Congratulations!

I just got back from Worlds 2014. Everyone had a great time, it was even more fun that I had expected, and I was expecting a lot!

I will be sending lot more detail soon, once I have the chance to write it all down and organize my thoughts and my pictures. In the mean time I am happy to tell you that "Super" Dave Sanborn is the official Puddle Duck Racer Worlds 2014 Champion! He finished in second place in each of the heats and won with a score of 4.

We had 13 PDR's show up to race, each was measured and found to be legal. 3 never started and some others didn't finish due to equipment failures. The second heat was delayed about 1/2 hour to allow a salvage crew to be sent after one PDR that sailed off at full speed, down wind, across the bay, with no one aboard. :) Over the course of the day we had three over eager boats try the same thing, but eventually the racing was complete and we had a champion. 

Congratulations to our new champion, "Super" Dave Sanborn. 

Eric C.
Http://www.PDRHou.com

$13 Floating Lazyboy

Video 1 - Video 2

Thanks again,  
Robb Moffett

The 2014 Hui Wharram

The 2014 Spring Hui Wharram (Hui is Hawaiian for “Gathering”) held in Islamorada Florida at the famous Lorelei Cabana Bar (www.loreleicabanabar.com) was a success again this year.  Nearly 70 people attended during the weekend and spent quite some time crawling all over and sailing the six Wharram catamarans that made it to the event.  More than fifty of these visitors attended our Dutch treat dinner on Saturday evening and many were pleased to win one of the door prizes.

The Fabulous Florida Keys provided plenty of sunshine but lots of wind, unfortunately a little too much and from exactly the wrong direction for some to get here.  Quite a bit of chop and some very heavy seas beyond the reef in the Florida Straits toward the Bahamas dissuaded even some of our usual stalwarts.  Isn’t that often the case???  Mother nature and Poseidon are a powerful team, especially when they are a little annoyed with each other!

We were fortunate to have a new build Tiki 38 and a new build Hitia 17 here.  Both beautifully executed.  The 38 left for Panama after the Hui.  There was also a Tiki 21, Tiki 26, Pahi 31 and a Tangaroa 36 to see…a good variety of styles and sizes to see and compare.  Some of the attendees are active builders and others are considering which model they want to start on or are looking to buy.

We had door prizes provided by James Wharram Designs (www.wharram.com), Charles and Corinne Kanter (www.sailcopress.com), Frank Papy (www.cruisingguidetothefloridakeys.com), Scott B. Williams (www.scottbwilliams.com), The Lorelei (www.loreleicabanabar.com), Cruising Outpost (www.cruisingoutpost.com) and  Seal-It Gaskets (www.seal-it.com). 

Each year we also give out our most coveted “Host Awards” (meaning I decide what the categories are and who wins them!)…these are the weather-beaten laminated signs that hang at the Lorelei for months and advertise the event.  Each comes with appropriate twine lashing that were used to hang them to their designated palm tree – in true Wharram beam-lashing tradition.  These are often used to decorate a Captain’s cabin and can also be used as place mats or puppy pooper scoopers or bottom scrapers.  They are our most cherished awards (OK, a little over hype here!).

The categories and winners of this year’s awards are (last names are deleted to protect the innocent):
.Worst Slog to Get Here – Greg and Barbara – Pahi 31 (8 Days to Windward)
.Embarrassment Award –“ My Boat Will Absolutely Be Ready and There This Year” – Thom – Tiki 31
.Greatest Distance Traveled from Home Port to Get To The Hui – Zui – Shanghi, China
.Best Small New Build – Omar and Marge – Hitia 17
.Best Large New Build – Brenden and Alesia – Tiki 38
.Best New Buy – Brandon – Tangaroa 36 (He bought my Tangaroa! And I got a Tiki 21.)
.Our  Inspirational Leader, Oldest Active Wharramite at 88, and Best (Only?) Polynesian Female Dancer Hand Painted Shirt – As always Gene Perry, for without Gene these Hui’s would never have happened!  Thank you Gene for keeping us true to our cause and course. 

If you wish to be on the email list for announcements about the next Hui Wharram please drop an email to floridawharramrendezvous@hotmail.com and request being put on the list.  Fair winds to all!

See you next year.  Fair winds, Dan.

Need for Speed

There’s this thing I’ll call The Need for Speed that seems to intrude now and again.  Even, among we more rational sailboat types.  Basically, if you have a boat and a motor with an advanceable throttle;  sooner or later we’re all gonna’ give it a push to the stops.  I admit as much as the next guy, the slam-back effect of a small skiff leaping from 3 knots at half throttle to a “screaming” three-point-seven-five with that 1 pony’s throat simply gulping air and gas is just about as compelling as maybe hitting red line on your neighbor’s metal flake bass boat.  It’s the same ball cap turned backwards.  It’s the same grin of sheer devilmaycare.  OK.  It’s not quite the same. 

I’ve been experimenting.  Little Shenanigan was originally supposed to be a 5 knot boat for the meandering estuary.  Except, I don’t have any meandering estuaries around my house.  And, the small motor that I figured on using didn’t quite reach the water, when I built up the stern higher, to deal with incipient flooding issues.  But.  I do have this really nice 32-year old long shaft 2 stroke.  A full 25 ponies worth.  Controls, and mechanical steering. 

No ersatz, faux tuglet is supposed to travel in that netherworld above 20 knots.  But, here she is.  Too small to carry more than about one and a half people.  Too narrow to be really stable if those folks lean over to retrieve a lost ball cap from the water.  Kinda’ hard to see out of the cabin from the helm seat.  But, just go open up that ol’ Mariner and listen to him howl.  Pretty cool, no?

I’ll hold your hat for ya’.

How many Ducks had to die to make that paddle?

Memorial Day on Percy Priest Lake. My son McLean Hudson accelerating Otter

Tom Hudson

Slider in new book

Chuck, I have some interesting news about Slider, and wanted to let you know.

Lloyd Kahn, the editor and owner of Shelter Publications, has included a piece about Slider in his latest book... _Tiny Homes On the Move_... Wheel and Water.

If you're not familiar with Lloyd's work, he was the shelter editor of the Whole Earth Catalog back in the 70s. That was a great book, and was subtitled "Access to Tools." It was a how-to for the back-to-the-land movement of that time. In late years, he's been an enthusiastic supporter of the tiny home movement, and has published a couple of books about these minimalist houses, as well as the outsider architectural movement of the west coast. He's also very interested in nomadic lifestyles, so Tiny Homes On the Move was a natural direction for him to take.

Slider's pages are in the Water section, and I'm very pleased to be included among the many luminaries there. Sven Yrvind is there, for example, as well as Kees Prins and Russell Brown. Clearly, I am the least famous boat designer mentioned in the book, but I'm still happy.

I'll include a scan of one of Slider's pages, and if you'd like to use it, Lloyd says it's okay!

Best, Ray

click to enlarge

Working on new design

I'm helping a friend build a 20' catamaran I designed - he's 86 and doing well! - see attached image.

Someone in Thessaloniki is starting to build the 15' console boat on the attached image. If it goes well, I plan to do a 20' version and a cuddy version.

Best wishes Andrew Walters

Tuna Trip

Chuck,

We took the skiff offshore of Ocean city Md this weekend.   Ran it to Poormans and Washington Canyon about 60 nm off the beach.  Total run was 227 miles in 30 hrs trolling two days.  Ended up with two Yellowfin tuna to 50 lbs and 9 mahi mahi to about 10 lbs.   Nice trip.  Averaged 3.5 nmpg.

Boat fishes great.

Dave

Twister

I was looking through your site and saw my boat. The picture of Twister is of my boat "Peapod" in my bother-in-law's garage as he was building it. I purchased it from him so he would have room to work on another project.

My family has had a lot of fun sailing it. The last trip was off the Royal Western Nova Scotia Yacht Club marina in Digby. She sails well and points surprisingly well. I can't wait to take my son camping this summer.

Robert Balser