Barnacle Bill Magazine March 2016 issue 3 | Page 12

12 OzGoose The OzGoose build by Richard Palmer, Pictures by Michael Storer and Roy Espiritu. In January 2016, Issue 1 of Barnacle Bill Magazine, we set ourselves a challenge: to build a Michael Storer designed OzGoose sailing dinghy to the same specifications the Mirror Dinghy was built to in 1962 when it was launched. Firstly, it had to be an easy build. Secondly, it had to come in at under £1200 + paint which is what a Mirror Dinghy kit cost in 1962 with inflation applied. Lastly, it had to be cartoppable, so effectively under 60 kilos so it could be carried on the roof of most average family cars. This weight includes rigging, spars etc. Sponsorship for the build came in from Robbins Timber who generously offered to supply the materials we need and from Really Simple Sails in the Philippines who have been kind enough to donate a sail. However, to ensure that we are remaining on target the materials and items used in the build will have their February 2016 retail prices applied . What followed was a great deal of calculation involving price against weight. Essentially, with timber and ply, the lighter and stronger you go the more expensive. Given this will be a light weight boat, it is necessary to use marine ply (in this case Robbins Elite) and the strongest, lightest timber we could afford for framing, foils and spars. (In this case Western Red Cedar, for the foils and frames and Douglas Fir for the spars and mast.) By carefully balancing these factors we have been able to keep the cost of the boat down to under £1200 (final figure not yet known, currently around £1080). It’s worth stressing at this point that our challenge was not to build the cheapest OzGoose we could but to build one which meets the Mirror’s criteria. We believe that the OzGoose could be built for around £500 if exterior ply and softwood framing is used, aluminium pole spars and a home made sail. However, such a boat would weigh in at around 90 kilos and would not be car-toppable. Workshop When I initially founded BBM I had planned to create a workshop in an industrial unit with the table saws, planning machines and hoists you find in any professional wood working shop. However, with a bit of thought I realised that this would not help our readers many of whom want to build a boat but are forced to do it in a domestic environment. Therefore I will be building OZGoose in our basement and our garage using tools that the home boat builder would or could have access to. Therefore, the only power tool we will be using in the construction is a Makita Cordless Drill and Screwdriver. All sawing will be completed with the Z-Saws Saw Guide System and Hand Saws from Japanese Saw importer and Z-Saws specialist, Jim Morrison of woodworkprojects.co.uk . I have had to replace a bench plane and a box plane and purchase a new set of budget chisels. Throughout the build I’ll be honest and open showing all the cock ups, spills and mistakes, the only thing you will be spared is the swearing! It is important, if these builds are to be valuable and worth reading about, that the update articles have relevant content to help you build the same boat or to help you seclect appropriate techniques. As of 16th February, we are all good to go, we are only waiting on the delivery of the timber, ply and epoxy from Robbins and the sail from RSS in the Philippines. Hopefully both will be on time. On completing this lightweight boat we will start the construction of the sub £500 version of the OzGoose.