‘Sand Flee’

Matt Layden is always coming up with astonishing small boat designs, including Terrapin, Gjac, Swamp Thing, Paradox, Little Cruiser, Rob-Royoid, Enigma and, most recently, the amazing Sand Flee, which he entered in the 2007/8 Watertribe Everglades Challenge. This 8’ by 3’ 9” double-chined pram dinghy with a deck has a single leeboard on her starboard side. She also has a sliding hatch that can completely cover her rectangular cockpit, effectively making the boat lockable and perhaps watertight. When empty, she weighs 85 lbs, and the area of her high-peaked, furling lugsail is 45 sq ft. Her mast, yard and boom are all approximately 8’ in length, which means they can be stowed on the port side deck without extending beyond the bow and stern. As with Paradox, she has a rudder that can be raised, and her tiller passes through a sealed port in the transom. Secondary propulsion is by a pair of oars that are stowed on the starboard side deck. Like Enigma she has a pair of wheels that can be attached to her sides for portaging. The latest photo shows Sand Flee with a dodger instead of her sliding hatch; perhaps the hatch has been stowed inside the boat?


Links


PD Racer – Article on Sand Flee with excellent photos

http://www.pdracer.com/articles/ecpdr/matt/index.htm


WaterTribe – Everglades Challenge

http://www.watertribe.com/