Single trapeze dinghy plan?

Hey everybody,
I am basically entirely new to sailing (my total expierence sums up to earning the sailing merit badge at scout camp ), although last summer I built my own kayak, so I do know a little about boatbuilding in general. What are some good designs for a single person trapeze-style dinghy? I am willing to give up a fair bit of newbie-friendliness for a design that I will not outgrow as my skills progress. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
David

 

International Moth is singlehanded, very fast, and home buildable, no trapeze though. proably harder to learn than a trap dinghy, and I guarantee you that you won't outgrow it. If you do, put a foiler kit on, and prepare for even more fun.

 

Think a Moth is pushing the learning curve a bit. If you are reasonably light and live in NZ the choice would be Farr 3.7 without a shadow of doubt. In the USA there are probably no good choices in any numbers.

Also while you pay a lot for Farr building plans they are very good.

http://www.sentech.co.nz/farr37/about.html

 

Foils!

I personally think that you MIGHT consider giving up a trapeze for the extraordinary thrill of flying on foils in a class like the International Moth.Virtually unmatched speed under 18' goes hand in hand with great difficulty in learning. But the building and sailing experience of a foiler Moth will teach you more about the latest in sailing technology than almost any other boat I can think of. Plans are available and foils can be purchased separately or if you're real ambitious ,get some serious help ,and study a lot you could build your own. You can write to Rohan Veal current world Champion at: http://www.rohanveal.com and/or to John Ilett at: http://www.fastacraft.com to get information. Here in the US there are a couple of guys in the US "Modern" Moth class that are working on foils; see the address in the URL below. The Moth would be difficult but in the end you'd be mighty happy.....
You might want to give the International Canoe a look. See the url below and look it up; be sure to contact Steve Clark who is a brilliant sailor and evangelist for the class. No trapeze but a really cool sliding seat!
If you absolutely, positively gotta have a trapeze the Farr 3.7 sounds pretty good to me but I don't know how many might be in the US. You could also consider the A Class Cat..
Good Luck and let us know what you finally decide on!
Class Search
http://www.ussailing.org/odcc/class_resultsquery.asp
-----------------------
Go to this website an click on "Helpful Info". Surprised me but one of the early singlehanded trapeze boats-The International Contender offers plans! Maybe some in the US-I haven't checked.
International Contender Association
http://www.sailingsource.com/contender/index.html

 

More specific

I live in the Pacific Northwest, so the Farr 3.7 is probably out. I did a bit more research, and I found the RS 700, and liked it's design a lot (for as much as that is worth ). Does anybody know if there is a commercially available set of plans for a boat with a design similiar to that of the RS700?


Thanks,
David

 

Woodenboat featured the Swift Solo as the cover story recently.

 

Solo

Way to go Matt-don't know how I forgot that boat-born in the Pacific Northwest!

 

Swift Solo price?

How much would it cost to build the Swift Solo? I am an avid DIY'er, so I would be willing to spend extra time building in order to save on the sticker price.

David

 

Get plans for a Contender. I reckon that with only one sail it will be cheaper to build and run, wooden boats are competitive at the highest levels, and its a cracking looking boat as well. It should have a great resale value when you come to sell (provided its well built) as the fleets are large and many.

 

Internatonal Canoe

View attachment IC - Piper.pdf
I am working on some designs for home construction of International Canoes.
While not strictly trapeze boats, they are among the fastest singlehanders on the planet
Construction can be light ply with laminate of carbon fiber and you certainly won't get bored sailing them.
Cost depends a lot on how you spec and source stuff, but if you can be clever and are happy with second hand sails and spars, you can probably put it together for less than 5 grand.
SHC

 

single handad trap boats

the contender is a very good boat but if i was you i would go for the musto performance skiff im not sure if there are any fleets where you are but there are ausom fun and probebly a little easier to sail there the solo for there is no jib. heres the sight

http://www.mustoskiff.com

look in the gallerys they are a top class boat

 

Awesome looking canoe Steve,
Whats the story with the reverse bow?
I have never seen an IC in the flesh,never seems to have caught on here.

 

Mate, he wants to build one. You can't build your own one of them.

His stated choice is home build and trapeze singlehander.
His sailing experience means that realistically a 3 sail boat is going to be several steps too far, as would be a Moth.

To my knowledge the only boat sailed in the US that fits that description is the Contender. I don't know if there are any in his area.

If you substitute trapeze level performance for trapeze the International Canoe (to which I am a recent convert) comes into the frame. There's probably better support for homebuilkding for that boat than the Contender which is a very important factor.

Both of them are quite a handful at his level of experience though. I've seen people put an awful lot of work into building a boat and then find out its too much of a handful to sail for them, and its a great shame, which is why I counsel moderation.

The trouble is the US sailing environment is so poor in terms of interesting boats - its as if the 1960s dinghy boom passed you by let alone the modern boats. Personally if I was determined to build a singlehander I'd build the Farr and never mind there aren't any others about. Its a smaller, lighter and above all cheaper project than any of the others. I have a Farr two hander of very similar shape and size and its a delight to sail singlehanded.

 

Tactic, They ought to be sailed in Kiwi. Rhys Nolan had one that has been sold on, but there should be more.... The bow shape is cribbed from my recent involvement with A class catamarans which have all gone the wave piercing route. The ideal is to waste less energy in wave encounters and keep the rig steadier. In the A Class this has paid huge dividends in gybing down wind because you can maintain speed and thus high apparent wind angles and thus low headings. check out http://www.internationalcanoe.yachting.org.au/default.asp?MenuID=ICAA_Forums/13163/0 for other's take on the new rules and designs.
SHC

 

So Whitefeather, this got me going, and I spent some time today laying down some of the thoughts that have been kicking around for a while.
If you aremore daring than your screen name suggests, this project could be pretty neet. Skill to construct the hull will be similar to a ply kayak, look is not too different than an RS700 but is a little more brutal.
I'm thinking 4-5mm plywood and a hull weight under 100 pounds is easy. Hull vee bottomed, is 4800mm long, a tad under 16'. Waterline beam is bit over a meter, and max beam is 1800mm ( just under 6') with little wings made out of plywood and pink insulation foam. Will take about 6 sheets of pretty nice plywood to do it.
If you want to pursue it further, let me know.
SHC