Cuddy Cabin of Sportfisherman.

The cockpit deck of Kevin Agee's 26ft sportfisherman project is in and the insides of the hull sides have been glassed, soon to be faired ready for painting. The deck of the outboard engine bracket has been completed as well. I detailed the deck extensions of the bracket for wood construction but Kevin chose to do these with a Coosa board core between plywood top and bottom skins. The entire structure was glassed inside and out for longevity.

Outboard engine bracket structure has been completed and glassed. Glassing of the
transom is about to be done. The holes in the deck are for access to steering and
control cables and hoses.

Kevin was also working on hull framing, where I modified them to reduce the projection into the cockpit and increased their thickness to maintain strength. The only frame unchanged was at the boxings for the fuel filler pipes, which has to be large enough to contain pipes, vents and fittings.

Boxing for fuel filler being glued up. The next frame forward has been trimmed
and doublers added both sides, then glassed.

Boxing completed and glassed, ready to be trimmed flush with the sheer.

In the meantime I have been working on the cuddy cabin, fitting out the interior and preparing the deck framing.

Cuddy cabin sole dry-fitted, along with the pedestal for the toilet and the two
small shelf seats.

Kevin glued in the plywood soles and seats during the week before my next visit.
He epoxied bolts into the plywood to serve as studs to fasten down the toilet 

My next task has been framing the foredeck to get it ready for the plywood deck. Kevin has chosen to use curly maple for the deck stringers, which will be clear finished against the white-painted deck. The stringers run through the forward bulkhead and butt up against the aft bulkhead of the cuddy cabin, bonded to the bulkhead and cleat. The forward ends of the stringers are notched into the sheer clamp, which involves some careful setting out for cutting the slots and cutting the slots with a tenon saw and chisel.

Cutting a notch in the sheer clamp for a stringer. The length of wood is a straight-edge
to guide the angles of the saw. The back face of the notch is cut at about 45 degrees to
minimise the amount of sheer clamp that is cut away in the process.

Completed notches for deck stringers, through bulkheads and into sheer clamps.

Deck stringers and hatch trimmers dry-fitted and ready for gluing.

Deck stringers are notched into sheer clamps and bulkheads. They will be glued in
after the hull skin inside the cuddy cabin has been faired and sanded.

This build will be completed during the winter and launch is being planned for the spring.

This design is not yet on our website and will appear there closer to completion of Kevin's boat. To see our range of designs, go to our desktop website or our mobile website.

For Sale - Dix 43HD Aluminium World Cruiser

"Tana Vika" is a well-loved and proven serious cruising sailboat, custom-built from aluminium for a British couple who have cruised her extensively since launch. You won't find her name in any dictionary that translates foreign languages; they named her for two of their favourite places in the world, visited in countries very far apart while doing a back-pack circumnavigation in much younger days.

Designed and built as a go-anywhere cruiser, "Tana Vika" is the prototype of our Dix 43 HD design. She was professionally built in Czech Republic and launched in 2008, then motor-cruised through the rivers and canals of Europe to UK, where she received her rig.

"Tana Vika" sailing off Newfoundland.

Since then "Tana Vika" has cruised double-handed through the North Atlantic, Caribbean, Pacific and Northern Indian Ocean as part of her intended circumnavigation. Failing health has caused the owners to cut short their sailing before completing the circle and to put their boat on the market. She is currently in Langkawi, Malaysia.

Cruising route of "Tana Vika".

"Tana Vika" is a comfortable floating home that can take you to the Arctic or Antarctic, if tropical cruising is not your thing. She is equipped to take on the oceans of the world, and has sailed through three Force 9 gales and one Force 10 storm during her travels. The Force 10 was while crossing the Gulf Stream en-route from Chesapeake Bay to Bermuda and did considerable damage to other boats nearby, while "Tana Vika" came through unscathed.

"Tana Vika" layout. Click to enlarge.

Looking forward from companionway.

Galley, from saloon. Secure hinged aluminium companion door.

Nav station.

Heads.

Shower with folding seat & wet locker door.

Deck view.

Cockpit and dodger, with secure hinged companion door.

Cockpit with folding table.

Modern underbody with fin keel and spade rudder.

I will not list her equipment here. She is well equipped for the voyaging that she has been doing and ready to continue for her new owner. Her rig was serviced in Australia, including replacement of her standing rigging.

She is listed on my brokerage pages, asking price US$225,000. Please send me an email if you are interested in her and want more information.

Didi 40cr Opportunity in New Zealand

The Didi 40cr is a variation of our Didi 38 design, of which my "Black Cat" was the prototype. We launched "Black Cat" in November 1995; she will be 23 years old in a few days and has crossed the South Atlantic 6 times. There are more then 80 sisters sailing or in build around the world.

A builder in Whangarei, New Zealand, has built his Didi 40cr hull to a good standard but is not able to carry on with it. He is relocating to UK and cannot take the boat with him. His project is available at no cost to another builder who would like to own and sail a fast cruiser/racer like this.

The hull structure is mostly completed, so will give a builder a head-start of 1000 or more hours in saved building time.

Most of hull structure completed.

Neatly executed woodwork.

The hull is still upside-down on its building stocks, mounted on a road trailer and protected from the weather by a tarp. The trailer is available to move the hull but must be returned to its owner.

Hull on building stocks, mounted on road trailer.

For more information on this opportunity, go to the listing at

https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=1812843342, from where you can contact the owner directly.

Bigger Sister to Oppikat Catamaran

Following on my last post, about the new build options for the Oppikat, a customer has commissioned a bigger sister. Over the years many people have asked if we had a bigger cat for them to build. They wanted a boat that could be sailed by two adults rather than by children or by one adult with a small child. So, now we have the Bigakat 12. The first boat will be built in Nassau, Bahamas, from plans and patterns. The drawings have been completed and are already on their way to the amateur builder.

The Bigakat 12 is in every respect a bigger sister to the Oppikat. The build methods are the same, with plywood upper hull panels and strip cedar below, over plywood bulkheads. Only the size and proportions have changed and some minor details.

While working on this project I took the extra time to add more drawings to the set than we have in the Oppikat design. The additional detailing helps builders to better understand the construction details and process of assembly. Better understanding improves confidence and building speed.

Biggakat 12 sail plan.

Specifications of the Bigakat 12 are:-

LOA - 3.72m (12'2")
LWL - 3.72m (12'2")
Beam - 2.10m (6'10")
Draft - 0.27m (10.5")
Mainsail - 7.83sq.m (84sq.ft)
Jib - 2.5sq.m (27sq.ft)

The standard plan package for the Bigakat 12 includes full-size patterns for all bulkheads, printed overlaid on top of each other. As an optional extra we can also supply full-size patterns on paper for the bulkheads each set out separately, along with patterns for the plywood panels of hull and deck. This allows the builder to cut out the bulkhead shapes to paste them onto plywood for cutting.

We also have detailing to build the Bigakat 12 in fibreglass, laminated in female moulds. This version is primarily for pro boatbuilders to build in series. We don't currently have any GRP builders producing the Oppikat and Bigakat 12 but would be interested in discussing this with any pro boatbuilder who is interested.

Plans for this design and all of our other designs can be ordered from our desktop pricelist or our mobile pricelist.

To see all of our designs, go to our desktop website or our mobile website.