Windsprint

Hi there. I really enjoy your web site (it's one I visit often). I have sent some pictures of a modified Bolger Windsprint. The modifications made were the addition of a fore and aft deck, enclosed to ensure plenty of buoyancy, swapping the lee board for a daggerboard case, adding two thwarts and using a sprit rig and jib instead of the lug rig suggested.

She sails very well and is really responsive at the helm, I find with my 110kg perched on the aft deck I need a crew member up front to keep the bow in the water. I have sailed her with 2 adults and three small children on board and it always surprises me just how much freeboard there always is. With the sprit rig I can get her to sail pretty close to the wind and off the wind she's a dream.

This is the second boat that I have attempted and I think the bug must have bitten because I now feel that the family 'needs' a boat that we can use for extended camping trips. We are very fortunate in New Zealand to be only hours away from the coast no matter where you live and also to have 'heaps' of inland lakes that are wonderful for day sailing or sailer/camping. I have been looking at Matt Layden's site and think his designs are very interesting, perhaps on a larger scale? Well who knows???

Wayne Mason
Napier
New Zealand
mason@globe.net.nz 


 

Home | Articles | Books | Columns | Projects | Links | Subscribe | Boat Index