Because our boats were going to be built of much thinner ply than their North American predecessors they were going to weigh much less so some were concerned that they would not be strong enough.
When we originally chose 4mm plywood for the OzRacer hull most people involved in discussions thought we were crazy as most were using plywood around 8mm and still having some structural problems. Turns out we were fine.
There was a lot of discussion about whether the shorter Oz Racer would plane. Phil Bolger the originator of the concept was categoric in saying there was too much bottom curvature. He was probably right with the original 40 to 50 square feet of sail. But we had 82. This was a big discussion between …
Inquiring minds The OzRacers and Oz Geese have always been attractive to beginner sailor – but particularly to beginner sailors with a good technical background that like to ask interesting questions about sailboat design, foil and sail design and how to keep boats light but strong. The boats have gone a long journey since famous …
Centreboard and leeboard position on small sailing boats. Looking at design factors and how they lead to factors to be considered when sailing. How a lee helm feeling might not actually be lee helm as a truly balanced boat behaves a bit differently.