Showing posts with label Child's catamaran. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Child's catamaran. Show all posts
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Oppikat, Tiny Catamaran
Following on my previous post about a big catamaran, here is the other extreme. This catamaran is only 9ft long and primarily intended for use by children. But read to the end to see an alternative use.
I designed the Oppikat for Nebe Boats a long time ago. They were to build it as a fibreglass production boat but didn't even start to build the moulds before closing their doors. More recently I converted the plans to a combination of plywood and strip cedar construction, to make the design more suitable for amateur builders. We have sold plans for this design to builders in 18 countries but don't know how many are sailing.
A new Oppikat is about to be launched, built by Greg Mitchell in California. She may be launched this weekend.
Greg built it for his children from a plywood bulkhead kit but built the rest of it from the plans.
Greg's daughter had input into the colour scheme for the new boat, choosing the colour of the cross-beams. Greg modified the tone of the blue for the hulls to a colour that would not clash. The result is very eye-catching and definitely has a female touch to it.
This little boat is small enough to be car-topped or lashed to the trampoline of a bigger cat when towed behind the family car.
Although intended for children, Frank Nagel in Germany told me that it has enough buoyancy to sail with him and two children aboard as well.
The Oppikat can be different things to different users. It fits comfortably onto the foredeck or into the davits of cruising catamarans, to serve as a tender and as a toy for both children and adults when anchored. A pair of them on a charter catamaran will add lots of scope for fun activities.
For more info on this little boat go to http://dixdesign.com/oppikat.htm and to http://dixdesign.com/ for our full range of boat designs.
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I designed the Oppikat for Nebe Boats a long time ago. They were to build it as a fibreglass production boat but didn't even start to build the moulds before closing their doors. More recently I converted the plans to a combination of plywood and strip cedar construction, to make the design more suitable for amateur builders. We have sold plans for this design to builders in 18 countries but don't know how many are sailing.
A new Oppikat is about to be launched, built by Greg Mitchell in California. She may be launched this weekend.
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| The newest Oppikat, ready for launch by Greg Mitchell. |
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| Strip planking completed, over plywood bulkheads, ready for plywood side panels. |
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| Hulls completed and other components assembled, ready for the rig. |
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| Oppikat built by Frank Nagel in Germany for his children, sailed here by his son. |
The Oppikat can be different things to different users. It fits comfortably onto the foredeck or into the davits of cruising catamarans, to serve as a tender and as a toy for both children and adults when anchored. A pair of them on a charter catamaran will add lots of scope for fun activities.
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| The red image is an Oppikat on the trampoline of a DH550 cruising catamaran. |
Friday, January 13, 2012
Oppikat - A Boat for Little People
Years ago Neels Lund of Nebe Boats commissioned a catamaran intended for children to sail. He was going to make moulds then build it as a GRP production boat. I designed the Oppikat for Neels but his company closed its doors before he even started building the moulds.
Over the years since then we have sold a few sets of plans for it but I have never received any photos of completed boats until recently. Frank Nagel in Berlin, Germany, has completed one for his children and has started to send me sailing photos.
Frank's newly completed Oppikat
Frank has two sons. Johnny is 7 and sails with Frank aboard for safety. Vincent is 11 and weighs 33kg. He sails their Oppikat by himself in breezes up to Force 3. Frank says that he also sails it himself with both sons aboard in up to Force 7. The 120kg total weight is a bit much for the little 9ft cat but it is good to know that she can take it.
11-Year old Vincent sailing the Oppikat
Although I first detailed this little boat to be built in fibreglass, I more recently did detailing for a combination of plywood and strip cedar, to make it more suitable for amateur builders. Frank built his boat using that method.
This is a great boat for children to learn how to sail a catamaran, in a size that they can handle either single-handed or with a friend. The fact that it manages rather well with a full-size adult means that Dad can have his fun with it also.
The Oppikat is a nice boat for a winter project, for Dad or Grandpa to build and possibly have some quality time with the little ones. You can be building in a warm basement or garage in the winter then be ready for time on the water in summer. The hulls are small, so it can be built inside almost any room in a standard house or apartment, then taken out through a standard door. It can be car-topped on small cars, so no trailer is needed to get her to the water and back home again.
I hope that we will see a lot more of these fun boats on the water before too long.
Visit our website at http://dixdesign.com/ for information on all of our designs.
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