Had to laugh at this photo

[Steve Blair]

I had to laugh when I saw this photo
http://hoofersailingclubsailors.googlegroups.com/web/P5230078.JPG?hl=en

My little Puddle Duck Racer 'Squirt' keeps showing up in photos. :P
Funny that the largest, (?most valuable?) boat in the hoofer fleet
sits next to the "cheapest and easiest boat in the world to build".

To anyone that wants a boat of their own but doesn't think they have
the ability... You can built a PDRacer in a week, for less than
$300. Mine was around $350 when I built it, and I used at least $50
in stainless hardware (which you really don't need). At least one boat
was built with just $150.
Despite the quirky looks, they really do sail quite well, and there's
no quicker or cheaper way to get on the water with your own boat.

http://pdracer.com
http://homepage.mac.com/peterhyndman/Sites/PDRinfo/index.html

And if you really need a more detailed plan than a set of offset
numbers, there are the incredibly detailed OZ PDRacer plans for $20.
It'll cost you more to build one of these, but they're very light
(60lbs) compared to my boat's 110 lb hull.
http://www.storerboatplans.com/Pdr/pdr.html

[Watson]

Wow, Stephen, I didn't realize it was that cheap! $350? I mean,
cheaper than a bicycle? Maybe Hoofers should build a fleet of these
annually as a project, like in the 1940s and 1950s when Hoofer members
were known to fix their boats in the spring on the lakeshore after a
long winter. Compared to modern Badger Techs costing $8,000, that is
alot of bang for the club dinghy buck!

On Jun 2, 8:40 am, Steve Blair <millenniumt...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I had to laugh when I saw this photohttp://hoofersailingclubsailors.googlegroups.com/web/P5230078.JPG?hl=en

>
> My little Puddle Duck Racer 'Squirt' keeps showing up in photos.  :P
> Funny that the largest, (?most valuable?) boat in the hoofer fleet
> sits next to the "cheapest and easiest boat in the world to build".
>
> To anyone that wants a boat of their own but doesn't think they have
> the ability...  You can built a PDRacer in a week, for less than
> $300.  Mine was around $350 when I built it, and I used at least $50
> in stainless hardware (which you really don't need). At least one boat
> was built with just $150.
> Despite the quirky looks, they really do sail quite well, and there's
> no quicker or cheaper way to get on the water with your own boat.
>

> http://pdracer.comhttp://homepage.mac.com/peterhyndman/Sites/PDRinfo/index.html

[Steve Blair]

Sure. You can build one with 3 sheets of plywood, construction
adhesive, exterior latex paint and ZERO epoxy.

My boat has some epoxy for waterproofing inside the airtanks and
holding a few bits together (mast step, hatch covers, rudder hinge),
but the rest is construction adhesive and a $10 box of stainless deck
screws.

The OZ PDRs specify that you fiberglass the bottom for durability, and
those boats generally come out to around $5-800.

The boats can be built in 2 weeks easily and have been known to get on
the water with as little as 2-4 HOURS work, if all the panels are pre-
cut and finished.

It would be neat to see a small boat building class centered around
these boats.
And if one of them gets dismasted, you can buy a new one at home
depot. :P

You could easily rig them with old tech sails, or you can be
traditional and just use a tarp.

On Jun 2, 4:07 pm, Watson <michaelrwat...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Wow, Stephen, I didn't realize it was that cheap!  $350? I mean,
> cheaper than a bicycle?  Maybe Hoofers should build a fleet of these
> annually as a project, like in the 1940s and 1950s when Hoofer members
> were known to fix their boats in the spring on the lakeshore after a
> long winter.  Compared to modern Badger Techs costing $8,000, that is
> alot of bang for the club dinghy buck!
>
> On Jun 2, 8:40 am, Steve Blair <millenniumt...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I had to laugh when I saw this photohttp://hoofersailingclubsailors.googlegroups.com/web/P5230078.JPG?hl=en
>
> > My little Puddle Duck Racer 'Squirt' keeps showing up in photos.  :P
> > Funny that the largest, (?most valuable?) boat in the hoofer fleet
> > sits next to the "cheapest and easiest boat in the world to build".
>
> > To anyone that wants a boat of their own but doesn't think they have
> > the ability...  You can built a PDRacer in a week, for less than
> > $300.  Mine was around $350 when I built it, and I used at least $50
> > in stainless hardware (which you really don't need). At least one boat
> > was built with just $150.
> > Despite the quirky looks, they really do sail quite well, and there's
> > no quicker or cheaper way to get on the water with your own boat.
>

> >http://pdracer.comhttp://homepage.mac.com/peterhyndman/Sites/PDRinfo/...