Many land-dwelling Belarusians dream of the sea. Some people have been raving about it since childhood, others are imbued with a passion for open water in adulthood. Is it difficult to realize your “maritime” dream in a land country? How to master the basics of independent yacht building? Andrey Bessarab, an amateur enthusiast who is going to Kyiv on a homemade boat in October, answered these questions on Radio TUT.BY.
Where did your interest in shipping come from? When did the idea to build your own yacht come about?
I have dreamed of a yacht since childhood, and now I have the opportunity to make this dream come true. There are quite a lot of yachtsport and water recreation lovers on the Internet like me. Their successful construction experience encouraged me to try my hand at it.
For myself, I decided that the boat must be transportable, with maximum habitability. At the same time, it was necessary to comply with the norms prescribed in our legislation. The law stipulates that cargo during transportation should be no more than two and a half meters wide and eight meters long. When transporting a boat, these parameters must be observed, so they became decisive when choosing a project. By the way, there is no such thing as a “yacht” in our legislation. There is the concept of “boat” or “small vessel”.
- Where are you going to go on your yacht?
According to its parameters and strength calculations, this boat is intended for inland waters and coastal zones of the seas. It can be transported to any sea: to the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea - wherever your heart desires. In the near future we are going to go for a run along inland reservoirs to the Kyiv Reservoir.
- Where can I store the boat and what is the best way to transport it?
My boat is eight meters long, and it doesn’t fit in any garage. Therefore, before building the ship, I designed a kind of trailer, which, with minor modifications, turns into a slipway - a rigid structure on which the boat itself is assembled. That is, the trailer is a place for assembling the boat, a means for transporting it, and with the help of an awning it turns into a winter shed for storing the vessel. In summer, the vessel sits on the water, and in winter, under an awning, it can be stored in a yacht club.
I built this trailer in a little over a year and spent about two thousand dollars on it. If you buy a ready-made trailer, it will cost about five and a half thousand euros. That is, manufacturers assume that if a person buys a yacht, then there will definitely be money for a trailer.
- Were there any difficulties with registering this trailer? 
Indeed, there were some difficulties with registration, since similar trailers are not produced in our country. It cannot be verified by a crash test, and road tests do not provide enough information complete information. In this sense, it is easier for large productions: they can send part of the batch of trailers for testing. In addition, the trailer weighs more than 750 kg, so in order to drive with it, I had to get an “E” driver’s license.
- How does the construction of a yacht begin?
First, you should think three times whether it’s worth getting involved in this. It is cheaper to buy an old boat abroad that needs repairs and have it repaired. But you need to take into account that the yachts sold abroad are sea-going, with a keel buried one and a half meters or more. It is impossible to travel along our rivers and lakes on such a yacht.
If someone is planning to build a yacht on their own, they can contact the yacht club for advice and help.
You need to decide on the purpose of the vessel, because a racing boat, a cruiser or a weekend boat have their own characteristics. Each task has its own projects, its own designs and technologies, so it is not necessary to design something yourself. Moreover, I do not recommend making your own projects, because, as a rule, they have many more flaws than ready-made ones.
We have a state inspection for small boats, which is quite favorable towards such enthusiasts. There you can always get advice, take additional courses for sailing ships and even get a license to drive a vessel of various categories.
- Do I need to register a yacht?
The yacht is registered with the state inspection for small craft and receives tail number. For homemade products, additional tests are carried out to ensure its complete safety.
- Did someone teach you how to build a ship or did you learn everything on your own?
I learned mostly from my mistakes. Man with higher education will always find the information you need. I read a mountain of literature, visited many self-builder sites on the Internet. In addition, there are specialized yachting forums where people who have gone through the construction of ships share their experiences. But mistakes are still inevitable.
- Do many Belarusians build yachts? 
One boat is being built in Brest, one small four-meter boat was launched a month ago in Minsk, two six-meter boats are being built. In addition, a ship has been under construction in Minsk for ten years that meets English Lloyd's standards. So there are quite a lot of people involved in yacht building in Belarus.
- How many years have you been building your ship?
I stopped building the yacht for a year and a half while I was building the trailer. It took me about a few months to build the transverse frames, and in November last year I put it on the staple and now I’m finishing construction. On average it took me about a year and a half to build the boat and almost the same for the trailer.
- Is it worth getting involved in the construction of a yacht or is it better to save money and buy a ready-made vessel?
This complex issue. Two years ago I would have said that it was definitely worth building it yourself and dedicating a few years of your life to it. But if you don’t want to sail along rivers, but go to deeper and wider waters, you can buy an inexpensive imported keelboat. The main issue is not money - when building it yourself, it is invested little by little.
- What materials are needed for the boat? Where can I get them?
The necessary materials are prescribed for each project. If the project is fast and technologically advanced enough for construction, then moisture-resistant plywood is used, which is sheathed with boards and covered with fiberglass. Questions may arise with payment for materials, since this is often done by bank transfer and you need to wait until the company issues an invoice.
We make the equipment ourselves, we buy some in Ukraine or order it on the Internet.
Making a boat yourself is difficult. As a rule, people who build yachts help each other - it's faster, more technologically advanced and more fun.
- There is a stereotype that only very rich people can own yachts. Is it really?
You can build both a sailing and a motor yacht on your own. The cost of a boat is roughly calculated as follows: a meter of length costs a thousand dollars. By and large, building a yacht is not as expensive as it seems. True, materials are becoming more expensive faster than construction progresses, but, nevertheless, it is quite possible to make a boat yourself.
- At what stage is the construction of your yacht now? When will you launch it?
Now we are finishing sanding and painting the top, installing hatches, portholes and bollards, and in about a week we will try to lower her to the Minsk Sea for initial sea trials, and by October 10 we will go to Ukraine for the regatta as invited guests. If everything goes well, then next year we will participate in an amateur regatta.
Photo by Andrey Bessarab.
Additional information regarding the design of the yacht
What could be better than sailing the sea (or at least rivers) on your own yacht? And don’t think that a yacht is only available to millionaires; in fact, you can make a quite decent yacht with your own hands. If you follow the instructions, you can make a yacht with your own hands without much difficulty, everything will definitely work out.
So what will you need for this? You need to purchase the following tools:
- Hammer.
- Nails.
- Screwdriver.
- Drill.
- Electric drill.
- Hacksaw.
First of all, of course, you can’t do without plywood. In order to fully implement such a project, you need to acquire 7 sheets of plywood, the thickness of which should be 6 mm. It is recommended to take sheets whose dimensions are 1.22 by 2.44 mm, you will also need 3 sheets of plywood, the thickness of which is 10 mm, their size should be the same.
Plywood selection
It should be borne in mind that a variety of plywood can be used, but it is recommended to use poplar plywood, the thickness of which is from 7 to 10 mm. It should be noted that such a deviation is not critical and does not greatly affect such an indicator.
It is acceptable to use birch plywood, but then it can be 5 mm thick. It is necessary to take into account the fact that when a yacht is built, plywood must be used, which has increased water resistance. In this regard, it will be useful to take into account some explanation. The fact is that plywood is a layered glued structure consisting of 2-3 sheets of wood, where the fibers are located perpendicularly in adjacent layers. It is thanks to these properties that plywood has those qualities that provide strength in all directions. It is thanks to this that plywood is the material from which a DIY yacht can be made simply excellent.
If you use large-area plywood sheets, the labor intensity of construction will be significantly reduced. Thus, the cost of building a yacht will also be significantly less. Each groove, which is a connection between the longitudinal edges of plywood sheathing sheets, is made on a scoop or stringer. The one who builds such a yacht does not need to scrupulously adjust the edges of each belt to each other. Concern about the waterproofness of a large number of grooves is also not necessary, unlike the option when a yacht is built from boards with your own hands. Plywood cladding involves transverse patterns that define the contours of the body. In this plan, frames are used that are included in the design. This circumstance suggests that there is no need to make patterns yourself. This is very convenient, since after the assembly is completed, the patterns will need to be thrown away.
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Yacht making
Frames for a yacht made of plywood are made in the simplest form; straight parts (futox) are used for their assembly. This design compares favorably with the design of hulls with round bilge contours, when it is necessary to glue laminated frames from slats (thin).
When making a yacht with your own hands, you first need to take care of assembling the hull. The assembly of yacht parts begins on a workbench and is completed on the ground. The keel is placed on the workbench, then the keel must be connected to the stems and frames. This connection is made using nails, small bolts, large screws and rivets.
After this stage of work is completed, you need to carefully check whether there are any distortions; if there are any, then you need to remove them by adjusting them. Porous paper must be placed in all these connections, you can also use a thin cloth, which must be soaked in resin, you can also use thick paint. If nails are used to fasten parts of the yacht, you need to pay special attention to their length. Such nails should protrude freely beyond the parts that are connected. To make working with nails more convenient, it is recommended to first make holes in such places with a drill, the thickness of which should be approximately 1 mm less than the nail itself.
Boards for the sides are applied on both sides of the frame, their ends should be tied to the stem with twine as tightly as possible.
Then the side boards should be carefully bent around the frames, brought to the transom and tied. If there are excess ends, then they also need to be trimmed. Then the sides need to be temporarily nailed, as a result of which the boat has a hard skeleton, which after some time also needs to be sheathed with plywood.
The toolbox is located on the salon sofa, electric screwdrivers are at hand, soldering irons and wrenches are on the table. Usually such a cozy salon looks like in winter and spring, rather, like some kind of miniature workshop or amateur workshop. It will still be several months before most yachts set sail again and sail to new harbors. To pass the time until the next trip, many yacht owners use the cold season to carry out work on improving, repairing and improving the yacht.
Tips for furnishing a yacht "It's just my hobby", tells us Armin Horn. The Swabian-born fell in love with yachting ten years ago and began studying all aspects of sailing in Croatia.
Along with navigation, trimming and anchoring, he learned that his skills with a soldering iron and screwdriver could be applied to a new hobby.
Before becoming a university teacher, Armin Horn was engaged in developments for a German engineering company, so the “idea generator,” as he calls himself, has all the conditions for implementing innovations on his yacht.
“When something on the yacht bothers me, I think about what the optimal solution might look like.”,” the innovator explains his approach. It checks whether a corresponding solution is already commercially available. Often you have to make something yourself.
Before starting work in the workshop, Horn creates a plan and breaks down tasks into many small steps. “Thanks to this, I can have a little success on the yacht every day and don’t feel like the work is a burden,” says the resourceful yacht owner Bavaria 37.
Preparation is essential to the success of a project. When he is going to Turkey, where his yacht is located, he pedantically goes through all the items on the list. Has everything been thought out? Can everything be implemented on board? Does the yacht have the necessary tools? He always sets himself the goal of making the necessary part at home, and only performing its installation on the yacht, since “at home I have a lot more Better conditions and more time. And in the end my main goal is to sail».
Precise planning and careful work ensure that everything on the yacht is in exactly the right place. Often the inventions made by Horn are indistinguishable from parts made by the yacht manufacturer. The cutlery drawer located under the salon table looks like it was installed in a shipyard. “On a yacht you can very quickly do and drill a lot of unnecessary things”“,” Horn shares his experience and advises starting with small innovations and gradually adding something new.
Armin Horn has another piece of advice that he also gives to his students: “You should be able to work with tools yourself, solder, tinker, and find a suitable hobby if possible. This way you will accumulate the knowledge gained during independent work, and you will get to know the practice better than if you just studied the theory!”
Tips for furnishing a yacht
Armin Horn's ideas on how to make a yacht more comfortable
Impeller inspection window
The engine temperature jumps, and white smoke pours out of the exhaust pipe at the stern: classic impeller failure. After opening the pump housing, debris falls out of it, and the individual blades are no longer there. Often no one bothers to check the impeller regularly. While you open the pump cover, you will dislocate your arms, and even then you won’t be able to handle it with your two hands - you need an assistant to check the impeller.
A plexiglass lid five millimeters thick will completely replace a metal lid. Before each departure to sea, all you need to do to check it is just to take a look - and no wrenches or screwdrivers. However, accurate inspection of individual blades still requires removal of the cover.
Deck washing device
The anchor device carries silt, algae and starfish onto the deck, which after raising the anchor often looks like a spilled aquarium. Deck cleaning can be simplified by installing a pressurized water connection in the anchor locker. Using a 2-way valve, the pump can optionally supply seawater or process water from tanks. A hose goes from the pump to a built-in connector with a company auto-stop Gardena, located in the anchor box, on which a suitable connecting element is installed.
Homemade towing generator
Sailing at night, reeling in miles, and dropping anchor in secluded bays is the dream of many yachtsmen. However, battery power hinders this desire for freedom. Signal lights, GPS and electronic autopilot completely drain the battery on board. There are some alternative options on sale that allow the yachtsman to do without a fifth mooring line for a long time. With some technical skills, you can build your own towing generator.
Should be added: constructing a towing generator is accessible to “advanced” tinkerers who also have a workshop for making parts from V4A (seawater resistant steel).
Protective box for body sensors
Before starting the transition, you need to place milk cartons, canned food and water bottles somewhere. However The luggage compartment often remains empty: There is too great a fear that as a result of sliding elements of equipment or provisions, the log and lot sensors may be damaged or even torn off. But the transition should not end somewhere at the bottom of the sea.
A wooden box will protect the sensors and prevent damage. Using a hinge and a magnet, the box can be tilted up and locked.
Anchor weighted with lead
When you try to drop the anchor for the third time, and it does not cling to the bottom and drags along the sand of the bay, swearing is heard on the deck. In this case it may help additional weighting of the anchor.
When using a plow anchor, the inner side can be filled with lead. A pre-soldered V4A steel plate will prevent lead from flowing back out. After this, the center of gravity of the anchor will be much deeper. But remember that making changes to the anchor structure is always risky.
Flushing the motor
Old marine diesel engines often present a pitiful picture when examined in detail. Cooling with seawater over many years leads to corrosion; rust eats right through the metal. During long-term operation, using a simple device, you can supply the cooling circuit instead of sea water. fresh water.
A tee is installed in the connection for supplying salt water. Through a hose with a tap and a connecting element, by closing the sea water supply valve, you can supply fresh water from any source.
Anchor LED light
The anchor light on the top is usually clearly visible from afar. But when the yacht makes its way through the bay at night, he is almost invisible. If you attach an LED anchor light to the halyard, it will be clearly visible to approaching vessels.
Seat back
What is always important in a stern railing is the ability to rest your back comfortably while swimming. But the cold metal presses on your back, and after a while you have to give up such “comfort”. Such a fence is inconvenient. It will be much more pleasant to lean on if there is a teak wood plank under your back.
Steel spring
We rummage through lockers in search of something, supporting the lid with our heads - this picture is familiar to yacht owners all over the world. It is more convenient to use gas springs. However, for use below decks, such as under upholstered salon sofas, they are too weak because they cannot support the weight. An alternative is long steel springs that hold the lid securely open. To close the locker, the spring is folded and the lid is lowered.
Steering Wheel Mount
Often when sailing in a harbor, the helm is blocked, so there is usually no crew in the rear aft seat at the time. Most yachtsmen are hesitant to remove the helm in port due to the complexity of this operation.
This will be easier if the helm nut is replaced with a teak wing nut with a threaded insert. The teak nut should be large enough to be easily tightened and unscrewed by hand.
Cutlery drawer
It is discovered too late that there is no spoon on the table. The captain slides off the sofa, accidentally pushes the table, and the red wine in the glass almost spills out. Finally we are in the galley, the spoon is found, and the captain crawls back to his place.
A drawer for cutlery located under the salon table will save you from such artistic tricks and possibly from red wine stains.
Bed slats
Moisture under bunks can lead to mold and unpleasant odors. Nobody wants to go to bed that smells musty. There are some systems available on the market that provide sufficient ventilation and greatly enhance sleep comfort.
If you don’t turn to yacht outfitting specialists, you can find everything you need in a Swedish furniture store. The convenient slatted grille consists of curved slats and tape that secures the slats in place.
Over time, the beds become thinner. Since the slats always remain curved, when sawing them you just need to take into account the required length. You will be able to sleep much more comfortably, and you can simply forget about mold and unpleasant odors on board.
Martin Erger's advice on how to make a yacht more comfortable
Additional luggage space in the form of shelves
Luggage space on board is never superfluous: it is necessary, for example, to store staples and bezels in a safe place or to prevent bottles of wine from rolling around on the floor of the hold. A significant portion of the space on board is not fully utilized. With the help of wood, a saw and a little varnish, such a space can be arranged to your advantage, for example by installing an additional shelf or bottle holder in the cabin.
LED lighting in the mast groove
Pleasant lighting in the cockpit should not be blinding or look like a construction spotlight. An original solution is an LED lamp located in the groove of the main mast, which illuminates the cockpit from above - provided that there is also a groove on the lower part of the main mast into which an LED strip can be glued.
Liberation of Genoa
The genoa is stuck to the railing, the afterlik is caught on the saling or is slowly rubbing. The special deflector rings are very flimsy and unimpressive. A golf ball with a hole drilled in it can work well for a sail. The hole in the ball must be large enough to slide it along the shroud or guardrail cable, and the tie bands secure it in place. The sail glides along the fence and does not get stuck on the saling.
Mosquitoes protection
You want to ventilate the yacht well in the summer and not attract the attention of buzzing tormentors - this sounds like a utopia. Either the companionway has to be locked, and then the yachtsman faces a stuffy, sleepless night, or he will spend it fighting mosquitoes. An inserted bulkhead with a large mosquito net will ensure air flow into the cabin and keep mosquitoes out.
Wide teak steps
At some point it becomes painful: no one can stand barefoot on the rungs of a bathing ladder for a long time, at most, only a few seconds. It is much more pleasant to feel the wide teak steps under your feet. They can be additionally installed on the yacht, even without the help of specialists, since inexpensive remnants of teak wood material can often be found for sale, for example, on special Internet platforms. The steps are attached to the rungs using bolts.
Compact ute fork
Utah plug greatly simplifies folding of the mast for a small crew. The shackle, which runs from the top shroud attachment points to the forestay attachment point, is the largest piece of equipment on board.
Utah plug It does not fit in the locker and cannot be taken home with you in the car. Often the fork cannot be taken apart. As an option, a homemade design is offered from 40 mm tubes made of VA steel, with a wall thickness of 5 mm, which can be divided into separate insert segments using a 30 mm (inner diameter of the tube) bolt.
Tips from Klaus Kubel on how to make a yacht more comfortable
Using the belt
Steering a yacht to windward can quickly become the defining moment of a voyage. The rope of the guardrail presses unpleasantly into your back, and every minute you involuntarily have to change position. The use of straps in the cockpit area will ensure painless control on the windward side. However, handrails should not be used as belt attachment points. Either they need to be further strengthened, or all the traction must be taken by the shortened cable of the railing.
Outboard motor holder
It begins to malfunction, works normally again and, in the end, abandons the yachtsman to his fate a few miles from the port - the internal engine has served its purpose. Such a situation during calm weather can seriously ruin your nerves. You can continue the movement of the yacht using an inflatable boat with an outboard motor attached along the side.
If inflatable boat located at the very bottom of the locker, there is another, less labor-intensive way to quickly engage the outboard motor. Two U-shaped profiles are attached to the board, which are installed at a distance between the two rungs of the bathing ladder. If necessary, such a holder can be hung from the profiles on the stairs. The outboard motor is mounted on a board, which will allow you to bring the yacht to the port.
Kisa
Staples, pulleys and ropes often end up scattered along with clamps and screw sets throughout the locker. Often the staple is not available at exactly the right time. The result is a long period of digging in the locker. Over the years, a bag (kisa) made of fabric or canvas has proven itself well. Internal pockets store pins and piles, and the main space is large enough for ropes, pulleys and guards. The cord that tightens the bag prevents the equipment from falling out.
Tips from Anya and Andreas Zabel on how to make a yacht more comfortable
To avoid tripping over shoulder straps
The shoulder strap in the center of the cockpit blocks the passage, and when the yacht is in the harbor, you have to climb over it. Re-equipment of the shoulder strap to ensure the possibility of its dismantling is a simple task. To do this, two U-shaped profiles, closed at the top, are mounted in the cockpit at the same height opposite each other. The fasteners must be strengthened with a counter-plate, otherwise the device will not withstand high traction forces. The fixing bolt prevents the shoulder strap from falling out.
Clearance
The use of a large amount of wood in the salon of relatively older yachts gives them a solid appearance. However, going down the companionway, you often find yourself in a dark cave. Large windows on top of older yachts are rare. The light source here can be the sliding hatch of the companionway. A plexiglass window is inserted flush into it, through which light enters the cabin when the hatch is closed. At the beginning and end of the season, the interior remains warm without being too dark.
Advice from Ralf Schwannecke on how to make a yacht more comfortable
Durability and good appearance
Time also leaves its traces on the bow hatch of the yacht. After a few years, the glass becomes cloudy and becomes scratched. It no longer attracts the eye, and it also becomes difficult to look through it. The old glass can be removed from the frame, and the frame itself can be cleaned of silicone residues. Then we glue in the new glass using MS polymer.
The hatch can be given modern look, using a yacht name decal, some epoxy and sugar to create the structure.
Judging by the editorial mail, amateur shipbuilders, when starting to choose a project for their new yacht, boat or boat, one way or another turn to the pages of the collection: they use published drawings as working drawings or create new projects based on them, more meeting the requirements and tastes of the future shipowner. In their letters, many readers not only set out in detail the reasons that prompted them to choose this or that project, but also report the results of tests of the constructed vessel, and give a description of its operational features. As a rule, receiving several such correspondence makes it possible to get a fairly complete picture of both the advantages and disadvantages inherent in a particular project.
If we talk about the independent construction of sailing ships, then the mail received by the editor clearly shows that the most “running” option is a mini-yacht, designed for a crew of 3 - 5 people. 3TO vessel with a length of up to 7 m, a displacement of 0.7 - 1.5 T, with a windage of 14 - 20 m 2.
Sail variations allow you to increase the windage (sometimes by 30%) in calm winds and reduce it by half in strong winds. It is typical that amateurs try to use ready-made sails from the classic ships available in yachts, since it is very difficult to get sailing fabric, and sewing a good sail without the appropriate experience is far from easy.
The preferred material for the manufacture of the spar is light alloy strands; The boom, as a rule, is made rotating - for winding the sail for the purpose of cleaning at short-term stops and for reefing. Step masts are most often placed on the roof of the cabin. When constructing the hull, wood in all its forms, traditional for small shipbuilding, is used (coniferous and hardwood lumber, plywood), but along with this, steel and light alloys are used. The use of composite structures in which metal is combined with wood makes it possible, while simplifying the technology and reducing the cost of the vessel, to ensure the known strength of the hull with low weight.
It has become common to cover wooden cases with fiberglass fabrics with an epoxy binder in order to protect them from damage and rotting, and sometimes to increase strength. As it turned out from incoming letters, a typical mistake is often made: amateur shipbuilders forget that it is necessary to apply at least two layers of fiberglass, since a single-layer coating filters water through microcracks in the binder (this turns out to be a “disservice” to the skin, and to detect and correct defects under a layer of fiberglass are quite difficult).
Of the assessments and comments on individual projects, those related to the “Seahorse” are typical, according to which quite a lot of mini-yachts have already been built. Thus, when summarizing the received reviews, it became clear that it was necessary to increase the area of the fin in the stern - the yacht is yawing at full speed; it is better to do the deckhouse from side to side - the cabin will become more comfortable; a bow hatch on such mini-yachts is not necessary. Obviously, these comments should be taken into account when designing all yachts of similar dimensions.
The body itself did not cause any complaints. The performance and seaworthiness completely satisfied those who built the yacht exactly according to the project. The wishes mainly concerned the improvement of the “Spartan”, as it was said in the explanation for the project, living conditions. In this regard, we can assume a partial change in the Seahorse project.
The deckhouse from side to side and reaching to the stem will increase the volume of the cabin; It will be more comfortable to sit on the sofas and walk along the deck to the bow of the ship. It is possible to eliminate the bow hatch, which is located at an angle. If the sealing is insufficient, it causes water leakage. At the same time, it turned out that most yachtsmen do not use it to work with the jib, which was foreseen during the development of the project.
It should only be taken into account that without a bow hatch (according to the design, its cover is made of plexiglass), the illumination and ventilation of the cabin are significantly deteriorated. For normal ventilation of the bow biting, a fan is clearly not enough, so it will be necessary to provide for the installation of some effective deflectors. Instead of a light hatch, you can install additional portholes on the coaming or on the deckhouse deck.
Regarding the reproaches for the lack of mechanization of sail control, it can be said that the “Konka” project included ideas regarding the hull and armament, and clew and halyard winches, a device for furling the jib and similar components of the vessel’s equipment can be used by each builder if desired, using other publications on the pages of the collection.
It sometimes happens that amateur shipbuilders, dissatisfied with the resulting yacht, attribute their own mistakes to design flaws. As a rule, this is due to the fact that the project undergoes changes during the construction process. Here's a case in point. The builders of the mini-yacht “Spiderweb”, having increased all the dimensions of the “Seahorse” by 20%, received a yacht that has an undesirable trim at the stern. “Apparently,” they write, “this is a design flaw.”
However, the “Konyok” in its design dimensions does not have any trim to the stern. The real reason is that in the “20%” increased version, the displacement of the yacht should no longer be 700 – 750 kg, like the “Gossamer”, but about 1100 kg; Naturally, the vessel's draft became 40 - 50 mm less, as a result of which the center of gravity of the waterline and the center of buoyancy shifted to the bow, relative to the design ones.
We bring to the attention of readers brief descriptions four yachts built and tested by amateurs recently.
MINI – YACHT “PRIVAL”.
Built by V.V. Maratayev from Kaliningrad according to the drawings of the “Seahorse”. We selected this mini-yacht for review precisely to illustrate the point that finished projects should be changed very carefully. Obviously, the erroneous remark made in No. 61 by the builders of the “Spider Web” that the “Seahorse” is trimmed to the stern misled V.V. Marataev. He took measures: so that his yacht did not have this trim, slightly change its dimensions, increasing the spacing by 20mm, and moving the heavy zygomatic keels into the nose.
This led to an increase in the design displacement by approximately 30 kg, which was “compensated” by the fact that the hull was sheathed with bakelized plywood, heavier than the aircraft plywood provided for in the design. In other words, the draft remained virtually unchanged, but an undesirable trim appeared on the bow, which required further alterations and a “return” to the design alignment of the yacht - moving the bilge keels further aft.
The hull set is made of pine, the stem and beams are made of oak; sheathing is made of bakelized plywood 7mm thick. A 40 x 40 fender beam was installed along the sides, which increased the width of the deck by 80mm. The yacht is equipped with four berths on the sides - from sh. 3 to the transom, wardrobes, a table, and a galley.
“Halt” is armed with a Bermuda sloop with a top-end (unlike the project) jib. The mainsail is from the “Flying Dutchman”, the main staysail is from the “Zvezdnik”, the genoa is from an “M” class dinghy. The boom is rotating. Based on the results of operating the yacht, the author noted the following disadvantages of the project: the absence of clew winches, which makes it difficult to work with sails in a fresh wind; lack of rack jib; some inconvenience of placement in the cabin due to the ledge formed by the junction of the deck and the wheelhouse coaming; lack of storage compartment for outboard motor; placement of the galley in the cockpit, creating inconvenience when cooking in bad weather.
At full courses, the yaw of the Prival was noted. The advantages include the relatively high seaworthiness of the yacht: good wave riding, stability, ease of movement (maximum recorded speed - 6 g).
STEEL YACHT – COMPROMISE “HELLAS”.
Its author is Marina Shcherbina from the Ukrainian city of Smela. When designing this generally quite original steel mini-yacht, publications about three sailing ships: 6.8-meter sailing-motor dinghy with two rotating bilge centerboards (designed by V.F. Paramonov, “KYa” No. 62); 6.9 - meter quarter-tonner "Courier - III" (designed by I. I. Sidenko; "KYa" No. 64) and the English serial 6.9 - meter mini-tonner "Sonata - 7" ("KYA" No. 68), as well as nomograms , published in issue 7 (1966).
It can be noted that the theoretical drawing is based on (with minor changes in the stern part) a drawing of a dinghy; from the two mentioned yachts the main ideas of the general arrangement and sailing equipment. The hull of the yacht is made of welded steel: the set is cut from a 2.5X30X30 square bent from a strip; keel beam - I-beam made of strip 2.5 mm thick; The thickness of the skin on the bottom is 3mm, on the sides – 2mm. The deck and deckhouse are made of bakelized plywood 5 mm thick. The inside of the building is lined with plywood and laminated plastic on an oak sheathing.
The successful combination of a hull that is simple in outline and technologically advanced in design, made from materials available to builders and has an effective windage, has made it possible to create a cruiser that is cheap to build and operate and has fairly high speed, seaworthiness and tacking qualities. Tests of “Hellas” at the Kremenchug reservoir confirmed that the creative use of three different prototypes (in itself a rare option) was generally done quite competently.
The Hellas is equipped with two bilge centreboards, cut from sheet steel 20 mm thick, with a total weight of 210 kg. The lower parts of the centerboard wells, protruding from the hull, are made hollow in the form of fairings into which lead is poured (its weight is about 200 kg). The fairly large total ballast weight, accounting for 31% of the displacement, ensures good stability of the yacht. The centerboard wells are made more powerful than on the prototype dinghy, but the same in design.
The spar is made of light alloy pipes. The falling mast is made of 110X2 pipe, the rotating boom is 70X3. The yacht's unsinkability is ensured by foam plastic blocks (total volume 1.5 m3), glued from the inside to the hull, deck and wheelhouse, as well as placed under the sofas.
The construction of the yacht by two people lasted 2 years and 3 months. The slipway was a powerful channel 8 m long. Among the technological devices invented and manufactured during the work, it is necessary to note the original tilter, which consists of two support bearings on trestles installed at the ends of the beam - slipway.
Horizontal trunnions with a diameter of 60 mm were attached to the stem and transom of the hull so that their common axis - the axis of rotation - passed through the center of gravity of the hull. This allowed builders to tilt the hull without assistance, performing welding and painting work in the most convenient lower position.
The yacht is equipped with three berths, a galley, a table, closets and a latrine. The height in the cabin is 1.45 m. (The layout of the cabin is somewhat questionable - the location of the table is on the starboard side; it is unlikely that it will be convenient to dine at this table, sitting on a sofa installed far from it - along the opposite side.
It would be more rational to install a table with a folding lid in the center of the cabin; or equip an existing table with a retractable lid.) In the stern, below the deck, there is a compartment for installing a stationary engine. There is a sail storage room in the forepeak. The author of the project considers steel to be a completely acceptable material for building a yacht over 7 m in length.
MINITONIK “THREE BOGATYRS”.
Built by Kharkov residents S. Degtyarev and V. Drachevsky. When developing their own project, the authors aimed to create a light yacht, but with a sufficient level of comfort, suitable for both long trips and participation in cruising races. The body design is composite, the set is made of light alloy: the transverse one is made of angles, the longitudinal one is made of channels. The sheathing is made of waterproof plywood 6 mm thick.
The hull, including the self-draining cockpit and deck, is covered with two layers of fiberglass with an epoxy binder. The hollow steel false keel is filled with lead and cement; its weight is about 280 kg. The yacht “Three Bogatyrs” is equipped with a Bermuda sloop with a top staysail. The spar is wooden, the steps are installed on the deck. The yacht is equipped with mechanisms and devices to facilitate the work with sails and to fine-tune them. The cabin has four berths and a portable galley.
Unsinkability is ensured by foam blocks attached to the sides under the sofas. Tests of the yacht have shown its reliability in operation, good seaworthiness, and satisfactory stability. With effective heeling by the entire crew, the yacht carried full sail in winds up to force 6.
Having set themselves the task of creating a racing vessel rather than a cruising vessel, the authors made the yacht as light as possible, clearly sacrificing comfort. There is practically nothing inside except for sleeping places. But in terms of mechanization of sail control, the “Three Bogatyrs” is a typical racing car! In terms of handling in any wind and combination of sails, the yacht, according to the authors, resembles a racing dinghy.
As the newspaper “Evening Kharkov” reported, on June 7 and 8, 1980, the yacht “Three Bogatyrs” took part in the cruising yacht race for the Kharkov region championship, where it took first place among 26 participants in corrected time. In terms of absolute speed, she was second only to “Conrad – 24”, 12 minutes behind him during the 13 hours of the race.
YACHT “SEVERYANKA”.
Built by N. Vesenin in Vologda according to the drawings of “Sail - 2” (“KYa” No. 6; 1966). This is an example of a successful yacht, built without fundamental changes to the project being implemented. The builder's lack of back plywood and oak, as specified in the drawings, led to the need for a number of unprincipled design changes. The body set is made of pine.
The sheathing is made of smooth spruce slats 12x40 mm with waterproof glue. Such a replacement of materials allowed the author to obtain a body equivalent to the design in terms of strength and weight characteristics at the lowest cost. Adhering to the project as much as possible, the author of “Severyanka” managed to obtain satisfactory seaworthiness and tacking qualities of the mini-yacht and its good performance both under sail and under motor.
The Vykhr-M outboard motor is used as an auxiliary engine, with which the yacht reaches a speed of 15 km/h. The use of such a powerful (25 hp) and heavy engine on such a vessel is impractical. Contours sailing yachts are designed for a speed of about 5 knots (about 9 km/h).
For a mini-yacht to achieve such speed, an 8-strong “Veterok” is quite enough.
The use of engines with excess power gives only a small increase in speed, while fuel consumption increases significantly. It is planned for the future to install a fireplace in the cabin, which will improve the habitability of the vessel operating in the northern regions.
