Flying Geese
Several professional designers including John Welsford and Mik Storer and Jim Michalaklooked at the PDR design and developed good plans. Storer and Welsford subsequently made some alterations to the basics to ensure that performance and ease of building is delivered in line with what is allowed in regular racing classes.
My initial thought when looking for a ‘Mirror’ for the 21st C was to build a PD Racer. However, further study as well as the criteria that the dinghy MUST perform, it must deliver like a Mirror does. It was clearly not going to be the 8ft boat. The design had to be bullet proof and it had to be easy to duplicate by the most ham fisted of DIY muppets.
This is when I stumbled across a design that Mik Storer was working on, the OzGoose, a 12ft version of his 8ft OZ PD Racer which, judging by the video evidence i was seeing, appeared to tick the 'Mirror' boxes.
During further conversations with Mik, it became increasingly clear to me that the Goose was more suitable for our project than the OZRacer. They type of seas and upland open water conditions you get in the UK mean that boats with longer length weather chop better and the Goose tends to ride up in such conditions rather than bury its nose.
Since then I have pestered Mik for changes in the design to incorporate aluminium spar options etc. for European builders where aluminium tubing is cheaper than spar wood and he was good enough to send me the aluminium plans which had been developed by Brad Hickman for is North American Ducks Championship win.
The performance of the Oz Goose in the Philippines has been quite incredible. Some of the videos and pictures we are seeing indicate a boat that does everything its designer says it will and which is capable of very engaging performance. One highlight is a number of dormant members of the Philippines Home Boatbuilder's Yacht Club have come out of retirement to sail and build geese for themselves and their families. Since then, Mik has set up www.opengoose.com a class focused site which is to assist builders and sailors as well as to discuss building, tuning and to establish the class.
If the OzGoose can be built by home builders, for under £1200 for a dinghy that can take a family and perform this way, we could have a boat that could once again revolutionise sailing in the way that the Mirror did and open sailing as a hobby and recreation to those who had previously discounted it and help revitalise the sailing scene with a new low cost entry point.
Ian Henehan on the Oz Goose
“My dad and I choose to build the Goose because it was as simple as a Puddle Duck, but big enough to haul more kids or adults. We had modest expectations for the boat at the time. We were hoping it sailed decently and was fun for the kids. We were just as surprised as everyone else to see the performance side of the Goose during our first summer sailing. It doesn't just sail well for a box boat, it sails really well compared to many "proper" boats in its size range. I think even Mik didn't see it as a very interesting direction to go. After seeing piles of our Goose videos, he had to admit there was more to the Goose than he originally thought. It was fun watching his perspective (on his own design) change as the evidence was presented. Other folks started to see the boat differently as well and it has been interesting to watch the tide turn. I think MIK's description of "An Optimist for adults" really hits the mark. The current top speed for our boat is 12.9kts with winds in the neighborhood of 20kts. The transition to planing is very smooth. Hull speed is around 6kts, the transition to planing starts there. It is irrelevant to the sailor. It feels fast immediately and there is no clear boundary as you gain speed. It just keeps getting faster.”
Mik says: "The OzGoose was almost overlooked until Texan, Ian Henehan, started to put videos of what it could do on Youtube". ian and his father had built an OzGoose to learn how to sail and to teach the kids. The videos were a game changer here was a boat that was clearly far more capable than its ancestors with some serious credentials. Ian logged recorded speeds of up to 12.9knts.
Videos by ian Henehan showing the OzGoose at speed
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