Argie 15 on the Dnieper

Nick, a builder in Kiev, Ukraine, sent me photos of his Argie 15 build and the finished boat in use. Part-way through the project he bought a bigger boat, so the need for the Argie 15 fell away. He continued with the build, completed it, then donated the boat to a local sailing school. Nick says that the Argie is ideal for this kind of use, as a load-carrier it is able to carry an instructor plus as many as 8 children for introductory classes.

Nick's Argie 15 nearing completion. The large cockpit is
great for carrying a bunch of people.

Nick says that the the new boat proved to be such a hit that someone else has undertaken to finance another Argie 15 for the school, to expand its sail-training capabilities. That 2nd boat is now being built. Aside from being able to carry groups of children or adults, the Argie 15 also has a surprising turn of speed. That makes it suitable for more advanced sail-training as well, with an instructor and one or two students, to teach them how to handle a planing dinghy at speed in stronger breezes.

Argie 15 with a load of children, giving them their first experience of sailing.

These photos are shown courtesy of photographer Lubov Kotlyar.
See more of her work or make contact through her Facebook page at
 https://www.facebook.com/kievsails/

I get to meet many many wonderful people through long-distance relationships, most of them building my boats. It is always interesting to read their stories and to see their homelands and local sailing waters. Many people have built my boats in Ukraine and I have seen photos of some of them sailing on the beautiful local lakes. Nick sent me an aerial photo of Kiev and the Dnieper River, which flows through it.

Dnieper River where it flows through Kiev. This photo is in winter, with ice
on the water.

The large body of water at upper right is known as the "Kiev Sea", formed by a dam. Nick says that most of the sailing in Kiev is away from the city. His own club is downstream, out of view below the bottom of the photo.

We have about 50 boats either built or in-build in Ukraine, from 10ft to 55ft. Phil Semenov built his Didi 34 "Estra" in Kiev and sailed it for a few years on "Kiev Sea". Since then he has travelled on her down the Dnieper River to the Black Sea, through the Bosphorus into the Sea of Marmara. Now he is cruising the Aegean and other idyllic locales in the Mediterranean Sea.

I look forward to meeting many more interesting people this way. Some of them I may be lucky enough to even meet personally.

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More about Didi 40cr "Alizee"

My previous post was about the Wooden Boat Show, more specifically about the Didi 40cr "Alizee". I now have more info about her journey from the foothills of the Rockies to the East Coast.

"Alizee" loaded onto her custom three-axle trailer, ready to hit the highway.

The tow vehicle for this odyssey is a pretty serious pickup, the Dodge RAM 2500, with 5.7 litre Hemi V8 and towing capacity of 18,000lbs.

All hitched up and ready to go.

Total distance travelled was more than 1900 miles and took them through 10 states in 5 days on the road. They were delayed at the New York state line because they weren't permitted on the  NY highways on a weekend.

"Alizee" on the road.

Final destination was Noank Shipyard at the mouth of the Mystic River, Connecticut There she was to be launched, rigged, commissioned and sea trials done.

Hanging in the slings of the travel-lift, ready for launch.

Her first feel of the Atlantic Ocean.
The removable bowsprit is an owner-addition to set asymmetrical spinnakers.

"Alizee" safely afloat and waiting for her rig.

Commissioning took longer than expected due to delays with receiving her sail wardrobe. I had hoped to sail on her the day before the Wooden Boat Show but that was not to be, the Mystic Seaport dockmaster needed her in her berth too early to allow us to sail that day.

"Alizee" going through the road drawbridge to exit Mystic.
Further down Mystic River is another drawbridge, for the railway line.

"Alizee" has an interesting blog, titled  "Apres Boulot: our life after work". It covers her construction, road trip and the Wooden Boat Show. It will continue, to cover her cruising adventures.

To see other cruising blogs and websites for boats of our designs, go to our boat links web page.

Another Successful Wooden Boat Show

We have exhibited at the Wooden Boat Show at Mystic Seaport in Connecticut every year since 2007, when our Paper Jet prototype received the Outstanding Innovation Award. In 2015 Kevin Agee was runner-up in the owner-built powerboat division of the Concourse d' Elegance with his Inlet Runner 16 prototype.

Last weekend we were there again, for the 25th anniversary of the show. I had sailed my Paper Jet at Cape Hatteras the previous weekend in a 20 knot breeze and it is sailing well, as usual. It is in need of some cosmetic work, after 9 years of sailing, boat shows and being trailed more than 10,000 miles, so we left it at home. Instead we borrowed the Inlet Runner from Kevin and took that to the show.

But our efforts are not what I want to write about. Also on the show was the very lovely "Alizee", the Didi 40cr that was built in Boulder, Colorado, then towed by the owners to Mystic for launching.

"Alizee" at left, dwarfed by the "Charles W Morgan" whaling ship.

 The visitors loved "Alizee"; she made a very good first appearance in public. That is because owner/builder Bill Connor and his family made such a great job of crafting her. It was no big surprise when she won the owner-built sailboat division of the Concourse d' Elegance.

Didi 40cr "Alizee" poses for her many admirers.

"Alizee" may be a big sister to "Black Cat", the Didi 38 prototype that I built in Cape Town. But I built her as a lightweight and fairly stripped-out racer to carry me and my crew across the South Atlantic Ocean multiple times. Bill built his boat to take himself and his family cruising in safety, with a bit of speed (of course).

Bill's project was way more ambitious than mine. He has finished her to a much higher standard, with a flawless level of finish on the exterior paintwork. This family did almost everything themselves, aside from rig, sails and keel. That includes, the welded stainless steel pulpits and dodger frame, as well as the canvas work.

Cockpit , with owner-built stainless and canvas work.

Although she has an inboard shaft-mounted rudder, she also has the V-notch in the sugar scoop to take a transom-hung rudder. This is because Bill has elected to carry an emergency rudder that quickly drops into the V-notch if needed. She still has a tiller though, no wheel steering for Bill. He says that his wife, Catherine, was apprehensive about tiller-steering. To cure her he left her steering all day - apprehension gone. Bill's comment was "Why anyone would put a wheel on such a sweet ride is beyond me".

Transom with sugar scoop and cut-out for emergency rudder.

As for sailing characteristics, best let Bill say it in his own words. "We did finally have 15 kts yesterday, so we jumped on it and had a great sail. She is absolutely perfectly balanced right out of the box. I took a swag at the rake and haven't touched it. Just a delight."

"Alizee" leaving Mystic Seaport after the show.

Next chapter in the life of "Alizee" is to start her cruising by spending the summer in Maine, where she will be based in Belfast. Watch for an article about her in a future issue of Wooden Boat magazine.

Beautiful interior of "Alizee", all the work of the owners.

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