Boat Plans

If all goes well, I should soon receive my kit of plywood parts for building a Paradox micro-cruiser designed by Matt Layden. The kit is being produced by Alec Jordan of Jordan Boats, and it will be the first of its kind. All previous Paradoxes have been made from bare materials prepared by their builders.

In readiness for the arrival of my kit and the prospect of starting the project soon, I’ve been studying the detailed plans drawn up by Matt. There are 12 sheets of A2 black and white drawings, very clearly presented. On drawing number 6, there are instructions for the sequence of assembly. One thing that is evident about the plans is that the designer has built the boat himself; therefore being fully aware of the procedure, he was able to work out a system whereby one stage leads to the next and subsequent stages are naturally built upon previous ones.

Don Elliott has produced a very useful Paradox Building Manual which is now available for downloading over the Internet at a reasonable price. I have been studying one of his older Paradox manuals which came in paper format and it’s full of useful advice on doing a good job. He has worked out methods whereby the process of building the boat should be easier and quicker. If you are contemplating building a Paradox sailboat you would do well to obtain his Manual.

When I’ve finished building my Paradox I’ll be in a position of being able to express an opinion on the usefulness of the kit by Jordan Boats. Alec will have done a lot of preparatory work to ensure all the parts fit together. I guess it would have been a tricky undertaking involving the use of a CAD program. In addition to the kit, he will be producing a guide for its assembly. The sequence of building the kit may well differ from the original plans. A stitch and glue version will by nature not exactly resemble the boat in its entirety; for example, there may be no chine logs in the kit version. Obviously, the strength and integrity of the original must be matched and her final displacement should be the same.

Some may claim that by using a kit, the boat will not be a Paradox, but that is not said of the Roamer dinghy, which can be built either in the original format or by using the stitch and glue method.

Information

Jordan Boats – http://www.jordanboats.co.uk/

Plans available from - Dave Bolduc.
1736 Phillips Avenue, Greensboro, Nc 27405, USA.

Building Manual from - DElliott@Tomah.com . Alternatively write to:
Don Elliott,
711 Wisconsin Ave,
Box 202,
Tomah,
Wisconsin, 54660,
USA.