 | |
 | |
| Development | |
|---|---|
| Designer | John Welsford |
| Location | New Zealand |
| Year | 2011 |
| Builder(s) | amateur builders |
| Name | Houdini |
| Boat | |
| Displacement | 187 lb (85 kg) |
| Hull | |
| Type | monohull |
| Construction | plywood |
| LOA | 13.45 ft (4.10 m) |
| Beam | 5.91 ft (1.80 m) |
| Engine type | optional outboard motor |
| Hull appendages | |
| Keel/board type | centreboard |
| Rudder(s) | transom-mounted rudder |
| Rig | |
| Rig type | Lug rig |
| Sails | |
| Sailplan | lug sail |
| Mainsail area | 115.17 sq ft (10.700 m2) |
| Total sail area | 115.17 sq ft (10.700 m2) |
The Houdini is a New Zealand sailing dinghy that was designed by John Welsford as a cruiser and first built in 2011.[1][2][3][4]
The boat's designer intended it as an "escape machine" and so named it in honour of Harry Houdini.[3][4]
The design is supplied in the form of plans. It has been built by amateur builders and also by some professional builders on a custom basis.[1]
The boat was designed for camping on-shore and provides stowage space to take a large amount of camping gear. It can accommodate four people for camping-cruising or up to seven people for day sailing. The design has sleeping accommodation for two adults under a boom tent.[3][4]
The Houdini is a recreational sailboat, built predominantly of wood, with a plywood hull and wooden spars and trim. The prototype used bamboo spars. It has a lug sail rig and can be fitted with a mizzen mast and sail as a yawl. It has a pronounced sheer, a plumb stem, a vertical transom, a transom-hung rudder controlled by a tiller and a retractable centreboard. It displaces 187 lb (85 kg). A cuddy cabin is optional.[1][3][4]
The boat may be optionally fitted with an outboard engine for docking and maneuvering.[3][4]
Boats have also been completed with gaff rigs and sloop rigs.[3]
