Concept of my Rx2 Sailing Skiff

Concept of the Rx2:

I am hoping to build a boat that is:

• Light Weight
• Cheap and easy to build
• Fast off the wind!
• Simple to sail fast (minimal sail controls)

Everything in boat design is a compromise and I am under no illusion to achieve the above I need to make some serious compromises. I believe the weakest points of this design will be as follows:

• Unimpressive upwind performance -  Reason: A 10 foot boat with a rudimentary hull profile
• Poor handling in bumpy water - Reason: Simple hull shape for an easy build

Here is a first photograph of the prototype I am knocking up, I am using styrofoam and 3.2mm ply to make a light but stiff base hull. I haven't put it on the scales but it is very light! All the rocker is up front with a flat rocker aft to promote early planing.

I still need to add the raised gunwales so this doesn't give a clear picture of the final shape.

Check out my kayak sailing adventures here!

Hatching of a Plan - My Rx2 Sailing Skiff

For a while now I have been toying with an idea to build a lightweigt easy to live with, low cost sailing skiff that anyone with a bit of DIY knowledge could build.

I have started building the prototype and will use this blog to give progress reports. In the mean time check out my web site for info on my kayak sailing interests

Here is a planing catamaran I built a few years back, it was fast off the wind but was a little too fiddly to assemble and heavier than I had anticipated. That being said it was great fun to sail and I would still like to develop the idea of such a cat in the future.