Phoenix III in Woodenboat Magazine

In late September this year, I was approached by Woodenboat Publications to see whether I would be prepared to write a "How to Build" article about Phoenix III. I was delighted to be given the opportunity, but the catch was that the manuscript, photos, and drawings had to be submitted in two weeks.

Dan Taylors home-built Phoenix III sailing in the Pacific North-West USA
(photo courtesy Dan Taylor and Nik Warden)

The writing didnt worry me too much, as I had plenty of material on hand. My major concern was that the plans for Phoenix III represented my very first attempt at using CAD as my drawing medium, and I had to teach myself as I went along. The program used was AutoSketch (from AutoDESK - the makers of AutoCAD) which is a very simple 2D product I use to this very day. Rather than relying on a sophisticated computer program to automatically produce drawings from 3D modelling, I determine the shape of my designs using a variety of methods - from carving a half-model to 3D modelling in DELFTship Professional. Once I have a three-dimensional shape which satisfies me, regardless of the method used, I take dimensions and draw the final CAD plans one line at a time in exactly the same way as I would on a drawing-board - it is just that I use a mouse instead of a pencil, and a screen instead of paper.

The original half-model which provided the starting point for the design

Drawing the lines of Phoenix III a long time ago.

I was not satisfied with the presentation of my early CAD drawings and had for a long time intended to re-draft the Phoenix III plans - not to alter the shape of the boat - just to make the plans more professional. The opportunity provided by the editors of Woodenboat left me little choice, as they wanted a complete set of building plans to accompany the three-part article, and I needed to consolidate the drawings from the previous 30-sheet (A3-sized) presentation to a smaller number of sheets, but making sure that the text and dimensions on the A1-sized sheets would be readable when reduced to the size of a magazine page.

The redrafting process took me about nine or ten days of intense effort, with most days starting early in the morning and running through until about 11pm. After that, I wrote and/or re-edited 16,500 words of text in four days!

One of the new plan sheets

In the same manner as previously, I offer plans in either metric or imperial editions, and they are available in an A3 comb-bound format or as A1 rolled sheets at a substantially higher price due to the printing and postal costs. In both instances, the plans are identical except for the scale of the drawings, with the A3 edition being the standard. As soon as I have a new website published, I will also be offering pdf download editions.

The first part of the three-part article is now on the market in Woodenboat number 236  . You will be able to build the boat directly from the magazine if you wish - all you need to do is to purchase Woodenboat issues number 236, 237, and 238. Certain items will be missing, such as full-sized patterns for side deck hanging knees, boom jaws and oarlock blocks, but the information required to determine their shape is provided. However, the editors (and I) recommend the purchase of a full set of plans if you are serious about building.

Here is a link to a low-resolution video clip of Phoenix III sailing in light conditions, viewed from outside the hull. Despite the low image quality, the clip is worth viewing in order to see how the easily-driven, lean hull slices through the water. Video courtesy of Rick Sutton and Paul Hernes

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New Video of Phoenix III

This video was shot last Tuesday by Paul Hernes, using a camera mount above the transom of his Phoenix III. The conditions were quite light, and Paul was doing a good job of harassing Rich Sutton in his Welsford Navigator until a channel marker got in the way.

 Paul was using a Joel White Poohduck Skiff rig on his boat. As far as Im aware, Paul has three separate rigs for Phoenix III, and uses them interchangeably, as was the idea when I drew the multiple rig arrangement for the design.

Here is a photo of Pauls experimental Poohduck Skiff rig. The sail area is small, but Paul is a light-weight and he seems to like the rig.

The original Poohduck Skiff built by Rick Sutton...

...and the same rig set on Pauls Phoenix III

Phoenix III is a versatile boat, and being relatively small, experimenting with rigs costs very little.

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Videos Showing Details of Phoenix III Balance Lug Rig

During a recent visit from Paul Hernes (builder of the first Phoenix III) I was able to take a number of still and video shots of the details of the balance lug rig on Pauls Phoenix III.

This was my first ever attempt at video filming and editing, so please be patient with the results. However, you may find some of the clips to be worthwhile as they do show how well the boat has been developed by Paul over the years. Here they are: -

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Self Steering Phonix III Video

It is generally thought that single-masted boats cant be made to self-steer. But there are plenty of examples of people who have made it happen - the best known being Joshua Slocum.

Here is a video showing Phoenix III doing the job, sailing to windward in mild conditions. I guess that many of you may have already seen this video, but I post it for those who have missed the action.

In the clip, owner/builder Paul Hernes is lying in the bilge of the boat, but he is not touching the tiller, nor in any other way cheating. The tiller has been lightly lashed and the boat is sailing herself. The rig is the balance lug, which sets on the standard mast which is used also for the sprit-sloop rig. Have a look at the tell-tales to see how well the rig has been trimmed.

With all of my designs, I try to use a single mast location and a common mast with the various rig options. This requires careful design and manipulation of sail size, shape, and location - but the net result is that it is possible to have different rigs without having to make a new mast, and more importantly, it is not necessary to change the mast step and the mast partner.

Paul frequently goes to the boat ramp with both the sprit-sloop rig and the balance lug rig. He makes the decision about which rig to set after he gets to the launch site. Sometimes he starts the day with one rig, and finishes the day with the other.

I promise that I will get an entry written dealing with Micro part 2 as soon as possible. Trust me, I have been really busy!?

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Phoenix III and the Perfect Customer

Mist on Lake Cootharaba -courtesy Paul Hernes

Sometime early in 2005, a fellow walked into my workshop in Brisbane, Australia. At the time we were extremely busy with a number of boats under construction, and I remember that I was unable to attend to the visitor for quite a while. He had told me that he wanted to look at a boat we were building, with the intention of purchasing a set of the plans for his own use. His name was Paul Hernes, and he appeared to be typical of the sort of amateur builder who frequently came to the shop.

In those days the telephone would ring constantly, and I had to leave Paul to his own devices for five or ten minutes. While he was waiting patiently, the visitor wandered around the workshop, and struck up a conversation with my friend, Doug Laver, who was working on one of our jobs. Doug is a man of action, and after listening to Pauls story he said that he should abandon any idea of buying the plans he had in mind. Doug told him confidently that he needed a better boat, and said, "...Ross will design it for you."

Now, Dougs promise was made with the very best of intentions, but the problem was that I didnt have any idea the the promise had been made!

For quite a long time I had been drawing designs as a method of educating myself. Despite a lifetime of reading about boats and boat design, I still didnt know anywhere near as much as I wanted to about the design process. I began my design work as a strictly private affair to help me better understand the work of the designers  from whose plans I built. But a promise is a promise - Doug and Rhonnie were both of the opinion I could do the job, and Paul Hernes didnt know of my misgivings.

Designing a boat - at least one with detailed drawings, rather than just a set of lines or a 3D model - takes up an enormous amount of time, and time was something I had very little of in those days. We were working fourteen hours a day, six days-per-week, and after work I still had to do all of the accounting, ordering, and invoicing. Consequently, Pauls new design was done in very late-night sessions, and I had to feed him the drawings one or two at a time. The instructions - other than some notes on the plan sheets - were verbal, and delivered over the telephone. (These days there is a fifty-page instruction manual with the plans).

To cut a long story short, Paul Hernes turned out to be one of those rare people who have intelligence, patience, good-humour, and initiative in equal measure. Despite having only built a tiny pram dinghy by way of past experience, Paul had the very first Phoenix III done in about five months.

Paul (dark shirt) listening to another of my friends, Ian Hamilton, (red shirt) giving him advice that he didnt seem to need! The hull of the very first Phoenix III.

Time and again I have explained to people that the thing to do when building a boat is just to get on with it, and most of the thousands of questions which fill up your mind at night time will be answered by the job itself. What is needed is what Paul displayed so very well - common-sense and initiative.

Well, it is now six years since the first Phoenix III was launched, and Paul has sailed her on an average of once a week for that entire time - sometimes he sails much more frequently, and occasionally poor weather keeps him off the water for a little while. But I have met few people who use their boat more consistently (yes, Rick, I know you do too...)

Paul on launching day. He and I spent plenty of time getting the boat rigged and sorted before going to the water. No fanfare and no hurry - that is always the correct approach.

Paul and me about five minutes after the very first launching under sail. The crease in the mainsail is because the brand-new snotter line had stretched, but she was going nicely anyway.

Pauls Phoenix III tacking away from Ricks Pooduck Skiff

Phoenix III in a tranquil beachcruising scene.

That is me testing her stability on launching day. Very good for such a slim boat.

Paul repainted her a while back. Here she is showing her new hull paint and her optional balance lug rig.

As the above photo shows, you can rig Phoenix III in a number of different ways, using the same mast and the same mast step and partner. There is even a Bermudan rig which requires stays - but it still uses the standard mast step and partner. Being able to swap rigs without carrying out any modifications to the boat is a distinct advantage, particularly if you are interested in cruising as well as day-sailing. I took great care to proportion all of the rigs to allow for proper hull-balance while still using a standard mast stepping position.

There are plenty of examples of Phoenix III around now - this is a nice one sailing on the U.S. west coast

Since Paul finished his boat there have been a lot of other examples of Phoenix III launched. At the time I designed her, I had decided that the ideal size for a beachcruiser which would carry one or two people, be a pleasure to row, and be light enough to manhandle onto a trailer when operating alone was somewhere around 15ft long and with a breadth of 4-1/2ft to 5ft. I have not changed my opinion.

Pauls boat on a Queensland beach, showing off her lovely Allwood sails.

Since the first day when Paul walked into my workshop, he has become a good friend and an inspiration to me and to many other sailing people in this part of the world. It is largely due to him that Phoenix III has become such a success. Paul has quietly and steadily worked over his boat, developing the running rigging and making small alterations to his stowage arrangements etc. This is how things should be - a boat used frequently, maintained well, and developed so that the combination of skipper and boat become a smoothly-functioning team.

You can download free study plans here and see my web page of designs here

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