production Strider 24
plywood Romany 34
lightweight 14ft Zeta mainhull
Strike 15 trimaran at speed
28ft Skoota in British Columbia
10ft 2 sheet ply Duo dinghy
24ft Strider sailing fast
36ft Mirage open deck catamaran
Updates to Plans
Please check these updates regularly
All plans - please read before building
Although we spent a great deal of time and effort in making our plans available in electronic format unfortunately a few errors crept in.
So please use this page to update and correct the download drawings. Some of the errors we have noticed ourselves, but please let us know of any more so that we can update this page and make the download drawings as accurate as possible. To make it easier for you to print out the revised drawings and us them in your workshop I have uploaded them as PDFs
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Thank you
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General Notes:
The normal method of marking out plywood bulkheads using full size patterns is to lay the pattern on the plywood. Then "prick though" the pattern with a nail or bradawl at say 1in or 30mm spacing. Remove pattern and "join the dots"
Some of the Materials Lists still suggest using resorcinol glue. However this glue is now outdated. Now I recommend using epoxy throughout, but you can use polyurethene glue for strip planking and also for non structural or lightly loaded above water joints. Always use epoxy below the WL.
Another outdated method is to use gripfast nails instead of screws. With the advent of cordless drills/screwdrivers I now recommend using stainless steel countersunk screws instead. Approx 2/3rd of the length should go into timber, 1/3 for plywood. So 6mm ply use 18mm (3/4in) screws. 25mm (1in) for 9mm ply etc. Screw size no 6 is usually sufficient as it makes the smallest hole in the wood. But no8 screws are good for more heavily loaded joints. They can usually be driven straight into the wood, no need to predrill.
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Rudder blocks
The kick up rudder system I use on many of my boats works very well. However the blocks need to be carefully made for best results.
They do not want to be tight in the slot or they might jam (which is why it is probably not a good idea to use solid unsheathed wood as it can swell if the rudders are left down for long periods). But neither do they want to be loose as then there will be a very annoying rattle when at anchor.
So what I usually do is make the block as snug a fit as possible and then add a vertical bead of Sikaflex or 5200 to the sides of the block. Not only does this act as a fill-in if the block is too narrow, but also acts as a soft bumper and reduces any banging noise.
Furthermore the block should extend behind the transom at least 50mm so that when you tighten the downhaul rope it pushes the block forwards. See this video for more https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7HxVyJkPio
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Waterlines
While your hull is still upside down you should mark the waterline all round. The boat is already set up square, if you don't do it now you'll find it much harder to square the boat up once you've turned it over. You can use a laser level or the more traditional watertube
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The following changes list the designs in alphabetical order so please scroll down to see your boat details
Bee
On sheet 4 the keel edge distance at station 6 should be 67, not 64mm. On sheet 5 the aft temporary frame bottom dimension should be 382, not 372mm
Duo
Although the plans suggest fitting the gunwales and timber framing before stitching together most people find it easier to stitch the panels together and then add the gunwales and framing. I have built Duos both ways, probably the no framing method is easier.
Eagle
While drawing the kit boat Eagle I discovered an error on the dimensions of Bulkhead 4. The sheer height to the gunwale should be 877. The actual drawing is correct, however some plans sent out had the incorrect measurement.
It sound alarming but is actually a minor change, even if you have already cut out the bulkhead. If you have set them up you will have found that the gunwale was difficult, if not impossible, to bend round using the old, wrong, dimension
I very much apologise for this error. I checked all the other bulkhead dimensions and found no other mistakes.
The attached drawings clarify the aft beam to cockpit joint when using metal beams. Dimensions are necessarily vague as much depends on the beam section you use and of course your own boat
Eclipse
On the lines plan the bow height should be from WL1, not WL2.
(The arrow is wrong, not the dimension)
On daggerboarded boats like Sagitta and Eclipse which have the daggerboard on the outside of the hull ensure that the raised board will clear lifelines. Either make careful measurements or make a cheap ply mock up to check clearances. If necessary adjust the box position at gunwale level (the box will need moving towards the hull centreline)
Flica
Click HERE to see a new mastbeam arrangement
Gypsy
Daggerboard
The total length of the board is 3050mm and the part below the waterline is 1350mm
The rudder blade cut back shown in the left drawing is wrong. It should be cut back on the trailing edge, not the leading edge. So the drawing of the complete assembly on the right hand side is correct. That way the board can be tilted forwards to give a light feel and correct balance.
The mast beam crossing the hull can be inconvenient. So you can finish the beam on the inner hull side as shown in this sketch. Other details are as the standard arrangement. The outer sections of the beams are approx. 900mm shorter than the standard beam
Janus
Sheet 1
Although the Janus plans have been selling well for nearly 30 years, it is only recently that I learnt that my bulkhead pattern sheet doesn't quite work. So here is a better layout, as drawn by a builder.
Sheet 2
Keel panel dimensions
Reading from aft the half widths are 137, 145, 170, 195, 205, 210, 205, 190, 165, 125, 70, 16. The spacing is 600 except 140 for the two aft widths.
Setup Note 6) Fix string to Bhd 4 on WL/CL intersect (bunk top). Pull tight and horizontal (check with spirit level) through Bhd 5 to Bhd 6. Temporarily clamp legs to Bhd 6 and offer up and adjust height so that string and WL are horizontal. Screw legs to Bhd 6 and brace as before (see 2B IV)
Setup Note 9) Fit side stringers, beginning at the keel and working down. Fit port and starboard stringers at the same time. Check that hull is not twisting as stringers are fitted. Glue and screw as 8) above. Note: if stringers are not long enough they should be scarphed together before fitting, see sketch at 2B1. Stem see VIII, IX, X
Sheet 3
General Procedure Deck Framing
Note: Interior should be finished and painted before fitting any deck framing
After fitting cabin shelves (see 3AXI) begin fitting deck framing at bow and work aft.
Check that stem, Bhd 1, 2 and deck beams 1, 2 form a fair camber curve before decking, plane as necessary.
Hatch side coamings are fitted after decking - see Sheet 5
Before fitting sloping cabin front the foredeck should be fitted to deckbeam 3 and forward beambox
Find deck beam 3 position by holding straight edge (or timber 'A' in sketch 3BIII) from Bhd 4 to Bhd 3 and then to gunwale
Bed central roof stringer on epoxy filler on foredeck - position depends on own boat - see Sheet 5
Deck stringers need slight bevel before decking. See Sheet 5
If you want to fit LAR keel to your Janus there is a pdf drawing HERE
Merlin (also suitable for Janus and Strider)
We spent the 2006 season sailing our Merlin Tucanu. This was the first time I had cruised an open deck catamaran for 15 years (but I did cruise and race a Wizard in the mid 1990's) As a result I have a few ideas that will improve both comfort and performance. The sketches are given to give you an idea. I am not offering these changes as detailed plans, but those of you who have already built your own boat should be able to make something similar without any problems. They are drawn for Merlin, but should also work, with modifications, on Janus and Strider.
1) I like telescopic tiller extensions, one on each side. However they are very expensive. So I got telescopic boathooks, removed the ends and fitted a universal joint. Total cost was 1/4 the real thing. After several seasons heavy use they are still working well.
2) To reduce forestay sag and mast loads the new Tucanu rig has a bowsprit and a forestay that is 500mm aft of the original position. Thus the genoa is smaller (and so easier to handle) while we are fitting a new larger racing mainsail, see below
3) Many people now use a "squaretop mainsail" for racing. This is very similar in concept to the mainsail I made for Cockleshell Hero back in 1980! We ordered a triradial carbon sail from GM Sails in Australia. CLICK HERE to see the new rig. But please note that the Strait of Georgia, where we race, is an area with predominately light winds and flat seas. Unless you are very experienced this rig may be too powerful for English Channel sailing, for example.
4) The Shadow/Strider Club had a deep mastbeam which we found a big improvement over the standard beam. The new Tucanu beam is shown HERE. It also has the advantage that the mast foot and hence boom is higher (note you will need longer rigging). If you do not use this deep beam and have a wide beam version of a micromultihull then I recommend fitting a dolphin striker under the mast beam to limit deflection.
5) The micromultihull daggerboards were originally drawn to make the best use of plywood sheets. However for optimum performance you can extend the length of the boards between 250 and 300mm.
6) Maybe we are too old for small boat cruising, but we like more undercover space. So we are making a small cuddy. This will be removable when racing and will fit in our truck for transport. It can have a fixed nacelle or a "pop bottom" as used on Wizard and Sango. The bottom needs to be 9mm ply, but the rest can be as light as you dare. You may also need to recut the genoa to fit.
The photo shows the almost complete cuddy being fitted to Tucanu's deck
To see the general cuddy details CLICK HERE
To see the cuddy dimensions CLICK HERE
To see the pop bottom details CLICK HERE
Note: If you plan to trail regularly then I suggest either having no nacelle, or fitting the pop up version. That is because the fixed nacelle makes it harder to slide the cuddy off the boat and it takes up more room on the trailer.
These drawings make the cuddy look large, so CLICK HERE to see the cuddy with rig above - much better visually! You will notice that the boom is angled up to give yet more room as we found ducking under the boom hard on our backs and knees. This change was easy to make, as we simply cut the sail along the first seam.
Just to repeat, these sketches are to give you ideas. At this stage I am not going to draw detailed plans.
"I just want to thank you for the cabin plans you put on the web.
"I have used ideas from those plans and the open Strike cabin to build a cuddy to suit me and my wife for our Strider - a suitable shelter for daysailing which can easily be converted with a tarpaulin (or in the future something more sophisticated) into a night time cabin.
"It looks much better than I hoped and as soon as I get it on the water again I will be able to find out what it is like in practice - but I am confident it will fulfill my needs.
"All the best and thanks again,
"John, owner of Strider no37."
Pixie
Materials list
The metric measurements are the final timber sizes. But many builders use thicker pieces of wood as they are easier to obtain, and they don't then bother to plane them thinner. There is no problem doing that if you want to save time.
Deck jig
1 sheet 8ft x 4ft.(2440 x 1220mm) 12mm thick chipboard
Approx 6m 2" x2" (45 x 45mm) and 10m of 3" x 1" (70 x 20mm) rough sawn timber.
Misc
Copper wire 10m minimum (we use old household wiring)
Bulkheads
Bhd2
217 width at deck, 95 width at 150 above keel, 47 deck camber
Bhd 3
40 Deck camber
Transom
88 width at deck, deck camber 8, 150mm above keel width is 55, gunwale is 150+127=277 above keel
Deck Jig
Reading from the left of the drawing the measurements are: 5, 140(horizontal dimension), 30, 100, 150, 183, 195, ALL 500 (horizontal dimension), 195, 180, 145, 90, 140 (horizontal dimension), 70 The cutout in the jig doesn't have to be too accurate as the ply will form a fair shape.
Rudders
The rudder drawing reads: Steering is more positive if "Ackerman Linkage" is used (as on the front wheels of cars). This can be done by making cranking tillers (angle in 10deg) as shown dotted below
Mast
The 3225 means 3.2in x 2.5in (80mm x 60mm) as a minimum. Most beach cats use similar spars so there is no problem using second hand spars from other boats. You just have to accept a few odd holes here and there, but I have never found that to be a problem.
The mast can be longer if you want more head clearance under the boom.
Quattro 16
Notes for Quattro Full Size Patterns
It is important that the patterns are printed out at the correct size!! Print out on A1 paper
Sheet 1 Bulkhead Patterns
Total Vertical Distance BHD4 must be 565mm
OR if you cannot easily print out the full size patterns you can use the following offsets. Draw a fair line through all points. NOTE: You will soon discover that the "stitch and glue" method used is not particularly accurate as the plywood forms its own fair curves. Thus the bulkheads may not fit exactly.
Use the full size pattern drawing for other bulkhead details
BHD 1
Height gunwale to keel 492
Max Deck Camber 18
Gunwale half width 100
Then half widths at 100mm spacing working down from gunwale to keel
92, 83, 67, 41
Keel width 0
BHD 11/2 (note this is a half height bulkhead)
Height gunwale to keel 282
Max Deck Camber 0
Gunwale half width 122
Then half widths at 100mm spacing working down from gunwale to keel
93, 49
Keel width 0
BHD 2
Height gunwale to keel 532
Max Deck Camber 43
Gunwale half width 206
Then half widths at 100mm spacing working down from gunwale to keel
188, 162, 135, 93, 41
Keel width 20
BHD 3
Height gunwale to keel 516
Max Deck Camber 72
Gunwale half width 246
Then half widths at 100mm spacing working down from gunwale to keel
220, 188, 151, 106, 37
Keel width 23
BHD 4
Height gunwale to keel 498
Max Deck Camber 67
Gunwale half width 233
Then half widths at 100mm spacing working down from gunwale to keel
205, 174, 138, 91
Keel width 22
BHD 5
Height gunwale to keel 400
Max Deck Camber 38
Gunwale half width 170
Then half widths at 100mm spacing working down from gunwale to keel
142, 112, 72, 26
Keel width 22
Transom
Height gunwale to keel 295
Max Deck Camber 15
Gunwale half width 100
Then half widths at 100mm spacing working down from gunwale to keel
77, 46
Keel width 12
Sheet 2
Hull Centrelines on Cross Section Setup for Fitting Keels Horizontal Distance must be 195 mm when printed out
CLICK HERE for a dimensioned sketch of the Quattro 16 keels (pdf)
The mast length given is the minimum. For more headroom under the boom the mast can be lengthened (and gooseneck raised)