The RAID41 turned out quick and fun to sail, but it has a problem.  Some of the features that are there to make is safer ... make it less safe.

In particular the boat ended up quite high sided because of the self draining cockpit and the requirement for rowing.  This makes it hard to get back on after a capsize.  So ... in some senses it is back to the drawing board.

There is quite a lot of discussion about it (both the good and the not so good) on my forum which you can access from my main website.

Brian Pearson on his prototype RAID41

TRIM my RAID41, is the first build of a new singlehanded expedition sailboat.

She promises me safe, affordable, achievable dinghy cruising, with sufficient performance to enjoy participation in Raid events such as the  Texas 200 or Watertribe .

There could be new singlehanded RAID41 meets organised by RAID41 owners, plus I will also be racing TRIM most Sundays in my club’s competitive open fleet.

You can see TRIM's building progress here where Chris Perkins and Brian Pearson are working on her.

Michael Storer the designer - words, words, words.

The RAID41 is from a couple of major influences, one of them was quite unexpected.

But first the mundane.

I like light, modern, wooden boats that sail really well.  You can have a look at the videos of the GIS and my other boats to confirm something about the way they sail and handle.  A boat needs to be a pleasure for experienced sailors and well mannered for beginners.

The GIS (Goat Island Skiff) is a bit much boat for one person to cruise distance and can be a bit much bailing when the boat is far from shore - So the RAID41 reduces the bulk/size of the boat and importantly becomes self draining after capsize.  


My BETH sailing canoe doesn't have quite enough weight carrying capacity to make a good cruising dinghy but is light and simple to cartop.  Moths and other lightweight skiffs showed me that WIDTH of a boat is the most important part to reduce for portability. Nobody has trouble getting a canoe onto most roofracks but a moth that is lighter can be more tricky because of bulk!


The RAID41 in its cruising and expedition modes is aimed at more experienced sailors, but there is no reason that beginners cannot start out sailing locally with the mainsail reefed while they learn about the boat.

The other major lesson (this was the surprising one) was from the very humble, boxlike PDRacer.  We managed to get this simply built box sailing well, however it was up to the Americans to show me that it could be used for distance sailing.  


Three PDRacers completed the 200 mile 2008 TEXAS200 event - several pages of story here.  The downside of doing a big event in a little 8ft boat is that it takes so much time because the boatspeed is limited by size and shape and the weight it has to carry.  So what about a longer boat that would utilise the PDRacers boxy cross section but provide it with a new generation hullshape derived from BETH and the GIS?  The RAID41 uses the same mast, centreboard and rudder blade.  

TEXAS 200 Info - it is not a true RAID event, but a slightly competitive cruise in company.  The boats meet up at the end of each day and cook and relax at the same campsite.  In a sense it is a "non-event" (in the best sense!!)  because every boat is operating independently making its own decisions but with the group for fun and some soft competition.

Michael Storer (boatmik) on lug rigs - Why.

Many people from a racing background have concerns about traditional rig types.  About 20 years ago I had my doubts too - because racing made up most of my sailing background.

When I came into the wooden boat scene I was impressed by the portability, very low cost and sailing ease of some of the traditional sail and quickly found that a bit of racer style tweaking made all the difference to the lug and sprit rigs' performance and brought performance up very close to that of more modern rigs when fitted to non trapeze dinghies.

Some time ago I ran into Brian - the current builder of the prototype RAID.  He regularly races a Keyhaven Scow which also has a balance rig.  We had a long discussion about setting up lug rigs and he filled in some more of the picture for me ... because I have not raced the things!  

Some of that tech will make its way into the raid and also the self build sails we will develop to keep the costs down.

Back to Brian - his LIST.

• Singlehanded - she has length to cover ground, 15′6″ - yet she is kept small by her narrow beam - and stable by her hull form. Easily launched and retrieved singlehanded, projected hull weight 65kg.
  
• Safe - self draining after capsize - water ballasted - full buoyancy tanks - hollow spars to prevent inversion - correct sail area for one person to manage.
• Affordable - low cost very detailed plans- light weight means less materials - efficient ply layouts - construction uses only 2 sheets of 6mm and 6 sheets of 4mm.
• Achievable - not just a boat to wish you could own - this is a design for you - the first time builder - designed from the outset for CNC cutting.
  
• Dinghy Cruising - her cockpit is over 6′2″, flat floored with no obstruction for sleeping,  her very shallow hull form will enable, catching the early tide, escaping shallow harbours, and safety when entering new ones .
• Performance - a planing lug sail dinghy - checkout all Michael Storer’s designs - every one has performance and tradition.
• Participation    -    because she is affordable, achievable and has the performance, you too can join in these Raids, Water Tribe’s, local club racing. 
• RAID41 meets -    RAID41 has the promise to bring about a new lower cost Raid type event. Self organised like our UH-HBBR meets all over the country. Could be a Lakes Square, Broads Circle, Solent Triangle 
• Club racing     -    light weight, long length, efficient large foils, planing hull, superb sail controls and well designed sails, she will be terrific fun mixing  it with the open fleet.