Recent content by edik

Why aren't diesel turbines more popular on small sail and power boats? Alright, the cost, I can see that. But other then that? I can see a lot of pluses in using a diesel turbine on a smaller (35" plus) sail or power boat. It would be much smaller than a conventional diesel engine, noise and...

flush deck Gusto 44 by Ed Joy, a boat with a flush deck, is a beautiful and very functional boat.

sooner or later the technology trickles down to consumer level and everybody benefits from it. And prices for these things tend to go down. Many things that are quite commonplace today used to belong into the realm of the military and even were classified for a while.

Why all the drama? The same boat is offered in steel or Alu with the only difference being less lead in the keel of a steel boat and a little more overal displacement. I'm not aware of any other changes in the design.

What do you mean by reconsidering all the framing? Do you mean one would have to subtract that one mm of additional plate thickness from the ribs?

Yes, I'm familiar with "strongall" system and no, I would not go that route. All I was considering was adding, say, a mm of thickness to make the hull "even stronger."

Why is everybody talking steel? If one is not obsessed with the notion of building a very light boat - and why, pray say, would one want a very light cruising boat - one can have an Alu boat with thicker plating, say, 8-9 mm bottom, 7-8mm sides, 6mm deck, and still have a boat that is lighter...

Alubats are way out of reach. But building a boat in your own backyard means that in the worst case scenario, you will only suffer a set back equal to the cost of ALuminum sheets. Carribean 40 surely is a prety boat albeit almost too modern - I was considering something a little more...

Has anybody had any experience with a sailboat designed by Van de Stadt, Caribbian 40, perhaps even built one? This boat seems like a bigger sister of a very popular design by the same designer, Van de Stad 34. The 34's have been built all over the world. A tripple hard chine, 1.1 m draft with...

I recently saw on youtube how they make carbon fiber masts in a factory. The process didn't strike me as particularly difficult. So, given the superior quality of CF, why don't we see more DIY built mast, booms and other parts?

And, again, thank you for posting. There was never a question in my mind that for a home builder radius chine is the preferred method over round bilge. I was curious though if ordering a boat to be built in radius chine method by a professional yard would bring any serious long term savings...

Thank you so much for posting. I'm also very much impressed with designs of Dudley Dix. For my own taste though, I prefer the work of the Australian designer Graham Radford. I've always thought that anybody even with the basic skill can design a functioning sailboat. But it takes a talent to...