HOME - Dream Catcher Model Sailboat  Kits Ready For Christmas!

     
by Simplicity Boats 


Celebration
of Traditional
Sail...

Experience our fine line of affordable, quality model sailboats that REALLY sail !

All made of top quality materials to last a life time... get a "future heirloom" today. Your grandchildren's kids will thank you!

How did this dream start?

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"Chameleon"

"Sailor's Apprentice" package

Nine boats in One!

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"Blue Heron" Florida Sharpie

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"Puddle Pals"


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The first skiff of our line is "Chameleon" - more than a boat,  she's an education in traditional sailing rigs.

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The hull is solid pine, 12" long by 3 1/4" beam. Her lines are based loosely on my sharpie skiffs Daydream & award-winning Summer Breeze. She is available with a variety of different rigs.

She's available as a sharpie ketch, a gaff rig, a Bermuda rig, a lateen rig, standing lug or balanced lug rig. If you already have a favorite rig that you're loyal to, you might want a single rig Chameleon. Each come with a quality spruce hull, ripstop sailcloth rig (available in assorted colors), all brass hardware and a solid steel high wind keel. These boats are made so your grandchildren will be using them to teach their kids about sailing. They look as good on your mantle or coffee table as they do bounding over the waves!  Rig with one sail - Kit $25/ finished $58 - Rig with two sails Kit $29/ finished $58

Here are some of Chameleon's rig possibilities...

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GAff RIG
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CAT KETCH SHARPIE
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GAF KETCH 
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LATEEN RIG 

 

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SCHOONER RIG 
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SHARPIE MAIN SAIL

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BERMUDA RIG

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LUG RIG (standing or balanced) 

gaffketch.jpg (14428 bytes) My current favorite rig is a Cat Ketch, with a gaff main and  a sharpie mizzen.  PSgaffketch.jpg (14849 bytes)

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STANDING LUG

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LATEEN

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BERMUDA

 PSkeeldetail.jpg (13931 bytes) Our unique weighted keels can render all our boats un-swampable. Oh they may take an occasional knock down, but they're right back on her feet sailing in an instant!  A closer look at our magnetic ballast.

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Her keel weights are removable and so need not be used in light breezes. 

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These sharpie rigs were "reefed" (reducing sail area for higher winds) in this way.  They would take down the mizzen and move the main back.  If it really blew, the main was replaced by the mizzen.
The removable keel  makes the skiffs easy to display on a coffee table, mantle or shelf.

Our "Sailor's Aprentice" comes with three that make nine different rig configurations. Her moveable keel allows great flexibility in rig balance. You can choose your favorite rig and be sailing her in minutes. Or you can explore through the exercises in "A Brief History of Sail" and maybe learn a thing or two about how sailboats work, or the pros and cons of various rigs. 

If you can't decide on your favorite rig, you may want to consider our "Sailor's Apprentice" package. This is a single Chameleon hull but with a wardrobe of 3 sails allowing for as many as a nine different rig configurations. Here are eight of them.

Her unique multiple position keel allows perfect balance of her many rigs. Don't know a ketch from a schooner... or a gaff from a boom? Well you will in no time after playing with "Apprectice." Nothing like hands on experience to teach you how to set the sails of a gaff ketch rig to make her self steer in a blow. She comes with a brief history of each rig and tips and tricks for getting the most from them. 
    Kit $39/ finished $79 

blueheron.jpg (24710 bytes)Blue Heron - 
a two masted Florida sharpie 

Kit $44/Finished $74

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Trimming the aft sail out slightly farther than the main makes her self correct when she tries to head down wind.
Here is "Blue Heron" - an 18" two masted sharpie reminiscent of those that plied the waters pulling oysters out of the Chesapeake Bay and delivering mail in South Florida at the turn of the century. Her graceful lines and gently rounded transom contribute to her distinctive looks. She can be rigged five ways.  As a ketch, yawl, schooner also main alone & mizzen alone. (for higher winds) She uses two keels to give plenty of control and stability while maintaining shallow draft like her full sized sisters.  

Our removable keel  makes the Heron easy to display on a coffee table, mantle or shelf.

Kit $44/Finished $74
(cypress add $5)

 heronRB.jpg (16540 bytes)  Hulls come standard in spruce, but are available in cypress for a small extra charge of $5. Cypress has natural resistance to rot and wood eating organisms and takes a finish beautifully.  blueheronstill1.jpg (13016 bytes)
It is a little denser than spruce so your boat will weigh slightly more. They still sail great, it will just affect how big a party you can throw on board or how much cargo you can haul...;-) 
Penny Puddle Pals... 
              Who says a penny won't go far these days?
 pudsunset.jpg (13500 bytes) At just 6 inches long and 2 inches wide these boats really sail!    pudpalstwo.jpg (6672 bytes)
 pudpalprofile.jpg (7218 bytes) Ever feel that just a little extra cash could help you stay on your feet? Well, with these Penny Pine Puddle Sailors it only takes two cents! 

They're so much fun to decorate and put together that they only come as kits.

$10 each or 3 for $24

Purchase through PayPal

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Affordable enough to get a whole fleet!

 


 PYjessykeel.jpg (27480 bytes) The Start of a Dream...

When I was 9 years old, a model sailboat in a toy store window got me dreaming about sailing. I saved for many weeks to buy it, and spent many hours enthralled with imaginary voyages. It looked real good, but could have been even more inspiring if it had sailed well. 

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I've been making model boats for years trying to come up with one that was simple, good looking & rugged but most importantly would sail really well. I also added to my design "wish list" a potential to explore the behavior of different sail rigs. 
We named our first member of our pond skiff family "Dream Catcher" because you can't sail her without starting to dream a little.

There's nothing quite so powerfully creative as a dream held in a youthful mind...  SEED THE DREAM...

 I'm  happy to report that our Dream Catchers have started sparking the dreams & imaginations of many young sailors. PYcolorheel.jpg (36269 bytes)
Our simple step by step instructions can have you sailing in minutes. She can be "bare boat" sailed - un-finished wood - or painted and decorated to the captains whim.
PYstacked.jpg (16272 bytes) A fleet of Dream Catcher "Chameleons"  prepare for a voyage to a boat show...
  
PYwingnwing.jpg (22109 bytes) These craft are ideal for experimenting with and learning about the different points of sail. Here she's enjoying a downwind run "wing an' wing."

Here is a Simple Skiff recipe....

Take your new skiff, 
add a puff of moving air (a breeze to a blow) 
a dash of water (from a puddle to an ocean) 
combine with some time to play (a few minutes to a few hours) 
mix well ... 
CAUTION! 
This can lead to a lifetime addiction to sailboats, water, and nature!   enjoy....

Please send pictures!
      Here's a good one below....


PSdeanboats.jpg (46219 bytes) Thought you would like this picture of Dean and the little sail boats. Dean read Stewart Little and he dressed up as George and read the Sail Boat Chapter to his class today. He used his boat and Benjamin's and you can see Stewart sitting on the "Wasp". Of course the 'Wasp" won the sail boat race. Hope the boys get to finish the boat soon. 

(They're building one of my Mini-Sharpies.)


Experimental Plastic sails you can make for pennies...

A variety of sailing methods for your boat.


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