Swiss Spindrift 11N - Building & Testing

[Axel]

Dear all,

this is just to summarize and comment on my building and testing phase, which ended this summer.

The Lake of Constance is a mostly calm lake, the climate being continental. It forms parts of the borderline of Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

I had the desire to cruise the lake for years, but even a dry storage place near the shore is a very expensive option, not to speak about a marina berth. So, I decided that a sailing/rowing dinghy which could be taken over the shoulder and being assembled and rigged in knee-deep water would have the best cost/fun ratio. The boat had to be an excellent drifter as well as a good rowboat. Camping-cruising should be easily possible. These requirements pointed towards a one-off.

The idea of a nesting dinghy intrigued me, so I looked for plans. I found two very good designs: Danny Greene

[Axel]

To be able to drift in light winds, I enlarged the luff of the sail, which was a good decision. A lacing system, however, would have been more appropriate for my cruising dinghy.

[Axel]

Nothing feels overbuilt, everything is functional. The rig is highly effective, but needs comparatively more hardware from the sailing store (in this case: from B& than traditional rigs with four-sided sails. In the small boat, the sailing clutter takes amazingly much room. I did not find a proper way to sleep in the boat yet.

[Garry]

Wow! Beautiful job Axel. And great write up.

[Dogdad]

Thank you for the writeup!

There are some interesting articles on sailing canoes here:

http://www.westsystem.com/ewmag/16/index16.html

[Norman Colter]

Thanks for sharing. I've recently ordered plans for a spindrift 11. More convinced that it's the right choice now.

Norm