PDRacer.com Puddle Duck Racer Simplicity Is The Essence Of True Beauty
Introduction
Our motto is "cheap, creative, and having fun on the water".
The PDRacer is a one design racing sailboat that is basically a plywood box with a curved bottom, and is the easiest boat in the world to build.
Free plans, free club, all boats must have have the lower 10" of their hulls be alike, but the rest is up to the builder.
You can put any type of sail rig or underwater fins that you wish.
Also the interior and deck above 10" is completely up to you.
A simple hull can be made from 2 sheets of plywood, titebond II glue, and latex house paint.
It only took me 10 hours to make the basic hull on my boat.
The sail can be made from polytarp, or borrowed from another sailboat.
You could literally make a complete boat for $100 or less using materials that came from your local Home Depot.
Or, there are many different ways and configurations you could use to build your hull.
The racing club is free, there is the pdracer discussion group for talking about how to build the boats & other sailing topics, and local club organizers setup discussion groups to talk with others in their area.
Many Other Uses
Not just for racing, this is a great boat to use for recreational purposes - and in most states a boat this small does not need to be titled or registred.
The hull shape carries 630 lbs, and if you build it with the simple bow and stern airboxes, there is lots of room in the center for people and gear.
One member took 2 adults and 3 kids for an afternoon sail.
Another went on a 5 day cruise with his girlfriend - if you think about it, many people go backpacking for long periods, a pdracer can hold much more gear and water than a backpack.
It also works good as a row boat, and motor boat.
I often take my kids out rowing in mine, instead of a sail rig I put a big beach umbrella in the mast step so they can sit in the shade.
Another member is happily using his with a 2hp outboard.
Why should you build one?
For some reason, many sailors think they should only have one sailboat - please realize it is perfectly OK to have several sailboats.
The PDRacer is very small and easy to store, yet big enough to carry a couple of people, and fast enough to be fun.
Build one and have some fun, if you loose interest or don't have time, then stand it upright in the corner of your garage or out back till you get the itch to go sail her again.
They are lots of fun, and so simple to build that you can be on the water having fun in no time.
Also it is a great boat to build as your first.
If you are planning on building another boat, consider building one of these to get some experience about boat building.
Club Membership
The club is free to join, all you have to do is subscribe to the pdracer discussion group
The club is more than just building & racing pdracers, it is a free forum for people to get together for all sailboat related activities, so don't be shy about posting about other sailboat related stuff.
Some club activities may involve launch fees for the ramp, or an event fee for the organizer to purchase things such as event permits, trophies and food - but that is only on the local level and depends on the person organizing the event.
Fleet Captains & Organizing Races
Anyone can start a racing circuit or organize races.
There are no protected fleets or territories.
If there is a fleet close to you, and it isn't your flavor of fun, you are welcome to organize your own fleet and activities.
Specs: Handicap Rating: PDRacer, All Rigs PDR D-PN: [140.0] (for more information, see USSailing.org) LOA: Average boat built to 8' long, however 7'9" LOA is class legal, see rules for further explanation LWL: 7'6" Beam: Minimum of 4' Hull Height: Suggested size is 18", however only a minimum of 10" required, some are built as high as 24" Sail Area: 50-80 sqft is easily to handle Weight: 40 lbs for Luaune built hull, 65 lbs for 1/4" BC Pine, 100 lbs with airboxes & 3/8" bottom Capacity: Hull shape carries 630 lbs (that is when both transoms touch water) Theoretical Hull Speed: 4.2 mph (3.7 kts) (Hullspeed in kts = SqRt(LWL) X 1.34) Actual Sailing Speed: Average speed around 3 mph [click here] Rowing Speed: 2.5 mph at an easy to pull effort [click here] 2.5 hp Motoring speed: 4.3 kts [click here]
The photo at the top of the page is the start of the first Puddle Duck race ever.
The green and white boat is Doug Day's boat "DUB", and is the first PDRacer built.
Doug crossed the start line just ahead of Ken Abrahams's boat "Ugly Duckling", which is the brown boat in the foreground with the duck painted on the side of it.
If you look just forward of Ken's sail, you can see in the distance a white chlorox bottle.
Wayne Yeargain was in the committee / safety boat and took this photo.
Why should you build one?