Some Articles on My Boats

Recently two came out, one in Small Boats Monthly and the other on the brand new, UK-based Barnacle Bill. Small Boats covered the Calendar Islands Yawl and Barnacle Bill had a piece by a customer in the UK who has built and avidly rows a Drake 17.

http://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/calendar-islands-yawl/

A Calendar Islands Yawl based in Duluth, MN

http://www.joomag.com/mag/0021558001447415734

The orogonal Drake 17 rowed by me in one of the Small Reach Regattas

Sorry these may not show much unless you have a subscription. Believe it or not I don't read much boats stuff....but these are very well worth he money. Both rags will require good contact and readership. So far the writing is excellent!


KDI Pricing

The ‪#‎KDI‬ kit pricing is in. The 15-sheet, CNC-cut kit ready for shipment to you will be $3,165.70. That is the entire boat's worth of plywood CNC cut and the plans set which includes 28- 11x17 sheets in a nice binder, a full manual, and a sheet of full size patterns. The boat will also be available built from plans. The plans set alone (with manual) is on sale for $225.00. Price is good for the rest of 2015.

One of the original KDI's sailing in Maine.

November at the Studio

Progress on mkII Deer Isle Koster

The new KDI kit in CAD file view

Files and plans are in the last week or two of development for the KDI, mkII. I am taking orders for kits and plans. There are four excited builders waiting for them to arrive. Won't you join them!?

Many want to know the changes from MkI. Mainly, the boat has been brought back up to the original 5'10" beam that Bruce drew on the original KDI's. Another change is that the nearly flat garboards and solid wood keel have been replaced by a piece of 3/8" plywood and the first two planks. The joints are glassed and the bottom sheathed (see hatch markes in picture below). This will make building simpler and alow the builder to make a very durable bottom for beaching. The mk II wll be roomier inside and I expect it to have faster off-wind speeds. The specs for the new KDI are below.

KDI SPECS

LOA 14'

BEAM 5'10"

LWL  12'5"

Beam WL 51 1/4"

draft 5"

Displace. 595 lbs

Sail area 97 SF


Happy September!

Late Summer Update and Announcement

The KDI project is fully funded thanks to a group of enthusiastic sponsors. Thank you! I now have a lot of work to do through October!

Drake Raceboat in perspective (more screenshots below)
In November and December I hope to have funding to further develop the Drake Raceboat. A campaign to get this crowdfunded begins. Three sponsors at $600 each (or six at $300) will get the project funded and you will get a full suite of plans, and preferred status for first kit cutting with a 10% discount. Please contact me at boatkits@gmail.com if interested. The final design brief for the DRB is as follows:

  • A fast rowboat in the Drake spirit optimized for single, fixed- or sliding-seat rowing
  • Ideal for fitness rowing and the open water racing curcuit 
  • 18'3" LOA (kit) stretchable up to 20' by spacing out molds (plans)
  • Waterline length almost 17', 27 1/2" waterline beam
  • Max beam is set at 4' so boat can be rowed in fixed seat class with 8 1/2' oars
  • Sliding seat is an equal option in this boat, the Poseidon rig being the ideal, using sculling length oars
  • Oarlocks for sliding seat can be mounted using Shaw and Tenney oarlock brackets or a custom made outrigger that fastens to gunwales (TBD)
  • 5 kts speed potential race pace with 6kts in sprints
  • Flotation tanks optional in sides or ends, but more likely flotation bags will be used and canvas decks to shed water
  • Glued lapstrake construction, 4 strakes per side (4mm), no fiberglass 
  • Estimated weight below 75 lbs at kit length
  • Numbers from computer model"
Cp = 0.58
Volume Displacement = 306 lbs
Center of Buoyancy = 53.9% aft
Wetted Surface Area = 27.74 sf
Waterline Length = 16' 11 1/2"
Maximum Waterline Beam = 27.6781"
Water Plane Area = 24.5 sf
Center of Floatation = 53% aft
MSA 70.1711896 (+/- 1e-08) square inches




More screenshots from the computer model of the DRB