Interview with Michael Storer by the French Magazine Chasse Marée
Chasse Maree magazine published an interview with Michael “The quest for performance is not a matter of materials, it’s a state of mind” Translated by Christine deMerchant
Performance
This performance category has a lot of quite specific material as well as general design thoughts.
As well as general Design Consideration there are two major sections on Rigs and on Foils (Rudders, Centreboards, Leeboards and Hydrofoils)
There are also articles on general issues that you can find by simply browsing the below.
Controlling Sail Twist on Balance and other lug rigs.
Controlling sail twist on any boat is critical for performance. Here we describe two methods for getting more performance all round and safer handling downwind.
Homebuilt Hydrofoil for Sailboats test sailed – end to hiking out?
Hydrofoil sailing is possible for homebuilt boats. It can be used to reduce heeling so the crew doesn’t have to work so hard.
Review of Viola 14 Canoe from Hungary
Read Jenő’s experience with the Viola 14 sailing canoe which is Michael Storer’s latest design – the second and the third boats were built in Hungary by two members of the Hungarian Amateur Boatbuilding community (hajoepitok.hu).
Article Le Chasse-Marée – Goat Island Skiff article
Editorial and Article praising the simplicity and performance of the Goat Island Skiff in “Le Chasse-Marée” magazine this month – France’s premier traditional and wooden boat magazine.
Extraordinary Boat (Sold) #1 – 12ft sailing dinghy BC Canada
Sailboat for Sale – an extraordinary, light plywood sailing dinghy. This is a prototype of the S12 sailing dinghy built with gaboon ply and full epoxy gluing and sealing. A project needing its conclusion.
Extraordinary Boat (Sold) #2 – 12ft sailing dinghy UK
This boat was intended to be a minimal river and open water racer for two lightweight experienced sailors (or one larger one) – big sail for the fluctuating conditions, light enough to plane consistently and cartop portable – it was also based on the Oz Goose built with incredible attention to detail. It requires a small amount of work to complete.
Upwind Sailing Lesson Part 1 – Gusts, Less Effort and more Performance
Big increase in upwind sailing performance and an easier way to teach beginners to sail upwind in medium to strong conditions. They end up being able to handle stronger winds with more confidence as well as sail faster.
Why the Goat Island Skiff is fast.
Why explained. My most popular design is the Goat Island Skiff a light plywood planing sailing dinghy that is devastatingly fast in most conditions – not so surprising when you realise a lot of the development was because of racing dinghy advances but intended to avoid the skyrocketing costs of sailing participation.
Surprising speed difference 12ft Oz Goose vs 8ft OzRacer
Crazy speed difference between 8ft and 12ft version of same boat. A resizing that worked beyond all expectations and taught us something about the limitations of conventional thinking about hullforms and performance
Photos – Oz Goose Nationals Philippines 2019 – 21 boats sailed in event
Great images from the 2019 Oz Goose Nationals held on Taal Lake with 21 sailboats and over 40 participants in competition in tricky conditions
Rig Cost Comparison. Freestanding Yawl vs Stayed Sloop
Cost of lug sails on unstayed masts is so much cheaper than stayed sloop rigs – and the lug sails take only a few minutes to rig and unrig.
Andrew enjoys strong winds in his BETH sailing canoe
Discussion of handling light sailboats such as sailing canoes and how some hull design features promote good sailing manners at higher speeds. Taking pressure away from the sailor by making the boats light and predictable despite rough conditions.
When box boats got our attention – Oz Racer then Goose Sailboats
How we discovered our box boat designs were good … and how they (or any other boat can reach its potential for very small extra effort. It is mostly in the thinking!
From Slug into a quick Swan – The Orange Boat modded keel, rig and hull
The “Orange Boat” was unbelievably heavy and just about fell over if anyone stepped aboard and it is a keeboat! The vendor couldn’t sell it. So Ted bought it cheap and asked me what he could do. So we simplified and modded everything to state of the art but constrained to using “normal” materials to keep the cost down. Would it be competitive with quick trailer sailors, sports boats and the classic Restricted 22 class with their big sails. Seems small, light and simple can be very fast.
Dutch Goat Island Skiff Third in Caledonia RAID 2009 – Story
The GIS excels at a competive row and sail event. The Caledonia RAID is one of the oldest events of its type. A competitive multi day event that crosses Scotland from West to East including a crossing of Loch Lomond. It tends to attract long and efficient rowing sailing hulls. And here was one of the shortest, simplest and lightest hulls in the fleet punching well above its weight
How to Lightweight – Balsa Canoe strip planked 12lbs (5.5Kg)
A 12lb canoe. The idea was to build a Rushton Wee Lassie in balsa strip with very light glass. The boat ended up being fairly durable despite not being interested in durability. As far as I was concerned I was going to be happy if it lasted a couple of years before being chucked into a dumpster somewhere. But five years later it was still beautiful despite good use.
Rigging guide for Goat Island Skiff – Efficient lug sails
How do you rig your Goat Island Skiff or other balance lug rigged boat? This page will be useful for everyone, but specifically assist Goat owners in selection of rope, rope lengths and show all the rigging details. We have also found a number of cheaper ways of doing things from our experience in the Philippines. Halyard, downhaul, outhaul, lashings, rope fittings, rudders, centreboard.
Finding downwind speed – Planing in OzRacers and OzGeese.
Planing and downwind speed is a practiced skill. But the 8ft OzRacer and the 12ft OzGoose have strikingly different behavour. Goose planes easily in light wind. OzRacer needs a lot more wind and jumps up and down in speed.
Making NACA and highly accurate centreboard and rudder foils at home
A good centreboard or leeboard is as important as a good sail. We use a simple templates for quick and accurate shaping. Making without the templates … several were feeling that they couldn’t make them to a greater accuracy than 1/16th of an inch.