A Cruising Dinghy for Crossing the North Sea?

[@DinghyOdyssey]

Thanks for this film. I was courious about your boat and now I have a better view. Congratulations with your adventure!!!

[@pawza6]

Beautiful, and incredibly well thought-through design. Thank you for explaining the intricacies. Very honest and inspiring.

[@metwelve12]

Outstanding! The video brought to mind the accounts of past British adventurers I read as a boy. Nice to see the Tradition so vividly brought into the 21st century. And the Kendal mint cake just seals the vibe. Thanks!!

[@KapitenTirona]

Having sailed for 15 years a Mariner 31 ketch " Taygeta" can't stop dreaming sailing the Mediterranean in this beauty ! Please , need the plans ! Fair winds.

[@herebeorg9214]

Superb video, genuinely interesting, love the detailed technical explanation, brave and intelligent sailing. Fairwinds to you, sir.

[@soggybottom3463]

Wonderful and very well narrated..Congratulations and thank you sir. 👍👏👏👏

[@kaym9501]

Thank you for this film and also for your nice article in the DCA Newsletter! Good Luck!!!

[@Pfuetzensammler]

Amazing project! Ingenuity, craftsmanship, willpower and courage combined. Respect!

[@stuartcrane9409]

Thanks for your detailed review! Very informative

[@alanjones5946]

On the subject of faster bailing - I used to helm a MkII Osprey trapeze dinghy, which had a back tank. We had two tubes running through the tank out the stern and (in effect) capped with inverted funnels, which could be released by shock cord from the cockpit. That helped the bailers after a capsize. Just a thought. Well done with the adventure.

[@alexd1759]

There will be lots of debate about getting rid of water. My preference is to eliminate the places where it can accumulate...... Thank you Ruben for your exposition, well done.

[@reubydoi7111]

I wouldn't want to lose the storage capacity in the stern lockers for anything large enough to have much effect, but I might be able to do something along the steering tunnel to bring the water level down below that level quickly.

[@seayak]

This is one of the most sophisticated and well thought out small craft I have ever seen. I would never have thought of using a trapeze on a cruising dinghy, but this seems a brilliant solution once you had settled on a narrow, displacement hull form. She certainly is a shapely and well-built vessel, capable of surprising speed, and very seaworthy in rough conditions. ! I think it is literally impossible to anticipate what will break in extreme conditions, and the practical "use it till it fails" approach worked well for you with a reasonable margin of safety, given your resilience and resourcefulness. I am still wondering what in heck took out your rudder. I appreciate your comment about the inefficiency of a flat plate centreboard, and will abandon the plan to fit one of these to the ballasted Shilling 17 cruising dinghy I am currently building. I will fabricate one with a symmetrical airfoil profile instead.

[@reubydoi7111]

Knowing I have prevented one flat plate centerboard makes it all worthwhile. It was especially bad going to windward in a chop. The pitching seemed to let her slip sideward especially fast, and it vibrated when we were doing anything above 5kt.

[@seayak]

@@reubydoi7111 Thanks very much for this. The Shilling design has a rather primitive low aspect pivoting centreplate, with the wetted portion basicallly in a triangular shape. The plans call for a steel centreplate which forms part of the ballast of the boat, but I am casting about for another solution that will enable me to fabricate a board with a foil profile for the wetted portion, but still have enough weight to contribute something to stability. I really don't want to fuss with encapsulating lead inside a West System wood laminated centreboard, so am wondering if I could use a sheet of dense G10 fibreglass (if I can find such a thing) as the inner layer. The foil profile could then be built up outside of that with with glass-encapsulated plywood. If you have any ideas I am open to suggestion. Another problem is that the inside width of the centreboard trunk is over an inch wide, built according to the plans, but the plate itself was intended to be made up of something like 1/4 or 3/8" stainless plate. The extra width seems to have been necessary to accommodate a block attached to the aft top of the centreplate , which forms the lower part of the lifting tackle, but I have no idea how the designer planned to deal with the thing pivoting from side to side inside the trunk as the boat is tacked. It is really a rather primitive design, basically just scaled down from traditional but much larger British gaff-rigged sailing vessels.

[@winterroadspokenword4681]

@@seayakcan you not glass over a steel plate to build up a foil Shape? Drill a few holes through it to help the surfaces on each side to remain laminated?

[@seayak]

@@winterroadspokenword4681 Actually I was thinking of doing just that, and I think you are correct. A few holes drilled through the plate would help deal with any bonding issues. Thanks, that is a very good idea. . And the steel plate would certainly be stronger than G10 since its elastic properties would permit it to bend and spring back under load instead of fracturing.

[@mudball220]

The spirit of Uffa Fox lives on.

[@andrewrobb633]

And would love to buy plans if you ever release some. It might change my mind from building a lightning for dinghy cruising

[@reubydoi7111]

I might do in the future but it would be a few years away at least. Life is very busy at present.

[@skyak4493]

Building a lightning for cruising sounds like a bad idea. You can buy a tired race boat for far less than the cost of materials or better yet, rent one to see how it is a bad idea. Core sound 15 and 17 are good conventional designs available now. CLC has some designs with this more aggressive L/B ratio for better human powering.

[@johnbarber1824]

I've cruised in a wooden Lightning and can confirm that it is indeed a bad (but fun) idea. The hull is perfect but the rig is far too tall and over-canvassed. I fantasized about a shorter split rig with a much lighter centreboard but building a proven design like the Core Sound 17 makes much more sense. .

[@liamfaulkner9267]

I would second this

[@ShoeProtestorGrrrr]

So impressive. Too many questions so I'll await your log being published.

[@hotdealboxuk2257]

Wow, such an excellent video. Thanks for sharing the details.

[@markdwestwood]

Such a well thought out design - beautiful and practical 👏🏻👏🏻

[@kayakmaneuan]

Absolutely bloody brilliant! Well done on a fantastic voyage well made! I love the no-nonsence practical design of your craft, and at the same time being an absolute work of art.

[@DinghyCruisingTrim]

A fascinating account of the boat and your thinking in its design. You are an amazing sailor too, most of what you did was terrifying- my hat off to you sir.

[@sierr4echo805]

'...the algorithm can go do one' 😂😂 If the algorithm was any good it'd recommend this video to everyone irrespective of comment-count! Fantastic video that tops off the journey ones. Thanks for sharing. Beautiful dinghy BTW.

[@Ridire]

Bloody amazing, I'm stunned. You were incredibly lucky to get back to the boat after the trapeze failure!

[@MrEricmgt]

Outstanding! Thanks for documenting and sharing it all. I have three small sailboats I use for cruising and am constantly thinking how to get to the perfect "one" , so I find it really interesting to see your design and philosophy for cruising.

[@donlawrence1428]

Nice design an nice workmanship!

[@alistairi]

Really interesting having watched your previous videos. Thanks for putting this together.

[@alandb2481]

Thank you for taking the time to make that video, it’s really interesting.

[@fairwindfollowingsea]

WOW! You’ve provided exactly what I was hoping for, your gear list is fantastic, XLNT video narration, beautiful boat design and execution. Looking forward to your log. Cheers!

[@DavidKD2050]

If I wasn’t puking 🤮 my guts up just looking at an ocean this is something I could get into. Lovely little boat.

[@hillbillycarwreck]

what a boat!. she looks nimble and fast (more quick than fast) .

[@chris9056]

Wonderful stuff Reuben, Yes please publish the rest of the longer edit

[@stefanbattige7988]

Very impressive. Thanks for sharing Your footage!

[@BillMeadArts]

Would super appreciate a vid from you going over your clothing and foul weather kit etc, what worked, what didn’t, how you managed the cold and wet for so long, how you managed getting/staying warm and dry after capsize etc, thanks!

[@bobl1769]

Brilliant sailing, brilliant boat, well done!

[@guidouytterhaegen]

Wow….impressive study ,and speeds!!

[@SmallCraftTasmania-ms4sx]

Excellent video. Thank you very much. 100% agree about the mizzen...

[@kris2435]

Lovely boat, great trip and a fantastic builder sailor ❤ Reflection based on skippering SAR boats and single handing Alaska (I am Scandinavian); “Accidents” at sea too often involve personal injury. Perhaps an electric trolling motor and a larger battery could provide more autonomy. In addition, something inflatable (removable) could reduce cockpit volume in tough conditions (perhaps with co2 canisters), a inflatable bag on an oar could be helpful after a capsize. A low collapsible spray hood could offer more protection. Concerning the rudder you may want to consider a kick-up rudder box.

[@hedrewablank]

Thanks for sharing, congratulations on completing this epic adventure in your very own built boat! Awesome work.

[@TomStuchberySailing]

That was brilliant, so many awesome ideas, literal gold I can learn from for my own cruising dinghy. Thanks for sharing!

[@rjchast2479]

Thanks for the update and details about the dinghy. You have a balls of steel to sail such a small boat so far

[@sfahlstrom]

Thanks for taking the time to share these details.

[@HollandTender]

😊Real sailor/ designer, Slocum comes to mind as a big compliment to you sir!

[@peterbedford2610]

Tent design is brilliant. Could be marketable.

[@draffyduck1]

Excellent update, thanks for taking the time to inform us. 👍

[@bgt7874]

Great boat and adventure. Inspiring.

[@sven-erikviira1872]

Great walkthrough of a great boat! Stainless steel profiled centerboard - Some time ago I was toying with the idea of floodable hollow stainless centerboard (off-center-board in my case). Two piece split concrete mold taken from desiredly shaped centerboard. Two sheets of stainless welded together on the perimeter and pressure washer attachment welded on. It should be quite low cost way to hydroform a centerboard to desired shape. Most difficult part is to find a place to put the mold halves in-between. Calculating the pressure over the surface area of the form halves shows that few weights put on top will not do. Also - I love the pictures of the build. Seeing someone else's worshop is always interesting.

[@reubydoi7111]

Interesting idea. I can image the pressure needed to form something in material thick enough to be strong enough would be stupendous, and being relatively flat would probably mean lots of springback . And I image you might need some local reinforcement where the board exits the hull to prevent a buckling failure. When I dropped my board out after the trip I found the 10mm thick plate had been bent at the point it left the hull so the forces there are quite extreme. I wish I still had access to the big workshop, it was one of the perks of working as a boatbuilder there!

[@skyak4493]

They sell extruded aluminum foil leading edge forms you can attach sheet to for daggerboards. If your boat is fast enough to benefit from the profile it would beneft from asymmetric daggerboards in seats to each side. Managing any raw water tank that can’t be cleaned seems undesirable.

[@joewilliams5396]

I watch your videos, and this was a very excellant summary explanation, thanks.

[@kyleabingdon6323]

Thanks for making this video. Great skills all round.

[@johnpayne2465]

Redundancy is key. Rudders and centreboards are exposed. The rudder did seem large, but I'm not sure how much is exposed in bad weather, though. Big rudders damage more easily. Rowlocks on the stern give you an emergency rudder, wise. Simpler oars, for the reasons stated, wise. Perhaps your sleeping accommodation could be an emergency centreboard if trimmed as such. Or perhaps an alternate rudder for different conditions? The extra sail mentioned is well worth having fpr your reasons, or just in case the mast or forward rigging fails. Rather than a low spray deflector, build something a little taller in front of the canvas. Not much windage. It might have extra functionalities for you? Twin bilge pumps, perfect. Buy the bigger one, keep using the original, wire them individually for manual use. Hand pumps are good, the lowest point for pumping needs to be where you pump from. The canvas certainly will be better next time. Ventilation, and a way to lash it so that it is able to be set at cuddy length or half length with tensioning straps. Great mounting plates. A superb dinghy design, it looks very slippery on the water, and congratulations on an incredible voyage.

[@reubydoi7111]

The bodge repaired rudder took a battering and came through it all fine so I'm pretty happy it's as safe as any rudder can be, so with the redundancy of a steering oar I'm satisfied with the setup, and I wouldn't want to have to carry a second rudder and faff around changing them. I did attempt to use one of the sleeping platform boards as a jury rig centerboard but I didn't have any way to hold it in place so I will probably be making some alterations to make it possible as you suggest. Being a boat designed to have low resistance at rowing speeds its amazing proportionally how much difference windage makes when rowing to windward. Also the rowing position has the rowlocks at the widest beam which puts me towards the front of the cockpit so when I lean back on the oars there isn't really room for anything without compromising the rowing setup. On a different design I would consider some sort of cuddy, but I don't think it works on this specific design. Its good to hear your thoughts.

[@johnpayne2465]

@reubydoi7111 I appreciate your insights and reply. Best of luck in design and sailing, always. Keep pushing the limits of design, I'm fascinated to see what's next. It's a beautiful boat, and seeing how much is possible with a rig refined to its barest must be very satisfying.

[@dancapps3374]

Great video , would love to see plans or more content on the build :)

[@fibber2u]

Excellent explanations. Thanks.

[@woodywiest]

Fantastic ⚓ Great boat, proper sailing and thurough log. What will you do with the lines and details of this one? Sell them? Make more boats? Send me the CAD so I can print you one?

[@reubydoi7111]

I want to do some more model testing to further optimise the hullform, then I might put some plans together to sell but it wont be for a few years at least.

[@globyois]

Beautiful job!

[@andrewrobb633]

I would love to see a more in depth video please.

[@AmeriMutt76]

Great video. You're boat seems fairly similar in purpose to a Welsford Walkabout. I'm currently torn between building the Walkabout or his newer Long Steps.

[@reubydoi7111]

Yes. I really like the walkabout, it's a very similar concept but I wanted a Bermudan yawl so I could sail with just jib and mizzen, and not have a yard flying around at head height when dropping sail in a hurry. Walkabout is also quite a bit lighter with less carrying capacity for all the kit for such a long trip.

[@AmeriMutt76]

@reubydoi7111 yes to all that, it is the closest in concept i had found to what you've made here, great work man! I'd probably build the long-steps if I was to build right now. But I'll keep an eye on where you're at before purchasing plans, for sure. Beautiful boat!

[@TimMitchell-lc9mq]

Another level…! Would love to peruse the log as and when.

[@PeterMumford]

That's a very impressive boat! She reminds me of Don Kurylko's Alaska, but she's wider and has a more modern rig. Impressive cruise also!

[@reubydoi7111]

I built and sailed an Alaska years ago, and it was sailing her in conditions that I probably shouldn't that got me thinking about how a different rig would perform on such a hullform.

[@peterkemp8633]

Really enjoyed that, nice one

[@classglobe5.80germany-fine6]

Very nice report - thanks!

[@peterjohnson6273]

Found it very interesting. Thanks.

[@louisheath2356]

Fascinating design and descriptions. I'm an older guy and wondering if you would change anything in the design for slower folk who wouldn't use a trapeze? If it could be home built with ply and have a small cabin I would be interested. Thanks -:

[@reubydoi7111]

The aspects of a boat's design are so inter-related that to change one aspect has so many knock on consequences that the whole design ends up changing. To achieve the same righting moment without the trapeze requires either a change in hull shape or ballasting (Which would need hull shape changes to accommodate the extra weight). These changes would inevitably increase drag, especially at lower speeds, so rowing capabilities are severely impacted. Alternatively the sail area could be reduced, particularly by shortening the mast, but I would want to change hull shape to work better at the slower speeds because that would result and there wouldn't be enough power to surf. A shorted rig would also have the biggest effect on her light wind performance, so you would either need to be very keen on rowing or have an engine. Probably the most similar boat built from ply is the 'Walkabout' by John Welsford.

[@rolandjaeger7310]

This is awesome I just stumbled upon your channel with this video and you definitely won a subscriber with it

[@svkusi]

phenomenal small boat. do you think racks like a moth would be practical, as im not really a trapeze dinghy sailor, but i love the concept? spent my teens messing around in dinghies before going on to big things with keels. i now want a propr sailing boat, weighing 50kg dry, that fits in the 5m i have between the masts of my freedom ketch, and the whitehall skiff is a similar hull shape, hell i could even go with unstayed cat ketch for the full mini version of the big boat effect... ihis is pretty, functional and fast. super inspiring project! (im a sailmaker/covermaker, and serial boat modifier/racer, moving to cruising.)

[@sssiman]

It was a terrible summer so well done! Wouldn’t mind a more a visual video of the whole trip with navionics or something. Would be interesting if you wanted an idea for content

[@Richard-y2r]

Amazing set of videos, glad the algorithm let me into a glimpse of your trip! Been sailing catamarans (hobies) and I'm currently designing a small (and hopefully very fast) 'cruising' trimaran for solo (possibly duo) multi-night adventures in the baltic in much a similar vein to your trips with Fandango. While much less intense seas, there's quite a lot of overlap and I'm not against the idea of making the boat able to cross the North sea and down into the west coast of Scotland! Anyway, I'd be very appreciative of more detail on your design process regarding the hydrodynamics of the hull, and the philosophy involved... if there's anything you might be interested to share in text or video! Thanks, R

[@muddundee]

Lovely boat! I like your thinking. I built a Whitehall years ago, very fast but wouldnt have been my choice for a cruising dinghy, i suspect she was rather more extreme & sharp than your design. Well done.

[@RHP9898]

Superb video, thanks so much!

[@peteh46]

Fantastic! Thank you.

[@Panoramix0874]

Thank you for making this video. I really like the slippery and narrow hull, totally at odds with most mainstream dinghys but it makes sense! Please publish the rest of the videos, I am sure nerds like me will enjoy them. Also if you have computed it, a stability curve would be very interesting. On this same topic, did you find that the stainless steel centreboard helped with stability ? I know it is an old trick (at least as old as the simoun 485), but did you consider raising the floor to limit the water in the cockpit while sailing and after a capsize ? Sure that will make the centreboard a bit higher while the boat is capsized but not carrying water in the boat is safer and faster! On the simoun boats, the water was gravity draining through the centreboard case. There was a shaped centreboard case topside to stop the water gushing up at speed.

[@reubydoi7111]

The centerboard was only 25kg so I don't think it did much on such a narrow hull in the grand scheme of things until she's heeled far over. I think it helps prevent turtling though. She already has a very low freeboard, so if I raised the sole much more it would be uncomfortable to sit on the side decks and might feel more like a sit on top kayak, and it would need to be raised quite a lot to become self draining.

[@jamesvisick6009]

Thanks for sharing. Very interesting.

[@markthomasson5077]

Excellent, thanks. You must be so pleased your design was 99% there first time. I think I would have had a double floor, which help with emptying spray plus capsize. With watertight hatches, a good space to store heavy stuff. Rather than the complication of a mizen stay sail, I would go for a deep reef in the main. One question, what do you do when you need to cook / navigate / take a pee etc. Does she self steer at all. I have wondered if an autopilot could be used on calmer days.

[@reubydoi7111]

There is always room for improvement! The sole is effectively already a double floor filled with foam. To raise it higher would make it uncomfortable to sit on the side decks. I want to avoid the faff of reefing. I have never seen a reefing system that is simpler or quicker than dropping a halyard, and for windy days when a reef would be the alternative I would rather stow the boom and have a staysailer on a furler. I only cooked when I was moored, and had my navigation planned out with waypoints on a handheld gps which I kept in my buoyancy aid so it was easy to quickly check. On calmer days the jib and mizzen can be set to keep a course for a few minutes or I could drop all sail apart from the mizzen so she would sit into wind if I needed to.

[@rossbarnett3759]

Experience is essential for a boat like this. Lots of thinking to get to this stage. I reckon you should have sponsons either on the inside or outside, not sure which side. but inside they could be inflated by a small cartridge.

[@reubydoi7111]

I want to avoid anything that needs to be 'activated'. For me simplicity is key and I would rather have a setup that works every time no matter what. If there was a way to have an inflatable system that would make righting and recovery easier I would still plan on the presumption the system would fail at the moment I need it most, at which point the system becomes dead weight. I have a similar attitude to righting systems as I do for auxiliary propulsion. An engine might let you do 6kt when its working but I would rather have oars that will still be getting me 3kt if hell freezes over.

[@r_creates6396]

Thanks, very impressive.

[@Oliver-nz6cr]

Absolute madlad! 👍

[@John-gw3mj]

Amazing video/project/adventure, thanks for sharing and I'm glad KZbin decided to recommend it to me! I'm not an expert so this might be a terrible idea but it struck me that you might be able to use your canopy instead of a breakwater on the foredeck. Could you support it so it's only the fore batten that's raised and get the benefit of some cockpit shielding without obstructing your sight too much?

[@reubydoi7111]

I played around with the idea but the tent hoops are too tall and are a bit floppy when the whole tent isn't up under tension. A few years ago I mocked up a separate canopy with different lower hoops but decided it wasn't worth the hassle and it wasn't compatible with the tent.

[@mandiri42]

Great video and an even greater trip!!! Just a thought....If you haven't done so already, check out the bouyancy tank arrangements on the HadronH2. I think a longitudinal tank on the centreline could reduce cockpit water while not making the boat float higher on a capsize.

[@reubydoi7111]

I have admired the Hadron at the dinghy show a few times and thought of adding buoyancy to the sides of my centreboard case but she currently floats with the centreboard case just clear of the water so it would need to be quite thick to do anything appreciable, and due to the sealed buoyancy under the sole the case comes further clear of the water as she is righted. Also because she is narrower than the Hadron a central tank would be where my feet need to be, and rowing with legs splayed either side of it would probably be uncomfortable.

[@barrydavies2977]

Just a thought. To help reduce the chance of another centreboard breakage in rough weather, raise the board a bit. This will increase the board length coming out of the case and therefore it's strength. By raising the board it will reduce the leverage and area. The reduction in windward performance would be slight, if any.

[@reubydoi7111]

I usually did bring the board up slightly but the day I broke it wasn't especially windy or rough apart from the very localised area around the headland.

[@barrydavies2977]

@reubydoi7111 interesting. I notice that the board is very long and narrow for efficiency. But it does reduce it's strength. In this case the board had probably received wear or damage at the case exit. One downside of centreboard's is it's not so easy to check for wear and you do a lot of miles. You probably do more in a year than most dinghy sailors do in 10 years.

[@fosterkennel649]

You have a beautiful boat there thanks to your Maritime skills. Regarding the rudder, what about a rudder that flips up based on predetermined force on pins holding it down that maybe could save the whole transom rudder assembly assembly in an emergency. Blessings to you and yours wonderful content

[@markliam9446]

Brilliant thank you.

[@danielpaulson3631]

This is like watching Roger Barnes on amphetamines

[@torisaengilbert8400]

You rule ! 😮😊

[@simonbrooke4065]

In my experience, spoon bladed oars work fine for sculling, although I generally prefer straight bladed ones in a seaway. We used to use a single (long) spoon bladed scull as auxiliary propulsion on my father's 22 foot catamaran, and in calm weather it worked fine.

[@simonbrooke4065]

(I would really like to see your uncut video, especially the model testing; and you should put up a crowd funder for publishing your log)

[@reubydoi7111]

They can be ok but my old oars had quite a thin but deep shaft section near the blade which made it very hard work, and the spooning was quite deep so they were been very inefficient and tiring.

[@robingraham6820]

Thank you very much for this video. I love the boat. As you say it is a compromise, but your compromises align pretty much with mine. I have the plans for a John Welsford LongSteps, (70% sailing, 30% rowing) many similarities to your design. The main difference is that John has designed a cuddy into the Longsteps, much as he did with his very successful S.C.A.M.P. You said that you were thinking about fitting a breakwater on the forward deck to help keep the cockpit a bit dryer, why not a cuddy? That would make a big difference and make for some shelter when the going gets wet AND would be an opportunity for some high up buoyancy to help avoid going turtle. I would love to see your published log when it is done. If it is any help to that end, my wife has been a proof reader for a good number of years and has recently taken the manuscripts of 3 local authors and proof read, designed, published and taken the final book to the printer, culminating in each author receiving a pallet of up to a thousand books to distribute. She is also preparing one of those books for sale by Amazon as an Ebook. Good luck, I will be watching.

[@reubydoi7111]

I considered a cuddy but I decided against for a few reasons. A cuddy brings windage and at the extreme drag as you punch though a wave. With her large rig Fandango can already be a pain when I have to row to windward and a cuddy would make this worse. The rowing position has the rowlocks at the widest beam which puts me towards the front of the cockpit so when i lean back on the oars there isn't really room for a cuddy without compromising the rowing setup. In terms of shelter, while it would reduce the water coming into the cockpit it wouldn't keep me any drier because I'm either sat on the side hiking or out on the trapeze so I wouldn't get any shelter from it, unlike the Welford boats which are more 'sit in'. For buoyancy, the current location of buoyancy and the small amount of weight in the centreboard mean she doesn't have a tendency to turtle so the things I'm trying to improve with buoyancy are more focused on reducing the volume of water in the boat after a capsize. I'm still a fair way off getting the log sorted but I will keep that in mind for when I have it complete.

[@robingraham6820]

@ many thanks for your excellent reply. I guess you can put your tent up pretty quick so you can have shelter when you need it and less windage when you need to be slick. Creating a self bailing cockpit is probably a real work of compromise. I am no boat designer, but I get the basics. I think one basic safety thing is to ensure that the centreboard cannot fall back into its case in the event of a turtle, or at least have a tether attached to make it possible to pull it back out to give righting leverage. The “Hull Speed” of the Longsteps (which I have the plans for) is about 5.7knots. Your hull looks very slippery, have you calculated your “Hull Speed”? I am presently sailing a Drascombe Lugger, which is a good boat, but not a patch on your boat, or even the Longsteps.

[@reubydoi7111]

@@robingraham6820 My boat has far less buoyancy when floating on her side than many designs meaning she is much less inclined to invert, so I don't actually have anything to prevent the board falling back in. Hull speed is often though of as far more important than it is, because it gets simplified. The basic 'hull speed' of my boat is 5.6kt but there are many other factors that effect the resistance of a boat. Multihulls can to some extent ignore 'hull speed' because they are narrow and light, or to say it more accurately; their length-displacement ratio is high enough that wave making drag is a less significant factor to their overall resistance above a Froude number of 0.4 compared to displacement hullforms. Fandango isn't multihull proportions but is far slimmer than most cruising dinghies, and I think her hull generates some dynamic lift when she is surfing, which effectively reduces her displacement and therefore effectively increases her length-displacement ratio, meaning she is able to push much further through the 'hullspeed' barrier than other similar length hulls. I think she starts to be limited by other drag components by the time she gets to 10kt and above, but that's just another rabbit hole. Especially with the water ballast, Longsteps will be more constrained by her 'hullspeed' but its by no means a hard limit.

[@robingraham6820]

I get the bit about too much buoyancy causing a boat to turtle when on her side, so I guess there has to be a balance. A naval architect’s list of balance and compromise must be massive. If I were designing a dingy for myself it would not be so different to yours. Like you, I see good pace (speed) as an important factor. It is not about breaking records, but about getting there in good time. Another safety factor for me is shelter, (I’m getting on a bit) I don’t need luxury, but somewhere out of the worst of it, where I could stick my head out every 10 minutes or so would be a huge improvement. I think the windage of a cuddy would be a price worth paying, because I don’t anticipate rowing much, maybe a mile at most. I might be tempted to carry a small outboard to rig alongside on a bracket if going on a longer trip. I definitely like the mizzen, I actually see that as a great safety item because it makes the rig versatile and can help you hold a course while you attend to other things. I actually quite enjoy sailing with mizzen and jib, unless I am in a hurry to get home. Although the Longsteps is not designed with a jib, John Welsford himself has added a bowsprit and jib to his own Longsteps for that very reason. John designed the Longsteps for a long planned adventure to sail round the New Zealand North island. Anyway, I could go on for ages. I look forward to seeing more of your episodes on Utube and seeing anything else you produce. If you are going past Orkney again and have time, you will be very welcome. All the best, Robin.

[@MatthewSharman]

Hi. Watched with interest. I have cruised Wayfarers for over 50 years and was really interested to listen to your thinking on the boat. Much of what you say I agree with (especially the galley box comments!!). I very much agree that a fast boat is good for open boat cruising - my maximum is 15.9knots through the Gulf of Corryvrecken. I was surprised at the lack of slab reefing on the main and a furling rather than reefing genoa. What you say about capsizing and cockpit volume is very relevant. I hate the concept of the over buoyant double skin hulls of modern ECD dinghies which are supposed to be safer. I sail a wooden Wayfarer with a similar large cockpit volume. Anyway - great stuff, keep it up.

[@reubydoi7111]

I gave the Corryvrecken a wide berth especially because I had a snapped centerboard while I was passing. My hands get numb and useless very easily even when its not that cold so I wanted to avoid anything that needed faffing with lines to reef. I might make a video specifically looking at cockpit volume and buoyancy when capsized because I think its often a misunderstood problem which is handled very badly by the modern over buoyant dinghies. More buoyancy most definitely isn't always better or safer.

[@svkusi]

i think the best soloution is a double bottom to just above the waterline, and transom flaps, with a bit of a slope fore and aft. this shifts the water but doesnt make a boat float too high when on its side. bouancy high up stops the thing wanting to invert. inversion of a dinghy is a bad day. i particularly hate how certain singlehanders float high and blow away from you. and you cant get on the board. the best dinghy i ever had was beautifuly stable on her side, with the mast on the water. 70s cherub, 22ft long mast, full roach main. that was fun.

[@MatthewSharman]

@svkusi I agree, side bouyancy is a problem. I sail a wooden Wayfarer and practice capsized regularly. No tendency to invert, but a fair bit of water to bucket out before the bailers take over!

[@SailingFrolic]

Now I kinda want to build one of these for a tender

[@skaraborgcraft]

I do admire a well executed plan. One of lifes small pleasures is making tow-test models, especially for those averse to computers. I once had a similar idea but based on a Jersey skiff type hull, a little more burdsome. I was amazed at how easy it was to keep a Whitehall type powered up under oars, but surprised how stiff they can be, as you carry your rig centre of effort quite high for a narrow beam boat. Definately a breakwater would help. Split rigs are just too useful for all weather sailing, and if you have a mizzen, then you just have to have a mizzen staysail! Your appendage breakages have me thinking, what is the answer for bomb proof foils, welded aluminium? Double figure sailing speeds is quite common in Scilly pilot gigs, even with their small lug rigs, quite the ride.

[@reubydoi7111]

I have plans for lots more model testing in the future. I have found you can get pretty good results which I have more faith in than what a basic computer simulation spits out, and the cost of getting someone who knows what they are doing with worthwhile CFD is prohibitive. I'm currently leaning towards a heavy composite layup. I found the 10mm stainless plate centreboard was bent after my trip which makes me think the peak dynamic loads in waves can be high enough that the anything aluminium would be deformed. I'm thinking the compliance possible with the right layup of glass would be able to flex to decrease the peak load but I haven't run the numbers yet. I have almost sailed a pilot gig a few times but I have sailed Bantry Bay gigs extensively so I know the thrill well.

[@skaraborgcraft]

@@reubydoi7111 When mentioning aluminium foils, i was refering to those made up of foil sections and stringers with a welded skin. The weak point the becomes the pivot, or the hull structure itself. I made a half decent foil in a hardboard mould with re-bar and cement. Many advantages to keeping a foil un-ballasted to keep the boats construction weight down, if the righting moment not required. I figure given the trapeze, you carried little to no ballast outside of your kit?

[@michaelinkster4977]

Are you working in boat design/manufacturing as this is exceptionally well-presented!?

[@reubydoi7111]

I spent many years working as a boatbuilder before retraining and working the last few years as a naval architect/designer.

[@michaelinkster4977]

@ 👍

[@bigbadthesailor5173]

experienced dinghy cruiser here: hard to say how many aspects of this are really really brilliant and amazing - but suffice it to say you have inspired me to put a trapeze onto my Wayfarer having crewed my Osprey for years, but finding myself singlehanded more often than I'd like in the Wayfarer. I have experienced a trapeze failure - inland water so basically just hilarious, in the north channel just as well your prehensile grip opn the main was maintained! interestingly all foil breakages on wayfarers are ply foils ... I don't think a solid laminated and glass sheathed foil has ever been known to fail. my son and I have a saying that if the sea state is getting rough enough to show up on a video, then get the camera out, it will instantly settle down - problem solved. can I ask what your waterline length, beam and hull weight are?

[@reubydoi7111]

I think the centreboard breakage might have been to do with stress concentration caused by the lead inside the ply. I also think the board was a little slack in the case meaning it was point loaded on the bottom of the case which might have damaged the thin glass sheathing. Its always frustrating how waves look so small on camera. LOD: 5.524m LWL: 5.298m MAX BEAM: 1.496m MAX WATERLINE BEAM: 1.348m

[@mjp4901]

This is incredible, the boat and the journey you went on are amazing achievements! Your trip all the way to Norway reminded me of the book 'ocean crossing wayfarer' by Frank Dye. I've been planning for years now to build my own wooden boat, it's a traditional gaff rigged clinker design I have the plans for, will likely take me 2-3 years to build with no prior experience. How long did you take to build your boat? And can I ask your background and how you know all this stuff? I'm looking forward to building my own boat and sailing it but there seems to be a definite tradeoff with being able to go sailing and the time spent to get everything built. I'm holding off buying a boat til it's built even though everyone is telling me to just buy one lol.

[@kramerlewis]

I love your boat. Bravo. Do you see any value in a self steering setup? How do you navigate while at sea? Cheers, Kramer

[@reubydoi7111]

This boat is small and tippy enough that I wouldn't be happy trusting self steering. In lighter winds I can set jib and mizzen to hold her course which is good enough. For navigation I plot waypoints in my handheld garmin etrex30. I usually checked the gps every hour and kept course in between with a compass mounted on the centreboard case.

[@Farweasel]

Any prospect of a yard building your superb design under licence?

[@LFHiden]

"Dont care about views" *Gets 30k views* Great video 🔥

[@jimprier326]

Great adventure.

[@reubydoi7111]

I don't know what weight the sails are. They are just dingy sails I got off ebay second hand. I think they are a combination of from a Hornet, bosun, and fireball.

[@jimprier326]

@@reubydoi7111 Thanks! Appreciate all the thought you've put into your skiff. And your guts.

[@adamgawronski3755]

Thank You!!

[@holisticaustralia]

Thankyou 🙏

[@peterAustralia333]

impressive,

[@clippywhippy616]

Formidable craft created…. You selling plans?

[@reubydoi7111]

Not at the moment, maybe I will have time to put a proper set of plans together in a few years.

[@clippywhippy616]

@ unfortunate Would need body plan and sail plan Rest could be figured while building

[@andersholmstrom3571]

What I was most interested in was your tent arrangement. I have a more than half built Core Sound 20 but I have not yet decided on a tent design. A drawback of the design is that the missen mast is in the middle of the cock pit. There is a second mast step for the missen just in front of the cock pit. It does however mean that you have to move the mast when afloat. The mast will not be light. At the same time I would like a tent that I could raise quickly (like yours) and which is still sturdy in strong wing and heavy rain. So I would like to figure out if the best sollution is to move the heavy mast or if I should make a tent that wraps around the mast and still keeps the rain out. Any suggestions?

[@reubydoi7111]

Hmm, the mizzen of the core sound is a bit of an obstacle. I cant really see anything fitting around the mast well enough to seal satisfactorily. Do you need the tent to cover the whole cockpit? It would be much easier to make something that only covers half but it seems a shame to waste all that space.

[@andersholmstrom3571]

@@reubydoi7111 I would like to cover the whole cockpit so that I can close out rain and wind. Otherwise it would be too cold in the nights here. Ideally I would like to be able to open the front and rear end of the tent but with a moskito net to keep the bugs out. We get a lot of moskitos here. One solution I have thought of is to have a spray hood and then have a tent that connects to the spray hood to close the cockpit completely. But with that sollution I do not see how I could get the opening in the front. I will put a coambing around the cockpit. My plan is to make that coambing thick along the sides. I will then put my oarlocks on the combing instead of having separate wooden blocks for those. That would mean that I could also put fixings for tent poles on the coambing as well.

[@jmac2543]

Epic.

[@MatthewSharman]

PS. You may find that a Gopro with remote control on a mount is handy.

[@Jarek12010]

Amazing boat and a crazy human. How did you sleep and steer? I don't think you can daysail from Shetland to Norway? I sailed the other way, in bloody luxury, on a 35' sailboat.

[@reubydoi7111]

No sleep for 37hrs and averaging 5.5kt did the trick!

[@Jarek12010]

@@reubydoi7111 OK, thank you. So the rest of the voyage you daysailed, yes? What about steering? How do you change sails, pee, cook and all the rest, even during a daysail it is a nightmare, on a boat this size.

[@lanceroth7848]

What a good looking and speedy boat. Was wondering if you did anything to keep it from turtling when capsized?

[@reubydoi7111]

The hull shape has more buoyancy up by the deck than by the keel to it's fighting the turtle, and in combination with the small weight of the centreboard mean she isn't inclined to invert.

[@knigjes]

I'm interested in the software you used to develop this, specifically the analysis. I'm proficient with CAD, but what are you using at 1:41 showing the wake etc. Your lines plan at 2:08 doesn't look like a typical CAD output either.

[@johnstott1431]

Yes Very interesting. Do you think flatter hull sections aft would give you more off wind speed and stability. Or would they be detrimental in larger following seas?

[@reubydoi7111]

While surfing I'm sure flatter sections would be faster and more stable, however I think she would surf with her bow lower so she would be more likely to stuff into the next one, and when the waves are too big to surf or there isn't enough wind I think they would make her roll and pitch more due to the increased buoyancy in the corners.