Category: Boats

“The Bones” is this year celebrating the 40th anniversary of her launch. The Lazy Bones remains a blue water cruiser with many miles under her keel. Designed and built in Coombs BC by R. Pearson, “The Bones” is now in Holland being readied for a trip to Norway for the summer. History: Launched 1982 – […]

Q. How can a single set of plans be built in aluminum (alloy) or steel when the materials do not weight the same? Doesn’t the weight and strength differences of the material prevent this? A. The weight of a boat is determined by its waterline. Regardless of what material you use to build a boat, […]

What is the correct number of darts for an origami boat? How do you choose? A 1 dart is limited in the hull shapes it can provide. If you try and force the shape beyond these limits you will get buckling or similar unpleasant results. In general a 1 dart boat yields a slab sided […]

A Tale of 2 Origami Boats Origami or Frameless construction has come a long ways since the introduction of computer aided design. The two side by side models shown above represent traditional vs modern origami shapes. The traditional shape was created using conventional methods. A pattern is “guessed” from experience and existing patterns, then a […]

Origami boats are sometimes referred to as “frameless”. This has led to some confusion. Technically, Origami boats use “frameless construction” but they are framed. The difference is this: Framed construction uses frames to bend and hold the plates to shape. Frameless construction (origami method) relies on conical projection to bend and hold the plates to […]

We have offshore boat insurance.  We originally needed boat insurance because we financed our first boat.  See Boat Financing – Do You Need It? In 20 years of cruising we have had 2 claims.  Total damages about equal to the value of our boat.  None of these incident was ruled to be our fault.  Our insurance […]

Boat Financing – Do You Need It? Can you use boat financing to help you go cruising?  We financed our first boat to get us out cruising.  We had immediate use of the boat and moved aboard and used the rent savings to pay off the loan. When we bought the Lazy Bones:  case 1 – […]

“Tripping over the keel” is a common term in offshore sailing. It refers to the problem of broach and/or capsize resulting from the inability of a boat to get its keel clear of the water before a loss of steering or capsize occurs. The twin keel article points to one cause of this problem. In an effort […]

Twin keels have long been popular in areas of extreme tides, to allow boats to self-stand at low tide.  They are rarely found in offshore boats (or in areas of modest tide).  Typically this is for good reason. In a single keelboat, this occurs at less than 90 degrees of heel, allowing the topsides to […]

Our philosophy is that you should never build a boat if you can buy a similar boat for less.  Mass produced boats are typically built to high standards, using economies of scale which the one-off builder is hard pressed to match.  Modern materials last for years which has resulted in a over supply of good […]