Introduction by Perttu Korhonen:
I like exploring new lakes. I built an OzRacer by Michael Storer and liked its performance and handling. With it I made one overnight trip and that convinced me, that the PDRacer/OzRacer is quite capable for trips like that. During last winter I started to sketch a cruiser version of the OzRacer. I chose that boat because it is light and has good performance. My design uses Michael Storer´s Oz Racers sails, spars and foils - and she can fly!
This summer I made a three day trip with the boat and I found it to be a fun design. I was sleeping inside the cabin and sailing every day like a real sailor! The off center hatch could looks odd, but it´s handy when moving inside the cabin. You can slide your legs under cockpit seats while you are standing on the cabin floor. The boat is meant to be sailed with the hatch shut. If she is capsized, you should have enough time to turn the boat upright again before cabin fills with water, but Pdracers aren´t too easy to capsize!
It proved itself as a such a good working concept that I ended up making plans for it. I have made bigger boats, but small boats have the advantage of being faster to build and maintain in sailing condition. The more timeyou spend building the boat, the more you worry about it when sailing. If the boat is quickly buillt, you can use it harder and build another with less time compared with building one bigger boat.
The plans for Ocean Explorer contain around 95 pages of drawings, photos and text including a plan for the homemade lugsail – the plan is available as a PDF download which you can print on your home computer.
Perttu Korhonen
If you are interested in buying plans of the Ocean Explorer, you can find them on Duckworks.
Michael Storer (designer of the OZRacer)
"Be clear, the Ocean Explorer is not really ocean capable, but for many lakes and rivers it is a great little boat that won't cost a lot, won't feel too precious and probably inspire a great deal of argument along some waterfronts."
