Every time Russell has a boat to build, he seeks better ways of doing things. In this case, a simplified method for gluing the puzzle joints revealed itself. The manual for the PT 11 'Spear' has this section but earlier versions of the PT 11 nesting dinghy manuals have an earlier method. I have created a pdf file of the 7 page replacement for pages 7 through 14 in "Building the PT Eleven" for those who have an older version and have not yet begun to build their boat. This may also be interesting to anyone building a stitch and glue kit with puzzle joints. Click HERE to download the .pdf file. (533kb)
SLIGHTLY IMPERFECT PT 11 FOILS FOR SALE
SOLD 2012
We recently had a rather large run of foils (dagger-boards and rudders) machined that are not quite up to our standards.
They are very slightly less accurate than our our usual nearly perfect foils and on the dagger-boards there is a small depression on the starboard side only. 
This low area is visible in the photo and would look a bit odd on a bright finished foil.
We painted the upper end of a dagger-board from this batch to hide the filled low spot and it looks really sharp (see photo). 
SOLD
Click for more detailed information on our foils kits. Also, see our options page for the PT 11.
All of our kit parts, including the foils are cut from the highest quality Lloyds okoume marine plywood. Note that 12mm plywood is now only available in the 7 ply instead of 9ply as shown in earlier foils kits. This means the foils now have 14 plies instead of 18.
Call or email for more information or to order foils. Cheers, 
PTW
Towing the PT11 and new hatches to come.
A new video has been posted showing the PT Eleven nesting dinghy being towed at 9 and 15 knots. Check it out here: Towing the PT 11
Also, as a heads up, we have yet to update our PT 11 water tight hatch blog. It just got lost in the stack of "to-do's". Since our original hatch blog last year, we offer an improved hatch kit with our PT 11 kits. This has recently come to my attention because this outdated blog has been referenced on some forums and I thought, hmmm, we need to fix this... Thus, a new post will soon be up. Coming soon, we will have 2 additional sizes of water tight hatch kits designed with the SCAMP in mind. Thanks to Howard Rice and Josh Colvin of Small Craft Adviser magazine, our hatch design has gained the interest of SCAMP builder's. A detailed post about this will also follow soon. PTW
2012 Wooden Boat Festival
Wow... it is the weekend after the event and I am still trying to catch my breath. It was so much fun and so great to meet so many wonderful boat enthusiasts yet again. Thank you to everyone for making the Boat Festival in Port Townsend such a great event. It was a special year for us for several reasons. It was an extra treat to have Meade Gougeon and Jim Brown attend and give presentations about the advantages of wood and epoxy boat building along with some sea stories. They have more than a few of those! For the occasion, Russell made an exception and brought his Proa, Jzerro, to town and wowed onlookers with the speed and beauty of this unusual boat. I hear from Jim that as the boat accelerated, Meade kept exclaiming, "Gee!" The PT Skiff, while mostly on display at the dock, served as a transport around the bay to and from Jzerro; a welcome break for me to get out on the water as chauffeur. Thank you to the skiff's new owner for letting us use the boat over the weekend.
Once again, it was wonderful and a privilege being at the festival along side of West System Epoxy. They had answers to every imaginable epoxy related question. Many thanks to Meade Gougeon, Jeff Wright and Don Gutzmeyer (sp?) for a great weekend.
The new prototype of the one piece PT 11 was rarely tethered to her mother-ship, Vito Dumas. Instead, lots of folks got to row or sail it around the bay. Special thanks to Alex for making that possible. Russell will be finalizing the design and manual this fall and winter and we will post updates on kit availability.
Our show neighbors and good friends from Chesapeake Lightcraft completed our weekend with a good laugh. As they were packing up their boats, John and crew walked over in all business manner and picked up our PT 11 from her display stand and marched her over to their truck. Ha ha.. but.. hey!...wait a minute! That is my boat! A feigned struggle of wills ensued, with the boat zig zagging in their grip and me between them and the tail gate of their truck, until I got them marching right back to my stand to put the PT 11 back in my court. Great comic relief and a fine compliment from such a respected kit boat company. Thanks John, my cheeks still ache from laughing.
To my dear sister, Dana...we would not have survived without you!
I will share some pictures (of which I did not get nearly enough!)from the weekend here and look forward to seeing new and familiar faces at the festival next year! I actually did not get to go around and take a lot of pictures. I have noted which were taken by others with my camera.
The first NON-nesting PT Eleven has launched!
A good friend of ours decided to be a beta builder for a Non-nesting version of the PT Eleven. He wanted a fun sailing dinghy for his grandson. Yesterday, word got out that he was launching the boat that he began in June. Lots of curious friends showed up to give it a spin. I am totally hooked on dinghy sailing now... So congratulations Alex on a lovely little boat. "Pata" will be at the wooden boat festival this coming weekend, Sept. 7,8 and 9th! PTW
Foils case
We have developed a case to carry and protect your stored dagger board and rudder for the PT11. We are using a fabric called "Evolution"(tm) or "Block-out", designed for classic car covers. It is water repellant and breathable so you can put your foils in the case wet. These bags are not padded but the fabric is slightly cushioned and chafe resistant, and the case is double stitched with heavy, UV protected Polyester thread. Our design is streamlined and fitted to the foils shape. Separate pockets house the dagger board and the rudder while a single flap closes both openings, secured with 2" x 9" Velcro. Custom made in the USA. Retail price of $90
Shown above with the PT Swift applique.
Close up detail of the fabric texture showing both sides. 
See the options offered for the PT Eleven nesting dinghy.
July 2012 videos of the PT Eleven Nesting Dinghy
I finally got these uploaded. Hope you enjoy them..
Sailing in BC on the PT 11 and Exploring BC in the PT 11
Enjoy SUMMER! PTW
Paddle Journey 2012
I just thought I would share a few pictures I took of the canoes at Fort Worden last week. I arrived late and all of the paddlers were ashore exploring. I hope to see them come in next year. 
Here is our local newspaper video of the welcoming ceremony.
A Review by Sandy Goodall;Sailing the PT 11
The PT 11 is a beautiful piece of design work. The finished boat is lovely to look at, and a pleasure to be in, whether rowing or sailing. Even at rest, its simple yet elegant form seems to suggest smooth, efficient speed.
The daggerboard and kick-up rudder are pure eye-candy. Beautifully shaped and finished, they far exceed the foils usually seen with kit boats. They are not only well made and good looking, but their plan and cross section shapes are extremely efficient….which helps the boat sail to windward like a true thoroughbred.
Rigging the PT 11 could hardly be simpler. The two-part free standing carbon mast slides into a sleeve on the luff of the sail (like the famous Laser dinghy). Then just stand the rig up in its mast step tube. The boom has a neat “fork” that rests against the aft face of the mast, rather than the usual goose-neck fitting. Just moderate vang tension is enough to hold the boom against the mast, tension the luff, and control the leech twist.
Because the mast is a flexible, free-standing wand, it bends progressively under increasing pressure, gradually flattening the sail, while allowing the leech to open and de-power in a gust. The result is that once sheeted in on a beat, the sail needs little trimming. In fact if you lodge the tiller extension against the leeward corner of the gunwale / transom, the boat is happy to self steer to windward! This boat sails unusually well to weather, pointing high and making very little leeway.
The PT 11 is a very slippery shape, and it responds well to the lightest breezes, even with a “full grown” helmsman (230 lbs). The boat is surprisingly quick to plane, and the transition from displacement to planing mode is almost imperceptible.
Many rowing dinghies are a real compromise when it comes to sailing, but this one performs admirably, even as a dedicated sailing dinghy. I can imagine having a grand time, racing against my friends in a small fleet of PT 11’s. A real pleasure to sail!
Sandy Goodall Sail Design Consulting
Trip to Barclay Sound
I hit 'publish' on this post before it was finished..oops...this is the complete one with all the intended photos...
The 9 days leading up to Independence Day were our days of independence away from the phones, computer and, for the most part, people. Just to share it with you, I am posting some pictures that kind of highlight the trip, which was mostly wet with rain but no less beautiful.
Clearance in Victoria is often done over the phone. I thought this was funny after years of making clearances in the Caribbean and generally around the world where it is much more of an ordeal. I love Canada.. 
We anchored in Clo Oose Bay and hiked to the dock at Nit Nat, where there was crab, salmon and cold beer! The trail was incredible. Mostly boardwalk but occasionally, as here, the roots of this tree create the steps up the hill.
Sailing into Barclay Sound. I counted 11 shades of mountains that day. I tried to paint it later.
In a little island group, I got to practice my dinghy sailing. I am new to solo-ing, in fact new to dinghy sailing, and now I am hooked.
We had 2 opportunities without rain to get pictures of the PT 11 really sailing. My lens only goes up to 55mm so I missed a lot of good shots. Shopping now for a tele for the camera. Still, Russell got the little pony galloping wherever there was wind.
Part of the trip was to get video and pictures of the new PT11 with the new rig. Evening in the Chatham Group provided one nice opportunity before crossing the straits back to PT.
Arriving at Fort Worden on July 4th, friends showed up and everyone got to take the PT 11 for a sail... until the wind died.... 
2 and 4 legged 'salty dogs' aboard... 
The evening sky was so pretty and the moon rise was spectacular. Could not capture it well since the boat was moving... 
Finishing the trip with fireworks.... PTW
