The Oz Goose has turned out to be a family, come racing, come teaching sailboat. Much more than we expected at the time this article was built. It performed much better than we expected.
The Oz Goose has a complete website about building, rigging and sailing this paradoxical sailing dinghy. Who would have thought that a boxy boat could sail so well, handle so predictably, carry one to three adults all the while sailing extremely well.
The PDRacer international forum (a wonderful resource now sadly deleted) started discussing a longer version of the humble PDRacer – and I had some drawings on hand already for a 12ft version because of Bob Alston. He actually thought up the name, which I quite like.
We really do recommend the OZ PDRacer for most people and you do need to purchase the plan for the OZ PDR to build the new almost 12ft PDGoose.
Both the OzRacer and the Oz Goose plans are $40.
The Story
Bob Alston contacted me a couple of years ago wondering how to change the just under 8ft (2.4m) Oz PDR into a just under 12ft (3.5m) boat more suitable for two people. The standard OZ does take a passenger fine and sails well, but it is not a particularly participatory place to sit.
However, stretching the boat to 12ft allows two people to sit side by side as in the cover illustration. So it would be simple to share the sailing responsibility. One with the rudder and one with the mainsheet. Much better for sharing and learning.
The nice point about the PDGoose (Bob’s name for it) is that it uses ALL the bits the same as the OZ PDR – so rudder, tiller, centreboard, mast, the same two sail options. So if you have an OZ … you can build a OZ PDGoose hull and go sailing with friends.
The 12 footer will be able to carry quite a lot of weight and might make a good boat for events like the TEXAS200 event, though a lot of preparation and knowledge about the boat is necessary for tough events of this type. We recommend the lug sail with an extra reef point.
A bigger boat when friends drop round
The PDRacer is the ultimate in cheap, light and easy. It is a boat that a sailor can dominate because it is so small, simple and light. Not to mention easy to store and transport.
There are lots of arguments for not getting a bigger boat if you really don’t need it. Listen to them! The great thing about the original PDRacer is that it is so simple and quick to use. The hull only weighs about 65lbs.
However I think some PDRacer owners will enjoy having a PDGoose as well as more people can go sailing with you and it will be a little bit faster than the PDRacer which might be useful sometimes.
The goose has the same enclosed side tanks as pioneered on the OZ PDR so if you do capsize the boat will float on its side and then will come upright with very little water aboard. See the capsize sequence for the PDR here.
Uses the same bits as the OZ PDR
Everything for the OZ PDRacer and the OZ Goose is identical except for the hull. This means if you have a PDRacer, you can just build the Goose hull and transfer all the working bits across.
One Caution
The mast for the OZ is strong enough for one person leaning out hard – so you can sail the PDGoose very hard singlehanded. However when sailing Two up I would recommend that the crew only sit comfortably on the side decks and not lean out hard – otherwise the mast might break. If you do want to build a real two person OZ PDGoose mast I will be designing a new mast for it later.
From Bob
I will bet you thought I dropped off the end of the world when I never got back with the results for the PDR Goose version.
I must confess I did not take the boat out at all last year, but, the goose is FANTASTIC!!! I had a bout with the “big C” last year, and didn’t get much done at all.
However, the hull you designed is so great I intend to build another one just for use with a motor.
In 2007 I took the PDR GOOSE out a couple of times with a motor before my health probs kicked in, and I went in the water, on purpose, and brought all 155 kilos of me up over the side of the boat with NO problems. got caught out in a sudden blow where the wind was hitting 38 miles and hour with my wife on board and took no water in. the hull design is fantastic.
(Michael says: this is probably an exaggeration as to wind speed and probably represents a high point for the day taken from the weather report in the evening. I don’t recommend that beginning sailors go out in that wind strength and some experienced sailors will probably decide not to as well!)
Do I owe you something for the hull I am building now? this one is only for use with a motor, but adhering closely to your design.
Sorry I took so long to get back in touch, but just thought you would like to know about the goose.
Have a great day, and have some FUN with it
Bob Alston