‘Gorfnik’ Paraduck

'Gorfnik'

Paul who has on several occasions contributed to the comments section of this blog sent me an email with information about a very small Puddle Duck-type sailing cruiser designed for protected waters. I thought I would share the details:

André-François Bourbeau who lives at Saguenay, Québec, came up with the idea of making his own Paraduck based on a modified Puddle Duck Racer.* She is fully enclosed with sitting headroom, having a similar but smaller cabin to that of Matt Layden’s Paradox, of which André-François is an owner and builder. Unlike a Paradox, ‘Gorfnik’, weighs about 200 lbs, as opposed to 1,410 lbs, allowing her to be launched from a dinghy trolley, which means she can go where a Paradox can’t on account of requiring a slipway with vehicle access.

Bearing in mind the limitations of such a boat, ‘Gorfnik’ looks like a load of fun, both to build and to sail. This is not an endorsement or a recommendation, but if I was not already a boat owner I would consider having a go at building one and sailing her.

I would add the caveat that any choices you make are entirely up to you, and I can take no responsibility for your decisions and actions.

Links

Gorfnik ‘Paraduck’ – Here are a few photos at Flickr

https://www.flickr.com/photos/92281245@N07/sets/72157658270391621

‘Gorfnik’ Free Building Plans (Download page for the PDF – 6.3MB)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/q8dto6a1kqilrvp/EDITED%20GORFNIK%20PLANS%209-6-2015.pdf?dl=0

*PD Racer

http://pdracer.com/

Puddle Duck Free Building Plans

http://pdracer.com/free-plans/

Puddle Duck Racer 952 (‘Gorfnik’)

http://www.pdracer.com/members/?boat=952

Paradox Sailboat Videos

http://bills-log.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/paradox-sailboat-videos.html