Paper Jet Designed for Junior Sailors

I designed the Paper Jet primarily to be a training boat for teenagers. The thought to design such a boat started when I was on sailing committees in South Africa. One of the subjects most often discussed was how to keep the juniors in sailing. They are the future of sailing, which is experiencing a gradual ageing of the participants. If we cant keep the youth interested in boats and sailing then they will wander off into more exciting/interesting activities, to the detriment of sailing as a whole.

The problem as I see it is a combination of factors, some inter-connected. There are no-doubt other factors but these are the ones that are apparent to me.

1. Boats that are pushed by clubs and national bodies but are uninspiring to young sailors, in terms of performance and aesthetics. Most of these boats were advanced designs when first developed but are now very dated and unexciting by modern standards.
2. The high cost of acquiring and maintaining competitive boats in the Olympic program. These boats are one-design to reduce costs and maintain level competition. However, they are built to very close tolerances and with top grade hardware, sails, rigs, foils etc, all of which cost a bundle of money when new. Much of that cost is repetitive as well, due to regular replacement to stay competitive. Most families cannot make this level of financial commitment, so the boats become progressively less competitive and the sailors lose interest.
3. The high cost of upgrading performance/excitement/challenge to move into the next class up the ladder of the Olympic track. The need to sell the older boat, probably at a loss, then buy a competitive new boat that would be faster but not necessarily much more exciting, makes this an expensive process.
4. Too much emphasis on winning and too little on getting enjoyment out of boats. This has resulted in very structured sailing activities for the juniors. They do not have enough freedom to use their boats for fun instead of being shepherded by adults in sail-training programs that are designed only to improve racing skills, not to engender a love of boats and boating. Fifty years ago we had much more freedom to sail in the manner that we wanted. In doing that we raced informally (two boats near to each other are always racing), learned how to get the most speed from our boats, how to capsize them, how to right them, how to sail them on the limits of the boats ability and beyond our own limits, which served to push our own limits to the next level. We went onto the lake with only the need to be home for dinner and to take total responsibility for ourselves and our boats until we returned. In the process we developed instinctive sailing abilities that can come only from doing, not from being taught theory or chased around a race course by instructors. There were no rescue boats on duty on weekdays, so we had to learn how to rescue ourselves and our buddies. We became totally self-sufficient, self-reliant and confident in our own abilities. We learned to take responsibility for our own actions in a way that is missing from much of modern society. We also learned to love our boats and sailing so intensely that most of the guys in my group moved on to careers in the boating industry.
5. Too much emphasis on windward-leeward racing. This may be good for emphasising the need for improving technique in slow boats but it produces the most boring type of sailing imaginable, either to participate or to watch. The most fun and exciting experience of sailing happens on reaching courses and the sailing establishment seems to have colluded to remove this from the racing.

What has all this to do with the Paper Jet? The concept of this boat developed in my mind and then in my computer, with these factors in my mind. I was developing a boat to solve some of those problems. No boat can fix everything that is wrong in junior sailing but I wanted to draw a boat that would have the ability to at least help with the problems. It produced a boat with the following characteristics.

1. Very modern and exciting to look at, it looks fast even when standing still. Wherever I take it, people come to admire it and talk about it. Juniors love the aesthetics of this very sexy-looking boat.
2. It can morph from a very basic free-standing una rig for single-handing with minimal strings to pull and understand, through a conventional sloop rig for double-handed sailing with a few more strings, to a powered-up double-handed skiff with fathead mainsail, asymmetrical spinnaker and trapeze, simply by adding or removing components from the modular rig.
3. This happens without changing boats and at moderate cost. One family can sail the same boat in different formats to suit the people who are sailing it. Or the same crew can vary the power of the rig and speed of the boat to suit wind, water and personal mood, from relaxed unpressured cruising through to very challenging maxed-out adrenaline-producing low-flying. It can morph from one rig to another in minutes, then back again.
4. Planing high-performance hull with low drag at all speeds. It accelerates smoothly, with no bow-wave hump to overcome in order to plane at high speed. This means that it can plane in moderate breezes even with the smallest rig.
5. Proportioned for teenagers rather than adults, so that juniors can potentially get more performance from the boat than their larger and heavier parents.
6. Hull and deck weight of under 45kg (100lb), easily manhandled by young crew.
7. Able to be built by amateurs with basic woodworking skills to reduce the cost of getting afloat.
8. Traditional rig details to reduce expensive purchased hardware.

Paper Jet rigs, deck plan & cockpit section. Click to enlarge.

The drawing above shows the overall concept of the Paper Jet. In the plan view, you can see that it has two mast positions, linked by a plywood X-structure that spreads the rig loads into the hull and holds the jib sheet fairleads. The una rig at right has the mast free-standing in the forward mast position, which rakes it aft for good helm balance. The sloop rig at centre has the same mast moved to the upright aft mast position, with only the standing rigging and jib added. The skiff rig at left keeps all of the components of the sloop rig except for the removable topmast (there is a socket with locating bolt at the hounds) and mainsail, which are replaced by a taller topmast, fathead mainsail and spinnaker gear. The retracting bowsprit is linked to the spinnaker halliard so that one line hoists the asymmetrical and pushes out the bowsprit. The other end of the same line retrieves the spinnaker and pulls in the bowsprit.

The cockpit section shows that this boat has a narrow waterline relative to overall beam. That produces a boat that is very responsive and needs fast reactions and agility. It is not a boat for beginners, who should first learn to sail on a Sunfish or other less challenging boat. After that they will have the skills needed to sail this boat with the una rig then progress to the other versions.

Dudley single-handing with skiff rig. Billy Black photo.

The wooden mast that I designed for it is sealed and buoyant. If capsized it lies on its side instead of turning turtle. Most dinghies that lie on their side will blow away from the crew in strong winds if they lose contact with the boat. They cant catch up with the boat when swimming in a lifejacket. Not so with the Paper Jet, which stays right where it capsizes, with the immersed wing serving as a sea-anchor.

Andre Siebert and daughter with sloop rig, saluting the club commodore during the opening cruise.

Dan Siegal sailing with the una rig at Mystic Seaport. Billy Black photo.

Righting from a capsize is not difficult, using the righting lines under the wings. Hanging from the righting line and pushing with feet against the immersed bottom of the hull pulls it upright, generally without a need to get onto the daggerboard.

Two Paper Jets capsized. It lies and waits to be rerighted. Billy Black photo.

The  Paper Jet is well-suited to club use, with boats able to be built by amateur or professional builders, working from plans (supplied with full-size patterns of all plywood components) or from pre-cut plywood kits available from suppliers in various countries (Click for suppliers). That makes it suitable also for club, school and community woodworking projects to build up local fleets.

Two Paper Jets are a compact load on a shared trailer.

I have no aspirations for the  Paper Jet to become an Olympic class. What it can be is an affordable, exciting and versatile part of the training route toward much more costly skiffs like the 49er. For those who dont have aspirations to Olympic skiff sailing, the Paper Jet can be all that they need.

Dudley single-handing with asymmetrical. Dave Baxter photo.

Although intended for junior sailors, this boat has attracted a different type of sailor. It has earned a following of men in their 30s and 40s, sailing both crewed and single-handed. At time of writing, we have sold plans and/or kits for this design to builders in 18 countries, with numbers rising in North America and Europe.

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

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A Young Sailors Story

Following is a story, in her own words, of a young womans adventure in her familys Iain Oughtred dory, Lively. Holli is obviously smitten by boating, and up to the challenges. Immediately following the squall she describes, she rowed the boat about two miles back to the dock. I was so impressed by her skills, I captured her rowing technique in the video below, for your viewing pleasure.

The Power of the Wind

I struggled to hold onto the jib. The sails flapped and jerked, trying to escape. I gritted my teeth and pulled again. If only I could tie the lines to the cleat hitch attached to the mast, and not send Lively, and her occupants, into the water. How did I get into this predicament? Well, the easiest place to start, by far, is the beginning…

My dad and mom took my sister and I to Twanoh State Park, for the Traditional Small Craft Association’s (TSCA) Oyster Messabout. While we waited for Dad to rig up Lively, our handcrafted wooden sailing dory, we talked to the others in the area, scouted out the area, found shells in the area, and assisted him.

After a half an hour or so, my dad, my sister, and I loaded in, and Lively is set afloat. My mom decided to stay behind and catch up on some reading. The cool, crisp breeze and to plop, plop of Dad and I’s oars hitting the water was a perfect, calm prologue to the rather wild, exciting sail we are about to undertake. After awhile, however, it began to rain.

You can imagine my excitement when Dad had me help raise the sails, placing me in full command of the jib. As he pulls on the main and sprit halyards, I pull up the jib. Suddenly, the wind grabs the sails and off we go!

I struggled to hold onto the jib. The sails flapped and jerked, trying to escape. I gritted my teeth and pulled again. If only I could tie the lines to the cleat hitch attached to the mast, and not send Lively, and her occupants, into the water. I tugged on lines again, bracing myself. I’ll have rope burns for a week! After one final pull, I managed to hook the cleat, tying it off. Before I knew it, we were heeling at a very dangerous angle, but that only gave me more pleasure.

Suddenly, we hit a strong and very wet squall; a sudden powerful gust of wind with a front of rain. We heeled so far we took in water, more shocking us then doing much harm. Over the din of rain slapping the deck, water lapping over the sides, and startled squeals, Dad commanded me to take in the jib. Having rehearsed the exact maneuver on land, I swiftly did so, and then helped him reef the sails. When Dad and I controlled our assigned sails, my sister acted as coxswain. Though when we hit the squall, my sister was released of her duties, and she settled down on the bottom of the dangerously tilting boat as ballast. Soon though, due to the part of Dad’s splendid captaining and the fact the wind decided to give us a break, we soon righted ourselves and continued to shoot back and forth across the southern part of Hood Canal.

The wind blows in my face and water sprays my back as we go faster, faster, and faster still. The speed was so exhilarating, the choppy water so enchanting, the air so fresh and clean; not to mention cold, salty , and wet; nothing could ruin my perfect mood. I was so proud of Lively. Pity I couldn’t hear what the people on shore had to say.

The wind quit suddenly on us and it began to rain again. By now, everyone was hungry so we rowed back into the boat launch. We greeted the TSCA members and my mom as the boat reached the dock. I hopped out as plans were made. We were going to have lunch in the covered area and conversationalize. As I met and talked to some very nice people, my mind continually strayed back out onto the water. What a pleasure it was! One of the times my whole family will always remember in years to come.

By Holli Welcker
Age Thirteen
  Holli at the Oars from doryman on Vimeo.

Keep up the good work, Holli. You go, girl!
Thank you very much, for this fabulous story.

Hollis dad has this to say about the family boat:

" Lively is a dory, in the Swampscott style.  The designer, Iain Oughtred, calls the design "John Dory".

"We use Lively for both sailing and rowing.  This past summer was more heavily concentrated on rowing, training the "crew" to row double for competition.  We entered the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival rowing race and managed to finish the long course when half the fleet dropped out.  Holli and I rowed double while Franci coxd.  It was lots of fun."

Best regards from the Lively crew:
Kent Welcker
Holli Welcker
Franci Welcker
and Lori too!

Watch for the Welcker family on the waters of the Salish Sea.

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