for this race and was her skipper for the 1,800 mile Governors Cup Race from Simonstown to St Helena Island in December last year. He is the only one on the crew who lives in the Cape, so a big load has fallen on his shoulders ahead of this race. The Cat is now 18 years old and Dave has been charged with upgrading anything that needed upgrading, from structure through to finishes, rig, systems, equipment and sails. In many respects the St Helena Race served as a good shake-down to highlight any issues that have developed in the years since I handed her over to her current owner, Adrian Pearson.  I look forward to test-sailing her on Table Bay with all the new goodies that she has gained since I last sailed on her.

Racing under spinnaker into inky darkness.
Sean Collins & Adrian Pearson in the cockpit.

 The other difference is that for previous races I lived in Cape Town and  this time I live in USA. In Cape Town I was always surrounded by people from the sailing community. Cape Town is a beautiful place to sail, one of the best in the world. It can also be one of the toughest places in the world to sail, with sometimes violent weather and extremely testing seas. In that environment the fact that I was soon to cross an ocean on a small boat was of passing interesting but not considered to be too much out of the ordinary. After all, if you can sail in Cape Town you can sail anywhere, so what could be special about an ocean crossing?

This time it is very different. My neighbours know that I design boats for a living. They have not seen the big boats that I have built, only the little Paper Jet that took shape in their neighbourhood and drags around faithfully behind my minivan when I am going sailing. They have not seen the boisterous to wild conditions in which so much of the Cape Town racing happens. Here I am a bit of an oddity because I just dont fit into the mould. They are very supportive of what I am doing but dont really comprehend it; the who, where, what and how of sailing across an ocean. I must admit that I do enjoy explaining to them what I will be doing, where we will sail, the beauty of Cape Town and Rio, the good and bad experiences of sailing a small boat across thousands of miles of open water, through good weather and bad and the real or imagined dangers. In their view I fit in somewhere between eccentric and totally crazy, leaning mostly toward the crazy end of the scale. They worry mostly that it is a very dangerous thing to do.

The truth of a voyage is really somewhere between how it is viewed by my friends in Cape Town and those here in Virginia Beach. In each of the races that I have sailed we have had to cope with at least one big storm and another one or two smaller ones. Yes, it is dangerous; but we do what we can to reduce the danger. As far as I can recall, only one person has died during the Cape to Rio Race in the 42 year history of the event. Thousands have participated, two boats have sunk on the race, two have sunk on the return voyage and only one person has died. That was from a heart attack that would likely have happened on land anyway.

Gavin Muller repairing sails during the 1996 race.

We all take precautions because it is dangerous to be on a small boat way out of sight of land. The boats are all fully equipped with a wide range of safety equipment, which has to be maintained according to mandated schedules. All boats are scrutinied before being allowed to start. All boats have to prove a high level of experience and/or certification among the crew before they are accepted. That experience and certification is for ocean experience, navigational and seamanship skills and the ability to take care of medical emergencies with the very comprehensive medical kit that we carry with us.

Additional to those documented requirements, every skipper sets his/her own standards for behavior on their particular boat. I cant vouch for other skippers but on "Black Cat" we go into safety mode in bad weather and from dusk to dawn, when no person is allowed on deck without first putting on their safety harness and clipping onto one of the many secure points on deck before exiting the interior of the boat. Along with this, a clear head is always required, 24/7, so there is no drinking of alcohol except for one optional drink at happy hour each day. There will be plenty of time to imbibe in Brazil.

An ocean crossing like this does not need to be dreaded but neither is it a cakewalk. We need exciting activities in our lives to build the memories that we cherish. They help to remind us that we are alive and have a purpose in our lives, they give us the material with which to tell the stories that will entertain our friends and grandchildren in the autumn years to come. If we dont reach those autumn years we still come out ahead because we have had a lot of fun and excitement along the way.

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Update on Didi Sport 15 and Didi 950

I have recently added two new radius chine plywood designs to our range and wrote about them on this blog. Here are updates on both boats.

Yesterday I visited the prototype of the Didi Sport 15 (DS15) that is being built by Hunter Gall in Virginia Beach. I hadnt seen it in the flesh for a few weeks and wanted to see how the deck is looking as it comes together. Hunter is doing a really nice job of his project, working slowly but meticulously.

His boat, "Scallywag", is looking very pretty. He stained the hull surfaces blue and the deck surfaces red before doing the epoxy coatings and these colours will be highlighted by areas of clear-finished timber. It all entailed a tremendous amount of extra work to get it right than if he had painted it in the normal way. The final result is very attractive and she will be an eye-catcher when complete. Hunter can be pleased with the overall results.

The deck configuration that I designed is unusual, with a raised mast deck and wave-breaker above a flat foredeck and the open self-draining cockpit. It gives a decidedly retro image to the deck, over the thoroughly modern hull. It reminds me somewhat of the Lightweight Australian Sharpies that my Dad sailed in South Africa when I was a child. That makes it  somehow fitting that Hunter Gall is Australian, I am South African and we have ended up working together on this project in USA.

Hunter Galls DS15 project nearing completion

Other news on the DS15 is that work will start in the next few weeks on moulds to build a composite version in Europe. I will release more information about it after I return from the Cape to Rio Race, by which time the builder may be ready to start receiving enquiries.

The other boat was the Didi 950, for which the prototype kit has been cut and will be delivered to the builder in the next week or two. It appears that this is going to be a popular design because we have sold plan packages for another three boats since announcing the design.

Didi 950, bigger sister to the DS15

 One of those boats will result in a variation on the design, with a lifting keel. A lifting keel was part of the original concept for the builder of the prototype but he decided in the end on the simplicity of a fixed keel. The lifting keel proved to be a very viable option, using the same basic keel support arrangement as the fixed keel with no structural redesign. The major difference will be moving the motor aft to a position under the companionway, driving a saildrive rather than a shaft. This is to make room for the lifting keel to rise through the galley central locker unit.

The prototype of this design is to be built in Ohio, USA. The others that have been ordered will be built in Australia, Latvia and Greece. There is interest from other countries as well.

To see our full range of designs, please visit http://dixdesign.com/.

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Hitting the Nail on the Head with CC19

We all know what it means to "hit the nail on the head". Taken literally, it is so satisfying to hit a nail so square and hard that it drives a long way into the timber. Just a few such blows and it is home, securing whatever its destiny in life was to hold in its given place. Taken figuratively it means that we have expressed an idea very clearly and in a way that resonates with others.

In just the same way, it is possible to design something that is just perfect, that we would not like to do any differently if we were to start again from the beginning, even if armed with the experience that came from the use of that product. A designer can and should get tremendous satisfaction from his/her involvement in the process whenever that nail is so squarely struck on the head. I have been lucky enough to find that nail a few times.

The Cape Cutter 19 is just such a design. I really would not change anything at all about that little boat. I have not sailed them enough and hope that I will get many more opportunities to sail them. The sailing that I have done has always impressed me with the extraordinary speed, handling and ability of this little boat.

Two Cape Cutter 19s drying out in UK.

 It is not a racing boat, so dont expect it to plane downwind like a sportboat. It is a little cruiser that can sometimes make you feel like you can take on the sportboats. Take it out in light conditions and it will sail past virtually any other cruiser or cruiser/racer of similar size, as well as taking out many much larger boats that should be a whole lot faster. It is oh so satisfying to sail past a boat that looks much faster but isnt.

It is not only a light-weather boat though. Remember, I grew up sailing the waters of the Cape of Good Hope and spent most of my life sailing there. Most circumnavigators tackle the Southern tip of Africa with great trepidation because of the often violent wind and sea conditions. For those who live there, those are the conditions that are given, so they have to be dealt with. I designed the Cape Cutter 19 to sail those waters safely, with due diligence by the skipper, of course.

There is a really nice independent review of the CC19 and its bigger sisters on the SA Yacht Blog . It includes observations by the author of boats to these designs that he has seen in action around the Cape of Good Hope and how they have managed in those conditions.

These boats are loved by their owners and they are very sad to part with them. One such owner is Russell Eden in UK, who sold his CC19 this past weekend. I received these messages from Russell, repeated with his permission.

"I sold my Cape Cutter 19 today after three years of ownership.

She was number 47, built in SA. I wanted to personally thank you for creating such a beautiful craft. Each and every day I sailed her I had people approach me to talk. People would sail/motor over to take photos and video. People offered me money for her, there, on the spot.

Ive only sold her because my wife says she will come sailing with me more often if we had a boat with full standing room and a heads. I would have kept her forever otherwise.

Im sitting here now wondering what Ive done; Ive let go perhaps the most wonderful piece of property Ive ever owned. No doubt Ill get over it in time, but I doubt Ill ever own anything quite so easy on the eye, or so wonderful on the water.

Thank you for designing her."

Russell followed up with:-

"I really meant it too. You designed something which grown men cry after.

 That said, it was only ever the white ones I lusted after. I think you need to be able to see the lapstrake, which you cant always do on the darker hulls."

Russell Eden sailing his CC19 "Zephyr".

Thank you Russell, for your kind words. I get great satisfaction from them.

The Cape Cutter 19 is a GRP production boat built in UK by Honnor Marine . It can also be built from plywood from plans that we supply at http://dixdesign.com/ . There you can see our wide range of other designs as well.

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More on Stability with Water Ballast

John Gilbert asked a question in response to my recent post, Stability with Water Ballast.

I do not get why the red and blue curves do not meet up at 180 degrees. Inverted the boat has no windward side as you point out, so you have water ballast on one side and none on the other side. As you have drawn the curves you have powerful stability in the  inverted position with the water on one side (red), but actually a righting moment if you have water on the other side(blue). What is the difference?

To help with understanding this I thought it better to write a new post that expands on the dynamics of stability than to try to answer it in the comments section after that post.

This will be more easily understood by seeing a diagram showing the stability graph expanded through a full 360 degrees rather than all conditions overlaid on top of each other in a 0-180 degree range. This is exactly the same stability info for the Didi 950 as shown in the graph of my earlier post but shown in a different manner.

Diagram of Stability through 360 Degrees

I will start with the green curve. This shows the stability without water ballast. The centre of gravity (CG) is on centreline. The stability curve intersects with the horizontal grid line at 0 degrees heel and increases identically both to left and right of the 0 degree line, so the boat will float without any heel to either side when right way up. The boat will stay that way in the absence of any wind, wave action or crew movement on the boat.

Follow the green curve until it comes down past 130 degrees to again intersect with the horizontal line at the Angle of Vanishing Stability (AVS). Then it enters a range of negative stability where it will proceed toward upside-down. At 170 degrees it crosses to above the horizontal line again. This indicates that the superstructure volume is trying to turn it back upright and doesnt want the boat to lie totally inverted. It will easily flop back and forth between the 170 and 190 degree points. The boat can return to upright along either green curve.

This all depends on a totally waterproof superstructure, of course. In practice water is likely to enter the boat at a rate that depends on what is open at the time, which will affect the inverted stability. 

Moving on to the stability with water ballast, in my earlier post I said that the boat will capsize along the red curve and recover along the blue curve. I explained the relationship between the two curves but that relationship is not easy to visualise if only seen across the 180 degree range.

In the diagram above you can see that the red and blue curves only meet in two places and both are on the horizontal line. These are the two points at which the boat will rest when there are no outside influences from wind, waves or crew movement.

The boat cannot rest totally upright nor totally upside-down because the weight of the water to one side is heeling it toward that side. It will rest at approximately -5 degrees heel instead of upright and at 200 degrees instead of upside-down when inverted.

Bearing in mind that the areas of the curves below the horizontal line indicate how much energy it needs for the boat to get past the AVS points so that it can right itself when in that 200 degree situation, it is now easy to see that it will take a large amount of wave energy to get past the AVS of the red curve but a very small amount of wave action to get past the AVS of the blue curve.

This graphic shows that if a water ballasted boat capsizes it will do so along the red curve but it is very unlikely to return along that same path, nor is it likely to stay capsized for long. Once past the AVS of the red curve the negative stability will push it to 20 degrees past upside-down. After that the blue curve will take over and almost guarantee that the boat returns to right-way-up pronto.

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A little more work on the transom

Tonight I cut two more holes in the transom. A 1" drain hole, and a square hole for the boomkin.
That makes a grand total of 17 perforations through my transom. Six for the Duckworks motor mount, eight holes for the gudgeons, and three more for the tiller, boomkin and drain!  I hope the boat will still float despite all these holes!

Another challenge was how to trim all the planks flush with the transom. I thought about using a saw but was afraid of scratching the surface of the transom and chipping the planks. Then I thought Id carefully whittle away at them with a sharp chisel. That would have taken forever.  I ended up using the Gain Machine


I set the Gain Machine so that the router bit was flush with the bottom of the base, like this:

Then, holding the base firmly against the transom, I used the Gain Machine to route the protruding planks flush with the transom.

The planks were perfectly flush a few minutes later.

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Latest news on the Chris Morejohn Tom Gordon Islamorada Marine skiff and several other home built skiffs a building

Tom Gordon sent me some pictures of our skiff collaboration a few days ago with an update on whats up with it. I also will be sharing some pictures of several homebuilt skiffs that are being designed and built by their owners for their own use. Each one has a different story to go with each skiff.

Here are some shots of the plug being built. Tom is building the plug as a mold that he will build a hull from and then wet test. When satisfied with the hull he will put the infomation he has gathered into the cad lines drawings program that he has made from my original hull lines. He can then with this new info final tool the plug mold and make a perfect plug. From this he will then make the working hull mold.

Sounds complicated but its not. The pictures that you see are a basic plywood jig set up to hold the putty that is being sprayed into this jig-form. Then the computer driven router comes over into this glob of cured putty and starts routing out to the hull lines. When done its perfect. Of course if our thinking is not then we will just end up with another skiff.

Tom Gordon gave my hand drawn lines drawings to a navel architect by the name of Johnny Sebastion.

I love that name. We have never met. Johnny put all my lines into a cad program and faired them with this.

In doing this he could now see the displacement at any angle, with any amount of bow weight and stern weight at any draft. All this and you can see every thing in 3- D moving it about the screen.

From this you can see what the weight could be. That is what the displacement would be at such and such draft and tilted angle.

From here you have to do a hull skin analysis and get your whole hull weight list together. With a computer in the right hands this is the best way to go.

Tom has told me that they are sticking very closely to my rounded stern concept. They ended up moving my upper chine up a bit from my drawing. They have widened the hull a bit as drawn to be able to meet the Coast Guard standards for a 115 HP engine on the stern.

I figured he would do this as the hull lines I sent were to the inside of the hull skin. They have stuck to the hull sides and bottom I drew and have tweaked the aft bottom pads to their current thinking and knowledge. I can see a very intresting detail in the stern vee. Looks to me like a nice keel setup for turning at speed. They ran the stern bottom through many different programs before settling on what you see here. Iam very happy with what I see. Notice how all the hull lines flow. No hard parts or straight lines except for the lifting pads aft.

The skiff will weigh 530 lbs ready to install an engine on. With two 250 lb guys aboard with a 70 hp outboard it will draft 6.5". With the same two guys and a 115 hp motor it will draw 10".

I am looking forward very much to riding in this skiff. I feel this skiff with a 70 hp should be a great all round skiff for the anglers that want to be able to go into some rough waters and still get into the shallows.

The great thing that Tom Gordon is doing is using all of todays modern technology to make a perfect hull with out rushing and worrying about everyone else. This skiff will stand alone when done.

The next skiff here is being built by Jon Conner up in Vermont. He has built several other skiffs over the years and after reading my blog decided to design and build another new model. We have been corresponding this past year going over ideas, the pros and cons etc. of each.

He likes to build in plywood using the stitch and glue method.

With this method you are kinda stuck with a limited amount of hull shape forms. It is hard to add in chine pockets and such as you are not building over a solid building jig and molds.

But a very nice hull can be made this way in a short amount of time.

Heres Jons skiff being stitched up, that is the 9 panels that make up the hull have been cut to shape and have been sewn together using small wire ties. When all together he will roll over and reinforce the inside of the hull with a few bulkheads to keep its shape and then Fillet and glass the inside Chines. After this is done you roll back over and fair the outside and glass this over. Then you add any spray rails or chine details on over this glassing over and final fairing the whole skiff. It looks to me he has the hull secure enough to fair and glass while still upside down. I will have to ask him about this.

Outside and upside down now. You can see Jon is trying out some reverse spray rails up forward on the bow area. He has also added a chine strake aft. We talked about this strake and its pros and cons. Jon liked my chine pocket idea but it would have been time consuming to try and build it into the hull sides when building a stitch and glue hull. My opinion was that adding it to the outside would work but with the liability of a bit of water noise when poling if the boat is tipped back and forth the water running off the top of this external strake could make a bit of noise. 

Jon felt it was worth putting in. He can always remove it. I feel when hes in a fast turn his skiff will be like on railroad tracks and will not slide much with this setup. The black bottom is carbon powder in epoxy. I personally think doing this is a waste of money. If worried about bottom friction or wear then add one more layer of 7 oz. cloth just in the areas of worst abrasion.

Right side up showing the aft strakes.

Nice shot showing the locker space aboard. You can see the aft chine- strake very well here. Lots of lift from this as it will catch the water going out the sides aft and gain lift from this.

Decks going together. Notice his bait well stern box transoms are vertical. Hes gained all the displacement he can by doing this. Also he has no plans to use trim tabs in such a light small skiff.

Nice lines to this skiff Jon. He has been weighing it as he goes along. Will finish out under 300 lbs.

Look at the sheer on this skiff. When building a skiff on the floor like Jon did it is hard to stand back and lean over with your head upside down to get a look at your sheer. To me this sheer is fine for this boats intended purpose which is to run and fish in shallow protected waters. Theres no pretense that this is going to be a rough water skiff. The flattish bottom precludes that to some degrees.

For looks an inch more in bow height might look good, But when running this bow will be up in the air at all times. When poling around it will be sitting perfectly with little windage. Jon fishing from the stern with the added bouancy of his stern boxes will support his weight well so this skiff should pole and float quite level when fishing alone.

This is Jons very simple home made trim tilt braket. See the crank in the stern. With the stern boxes added if they are straight as the bottom in the stern they will act like trim tabs holding the bow down a bit. With this engine trim setup the motor is set back a bit so this would help counter act this. I normally 

Design in a bit of upturn to the bottom of stern boxes. But with a light weight skiff, trim tabs and a biggish engine this is not needed. The skiff will just want to be out of the water when running. So thats where trim tabs help so much.

Here you can see how simple this trim plate is to make. Aluminum can be cut with simple power tools so a setup like this is very cost effective.

Jon says his skiff will be in the water soon so will post the pictures when I get them. Well done Jon !

A very energetic young man by the name of Dustin Bates has been corresponding with me as he has been making a plug and mold for a biggish flats skiff for himself and other family members to build and finish off on their own. He plans on building three skiffs from this hull design and mold. I feel he will be building more though once people see his work.

Dustin started off this hull design by building over an old hull shape that he acquired. He felt this initial shape would be a good starting point for him to add all his ideas and energy too. 

When going this route you can save yourself lots of time and money if the the hull shape you have cost next to nothing and is close to what you invisioned for the final hull. But you will be stuck with a lot of its old shape to start with and this can steer your shape in directions you may not eventually want.

So think about it, draw it out before you start.

Dustin knows boat building and mold making. His last company was Barracuda Boatworks.

We have talked back and forth about details on the bottom of his skiff. My advice to him and to everyone is to keep things as simple as possible and dont make cute gimmicky details.

Dustin liked some of my idea details that I had posted a while back on reverse spray strakes, and chine details.

Lets look at what hes come up with.

Stern looking forward. Because of his initial hull shape being long and straight he has had to deal with that aspect. I would like to see some curve going in forward about midway on this chine. But as you will see it will work with his bow once seeing the whole boat.

Here it is at its forward end. Wow this should really redirect the water flow off the bottom as it goes out and aft. Cant wait to see how this looks underway.

Bow shot before final primer goes on. 

Shooting on the mold gelcoat over the finished plug. Its pretty amazing that just a simple polished on coat of wax will keep this stuff from sticking. But you have to have well designed draft angle in your plug and you must let every process on the building of a mold sit for a few days to vent its gases otherwise things could stick. After having built close to 200 plugs and molds I know pretty much what can go wrong.

Nice, now let cure and then skin coat.

Plug all glassed waiting for its outer core skin and framing. See how nice and neat everything is. The fuzzy edge will be cut off and then wedges will be hammered in the sheer plate with a little bit of water squirted into it to part the mold from the plug. Such nice neat work. A Very exciting time. 

If you see sloppy glass work around a builders molds its a good sign that his boats will be sloppy too.

Ah ! Shes free ! Now you have to grind and trim the sheer edge. Next you go into the mold and sand the entire surface up to 600 grit to smooth out all imperfections. Then next its buffing away for hours.

For this boat size about two days worth. Then let sit and gas off. Then its wax on wax off. Five coats. Will take two days. Then let gas off. Now you can build a hull.

Bow detail. See how long and straight the outer lower chine is. If you start with your own design then that could have a bit more curve in it. But this skiff is going to be very stable at rest. It looks like it should be very dry when running. Lots of stuff going on down there to stay dry.

The thing is with a mold like this if any of those reverse spray strakes need to be removed or shortened its just a matter of filling in the mold and refairing. 

Transom details. The little white strips are where the mold stuck to the plug fairing. No big deal.

When building the Whipray plug I used a new type of Bondo type fairing compound that was so easy to use and sand. I went through all my usual steps. When it came time to remove the mold it was stuck completely! I had to tear out the entire plug piece by piece. Luckily the plug was built in cedar strips. About 50% of the bottom had stuck. The plug was destroyed. I later learned that this new putty was giving everyone the fits. It needed days to gas off before spraying on the gelcoat. 

When I got the last piece out of the mold I called Hal Chittum and said we now had a mold to start the project with.

To me theres too much going on in this transom. Like I said before I dont like cute. All those little pockets add drag and turbulence when running. I did suggest Dustin round the corners as much as possible to help with the noise.

I will keep posting Dustins build updates as I get them. This young man needs to be followed as he is doing this whole project in his spare time on his own dollar. He must have an understanding wife.

This next project is being built by another young man that wants his own skiff to guide and fish out of. He cannot afford the current costs of flats skiffs so has taken it upon himself to design and build his own skiff. Ren emailed me a month ago asking some basic questions about foam cores and building a one off. I did not really have the time so just said give me a few weeks and I would post a blog about lofting a skiffs lines and how to set up for building. ( soon).

Ren is a man that wastes no time so these past few weeks he started on his skiff project with his vision in his head and his energy getting things done.

He is building to his own devised method. 

This is the picture he sent me of his temporary plug - mold to form his foam core over. Underneath the plywood veneers are his station molds. I have not seen a sketch but I figure he has draw out his skiff on paper and has cut all his stations from this drawing. Again building on the floor is such extra hard work bending over. But Im 57 now and when I built my first flats boat hull I did it the same way. I had energy to spare back then and I too was in a hurry to get her in the water.

Ren has temporarily laid on a light fiberglass Matt sheeting to hold his plug together.

He has now started to cover his plug with foam core by screwing down the sheets with a limited amount of screws. He intends to pull them out when he rolls over the finished glassed hull.

This is fine. There are lots of ways to hold down the core. I like finish nails as they pull out really easily with only a small hole to fill with putty. 

I have never seen a skiff go together like this. But Iam very impressed by Rens energy and get her done attitude. He should be done with the outside of the hull soon.

Look at this shape. With a bit of fairing this could be the next new skiff.

Keep up the energy Ren.

This skiff I saw on Facebook on a site-group called Trick my Skiff that I follow. I dont know whos building it but a mold in the background in one of the photos looks like one of mine that I designed and built. So.... Someone please let me know.

Iam just showing this skiff to not pick it apart but to share what I see. This might help you to look at all skiff designs with a questioning mind. Please look at all what I say in the same way.

The mold just over its bow looks familiar. The " Plankton-Ultimate Skiff?"

Ok, this is a great looking skiff hull. Love that bow. The chine detail is very crisp. This skiff from here looks like it will run great with a 6 hp.

Now what I question is if its designed to be a flats fishing skiff then with its very obvious shallow draft that very nice chine detail most likely will be very noisy as the boat hull is tipped from side to side. The sharp edge of the chine when coming out of the water will cause a small wave and dripplets that will make noise. Its to close to the surface of the water so will be coming out allot. No one fishes a boat totally flat at all times.

What a nice run. Nice curve to the hull Chines. A great skiff for small HP. 

But the Chines are up too high for being quiet. If this skiff were totally flat bottomed then you would have to really lean over to get its chine out of the water. Not so with this type of bottom. Will only take a few degrees of tilt. The difference between this ever so slightly veed hull and a totally straight flat bottomed skiff in ride would only be in speed underway. And only just a bit. A totally flat bottomed skiff if leaned over by its operator and passengers to a ten degree angle would present a nice vee into an incoming chop. With a veed hull you will end up with a flat bottom when leaning over.

So I feel the dead flat bottom would  give you the better ride if you knew how to run the skiff. 

But this skiff looks so cool upside down. I want one! But without that stern bottom.

Classic shape here except for the stern.

The stern. I would love to hear the explanation for all of this ! I can see some things. A bit of a pocket for less drag when on plane. The steps can act like a keel when turning. BUT ! When turning if this skiff leans just a bit they will not be grabbing but wll be in the air doing nothing. That rounded keel sould have a sharpe edge to it to grip the water in a turn.

All this will add drag when poling. I would like to know how this skiffs turns out.

It should plane out with a 15 hp if built in the 250-300 lb range at about 18 knts.

I sure like its lines but want to know if all that stern bottom stuff works.

Its back to cute stuff. Is it really worth it? Well see. But I would love to have a hull like this with a clean run to the stern, solid glass bottom with cored sides. Nice all round nock about skiff for low hp.

This Last skiff was built by a Bahamain in the Abacos of a Hells Bay Skiff. There are lots of HB skiffs over there fishing the Marls. This photo was sent to me by Oliver White. Thanks Oliver.

When I next sail back home to the Bahamas next summer I will look up this Bahamain and give him hull lines drawings to work from for his next build.

A few skiffs out there being built. Lots of the skiffs today will look very similar but in reality they will all be different as its all in the details that will separate them all. Some will be be real yachts done to perfection but all will float and get you out to the same spot looking at the same fish. Remember this.

I live aboard my own self designed and home built plywood sailboat that is moored in the same anchorages as the wealthiest people in the world with their perfect yachts. We go to the same reasturants, shop in the same stores, drink side by side in the same bars, breath the same air and swim in the same sea. Are they having more fun than me? Do they see the same sunsets differently? Probably not.  The difference is they drink more expensive Rum than I do.

Start building your own skiff, yes it will take a bit of time out of your life. Give up your time on the Internet and you will have plenty left to get building. Think of the satisfaction of catching fish out of your own self built skiff.

The Hogfish Maximus is a very unusual looking boat. But because I built it myself and sail about the oceans in it I get more job offers than I can take to help others with their store bought boats.

 Lets get going!

 

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Caribbean racing on Hogfish Maximus and other sailboats

 The leeward and Windward islands of the Caribbean Sea host enough sailing regattas to satisfy any and all sailboat types , skippers and crews. From flat out racing to casual fun class kinda racing, classic boats , mega yachts , multi hull , local traditional boats and racing for charter boats.

Along with the racing comes all the partying , meeting other crews, and getting to know the island you are anchored off of and being hosted by.

I have been able to race in many of the great regattas as crew on other boats . This I like best as I do not have to worry about what will break and how the race is to be run. I like just having a job to do , watch the unfolding drama , scenery ,some times chaos , and just by being at sea on really fast sailing machines. These boats are always way above my pay grade and ambition so its great to be on them at their best. Its also nice to be with winning crews. 

For one season I was crew on a J109 racing in most of the regattas as the spinnaker sheet trimmer when running, and the jib sheet tender when on the wind. This kept me in the companion way and the cockpit. A safe place. It was always a drama when approaching the leeward mark with the chute up doing 10-12 knots with the owner skipper steering saying he wanted to lower the chute within a boat length of the mark while we would be re hoisting the jib and sheeting in to weather in 20 plus knots of wind with at least 8 other boats next to us thinking the same thing.

We always had a pick up crew of at least 7 different nationalitys on board that all spoke English but had different meanings for all parts on the boats and maneuvers . 

I would in my mind at these times wondered what it would be like to be on a professional all New Zealand run crew.

For me in my safe spot my job was to ease the chute sheets, lower the chute , retract the bowsprit, and start sheeting in the jib. The fordeck guys would be hauling in the chute through the forward hatch,  

At the same time hoisting the jib tru its foil head stay slot , the main sheet guy who would be the strongest crew on board was supposed to be keeping the boat on its feet by letting out and sheeting in , the rail crew were to ease the vangs and start leaning out. 

During all this the skippers job was to speak calmly giving directions to where we were headed with all the other boats a few feet away going like a bat out of hell alonside us.....

What would happen was a boat in front would get a huge gust at the same time as us ,loose control and just flat lay over on its side in front of us so we would then head up a bit which would cause us to do the same and over we would go with the chute flailing away trying to dismast us with  the cockpit in the water , the foredeck guys trying to not slide over the side the skipper yelling to dump the main , get the chute in, the jib up and why the hell is everything taking so long.

I liked my central spot and knowing I only had to do something when told to so never got in trouble . 

I could just scrunch up my ball sack and watch the madness ensue.

Not all races were like this. Having a tacking duel with a similar boat going to weather in good strong Caribbean winds and sea with good crew and boats that could point to weather 20 degrees higher than most all other cruising boats doing 71/2 knots plus was a joy to behold.

 The Hogfish Maximus is not a boat fast enough for racing in that her weak point is in going to weather she is a bit slower than needed to be competitive. Reaching she can hold her own and beat most similar cruisers . If all races were close hauled or reaching we would be in the money.

I like to race the Hogfish in local island races for many reasons knowing that we will never be competitive. First off when entering a race you pay a small fee which is less than a $100.00 . For these fees you are then given a case of beer , a bottle of good rum ,some tee shirts and other stuff. You are also adding to the number of boats racing and that adds clout to the local island in the papers. There are tons of boats at anchor off these islands but most owners do not want to know how slow their boats are so stay at anchor. I race to see how fast my boat is against others , to learn how to try and catch up to the others that are faster. We have invited a lot of other people to crew for us and have a blast just by being out there.

The times we have done really well were when top notch racing helmsmen were steering the Hogfish with me trimming the main. 

You can learn more about your sailing skills and the speed of your boat by having other crew aboard and chasing faster boats.

After all the racing comes the partying ashore. Nothing like being on the winning boat.

One of the best prizes awarded to a boat I was on was for a second place finish in the Grenada round the island race on the  J109 " Pocket Rocket". First place got a one night stay in an apartment room on island and we received a case of Gernadas best aged Rum !!! Life is good. 

So if down island with your cruiser sign up to race , hold back a bit at the start to let the real racers get away and then just sail,learn but have a good time as there are no losers when it comes to the party ashore.

Heineken Regatta in St. Martin  on Pocket Rocket J109

That me on the stern peeing, we are still doing 71/2 knots to weather in the close to 30 we were racing in. Main tore as we did our last tack around the leeward side but boat speed is so good in the Jboats we just kept going. Came in fourth place .

Thats me in the red hat!

Crew party afterwards. Italian, Englih, Irish ,Scot, New Zealand, my daughter Kalessin, and Tony 

Another Irishman.

Kalessin standing watch as the two of us sail the J109 back to its home in Grenada. 168 miles the first 

Day towing a huge inflatable. What a boat, but like ridding a horse all day as she would wear you out with the motion.

We have just won the best dressed Pirate crew when racing on the Farr 60 Farrfly.

A case of rum for second place !

 Our glory day having won first place in the fun class.

Racing our friends on Grace May an old Prout cat. Shes overhauling us here.

All 16 and under kids placing 3 rd in the Grenada series of big boat racing. The skipper steered the one off Swan 42 while these kids did all the sail work including the spinnaker. This was against hard sailing adults including the boat that I was crewing on. The crew consisted of the three boys in black with my daughter Kalessin here holding the prize of Gin. The kid with the hat behind her is Sam Goodchild who has gone on to be a very successful offshore racer. Look his name up you will be amazed.

Size is relative they say ,but bigger sure goes faster.

On the Farr 60 Farrfly we are smoking by this very heavy cutter during Antigua race week.

These guys sailed all the way from Austrlia to race at Antigua and beat us to boot.

Some good deals to be found ... A cheap mainmast for a Bolger ?

Crew rail meat feet.

Hogfish going to weather in the Bequia Round island Race.

Rounding the point with the whole Atlantic out front.

The seas are about 6-8 here rounding the weather point in Bequia. 

If only it drew 27"

See you out there this winter as Hogfish Maximus will be in the West Indies for this winter sailing about chasing boats.

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