Thursday, October 25, 2018

Oppikat Junior Catamaran News

There is a lot of interest in our junior catamaran design, the 9ft Oppikat. It is built from a combination of cedar strip for the compound curved surfaces and plywood for bulkheads and flat surfaces. Some amateur builders have produced exquisite examples, showing beautiful craftsmanship that highlights their skills.
This Oppikat was built by Pavel Arzhevitin to a gorgeous standard.
We all have our own ideas about finishes, hardware layouts etc. so what one builder does to suit their own intentions for their boat will be different from another. That is part of the attraction of amateur boatbuilding, producing one-off craft that exactly suit our own needs.

The Oppikat was intended essentially as a boat for junior sailors, to have a boat of their own that has a good turn of speed and can give exciting sailing before moving up to bigger and more challenging boats. But time has shown that these little boats aren't only sailed by their intended lightweight skippers. The Oppikat has high-volume hulls for safety and fathers have sailed them, both by themselves and with junior.
Oppikat built by Frank Nagel, with his son sailing.
Oppikat can be built from plans only, which include full-size patterns of bulkheads and transom. Now we have added another two build options.

1) Build from plans and pre-cut bulkheads, cut by CNC router.

2) Build from plans and a wood parts kit that includes all plywood components, pre-cut by CNC router, plus bead and cove strips for the lower parts of the hulls and timber for all of the framing in the hulls.

These are available in USA but may be expanded to suppliers in other countries if requested. For USA buyers, go to our plywood kits pages for either computer or mobile devices.

I have also been asked numerous times over the years to draw a slightly bigger sister that can carry an adult or two. That is now on the drawing board and should be available in a week or two. Watch this blog for future news.

To see our full range of designs, go to our main website or our mobile website.

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

South Atlantic Capsize e-Book

Ever since I published the paperback version of my book, "SOUTH ATLANTIC CAPSIZE - Lessons Taught by a Big Ocean Wave", readers have asked for a digital version to read on their computers or e-readers. I have finally got around to doing that. We can now offer this book as a PDF file to view on a computer or EPUB to view on readers that use that format.
Cover image.
I have included an extra chapter, in the form of an article that I wrote for the magazine of National Sea Rescue Institute of South Africa, at the request of the CEO of that organisation, Dr Cleeve Robertson. He was concerned about how many people were perishing in boat capsizes around the coast of South Africa and elsewhere. It details the many dangers that impede anyone trapped in or under an upturned boat and advises on those dangers and what route and steps to take for the best chance of surviving the deadly situation. We will also include a copy of the article with future sales of the paperback version of the book.

To buy a paper or digital copy of this book, go to the Published Books page on our main website or our mobile website.

Sunday, October 7, 2018

Sportfisherman Cockpit

Kevin has completed the ducts under the cockpit sole and installed tanks, pipes, pumps, seacocks and control valves that are most easily done with plenty of access available. More buoyancy foam was added in the compartments that are to be sealed.
Ducts completed, tanks, pumps, pipes & fittings installed and foam flotation poured
Holding tank on the left, water tank on the right, strapped down. Between them is the diverter valve for the holding tank. The tanks can be removed through the hatch opening when needed.
Cockpit deck panels waiting to be installed. The curved one shows the underside of the aft panel in front of the curved transom. These aft compartments are all accessible through hatches or access covers, so they are fully painted for easy cleaning and to make it easier to see into them in bad light. The two small fittings close to the centre of this panel are LED light fittings to light the compartment when needed at night. The deck panels were all pre-glassed, top and bottom. prior to marking for paint.
Cockpit sole glued in. Joints between sheets and around perimeter will be filled and glassed over.
Looking aft from the cuddy cabin. With the deck sheets now fitted, the tops of the gutter frames are flush with the deck surface.
Work now going on is sanding the hull sides to fair them prior to glassing, which should be starting by next weekend.

This design is not yet on our website. To see our range of designs, go to our main website or our mobile website.