Welcome to my website!:
The boating community covers a really wide spectrum. We are
at home on the sea, lake or river, where we race and cruise all kinds
of craft - sailing, rowing or powering. Every one of these activities
has a great many followers and I think this diversity is great.
My own area of interest is: kayaks, sailing dinghies and yachts. Lately
I have added planing powerboats to this list.
Although I have taken part in club racing and thoroughly enjoyed it,
my choice of sailing and boating is more cruising oriented.
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My leaning towards cruising and exploring goes way back to my kayaking time. I used to enjoy paddling in the
backwaters of the Danube river, exploring the wonderful natural habitat and often chancing on unsuspecting deer or otters.
This spirit of exploration culminated in a circumnavigation on "Tamara", the
gaff-rigged cruiser I designed and built for that purpose.
All this past experience influences my approach to
design, construction and fitting-out of small craft.
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My design
philosophy:
- Designing for simplicity, which is more difficult than
designing for complexity.
- Using appropriate technology - today that has to include the epoxy
stitch and glue method for small craft.
- Innovation in employing technology coupled with tested and proven
methods of construction.
- Ensuring that key components like rudders, keels, anchoring systems
will not fail you.
Materials of construction:
- My bias for boats that will go cruising is steel construction, closely
followed by aluminium.
- Plywood construction produces light and strong boats and although
mostly employed for one-off building is suitable for moderate production
runs.
- Polyester/epoxy glass construction tends to be more suited to series
construction than one off, but there are two methods that I have used
that are suitable for one off's.
Sail rigs:
- I have had an on-going romance with the simplicity of gaff, as
evidenced in my own yacht.
- For sailing dinghies I find the "Gunter" gaff rig very useful in
keeping spars short. This rig really comes into its own if the gaff runs
parallel to the mast, which leads to sailing qualities comparable to
Bermudan rigged boats.
- On a yacht's tender or small sailing dinghy, I feel that either a sprit sail or a lug sail will be a good utility rig and
will stow inside the dink and provide simple and enjoyable propulsion
while also being lots of fun for the kids.
- Having said that, a Bermudan rig will be first choice for many and all my
designs can be had rigged like that.
Design range:
- Sailing and rowing dinghies starting from an 8' (2.4m) pram
- Cruising sail boats from 28 - 50' (8.5 - 15m)
- Medium sized planing power boats for pleasure and fishing
From the smallest sailing dink to a cruiser that will take you around
the world - I can tailor a boat to suit your requirements and pocket!
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For further information or for ordering of plans, contact me by email:
Winfried
at WaveDancer-Yacht Design