Thursday, 7 January 2021
St Ayles Skiff storage idea
Sunday, 3 January 2021
The Eureka Canoe
We have done the Eureka Canoe which was designed by Mike Storer for some time, either as a plans set only or as plans and a CNC cut plywood kit
The canoe is really a right sized boat for those wanting a car top type boat, you can take a passenger in the Eureka Canoe or just yourself.
Please supply your email address and I will forward you the PDF on this design.
Roy
Thursday, 24 December 2020
Jig Saw joints in our kits
Depending on the designer, some of our kits have what is know as a jig saw joint when two plywood panels need to be joined together, the Argie 15 is one such design. The kit we shipped to South Island in New Zealand has those joints and assembly times are quick and accurate.
Seen above the panels have been laid out in the order that they will be glued up in
The workshop floor has a sheet of industrial grade black plastic laid on it, then the epoxy coated panels are matched to each other, a second plastic sheet covers the panels and weights are positioned over the joints.
When the epoxy has fully cured the excess will be power sanded off.
Note the black plastic sheeting and a selection of weights in the form of whatever was to hand on the day.
My thanks to Ian the builder of this Argie 15 kit for his pictures.
Roy
Wednesday, 21 October 2020
Didi 26 drop keel foil
The drop keel foil is made from Iroko which is laminated to the required width.
Shaping the Didi 26 drop keel is done after the CNC machine has marked the foil and top shape out.
Pricing on application.
Roy
Didi Mini Transat rudders
We have the required profiles in our CNC machine, rudders can be supplied as laminated blanks for home finishing and completion or as shaped and glassed , with an epoxy primer finish.
Laminated blanks which have been CNC cut to the required profile.
The blanks are sprayed black to show the depth of the grooves as the shaping is done.
We use clear oregon pine as the core material.
Glassed with 460 gram biaxial cloth to the designers lay up, epoxy resin is used to bond the cloth with.
Contact me on pricing, shipping World wide can normally be done.
Roy
Sadler 26 rudder made
A new ( old stock ) Sadler 26 yacht was ready to launch , there was no rudder supplied with the hull and deck moulds, we made a rudder for that boat.
Contact with the Sadler 26 association in the UK found that even they do not have a set of drawings to enable them to remake a new rudder. We used a rudder on a local Sadler 26 and took the profiles from that, you can see the black lines they are the shape we had to machine to.
French made okoume marine plywood is used.
Please contact me for pricing.
Rudder manufacturing in Cape Town
We have made a number of rudders, from an Optimist, to a Mirror, to Didi Mini Transat, Holiday 23, Didi 26, Sadler 26, Etap 34 also an Irwin 51 which is pictured here.
We were sub contractors to the company who removed the old and damaged rudder.
Painted in etch primer, underneath the paint is biaxial glass cloth and epoxy resin.
Monday, 19 October 2020
The St Ayles Skiff kit build In Hout Bay
The Hout Bay Yacht Club found interest in the creation of a rowing section, first they needed a boat, they chose the internationally accepted St Ayles Skiff and ordered a kit from CKD Boats.
The pictures were taken three days back..
A mixed crew, its worked really well for the HBYC rowing club group.
Please contact me for St Ayles Skiff supply and pricing.
Sunday, 18 October 2020
The Argie 15 by Dix Design
Some pictures to show what the boat looks like as a kit set.
Note, this is an Argie 15 when assembled, the picture is from the Dix Design web site.
This shows the panels we cut to make the Argie 15 plywood kit set.
The Argie 15 plywoods now use Jigsaw joints which speeds up assembly.
When required we can also supply selected and machined Meranti hardwood to the lists on the designers plans.
We pride ourselves in our packing, we use a 13mm plywood and secure with steel band strapping, there is an Argie 15 kit in the plywood crate, it is on its way right now and to Picton via Nelson, in New Zealand.
Please contact me for pricing.
Roy
Saturday, 17 October 2020
Argie 15 kit build
This is one of our best selling kits, it is a right sized boat to take family and friends out in,
We also/ supplied the North Sails and Ronstan deck gear to this Argie 15 kit
Contact me for the PDF file on this design with prices and some video links in it.
rOY
Friday, 9 October 2020
Stuart's Optimist kit build picture
Stuart in the USA ordered an Optimist kit from us, the kit included the plys CNC cut to size, the builders jig, a North Sails sale and a Harken deck pack.
He made a nice job of the build!
Sails can have various colour patches on, in this case there were girls who will sail the boat so pink was chosen.
Sunday, 4 October 2020
Optimist dinghy kit build sequence
These pictures will show the way our Builders Jig and hull panels are assembled.
The jig is built first, it can be re used for the building of more Optimist hulls.The panels are best fitted dry and so that you can check dimensions which we supply with each kit.
Try the panels in the jig and so that you understand the assembly process, it is best not to be in a rush to glue panels at this stage.
Dry fitting gives you more time to know what panels to fit first.
This picture shows a home made clamp and a wooden wedge to help pull the panels together and close the joints.
Seen here all the panels are in place, this is a good time to measure the sizes overall to ensure the boat will measure to the Optimist rules.
Saturday, 3 October 2020
Toylander Series two building
Some images that may help those who are thinking of building one of our Toylander kits!
My own first build, it was done in a single day, at this stage it has not been glued, it is held together by the finger joints we developed.
From the front, note the holes in the front wings, they are closed of with bending plywood shapes we offer pre made.
The bending ply pre shaped section fits into the open area that forms the Toylanders front wing curve.
At this stage the body has been glued together, the finger joints have been filled ( white ) and the total body inside and out has been epoxied with a thin wet epoxy to seal the marine plywood prior to painting.
To build a Toylander you will need the plans, they are supplied by Real Life Toys in Wales, UK, we supply the body CNC cut kit only and when you have proof of plans purchase.
Please contact me for pricing on the body kit, I will then mail you back as there is a PDF you can then read.






















