Tag Archives: Pocket Rocket

Jan C. Gougeon in the boat shop

Jan C. Gougeon

August 7, 1945 – December 18, 2012

Jan Gougeon was a visionary, ingenious, and a great innovator who could see beyond boundaries, one of a few people to really have changed the boatbuilding game in his lifelong quest for speed. This is how boat builders, designers, sailors, and iceboaters recall Jan. A natural engineer, Jan became an accomplished boat designer and builder who was always thinking about his next boat. His vibrant, boyish enthusiasm lit up the room. Jan was a fierce competitor who shared tips and technology openly, offering astute and encouraging advice to novice and veteran sailors and builders alike. Continue reading →

Pioneers of Speed

by Bruce Niederer — GBI Technical Advisor

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 →

Epoxy composite boats are winning a lot of races

Building Techniques & Race Results

Epoxy Composite Boats are Winning

By Grace Ombry 

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.

Custom Boats

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 →

G-32

Gougeon 32 Update

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 →