I am enjoying your videos. I love the heart you have for what you do. In your sharing I have found some peace and inspiration to get a small boat of my own. It was great finding out that you are an Architect, and I really enjoyed what you shared in the video regarding the house renovation. The High School I was sent to was a trade school, where I chose to study Residential Architecture. After which I spent a few years in the US Navy and then my time as a designer turned to about 15 years as a Structural Steel Detailer on designs for US Navy vessels as well as many classes of Merchant Ships, as well as some smaller wood hull craft. These days I work as a structural steel detailer for commercial buildings of all types. In the past I spent a good amount of time at sea on larger vessels, but I always remembered more fondly the times I went out on small sailing crafts as a guest. The quiet thrill of seeing and hearing the spray as the hull pushed through the waves seemed to wash the cares away. These days I spend my time on the water by watching your videos. Anyway, I just wanted to say that what you share in your videos is much appreciated.
I love watching your content. keep up the great work. you are one of the people who inspired me to start sailing. I bought a sailing 12 ft dinghy about two years ago. It was great to learn on but it started to leak quite badly this last trip. so I brought it up to the shop and made some repairs but couldn't stop there. Now she has a whole new front deck and storage compartments and I set her up with a deep cycle marine battery, solar, bilge pump, 38lb trust trolling motor and proper sleeping area. I cant wait to take my first trip
Roger, thank you for placing clear info on which design is shown - that IS a great visual guide. Navigator, Whaler and others sort of became real! So great to see them all close and in action! As if I was there with you!
Roger! So great to see a new video from you! Your videos are some of my very favorite on the internet. I have watched them all several times. I LOVED your book and I"m about to read it again for the second time. I built a Caledonia Yawl last winter and my son in-law and I sailed it from Portland Oregon 110 miles down the Columbia to Astoria, OR. Lovely adventure. Just finished a 3 day cruise in Hood Canal. Had a seal try to board our boat during the night! Keep up the good work, Roger! There are a lot of people discovering this amazing sport because of you!
Nice to see you on my home turf or swell where I started cruising as a 10yr old in about 1970 where me and my friends started overnight camping on Waiheke and surrounding islands on our P class yachts over the years my dinghies have got bigger and the cruising a little further but still my core cruising ground is the Hauraki gulf still loving it.
When I was around 10 years old my brother (8 yrs) and I sailed from Beachlands to Waiheke Island and back in a 12' Flying Ant very much like the red, plumb bow in your video. My parents were sailing their 30' sloop and we were following along behind!
Fantastic as always, Mister Barnes! I've been learning so much from your videos over the years. Here's to you, from my 8-footer on the Great South Bay of Long Island!
Only just seen this video Roger and it brought back many happy memories. When I visited Auckland in 1959 I don't think there was a building higher than 3 stories. I have sailed and raced a 29 ft Whaler around Wellington Bay and because of the strange winds you can get there sailed all the way round and never changed tack.. Windy Wellington. I am sure you enjoyed your tie there. Regards Michael
Bill Belcher, helluva character, Spanish civil war, Sydney-Hobart shipwreck on Middleton Reef, 28 days adrift and other adventures, wrote book on make your own self steering, lived on Waiheke. Lovely Island, lovely man, RIP.
JW's designs are nothing short of amazing! I have built and sailed "Houdini", and can attest to her great performance, stability and all around sea-capability. I have purchased a great number of his plans over the years - great company in the dismal Canadian winter night - and I know I will build another some day soon. But which shall it be, a Sherpa to serve as a tender for my cruiser, or perhaps a Pathfinder, or even a Navigator, for far-faring adventuring? One thing I know for a certainty: you cannot go wrong with one of John's designs. When you consider the investment in time and material resources that go into building a boat, there is simply no room for doubt as to the end result, and I can guarantee that a John Welsford design will make the endeavour very worthwhile, indeed!
Jack Rabbit Totally agree, Jack. Navigator is a superb, little sea keeper. I haven’t actually sailed a Pathfinder, but I suspect she’s even better. Certainly roomier. Don’t underestimate the labour involved in building either of them, though. To all you Poms who don’t know about JW’s designs, I say check them out. I think you’d go a long way to find better cruising dinghies. I once saw a video of a Navigator fetching into the Tamaki river from Waiheke island on a day when there were no other yachts braving it out there. It was a good force 7 or 8 and she was perfectly balanced under just her jib and mizzen.
Roger = It was so good to meet you in person - after avidly viewing your TH-cam footage and reading the dinghy cruising companion. It's a pity we couldn't have spent more time showing you more of our small boat 'friendly' waters. In NZ we're so lucky to have so much useable coastline. Perhaps a summer trip for you next? Thanks for visit and the video. Grahame.
Please can you do more videos because I find them really helpful and you have inspired me to want to do dinghy cruising and I really want to meat you. I am at msc Marconi sailing club and I am 13 years old and like I said before my dad is Peter Smith who works at classic boat and I want to get a tide way so can you make a video on what are the best dinghy cruising boats and I would like to see you work on your boat and see how you do some of you work that's please Ripley thanks again from Leo there and many new videos that I can comment on because they are so old thanks again bye.
Having just 'discovered' your channel it's nice to see that you've already been in my back yard. I was born in Auckland but as I now live on the Mainland I don't admit that to too many people. I have started building and failed utterly to complete 3 dinghys now, but undaunted I have plans afoot for a fourth! I've have and have read John Welsford's book and like his designs but am undecided. Watching Lou from 'Tips from a shipwright' has given me other food for thought... I'm no shipbuilder (obviously) and so am thinking my next project has to be ridiculously simple, and yet I don't want to build an ugly crate either. Love your dinghy and the rigging of your mains sheet is extraordinary, just as you say robustly simple - now that's my cup of tea right there. Regards from the Antipodes.
Brett, that Saturday Night Special by Welsford looks like an easy build but a comely shape. If that,s too big you might look at Selway Fishers catalogue.
You could buy a small trailer sailer for a third of the price it would cost to build a Navigator. Buy one, sail it, enjoy it, then decide if you want to go down that road? I too was looking at these types of boats, but the cost of build is prohibitive, but if you have the money and love that type of boat then your lucky.
In a couple of months I’ll start building what will be our last sailboat for my wife and myself. I’m 70 with back issues but not quite ready or perhaps smart enough to quite sailing all together. I’ve studying two designs for the last year, Ilur by Vivier and Navigator by Welsford. Sense both designers live half way around the world from each other it’s been very difficult to find a person who has had experience with both designs. While there is little difference in LOA or beam there is quite a difference in design and weight, Ilur 245kg / 540lbs vs. Navigator 140kg / 309lbs. Your in a unique positions to have a Ilur as your boat and while in New Zealand to try (I believe) a Navigator or Pathfinder? I live in the Pacific Northwest, near Seattle, Washington, were it’s rainy, cold water 45F/7.22C to 52F/11.11C degrees, with strong currents & tides, fluky winds to gales, and rarely flat water, more like conditions in England than New Zealand I would imagine. Can you please comment on difference of the two designs from the prospective of an older, less flexible, not as quick as in their youth, couple who prioritize Safety= able to recover from 90º knock down, not finicky but forgiving nature if an error is made, Stability= boarding and moving around on board without a lot of quick/sudden motion, Easy to sail= set-up mast & sails, simple sail handling, not demanding constant attention unless we choose to. Of course, any other observations you find important that would be relevant to a pair of old sailers. I ask you this because as I’m learning there are more of us out there “older-retire” still want to sail, (more gentle now) then I realized. It’s a growing segment (older sailers) and small boat sailing not addressed by the boating community or manufactures that I can find. Sorry for the long comment, I don’t ask for a long in-depth review (not to intrude on your time, to much) of the two boats but for a basic comparison, if you will, on the values from the prospective of an older sailing couple. Your experience and any help you could offer would be gratefully appreciated to help us in deciding between these two beautifully designs.
Karl S What scares me the most is seeing older folk sailing these types of craft without PFD’s on. I’m in my fifties and sail an ‘unsinkable’ dinghy that I’ve capsized and turtled many times over the last 15 months (since starting to sail) Have you ever tried pulling yourself up over the gunwale of a righted boat? Especially with high free board height? My boats free board is only about 250-300mm above the water line, but with a life jacket on it was a shock to my ego, how difficult it was to get onboard. Moreover a major wake call regarding my level of fitness. After sailing up to three-four days a week from 2-6 hours at a time I’ve gotten used to it. So when I started to look around at these types of boats I was concerned about righting and retrieving. I suppose you have to be very honest with yourself first up and set your limits and know your sailing grounds. I love Vivier’s boats as well.
G'day Roger! I live & sail in Auckland and have recently sold a Welsford Navigator to acquire a beautiful 17' lug-rigged yawl to cruise around the Hauraki gulf in: my boat is very comparable to your Ilur though perhaps a bit lighter in construction while still being well set up with the basics for cruising which is what I have in mind. Anyway, I was wondering if it might be possible to somehow get a closeup of your downhaul purchase system on Avel Dro because while I have 3:1 on the main halyard, I only have a 1:1 on my downhaul which I notice you can adjust very quickly and easily from close to the helm on your boat? I have scanned your videos for something that shows your setup but apart from occasional fleeting glimpses and shots of you tweaking the downhaul without going forwards I can't find anything! Hope you can find a way to oblige and keep up the good work :-) Rgds, Andy
Hi Roger, thank you for the great videos, you are always a big inspiration to me! I wanted to ask you how does Welsford Pathfinder compares to your Ilur in terms of seaworthiness and ease of construction? Many thanks in advance.
hi roger would a midget 13 be a good boat to go dingycruising?also could u make a video on what safety gear ais gps radio u use,i asked some "sailors"and they said it would be nuts sailing the dutch/belgian/french coast and crossing rivermouths like maasmouth in holland or the wester/easter-schelde and go upriver to antwerpen in a small boat.
Hi ccc I don’t know the Midget 13, so I can’t advise I’m afraid. I will try to do a video about my equipment. Friends of mine have cruised extensively in Holland in a dinghy, crossing the Islemeer and going out to the offshore islands of the N Coast. Roger
The Welsford Navigator is an outstanding boat. I used to own a Montgomery 17 - a very well done little ship - and was consistently outrun by Joel Bergen when I would occasionally encounter him at the ramp here in Washington State, USA. He has an interesting blog at navigatorjoel.blogspot that some may find interesting.
I am enjoying your videos. I love the heart you have for what you do. In your sharing I have found some peace and inspiration to get a small boat of my own. It was great finding out that you are an Architect, and I really enjoyed what you shared in the video regarding the house renovation. The High School I was sent to was a trade school, where I chose to study Residential Architecture. After which I spent a few years in the US Navy and then my time as a designer turned to about 15 years as a Structural Steel Detailer on designs for US Navy vessels as well as many classes of Merchant Ships, as well as some smaller wood hull craft. These days I work as a structural steel detailer for commercial buildings of all types. In the past I spent a good amount of time at sea on larger vessels, but I always remembered more fondly the times I went out on small sailing crafts as a guest. The quiet thrill of seeing and hearing the spray as the hull pushed through the waves seemed to wash the cares away. These days I spend my time on the water by watching your videos. Anyway, I just wanted to say that what you share in your videos is much appreciated.
Thank you James.
I love watching your content. keep up the great work. you are one of the people who inspired me to start sailing.
I bought a sailing 12 ft dinghy about two years ago. It was great to learn on but it started to leak quite badly this last trip. so I brought it up to the shop and made some repairs but couldn't stop there. Now she has a whole new front deck and storage compartments and I set her up with a deep cycle marine battery, solar, bilge pump, 38lb trust trolling motor and proper sleeping area. I cant wait to take my first trip
Roger, thank you for placing clear info on which design is shown - that IS a great visual guide. Navigator, Whaler and others sort of became real! So great to see them all close and in action! As if I was there with you!
Roger! So great to see a new video from you! Your videos are some of my very favorite on the internet. I have watched them all several times. I LOVED your book and I"m about to read it again for the second time. I built a Caledonia Yawl last winter and my son in-law and I sailed it from Portland Oregon 110 miles down the Columbia to Astoria, OR. Lovely adventure. Just finished a 3 day cruise in Hood Canal. Had a seal try to board our boat during the night! Keep up the good work, Roger! There are a lot of people discovering this amazing sport because of you!
I hope that I can awaken more interest in this way of going sailing.
Nice to see you on my home turf or swell where I started cruising as a 10yr old in about 1970 where me and my friends started overnight camping on Waiheke and surrounding islands on our P class yachts over the years my dinghies have got bigger and the cruising a little further but still my core cruising ground is the Hauraki gulf still loving it.
When I was around 10 years old my brother (8 yrs) and I sailed from Beachlands to Waiheke Island and back in a 12' Flying Ant very much like the red, plumb bow in your video. My parents were sailing their 30' sloop and we were following along behind!
Lovely, Roger! You put a big smile on my face with that one. John Welsford is a real wonder, and so are you. Many thanks.
Fantastic to have stumbled across your videos Roger, enjoying all of them, especially this one because I moved from Dorset to Waiheke 12 years ago!!
Another awesome video! What a beautiful country to sail in!!
It's nice that you did the introductions with the sailors and > their boats.👍☺👍
Fantastic as always, Mister Barnes! I've been learning so much from your videos over the years. Here's to you, from my 8-footer on the Great South Bay of Long Island!
No substitute for being there & it looks wonderful for you people
Only just seen this video Roger and it brought back many happy memories. When I visited Auckland in 1959 I don't think there was a building higher than 3 stories. I have sailed and raced a 29 ft Whaler around Wellington Bay and because of the strange winds you can get there sailed all the way round and never changed tack.. Windy Wellington. I am sure you enjoyed your tie there. Regards Michael
Nice video Roger I always look forward to your most interesting videos Thank you for sharing
Bill Belcher, helluva character, Spanish civil war, Sydney-Hobart shipwreck on Middleton Reef, 28 days adrift and other adventures, wrote book on make your own self steering, lived on Waiheke. Lovely Island, lovely man, RIP.
JW's designs are nothing short of amazing! I have built and sailed "Houdini", and can attest to her great performance, stability and all around sea-capability. I have purchased a great number of his plans over the years - great company in the dismal Canadian winter night - and I know I will build another some day soon. But which shall it be, a Sherpa to serve as a tender for my cruiser, or perhaps a Pathfinder, or even a Navigator, for far-faring adventuring? One thing I know for a certainty: you cannot go wrong with one of John's designs. When you consider the investment in time and material resources that go into building a boat, there is simply no room for doubt as to the end result, and I can guarantee that a John Welsford design will make the endeavour very worthwhile, indeed!
Jack Rabbit
Totally agree, Jack. Navigator is a superb, little sea keeper. I haven’t actually sailed a Pathfinder, but I suspect she’s even better. Certainly roomier.
Don’t underestimate the labour involved in building either of them, though.
To all you Poms who don’t know about JW’s designs, I say check them out. I think you’d go a long way to find better cruising dinghies. I once saw a video of a Navigator fetching into the Tamaki river from Waiheke island on a day when there were no other yachts braving it out there. It was a good force 7 or 8 and she was perfectly balanced under just her jib and mizzen.
Thank you again Roger, for sharing this experience that you undertook, with us! At 8:47 EMERALD appears and steals my heart!
This is my favourite channel
Great video! as usual. Cheers from Brazil.
Roger = It was so good to meet you in person - after avidly viewing your TH-cam footage and reading the dinghy cruising companion. It's a pity we couldn't have spent more time showing you more of our small boat 'friendly' waters. In NZ we're so lucky to have so much useable coastline. Perhaps a summer trip for you next? Thanks for visit and the video. Grahame.
Beautifully shot. Thanks
Please can you do more videos because I find them really helpful and you have inspired me to want to do dinghy cruising and I really want to meat you. I am at msc Marconi sailing club and I am 13 years old and like I said before my dad is Peter Smith who works at classic boat and I want to get a tide way so can you make a video on what are the best dinghy cruising boats and I would like to see you work on your boat and see how you do some of you work that's please Ripley thanks again from Leo there and many new videos that I can comment on because they are so old thanks again bye.
Another really interesting and so . . . relaxing video to watch. Thanks to you, Rodger, and to the Kiwis. Great stuff.
Nice one Roger. I love New Zealand, glad you enjoyed it.
Having just 'discovered' your channel it's nice to see that you've already been in my back yard. I was born in Auckland but as I now live on the Mainland I don't admit that to too many people. I have started building and failed utterly to complete 3 dinghys now, but undaunted I have plans afoot for a fourth! I've have and have read John Welsford's book and like his designs but am undecided. Watching Lou from 'Tips from a shipwright' has given me other food for thought... I'm no shipbuilder (obviously) and so am thinking my next project has to be ridiculously simple, and yet I don't want to build an ugly crate either. Love your dinghy and the rigging of your mains sheet is extraordinary, just as you say robustly simple - now that's my cup of tea right there. Regards from the Antipodes.
Northern spy blyat!!!.....go to gulag....uh...otara!!!
Brett, that Saturday Night Special by Welsford looks like an easy build but a comely shape.
If that,s too big you might look at Selway Fishers catalogue.
You could buy a small trailer sailer for a third of the price it would cost to build a Navigator. Buy one, sail it, enjoy it, then decide if you want to go down that road?
I too was looking at these types of boats, but the cost of build is prohibitive, but if you have the money and love that type of boat then your lucky.
Awesome :)
Glad your making more posts .I cant wait to watch the vid .
Had to say hello first.
Cheers
Nice to hear from you.
Watched it.
How fast is that traveller and the whaler...
Wow!
I live on the Hudson River, and it is such a shame there isn't a dinhy cruising group around here. Great video.
How do the wellsford designs compare to th ilur?
They seem to surf their own wake.
Happy days, thank you.
Hi,
Do you have any information on the rogue in the video. I have one myself and I’d love to know how he’s mounted the outboard motor
Gotta love John's cruising dinghies
In a couple of months I’ll start building what will be our last sailboat for my wife and myself. I’m 70 with back issues but not quite ready or perhaps smart enough to quite sailing all together.
I’ve studying two designs for the last year, Ilur by Vivier and Navigator by Welsford. Sense both designers live half way around the world from each other it’s been very difficult to find a person who has had experience with both designs. While there is little difference in LOA or beam there is quite a difference in design and weight, Ilur 245kg / 540lbs vs. Navigator 140kg / 309lbs.
Your in a unique positions to have a Ilur as your boat and while in New Zealand to try (I believe) a Navigator or Pathfinder?
I live in the Pacific Northwest, near Seattle, Washington, were it’s rainy, cold water 45F/7.22C to 52F/11.11C degrees, with strong currents & tides, fluky winds to gales, and rarely flat water, more like conditions in England than New Zealand I would imagine.
Can you please comment on difference of the two designs from the prospective of an older, less flexible, not as quick as in their youth, couple who prioritize Safety= able to recover from 90º knock down, not finicky but forgiving nature if an error is made, Stability= boarding and moving around on board without a lot of quick/sudden motion, Easy to sail= set-up mast & sails, simple sail handling, not demanding constant attention unless we choose to. Of course, any other observations you find important that would be relevant to a pair of old sailers.
I ask you this because as I’m learning there are more of us out there “older-retire” still want to sail, (more gentle now) then I realized. It’s a growing segment (older sailers) and small boat sailing not addressed by the boating community or manufactures that I can find.
Sorry for the long comment, I don’t ask for a long in-depth review (not to intrude on your time, to much) of the two boats but for a basic comparison, if you will, on the values from the prospective of an older sailing couple. Your experience and any help you could offer would be gratefully appreciated to help us in deciding between these two beautifully designs.
Karl S What scares me the most is seeing older folk sailing these types of craft without PFD’s on. I’m in my fifties and sail an ‘unsinkable’ dinghy that I’ve capsized and turtled many times over the last 15 months (since starting to sail) Have you ever tried pulling yourself up over the gunwale of a righted boat? Especially with high free board height? My boats free board is only about 250-300mm above the water line, but with a life jacket on it was a shock to my ego, how difficult it was to get onboard. Moreover a major wake call regarding my level of fitness. After sailing up to three-four days a week from 2-6 hours at a time I’ve gotten used to it.
So when I started to look around at these types of boats I was concerned about righting and retrieving. I suppose you have to be very honest with yourself first up and set your limits and know your sailing grounds.
I love Vivier’s boats as well.
G'day Roger! I live & sail in Auckland and have recently sold a Welsford Navigator to acquire a beautiful 17' lug-rigged yawl to cruise around the Hauraki gulf in: my boat is very comparable to your Ilur though perhaps a bit lighter in construction while still being well set up with the basics for cruising which is what I have in mind. Anyway, I was wondering if it might be possible to somehow get a closeup of your downhaul purchase system on Avel Dro because while I have 3:1 on the main halyard, I only have a 1:1 on my downhaul which I notice you can adjust very quickly and easily from close to the helm on your boat? I have scanned your videos for something that shows your setup but apart from occasional fleeting glimpses and shots of you tweaking the downhaul without going forwards I can't find anything! Hope you can find a way to oblige and keep up the good work :-) Rgds, Andy
3:34 = Where Charles got his hat ? The closer to a southwester ! I want the same !
also a verry nice video.
Thanks for all the videos so far and i hope next one is arround the corner.
Greetings,, Kitty.
Thanks again
What a wonderful life. You, sir, have figured it out.
Do you have any recommendations on boats other than the Vivier designs?
Teşekkürler.
My dad is peter smith who works for classic boat
Just whetted my appetite - is there more to come about your time in NZ and John’s designs. Love to know your thoughts.
Hi Roger, thank you for the great videos, you are always a big inspiration to me! I wanted to ask you how does Welsford Pathfinder compares to your Ilur in terms of seaworthiness and ease of construction? Many thanks in advance.
Very cool Roger !!
hi roger would a midget 13 be a good boat to go dingycruising?also could u make a video on what safety gear ais gps radio u use,i asked some "sailors"and they said it would be nuts sailing the dutch/belgian/french coast and crossing rivermouths like maasmouth in holland or the wester/easter-schelde and go upriver to antwerpen in a small boat.
Hi ccc
I don’t know the Midget 13, so I can’t advise I’m afraid.
I will try to do a video about my equipment.
Friends of mine have cruised extensively in Holland in a dinghy, crossing the Islemeer and going out to the offshore islands of the N Coast.
Roger
That lovely Emeraude! More info?
Sad to have missed you. When are you coming back?
I love these kind of boats, I'm in Australia, is there somewhere I can buy one
keren banget ini, ditunggu video selanjutnya!
Wow! Welcome mate. Sorry I missed you. Kia ora and hurry back.
Epic video love your vibe :)
Great episode in NZ 🍻
I really want to meet you and go sailing.with you.
The Welsford Navigator is an outstanding boat. I used to own a Montgomery 17 - a very well done little ship - and was consistently outrun by Joel Bergen when I would occasionally encounter him at the ramp here in Washington State, USA. He has an interesting blog at navigatorjoel.blogspot that some may find interesting.
Some lovely boats but a dull video