High Performance/Low Cost Sails for
Small Sailboats
Evolution of the Z-PDR
(A Class Racing Version of the PDRacer)
Ryan Gray pilots the
Z-PDR back to shore after her first test run. Note the angle of the kick-up
leeboard as he powers into the sandy shore of the Intercoastal Waterway near
Most early Puddle
Duck Racers, or PDR’s as they are known, had a fairly
boxy profile based on the basic hull requirements drawn up by David “Shorty”
Routh, the ceator of this US Sailing certified racing class. Routh’s class
requirements were fairly simple for this 4’ x 8’ scow
assuring that the bottom 10” of these boats would have the same defined hull
shape. (See the class rules at http://pdracer.com/
) Above the 10” defined hull section, however, the individual PDR builder/designer
had free reign. The creativity of design this “open” concept allows has made
the PDRacer one of the fastest growing small boat classes in the world.
Our first
PDR Hull #100 Lame Duck was typical
of these early PDR’s. Below is a photo that shows Lame Duck in the foreground and two of four other PDR’s that I helped others to build.
The 2008 Lake Vista/Hoosier Regatta. “Lame Duck” is the boat in the foreground.
Five PDRs participated
in the race. All had their hulls built in my workshop.
Although
some of these boats carried different sails, most of the hulls were
substantially alike on the exterior. Freeboard was about 15 ½” to 16”, bottoms
were ¼” 5-ply underlayment nailed to cedar chines cut to the rocker of the
bottom, and leeboards and rudders were made to kick up for sailing in Indiana’s
shallow lakes. One major difference was in the sail plans. While Lame Duck and another boat carried the
60 sq. ft. Bolger leg’ o’ mutton sail, two other boats carried a 75 sq. ft.
lateen and a 55 sq. ft. balanced lug sail according to the owners’ preferences.
The building plan and instructions for Lame
Duck are outlined in an article I wrote earlier called Camp Sailboat which
is posted on my web site at: http://www.polysail.com/Camp%20Sailboat.htm
One change
that we began to incorporate after Lame
Duck was building the sides with the frames already attached rather than
building the entire framework and then attaching the sides. A second innovation
that I tried on Tom Heiser’s #223 Amakusa Duck was to construct the Styrofoam flotation as a single removable unit
supporting a one-piece deck instead of just filling in the side frames with
foam and adding 2” of extra flotation around the inside of the boat. The
initial flotation unit was built from a single 4’ x 8’ sheet of 2” thick
Styrofoam. The basic premise behind the insert was that with the foam placed up
under the deck, there would be more flotation in that area, and if the boat were knocked down, the boat would float higher and little to
no water would be shipped over the decks. The foam insert concept was carried over to the Z-PDR, and subsequent flotation
tests validated that theory. The plans and pictures for that Styrofoam insert
for Tom’s boat are shown below. For the Z-PDR the insert height was cut down to 11.75 inches and
curved to fit the shape of the sides and bottom. Consequently, the shaped
Styrofoam provided even more support for the decks on the Z-PDR.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The last two photos show the
completed Syrofoam insert alongside the nearly completed hull.
Tom Heiser of
Wild Duck, hull # 143, was constructed in an
attempt to establish a new PDR world record for the amount of
sail carried. At the same time, I wanted Wild
Duck to carry a rig that would allow her to be sailed wing on wing downwind
for more speed. While the hull was similar to other PDRs I had built, the bow
featured a deck and mast steps to support up to three masts and sails.
I first
sailed Wild Duck at the 2007 Midwest
Messabout hosted by Jim Michalak at
I tested Wild Duck with various sail combinations
and found that, with her port-side-mounted leeboard, she was most easily
controlled with a single sail up in either the port or center
mast position. With a single sail up on the starboard side, the helm was
unpredictable. In 2008, I combined her 104 sq. ft. biplane rig with a 60 sq.
ft. leg o’ mutton sail to set a world record for the amount
of sail carried on a PDR.
|
|
|
|
|
Testing Wild Duck’s biplane rig |
This photo taken at |
Wild Duck setting
a PDR world record of 164 sq. ft. of sail carried. |
I considered
setting the Z-PDR up for a biplane rig as well, but I was afraid that with only
about 6” of mast bury, she could not support two large sails. However, the
large sail concept was not abandoned for the Z-PDR.
Besides her 58 sq. ft. sailboard-type sail that she carried on her first test,
the Z-PDR can hoist a 100 sq. ft. balanced lug or an 85 sq. ft. leg o’ mutton
sail on her extendable aluminum and bamboo mast.
During the
winter of 2007-2008, after discussing participating in the
·
An
all Styrofoam, fiberglass covered bottom;
·
A
roll-up cuddy cabin made from polytarp and sail window material;
·
Add-on exterior Styrofoam panels to make the boat class
legal.
This last
add-on feature led my 6 year-old grandson to dub Webfoot hull # 199 the “Transformer
Boat”, after his favorite movie at that time.
|
|
|
|
|
Webfoot concept |
Initial drawing and cardboard
mockup |
Bottom, showing extensions for
mounting sides to make the boat class legal |
|
|
|
|
|
Webfoot
goes 3-D. Assigned hull # 199. Note add-on sides |
Interior completed. Weight 54 lbs. |
Webfoot awaits
float tests on |
|
|
|
|
|
Canopy extended |
Wind pushes the lightweight Webfoot along at a comfortable pace.
Canopy acts like a small spinnaker downwind. |
This is the only picture I could
find of Webfoot under sail with her
sides on. The sail shown here was only 34 sq. ft. but pushed the boat along
nicely. |
Webfoot was completed
early in the summer of 2008 just in time for the first Hoosier Regatta.
However, no one was available to sail her in the race itself. She was sold in the fall of 2008 shortly before we moved to
With Webfoot I began
pushing the envelope on light weight hulls and cabin structure. I had used the
Styrofoam bottom previously in a 4’ x 8’ scow that was one of
five boats in the Hot Tub series I
had built. (See this account at http://www.polysail.com/boatnote.htm
) Boats of this size with a 2” Styrofoam bottom float high even when loaded and
will continue to float even with a substantial hole in the bottom. However, the
bottoms are easily damaged and are not easily shaped
to the extreme stern rocker of the PDRacer. The flat run of the Hot Tub scows, on the other hand, are
more suited for the lightweight foam bottoms. Although Webfoot’s hull was lightweight, the aluminum mast and wood kickup
rudder and leeboard added considerable weight to the structure. All would need
to be redesigned for the Z-PDR.
In
designing Webfoot’s canopy/cabin, I was faced with the question of how to support the structure
without much weight. I solved that problem by incorporating two mahogany lathe
arches on either side of the boat. These arches, in turn, supported two
crosspieces and the polytarp canopy. Each arch was made up
of two 3/16” thick x 2” wide lathing strips that were glued together while arched. The
resulting arches were incredibly strong for their weight and would support the
entire hull when turned upside down. I could also lift the boat by
grasping the extended handles on one of the cross pieces.
The strength and rigidity the arches added to this boat led me to slightly arch
the deck of the Z-PDR both bow to stern and gunwale to
gunwale. Those arches helped solve one of the primary problems with the
rectangular structures of the PDRacers—making the hull rigid.
Other
features of Webfoot that found their
way into the Z-PDR design were the low freeboard and extended bow concept. On Webfoot the bow transom is extended
above the deck by about 5” and supported on either side by pieces that were
left over from cutting the bow rocker from the 1” x 8” x 8’ cedar board that
forms the bottom chine. On the Z-PDR, instead of being in line with the sides,
these pieces were angled inward toward the bow, to both support the bow transom
extension and to support the mast partner. (See the photos below.)
|
|
|
|
Diagram shows how the piece removed
from the frame to form the bow rocker was reused to
support the bow transom. |
Angling these bow support pieces
across the deck helps strengthen the boat’s structure. |
One of the new
features of the Z-PDR is a kick-up rudder that is both attractive and
functional. The case and tiller are one piece and designed so that the outline
continues the rocker, then curves back to form the tiller. A single bolt holds
the rudder in place in the case, and a single length of shock cord holds the
rudder in the down position or, when the rudder is lifted
slightly, elevates the rudder high out of the water. Tightening the wing nut
pinches the sides of the case together and holds the rudder firmly in place.
This rudder case is a much more pleasing and functional design than I have seen
on most small boats, and it particularly suits the low
profile of the Z-PDR.
|
|
|
|
|
Rudder in the up position |
Rudder in the down position |
Case fitted to the stern transom |
I designed
Z to be a racing PDR, so the cockpit is bare bones and the ride will probably
be wet. I coated the floor in the stern half with a sand
finish paint for traction when moving from side deck to side deck. It is intended to be a “sit on” hull, not a “sit in” hull. A
hiking plank across the decks is not out of the question.
To optimize
her for racing, Z-PDR will have multiple sail, mast, and leeboard options. Currently,
I have four sail options: A 58 sq. ft. battened sailboard-type sail, a 65 sq.
ft. leg o’ mutton, an 85 sq. ft. leg o’ mutton, and a 100 sq. ft. high aspect
balanced lug sail. Each sail has its own mast
requirements, but by using a sectional mast, the mast length can
be extended from 15’ to 18’ 6”. The basic 15’ mast has two 4’ aluminum
sections and one 8’ bamboo section. This mast weighs in at
just over 7 lb. and will float. This mast can be used
for three of the four sails. If all goes as planned, only the 85 sq. ft. leg o’
mutton with its 17’ + luff will require the additional 4’ aluminum extension.
Four
leeboards may also be available for the Z-PDR. One of the larger ones will have
to be used on Wild
Duck, but the others can be used at will. Three of the four boards are
asymmetrical, while one is symmetrical and weighted. “Fat Bastard” is a short,
nearly square board that will put over 440 sq. inches down in the water with a
total length of only about three feet. On the other hand, the Big A… asymetrical Board is nearly as tall as I am, but with its
hollow core is very lightweight. One thing that hasn’t
changed much is my preference for a leeboard over a dagger board or center
board. Once you build a trunk, it’s not easy to change
boards except to make one longer or shorter.
Leeboard selection for the Z. “Fat
Bastard” is the unpainted cedar board with the slot.
The Z-PDR awaits further testing at the Worlds in October. Skids and a
seat might be in her future if she fails to perform as a racing PDR.
November 2009 Update
The 2009
World Championship race at
On Monday,
October 5, my son and I trailered the Z-PDR out to
Tuesday,
Wednesday, and even part of Thursday morning were given over to repairs on both
boats instead of beginning the loading process. I added two skids, repaired the
hull, and epoxied the boom back together on the Z-PDR. Wild Duck got some repairs to her mast steps, gunwales, and stern,
as well as some touch ups to the paint job. As a result, I arrived at the
campground at
|
|
|
|
|
Rigging Wild Duck. On the left is John Wright’s lightweight
PDR with the oval sail. The Z-PDR is in the middle. (Tim Cleary Photo) |
Ryan
launches for the start of race #1. The starting buoy and boat can be seen in the background. (This photo and all the
following photos in this table courtesy of Ruth Leber) |
Ryan leads
a pack off the line in race #1. Notice the variety of sail types. |
|
|
|
|
|
Wild Duck was performing well downwind, but
I had already lost a half lap to the Z-PDR and the Bloody Splinter in the background |
Ryan leads
Australian legend and designer of the OZ PDRs Michael Storer on a run
downwind. Eventual winner Shawn Payment is in the red boat in the background. |
Ryan pulls
the Z ashore after an exhausting day of three races. |
|
|
||
|
Here’s a good look at the 58 sq. ft.
sailboard-type sail with its sprit boom and small sprit spar. Ryan needs to
be forward a bit to balance the Z |
||
In the end,
the Z-PDR probably did about as well as could be expected
with so little testing. Since we had only successfully tested one sail, we
decided to use the small 58 sq. ft. sail for the races. A sail of this size was
a decided handicap against many of the sails that approached 90 sq. ft., but
the sail, design, and sailing skills of my son held up well against the
competition, placing 4th against 13 other boats. Ryan might have placed higher still,
if I hadn’t asked him to help me out of a bad
anchorage at the start of the third race. Even though he ran back to launch his
boat, he was unable to get to the starting line in time for the horn.
Consequently, the Z-PDR started race three at the back of the pack and never
fully recovered since that race was only one lap. Wild Duck, on the other hand, was a disappointment, finishing 10th
overall. As a result of a misplaced board, turns invariably ended with the boat in irons, and her 104 sq. ft. of
sail area could not make up for that problem on fast downwind runs.
Update, Summer 2010: Z-Duck Kits Appear at the Wooden Boat Show
Just before
the deadline of May 15, I responded to a request from Carl Cramer, publisher of
Wooden Boat, to bring PDRacer Kits to
the Family Boatbuilding Event at the Wooden Boat Show in Mystic, Connecticut.
The event was scheduled for the weekend of June 25-27
and the kits would have to be assembled on the premises in two and one-half
days and launched on Sunday. I committed to bring at least one PDRacer Kit to
the event because I thought that the PDRacer needed to have more exposure with
traditional wooden boat enthusiasts and the national audience that this show
would draw. Besides, I wanted to introduce PolySails to the
According
to Carl, all I needed to do was provide a little
information on the kit and price it then he would take care of the rest. Since
I didn’t have any kits yet, I sent him a picture of
the Z-PDR and told him that this would be the boat kit we would be offering and
provided him with a price of $450.00 for the kit. Carl responded that he
thought the price was too low, but he was confident that we would attract
buyers for the kits. I spent the next few hours trying to figure potential
expenses, and finally came to the conclusion that he
was absolutely right. If the kit were to be built with
quality wood, boatbuilding foam, stainless screws and hardware, and then
epoxied at the show, the expenses would run well beyond my initial guesstimate.
Not only that, but I would have 2600 miles and five days of travel expenses to
factor in. I planned to email Carl the next morning to raise the price by $200
and provide him with an ad before he put out his first “blast” email to “39,000
of his closest friends.” Unfortunately, the blast email went out with copy
written by one of Carl’s staffers before I could respond. Damage control took the form of a hurriedly
assembled “Z-Duck Kit Information Page” on my website at http://www.polysail.com/Z-Duck%20Kit.htm and a “Z-Duck Kit Brochure” that
listed a marine plywood option for $550. http://www.polysail.com/Z-Duck%20Kit%20Brochure.htm
(This page initially appears blank, but scroll down and you will see the brochure.)
Later that same day, a lady by the name of Carol
Roffly emailed me to say she would like to build one of my kits at the show. I
was elated when she also said that she would like to build the marine plywood
option.
Because
Carol’s email was the only one received from Carl’s first email blast, I
considered pulling out. I thought one kit in the face of several being built by other well-known boatbuilders might look a
little pathetic and cast the PDRacers and PolySail in a bad light. In the end, though, I
decided that decision would be irresponsible, so I set about putting together
the first Z-Duck Kit using a rough sketch, templates of the designated hull
sides, and other components, that I’d kept from previous builds after first
checking to see if they matched the new, closer tolerances that were just being
published by David “Shorty” Routh, the designer of the PDRacer. In fact,
since the new tolerances had not yet been published, I
decided to work on the sail, mast, sprit boom, rudder, and other components
before starting the sides and transoms. Later, I decided to continue with the
hull because the templates were off less than ½” from the original designated
hull requirements, and I didn’t expect them to be
tightened much more than that if Shorty wanted novices to continue building
PDRacers.
Several
problems presented themselves immediately: May and June are my busiest months
in terms of constructing sails and selling sail kits and this was an altogether
new initiative. I was about to be a grandfather again and I was babysitting my
granddaughter while my son was at work because my daughter-in-law had been
prescribed bed rest. I had never been to the Wooden Boat Show before and I was
set up to build sails, not kits. My woodworking equipment is not very
extensive. My tablesaw, for example, disappeared in the move from
|
|
|
|
|
The mast and sprit boom were among
the first pieces I completed. |
Carol wanted a red-trimmed leg o’
mutton sail. |
Here’s a view of the cedar framing
backing up the 4mm Meranti sides. I wanted the kit components to be
substantial, but light. |
|
|
|
|
|
Here the frame has been completed
and a temporary spreader inserted in preparation for screwing on the 6 mm, 5
ply, Okoume bottom. |
The bottom is
screwed on. |
Next, the foam support pieces are added. I don’t like cutting
foam, but I like it for its lightness, flotation, and for the stiffness it
adds to the boat. |
|
|
|
|
|
The deck
support piece is dropped in to finish off the foam
insert. Later, an additional 3” of
foam was added to each side for further support. |
Two more
components are cut and readied—the wishbone rudder
case and the leeboard. Both of these boards were smaller than the ones
carried by the original Z-PDR. |
Finally,
the keelson, deck, bow transom and mast partner support pieces are fitted
onto Kit #1. Note the fender washers protecting the wood surface from the
screws holding on the stern transom. |
By the end
of the first week of June, my grandson had been born and my routine was back to
normal. I felt that I had the single kit project pretty well
in hand. I had managed to keep up with most sail and sail kit orders,
and the Z-Duck Kit had only a few days’ work to be finished. Then Carl Cramer
emailed me to let me know that he was planning another email blast, and he
wondered whether I could put together more kits. After a moment of indecision,
I told him that I thought I could get one more ready by the show, but that
there was no way I could do more than that. That seemed to satisfy him, but I
was feeling very apprehensive. A couple of days later, the blast went out and I
received another order, this time from a husband and wife team named Dean and
Susan Herring from North Carolina for the basic $450 kit. My work was cut out for me.
I had two
sides already cut to the pattern of the original Z-PDR, so to save time I
decided to go ahead and use them. These sides had the slightly curved sheer of
the original whereas Kit #1 had the straight sheer of the rough drawing I used
for guidance. Although the boats would not be exactly alike, I wasn’t too concerned based upon their potential use. Carol
planned to use hers for cruising so the slightly higher bow and stern would be
an advantage for her. Dean thought he might do a little racing with his hull,
so a little additional weight lost in the bow and stern would
not be missed.
The
preparation of Kit #2 became a race against time. I put off building sails for
nearly all of June, while I worked hard to complete the kits and prepare for
the 1300-mile trip to
|
|
|
|
|
June 20. Checking the step angle of
Kit #2 for verticality |
Checking the fit of the deck cover
at the transoms. |
Making certain that the mast fits.
My son’s trailer sits in the background. |
|
|
|
|
|
June 21. Sorting out all I needed
to take with me. I left the next day. |
June 24. Safe
arrival in Mystic Seaport where I met Dean and Susan Herring. |
|
As I was
packing to leave, I found that I didn’t have a sail for
Kit #2. I thought I had an additional Leg o’ Mutton sail with red trim in
inventory, but it must have been sold. Fortunately, I
had a leg o’ mutton blank sewed up that lacked only trim and grommets. I
quickly trimmed it, stitched up the corners, added the grommets, and packed the
sail up with its rigging kit in a plastic bag. Three days later, I rolled into
the grounds of the
As it
turned out, Carl had blessed us with one of the best locations possible, just
inside the North admission gate. Nearly anyone who entered that gate had to
come past our temporary boatbuilding spot. We shared the site with a kit
company from the State of
Our time at
the event went quickly. Our building teams generally worked from 8:00 am until
5:00 each day except the last. Each of our kit builders contributed a popup
shelter, and my friend from New Hampshire Nate Carey was an able co-instructor
who selflessly donated his time and tools to the cause. I, on the other hand,
seemed to spend more time explaining PDRacers to interested spectators than
providing direction to the building teams. I quickly exhausted my supply of
PDRacer brochures and resorted to using a poster/collage I had put together in
the motels on my three-day journey north to illustrate my spiel.
Famous designers such as Dudley Dix and Harry Bryan stopped by; Carl regularly
checked on our progress and provided added encouragement. “Two kits this year,”
he exclaimed. “Next year, fourteen! We’ll have to put
you in that field over there.” He was consistently very positive.
On launch day the kit boats were epoxied, rigged, and ready just after
noon, the scheduled launch time; but upon the request of the other builder,
whose boat wasn’t ready for the water, the launch was pushed back to 3:00 pm. As a consequence, we lost some of our spectators, but we
still had a crowd when we carried our kit boats down to the dinghy dock for launch.
I was apprehensive but extremely proud of our boats and building teams. I needn’t have worried. The launches were flawless. Dean
splashed first and was soon out of sight somewhere across the
|
|
||
|
The family
boatbuilding site—our workshop for nearly three days. Carol and one of her
friends are in the foreground; Dean and his wife Susan are in the background.
My poster and sample sails and sail kit are on the right. |
||
|
|
|
|
|
Dean and
Susan plug screw holes with bamboo skewers dipped in PL Premium |
Carol and
her friend Arlene sand foils in preparation for the first coat of epoxy. |
Kit #2 is epoxied and ready for the foam insert and decking. Time for lunch! |
|
|
|
|
|
Nate helps Carol rig her sail. |
Our launch T’s: “Puddle Ducks Can
Be Deceptive” |
The Z-Ducks wait patiently for
security to open the gate. The guards never did come, so the boats were
hoisted over to waiting hands. |
|
. |
|
|
|
Dean rounds the shuttle and tacks
off across the river |
Carol launches and heads out in a
light breeze. |
Another successful launch! |
What’s
next for the Z-PDR? Well, testing her arsenal of sails and
foils for one thing. Then we’ll see what the future
holds.
|
|
|
|
|
60 sq. ft. racing weight leg o’
mutton on 17’ 6” mast. |
85 sq. ft. leg o mutton with
window. Mast
extended to 20’ 4” |
100 sq. ft. balanced lug sail. Mast reduced to 12’. |
PolySail International
Email polysail@polysail.com or call Dave Gray at 317
385-3444
PolySails–Sold on the Web since
1996. Customers in all 50 states and around the globe.
This page
updated on 7/13/2010