Above: The proa Slingshot was one of the true pioneers of speed, topping out at 40 knots.
There are those who believe sailing fast means advanced composites with high-tech fibers, exotic cores, and plenty of cash. Very few think of wood when they think of fast, but before carbon fiber, before Kevlar™…there was wood. Continue reading
By Meade Gougeon — GBI Founder
Cover Photo: ADAGIO was racing with fast company in the 1996 Port Huron to Mackinac Race.
It was after eight months of building that we originally launched Adagio, our 35-foot cruising trimaran. It was on July 6, 1970, and she was then a unique boat in three respects.
First, she was the first large wooden boat entirely bonded together with epoxy using no permanent fastenings. While this is common today, it was revolutionary stuff back when adhesives for wooden boatbuilding (including epoxies) were looked upon as a backup to traditional wood fasteners like nails, screws and bolts. Continue reading
There are many benefits of building boats of strong, lightweight epoxy composites. Let’s look at how both custom and production sailboats are performing on the race circuits.
TRADER, an Andrews 70 built by AKE Ltd. in Tallinn, Estonia, won the 1993 Chicago to Mackinac, and Port Huron to Mackinac offshore races on corrected time. In the 300-mile Chicago race on July 17, racers experienced mostly reaching conditions. The first boat to finish was WINDQUEST, a Reichel/Pugh 70. Continue reading
Gougeon Manufacturing Corp. continued to fine tune the design and production of the Gougeon 32 sailboat in 1993, adding a sporty, wrap-around window look. Continue reading