Mike
29-04-2009, 01:03 PM
Here's John's great little daysailer, Truant. What makes this an outstanding design is her ability to keep her crew safe even when swamped. Note that John uses this same principle in others of his stable, including his fantastic Houdini, and his new Pilgrim employs the same kind of design principles.
Here are a few pics from John's own website, followed by some great photos of one beautifully built by Grahame Harris, a close neighbour of John's in New Zealand (the boat with the pretty yellow hull). Great shots of a great build, Grahame. Thanks to both of you for these. :toast: And to Grahame, very well done. :approval:
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And here is what JW says about Truant himself:
“Truant”, designed for those who want to play hookey, is a very capable daysailer, with enough performance to be fun, small enough to go onto a garden trailer rather than a custom boat trailer, big enough to take a couple of less limber adults and their camping or picnic gear or a small mob of teenagers away for a small adventure. She is so designed that she will be comfortable to sail, dry in most weather, capable beyond almost anything else of her size and almost impossible to capsize. Her wide beam and smallish centreboard cause her to slide off sideways rather than tip out, her generous freeboard and wide decks help keep the water outside where it belongs and she has so much enclosed locker and air tank space inside that should the unimaginable happen there is enough buoyancy to float her crew completely clear of the water when fully swamped.
This is an excellent boat for first timers to build. Note she can be used as a motor/fishing boat or as a dinghy for sailing. To read more about her, please go to John's own website - click here (http://www.jwboatdesigns.co.nz/plans/truant/index.htm).
Here are a few pics from John's own website, followed by some great photos of one beautifully built by Grahame Harris, a close neighbour of John's in New Zealand (the boat with the pretty yellow hull). Great shots of a great build, Grahame. Thanks to both of you for these. :toast: And to Grahame, very well done. :approval:
327 325 326 328
329 330 331
And here is what JW says about Truant himself:
“Truant”, designed for those who want to play hookey, is a very capable daysailer, with enough performance to be fun, small enough to go onto a garden trailer rather than a custom boat trailer, big enough to take a couple of less limber adults and their camping or picnic gear or a small mob of teenagers away for a small adventure. She is so designed that she will be comfortable to sail, dry in most weather, capable beyond almost anything else of her size and almost impossible to capsize. Her wide beam and smallish centreboard cause her to slide off sideways rather than tip out, her generous freeboard and wide decks help keep the water outside where it belongs and she has so much enclosed locker and air tank space inside that should the unimaginable happen there is enough buoyancy to float her crew completely clear of the water when fully swamped.
This is an excellent boat for first timers to build. Note she can be used as a motor/fishing boat or as a dinghy for sailing. To read more about her, please go to John's own website - click here (http://www.jwboatdesigns.co.nz/plans/truant/index.htm).