Over the past year I have had many requests for more information about my Paradox, designed by Matt Layden; indeed a friend has suggested that I get some flyers printed to hand out when I am afloat. The following is a summary of what the boat is, why I built it and my impressions after one season’s use.

Paradoxically the Paradox contains very few contradictions! It is a simple, straightforward little boat, well suited to single handed coastal cruising, with the following specifications:

LOA 4.2m LWL 4.1 m Beam 1.23m Draught Rudder up 0.23m Rudder down 0.75m Sail area 9.3sq m Displacement 640kg

There is no keel and no centreboard: the boat is completely flat across the bottom. The lateral resistance comes from the rudder and hydrodynamic fences at the chines, known as chine runners. I have found that with the rudder raised to the horizontal we can quite happily sail in less than a foot of water. The righting moment comes from the hull form plus water ballast, lead and stores all stored under the cabin sole. The stability curve suggests that it will self right from 160 degrees. From my own experience I know it will quickly right itself from 90 degrees and, as shown in the photograph below, it is well inside the DCA stability recommendation.

Matt Layden designed and built five boats for his own use, refining the design with each one, culminating with the Paradox in the early 90s. Matt’s friend, Dave Bolduc, persuaded him to make the plans available, and now sells them. In 2001 they cost $35. For more information on the Paradox, as well as Matt’s earlier boats visit Dave’s website at www.microcruising.com. For anyone considering building a Paradox I would also recommend Don Elliott’s series of articles on the building process (delliott@tomah.com). Bill Serjeant has created a web site (www.paradox-uk.co.uk) as a focal point for UK builders.

I had never intended to build a boat; in fact I have always maintained that it is not cost effective as second-hand boats can be bought for less than the cost of materials. For a few years I had been half-heartedly looking for a boat that I could handle alone. My background is in motor cruisers and I was looking for something that would give me the advantages of sail with the comfort of a motor boat. Could a conventional dinghy be rigged so that, in the rain, it could be sailed from inside the tent such that the bedding would stay dry? Then I came across the Paradox and saw that it answered nearly all of my concerns. The only problem left was that I couldn’t buy one second hand as there appeared to he only four in existence, all in America.

The story of the building of my Paradox, Little Jim, is recorded pictorially on my web site at www.asjg.clara.co.uk/little_jim/little_jim.htm, along with some trip reports. The building process was quite easy and took about eighteen months of evenings and weekends. Anyone with the ability to do basic woodwork could build one with little difficulty, although I did use nearly twice as much epoxy as the plans suggested.

As stated above, my background is in motor boats and, although I have sailed in the occasional dinghy and a number of yachts over the years, I am not able to give a comparative account of the sailing capabilities. Indeed I would be grateful if, at some future DCA meet, someone with comprehensive sailing experience could have a go and give an unbiased opinion. However, that said, I am delighted with the performance that I have observed. Windward performance is not startling, as would be expected from a lug rig, but we can tack through about 100 degrees, and leeway appears to be negligible unless you pinch up too close to the wind. Off the wind it performs well, cruising at 3 to 4 knots, but occasionally getting up to 5 or 6 knots (GPS). However, tacking is slow, and must be planned ahead. I believe Little Jim handles more like a yacht than a dinghy. On all points the boat tracks as if it were on rails and in open water the rudder and main sheet can be made fast with control consisting of tweaking the rudder every 3 or 4 minutes. Except in rough water the intervening time can be spent brewing up some coffee on the gimballed stove. The rudder is controlled by a line which runs right around the cabin, meaning that it is still possible to adjust the steering while going forward to rootle around in the forward storage area. Except in rough conditions (when I seem to spend most of the time being seasick) I have found the sailing experience very relaxing.

As far as I could get her to heel!

One of the principal concerns that people have expressed upon seeing the plans is the lack of space. ‘Coffin’ is one of the more common descriptions. Once on the boat, however, the cleverness of the design becomes apparent. The normal operating position is from the seat with your head outside the cabin, but below the boom — no danger of a whack on the head here. In this position you feel as if you are outside, because your head is outside, and the cabin becomes your cockpit, although a much warmer one than most. If the weather deteriorates, or if you just feel cold, flip the seat out of the way and sit on the floor. The hatch can be shut or left open as required, and all round vision is maintained through the windows. All controls are inside and it is even possible to reef, or strike the sail completely, from within. Because all the controls are within reach of the command position there is no need for lots of space to move about in and as the boat is ballasted I find that even when tacking I rarely move, but just stay tucked into one corner.

The sail controls consist of just 4 ropes: the mainsheet; the halyard; the reefing line and the topping lift, which supports the weight of the boom when reefing or letting out sail. Reefing is achieved by rolling around the boom. The reefing line and the halyard are always worked together, with the reefing line being paid out as the halyard is hauled in. I felt that this would be tidier if I made them opposite ends of the same rope so that there is just a loop in the cabin rather than a pile of rope.

The sleeping ‘platform’, which is the floor of the cabin, is completely flat 0.92m wide, but only 1.9m long. This may pose a problem for taller people, but it would be easy, during construction, to extend the flat area into the forward storage space. Being inside the cabin this answers my requirement for dry bedding. The only water that gets in is off your feet (or from the water ballast tanks when you forget to screw the inspection hatches on properly!).

There is a mass of dry storage forward and aft of the cabin, both in lockers and open bins, and on shelves down each side. Further storage is available under the cabin floor and in bins down each side under the shelves. However these can become wet, as any water that does get in will find its way to the bottom of these. Heavy stores should be located under the floor to act as ballast.

Part of the ballast is provided by the contents of two water tanks, holding a total of 70 litres, under the forward cabin floor. This is intended to double as drinking water (when sailing in the Bahamas) and the plumbing is arranged so that rainwater can be drained from the deck into the tanks if necessary. I do not intend to be using it in this way, and seriously considered leaving the tanks open and fitting solid (lead) ballast. I eventually decided to build according to the plans, but it is possible that at some time I will open them up if I decide that filling and emptying them is more trouble than they are worth.

One of the features that demonstrates the ingenuity of the designer is the mast step. The mast goes through a hole in the deck and is surrounded by other holes which the ropes pass through. Next to the mast is a ventilation hole 120mm diameter. However, although air passes freely into the cabin, no water can get inside the boat through these holes, not even when the boat is inverted (I have taken this on trust). This is achieved by enclosing the mast step in a waterproof box with a cunning arrangement of baffles and a drain in the bottom: if you look at the underside of a Paradox you will see that classic feature, the hole in the bottom to let the water out! There are many other subtle features in the design that show that Matt has been out there, learnt what can happen and devised practical solutions.

Alternative propulsion is by way of a single sculling oar (yuloh) which stows along the deck when not in use. This takes a few minutes to get the hang of, but drives the boat at about 2 knots with very little effort. It does not have a reverse gear however, so planning ahead is again the order of the day especially when coming alongside. An early mistake I kept making was to try to go too fast. I found that this tired me quickly but, if you are content to travel gently a yuloh is a practical solution.

Although I have never tried it, I understand that the Paradox hull is easily driven by a small outboard. I resisted fitting an outboard motor for the first year as I felt I would learn to sail more quickly if there were no alternative. Next year I shall probably fit an electric outboard. The reasons for going electric are twofold: there is the problem of fuel storage in a completely enclosed boat and also the fear that the main sheet would get tangled in a conventional motor head. The weight of the batteries is, of course, not a problem as I can just use them to replace some of the existing ballast, but this is not a matter of urgency as the only times I have really felt the need for a motor are when going upriver against a wind with not enough room to sail. At all other times the yuloh has been quite satisfactory.

So, is the Paradox the perfect cruising boat? I have to say that for me it is nearly, but not quite. There are two areas where it falls down. One, nothing can be done about, and that is the weight. At 640kg (1400lb) it is a lot for a single hander to deal with. If you get left on the beach by a falling tide the chances are that you will still be there when the tide returns. I designed a trailer which allows me to launch, single-handed, off a slipway without submerging the brakes, but this could not be manhandled across a beach so launching is restricted, in the main, to proper slipways. The second problem is that of sailing two up. The boat is quite capable of carrying two people, but for both of them to sit on the seat requires that they be both slim and friendly. If, like me, they are on the larger side then it is just not practical. The only other alternative is for one to stay below and view the world through the windows — undesirable on a nice day. A possible solution during manufacture would be to make the cabin roof removable and mount another seat forward: then both could be ‘outside’ in the sunshine. Sailing like this would, of course, severely decrease the seaworthiness of the craft.

It must he said, however, that Matt Layden has sailed considerable distances over periods of several weeks with his girl-friend/wife. He also took part in the Watertribe 2003 Everglades Challenge (www.watertribe.com). This is an expedition-style race, one of the rules being that the craft must start above the high water mark, and the crew must launch it unaided. It is further testament to Matt’s ingenuity that he was able to do this and then went on to win the race convincingly.

So, on the whole, I have found the Paradox to be a delightfully simple craft to sail. It is comfortable, warm and roomy (for one) with masses of storage space. It is easy to sail, with no serious vices. It gets into the corners where the water is thin yet is seaworthy enough to make coastal passages — and all without getting the bedding wet.

If anyone has a particular interest in seeing a Paradox you are welcome to visit, or come to a south coast rally; with luck I shall be there.