Faster Reefing System for Cruising Dinghies
Goat Island Skiff group has developed a faster reefing system for cruising dinghies. No special fittings are needed so quick cheap and simple
OzRacerRV – Simplest family sailboat
Cartop Spar Carriers for sail boats and Viola 14 Sailing Canoe.
These cartop spar carriers for a sailing dinghy or sailing canoe carry mast, yard or gaff and boom using the existing straps that tie the dinghy or sailing canoe to the roof.
Joost made them for his Viola 14 Sailing Canoe.
Inexpensive Centrecase Padding Reduces Rudder Centreboard Maintenance
Centrecase Padding reduces centreboard maintenance by protecting the sliding surfaces of rudderbox or Leeboard case on sailing dinghies. We look at low cost ways for padding the centrecase to reduce foil wear and tear.
Video of Balance Lug Rig Performance vs Lasers and Fireballs
A video comparing Lug Rig Performance with conventional rigs in a real race. A Goat Island Skiff takes part in a regular club race against Fireballs and Lasers. Where will it end up? Does it actually have a “bad tack” where it can’t compete? The answer might challenge your assumptions about sailing rig performance
20 ways to boost Lug rig and lug sail performance! Rigging and Tuning.
All our lug rig information on one page. We have seen the change from the balance lug being almost forgotten to becoming the predominant rig for small self built wooden boat. This was the situation a hundred years ago. We can still use the cheapness and effectiveness of this rig to create boats with very quick and pleasant sailing characteristic.
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.
Choose between Swinging Centreboard and Daggerboard
A discussion about basic pros and cons for swinging centreboards. And dagger centreboards. Centre Board means the board is in the centre. Which is different from a Lee board which is too the side.
Ensuring Hull strength and stiffness vs low weight. Oilcanning, twisting and torsion boxes
Making a boat light may make the hull distort more thus losing some of the advantage. But is is possible to build light without distortion. The answer is YES.
Sailing in Crisis? Is it dying out? Are basic boats too expensive?
How introductory boats that were intended to be cheap have become crazy expensive. And forced sailing to contract. Hundreds of sailing clubs have disappeared in Australia alone. Sailing is now semi professional and elitist again.
How to build very light plywood sailing dinghies – Moths and Light Plywood Structures
The Oz Racer led to the Oz Goose. There was discussion about whether the OzRacer would plane and just how light it would be possible to build. Extrapolating from the Moth Scows in Australia I made a guess.
Cheap lug rig tuning and setup – simplify but sail fast.
In the Philippines imported boat parts look extremely expensive compared to local incomes. So we have worked hard to eliminate them as much as possible or replace them. What is easy, cheap and good for racing performance? The result is a big way to save money.
All Videos – Oz Goose – OzRacer and other “Squareboats”
All the videos for the Oz Goose and other similar boats OzRacer, Ocean Explorer, PD Goose. Families sailing, speed videos, capsize, racing. USA, Australia
Up to date rigging guide for lug rig sails on opengoose.com
A great article from the Open Goose website on setting up and tuning lug rigs of all types.
What is that crease in my lugsail, How to diagnose and fix.
Getting rid of a familiar crease in many lugsails.
Oz Goose launch and sailing Video
Video – Ian Henehan worked out this 12ft Goose Version and launched it into 20 knot winds. You can check the video to see that this is probably correct. It certainly is, despite the poor camera angle which changes a few times the boat is fairly smoking along
Reefing a lug sail, New fast method, quicker Than ties and Tingles
How to reef a Balance Lugsail. A neat trick of using shock cord (bungee) for the intermediate ties makes it much faster to tie in a reef as well as remove the reef after. it also minimises the risk of damaging the sail if something major breaks elsewhere.
First sailing photos of low cost sails for Storerboats
After a week or so of bad sailing weather, Daniel in Uruguay got out on the water in Piriapolis harbour to try out his new sail from ReallySimpleSails.com in the Philippines. The idea is to halve the price of sails for my plans so that it is even more economical to build a storerboat. This can save $300 plus
Affordably Priced Sails for Storer Boats
ReallySimpleSails.com saves $300 or more on your Goat Island Skiff, Oz Goose or Oz Racer.
Custom sails for other boats are also available and will represent a cost saving on your boatbuilding project.
These are full quality sails that we all have worked hard to keep the price down on without reducing quality.
Mark Milam’s gorgeous wooden Duck – an OzRacer RV sailboat
Mark Milam has done an amazing job of overseeing a project combining his work with that of a boatbuilder friend. Also the best method I have seen of supporting a windsurfer mast in a sailing dinghy.
Wonderful woods, some great detail design and the very best fitting of a windsurfer rig to a dinghy that I have ever seen.
Sailing OzRacer RV in rough water – simple boat with two adults
This OzRacer mk2 has a number of changes from the original design, but Bob has pulled it off. The biggest risk is that the windsurfer mast might break because it is not meant to be supported in this way – it is meant to be held up higher by the arms of the sailor.