Puddle duck racer

Energy & Sustainability Fun & Games

Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.

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June 21st, 2009 2

Lucky, of Pizza Crusade, writes:

I saw your post on Tyvek sails, and immediately thought of the PDRacer (Puddle Duck Racer) – a little sailboat you can build for about $150 with tools most people already have. There’s a ton of info out there, as well as info so you can get involved with a local group of PDRacers – or start your own group. I haven’t built one yet, but can’t wait to try my hand at it.

When I was a young teen, my dad had a 37′ cabin cruiser for a while and I had a dinghy sailboat about this size (plastic). I loved that thing. This brings back fond memories.

PDRacer

2 thoughts on “Puddle duck racer”

andrew says:

June 22nd, 2009 at 7:02 am

hey MAKE,

I actually just built a PDRacer last week — we started Sunday afternoon, and worked evenings after work to finish in time for a weekend trip. They’re really remarkable boats and definitely the easiest way to get out on the water for cheap. Add that they’re great fun to build with a group and you have a great project for a weekend with some friends.

Anyway, the standard material for a PDRacer sail is usually a regular blue garden tarp, $20 from home depot, or a heavy-duty one if you’re really conservative. You cut it to shape and take the strips of grommets you don’t need and put them on the head or luff or wherever. We made a really sweet rig this way, and it got the boat well up past hull speed without anything breaking :D

cheers,
Andrew

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Puddle duck racer

By Gareth Branwyn