Another test sail of the Rx3

Having completed filling in the transom cut out on my Rx3 lay down sailing dinghy I took her out for another test sail today in slightly windier conditions. I was probably out for about 45 minutes and I found it very comfortable, which I am very pleased about.

As the wind picked up the bow started to bury a little, however sailing was great fun, although admittedly conditions were pretty gentle.

Rather than spending any more time modifying this version I am contemplating starting a second boat incorporating the lessons from this first build.

RxSailor

Progress on my Rx3 Lay Down Sailing Boat

I have started work on filling in the transom cutout on my lay down sailing boat. I am hoping to get her ready for another test sail in the next couple of weeks.

In the mean time I am trying to find an old dinghy spinnaker that I can cut down to about 20 square feet. I have a bid on Ebay at the moment, it is a symetrical spin but I should be able to make a small assymetric out of it. I figure the mainsail of 35 square feet will be just right for going into wind but adding an additional tiny spinnaker might make it possible to get up on the plane off the wind.

N.B I have decided I should be calling the Rx3 a "lay down" sailing boat as opposed to "lie down" sailing boat! :)

A second test sail on my lay down sailing boat!

I went out for a second test sail on my lay down sail boat this morning after making a couple of modifications.

I have made so many changes to this platform that it is looking rather a mess, however it is serving it's purpose well in allowing me to experiment with the concept of a lay down sailing boat before I possibly go ahead and build a second version.
Anyway, since the first test sail I have added a little side buoyancy and also centralised the rudder, it is now foot controlled as opposed to hand controlled.

I am very pleased with the foot control option as it keeps my hands completely free. After some advice from someone on the Boat Design Forums I have decided to fill in the transom cut out. The idea was that I could use flippers as an alternative propulsion method, however now that the rudder is centralised it is in the way so there is little benefit in having this cut out.

So, before a third sail I shall fill in the cut out and re design the rudder mounting to make it more robust. This is certainly a fun project and even though I have not been out in anything like a reasonable breeze, I think it is going to be great fun when I get it all together.

I have decided to name this boat the Rx3!

Inflatable Sailing Boat!

Being a minimalist sailor, a couple of years ago I decided to build a sailing dinghy I could pack into my car boot. I got the inspiration of the basic rigging concepts from a great site called http://www.sailboatstogo.com/. Here are a couple of low quality phone pics of my attempt at putting together a boat that would fit in the boot of my small car!

The shape of this particular inflatble kayak makes for an excellent sail boat. This was my first attempt at using a steering oar and I have to say it was fun to use instead of a rudder. One of the advantages of a steering oar is that you can very easily tack by simply lifting the oar out of the water to help spin the boat around on the lee board axis.

Look closely at the mast step: A round mast going into a square section mast step!!! I went out one day off Exmouth in rather windy conditions and when beating into wind I experienced a mast failure, surprise surprise it was at the mast step. Lesson learnt :)

That being said I had some fun with this boat - thanks Jim Lucket at http://www.sailboatstogo.com/ for the inspiration.

Lay down Sailing boat!

For a while I have been toying with the idea of building a lay down sailing boat, and here are a couple of pics of my prototype on her maiden voyage!

The cut out in the transom is so I can kick with my legs for propulsion if needed (I have a couple of flippers I took on the boat with me) This also makes tacking a very quick process.

I am using an Optimist rig, stayed with some dyneema rope. The hull itelf is made from a foam core sandwiched between two sheets of 3mm plywood so the hull is very light!

I made a hand stearing mechanism for the rudder using two cables lead through some pulleys to a lever where my right hand falls naturally. The main sheet leads to a cam cleat in easy reach of my left hand.

There was very little wind on the day (a good thing), however I was rather nervous on my first launch as this is a pretty whacky concept. The idea is that although she is never going to be that fast, as I will be so close to the water it should give a good sensation of speed!

I was pleased at how comfortable it felt laying on my front - this was one of my worries. The steering mechanism did not work well but I managed to steer by just using my foot on the rudder. The boat seemed balanced well, with maybe just a little too much weather helm.

I need to add a little more buoyancy on the sides and aft, I shall do this with some closed cell styrofoam. I am also going to change the steering mechanism, I am thinking at the moment to change to a foot controlled mechanism.
Happy days!

Kayak Sailing on the South Devon Coast

This photo was taken during a 4 day kayaking trip along the South Devon coast. We had just entered the lovely River Erme.

That is my good frend Johnny in the red sea kayak. After this trip he got hooked on the idea of kayak sailing!

The picture shows my yellow Scupper Pro rigged with my favourite configuration, a PA sail near the bow and a small mizzen aft.

More Kayak Sailing Info Here!

A previous build - the Rx1

The picture to the left is of a sailing skiff I built a few years back (Rx1). Unfortunately I didn't really do enough development work on it and so didn't do it justice.

I had planned to add small buoyancy pods to make sailing upright in light winds easier but after some rudder problems I moved onto another project. I really must try to stick with one thing!!

The hull was made from closed cell foam (XPS) reinforced with ply and fibre glass. The outrigger frame was very light, made from 1.6mm aloy tubing.

I put my latest skiff build on the weighing scales the other day and it came in at 18Kg. By the time I have finished I expect the hull weight to come in at around 20Kg. A Laser Pico weighs 60Kg so it is quite a light hull.

Kayak Sailing Today

I was planning to work on my sailing skiff today but after checking the conditions last night, weather and tide was perfect for a bit of kayak sailing. I got my gear out of the garage and headed for Exmouth.

I normally like to sail off the sea front and zap along the coast but as the tides were right I went to what is locally known as the duck pond and set off up the estuary towards Starcross and Lympstone.

I had a fantastic time and was sailing at quite a speed, burying the amas frequently.

I find that every time I go out on my sailing kayak I always think of modifications I can do to improve the current design, making modifications is almost as much fun as the actual sailing for me.

Anyway, it was a fantastic morning. For anyone wanting a cheap way of getting out sailing on the open water I would definately recommend kayak sailing. If you want a bit more info on this type of rig, see me kayak sailing web site.

The use of styrofoam for my sailing skiff

To build my pocket rocket sailing skiff I am using two different types of foam. For the hull shape I am using polystyrene (Also known as EPS - Expanded polystyrene) sandwiched between 3.2mm plywood. For the hull sides I shall be using styrofoam (also known as XPS - Extruded Polystyrene)

It is important to understand their different qualities in a build.

Polystyrene is the cheap stuff you can pick up at any DIY store and is invariably white in colour, see pic to the right. It is extremely light however if exposed to water it will absorb water like a sponge! If used carefully I believe it can be successfully used to form the basis of a very light hull. This stuff is used in the manufacture of the type of surfboard called an Epoxy board.

Styrofoam is the other type of foam I shall be using. This is a denser material and is extruded in manufacture giving it a closed cell structure that does not absorb water. I shall be using this foam for the hull sides as it is stronger and I don't need t worry about having a perfect seal against water ingress. The pic below is of some styrofoam board made by Dow chemicals that is typically blue. This can also be picked up at most DIY stores. It is more expensive but I shall not need much of it for my design. Styrofoam is much easier to shape due to its denser nature

Rudder Build

I have started building the rudder assembly. For the rudder blade I am using an old windsurfer centre board. The pictures show the beginnings of the build. I am using 12mm ply for the rudder stock.

Finding an old windsurfer centreboard to use is pretty easy and it has the advantage of being a better foil than I could shape by hand. The only disadvantage I can see is  it will be fairly high aspect ratio meaning it might stall too easily in light winds, it might also be a little on the small side. If it doesn't work well I will make one out of plywood. Time will tell....

Concept of my Rx2 Sailing Skiff

Concept of the Rx2:

I am hoping to build a boat that is:

• Light Weight
• Cheap and easy to build
• Fast off the wind!
• Simple to sail fast (minimal sail controls)

Everything in boat design is a compromise and I am under no illusion to achieve the above I need to make some serious compromises. I believe the weakest points of this design will be as follows:

• Unimpressive upwind performance -  Reason: A 10 foot boat with a rudimentary hull profile
• Poor handling in bumpy water - Reason: Simple hull shape for an easy build

Here is a first photograph of the prototype I am knocking up, I am using styrofoam and 3.2mm ply to make a light but stiff base hull. I haven't put it on the scales but it is very light! All the rocker is up front with a flat rocker aft to promote early planing.

I still need to add the raised gunwales so this doesn't give a clear picture of the final shape.

Check out my kayak sailing adventures here!

Hatching of a Plan - My Rx2 Sailing Skiff

For a while now I have been toying with an idea to build a lightweigt easy to live with, low cost sailing skiff that anyone with a bit of DIY knowledge could build.

I have started building the prototype and will use this blog to give progress reports. In the mean time check out my web site for info on my kayak sailing interests

Here is a planing catamaran I built a few years back, it was fast off the wind but was a little too fiddly to assemble and heavier than I had anticipated. That being said it was great fun to sail and I would still like to develop the idea of such a cat in the future.