20 foot race boat (NZ)

[Chilli Dog]

A couple of people have messaged me asking about the boat I posted a picture of when I was pulling Charles's leg last week .
So here is the story behind it . the boat , not Charles Large's leg .

In New Zealand some of the organised seagull races have no class distinctions for motor or boat type , you turn up , pay homage to safety ,a small event fee and away you go . In others including the premier race on the calendar there are classes , divided by motor type , level of tune or non seagull components and boat type .
with out going to explain all history and the politics behind it , boat classes are divided into a number of groups and must meet a small number of criteria .
1 dinghy .must have at least 3.5 length to width ratio and be over 10 feet
2 Classic Bermudian .minimum length 12 ft with 3.5 ratio two person 150kg minimum
3 New Bermudian . minimum length 12 ft Max 20 ft one bow no out riggers two persons 150 kg minimum
4 Open .( any hull )

Racing dingy class as I did in my first year was fun , but being on the heavy side with body weight I was giving away to much to be really competitive , plus I was hoping to stay dry and after often admiring my friend Tinkers boat , I thought 20 footers were the way to go .

[Chilli Dog]

One of my other seagull buddies Adrian built a his first 20 footer out of bendy ply , a ply with the grain running mostly in one direction , makes it very easy to curve , and snap I might point out .
below is his boat .

[Chilli Dog]

I had other ideas for a 20 footer ,and that design will be brought out for another day , but I wanted it to be dry , capable of cruising with a number on board . stable , fast and able to turn.
Adrians build method sowed the seed and with limited time I rushed together a boat of similar proportions to tinkers . these are some pictures of how it came together

[Chilli Dog]

the bow section is soaked in water and folded and left to dry

[Chilli Dog]

bow section

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bow section aft view

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Just join the sheets

[Chilli Dog]

I then screwed timber to stabilize the gunnel and worked out the transom .

[Chilli Dog]

the reason the boat is so wide is because it then meets the 3.5 ratio rule and complies as a dinghy or a classic bermudian as well as a new bermudian class so I have flexibility as to which class I run in . Though it floats on a narrow water line at rest or moving it is very inherently stable and dry

[Chilli Dog]

turn the boat over and tidy up the joins with filler

[Chilli Dog]

lay cloth over the hull

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ready to wet out

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wetting out under way

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turn back up right trim rails and fix fore deck and side decks

[Chilli Dog]

side decks