windmill sailboat plans

Joe mentions to Barbara that he has an old wooden sailboat in his garage that he built in 1963. With Lee as his crew, they faithfully raced their boat on Lake Jacomo in Kansas City until 1975. Joe shows Barbara the original plans, a cool little tackle box of spare parts, and pictures he took of the construction. The plans call the boat a Windmill, and as a historical note, 20-30 Windmills were built in K.C. in the late ‘50’s and early ‘60’s in small groups. That’s because Lake Jacomo was opened for use in 1959, putting sailboats in high demand, and the Windmill was one of the few sailboats that you could build yourself out of wood in your own garage.

Joe mentioned to Barbara that he sure would like to see his boat sail on Lake Jacomo again, even though he could no longer sail her himself. That’s all it took for Barbara to contact Lake Jacomo and get the name of someone who might be able to help. The staff knew that I raced Windmills and worked on boats, and they gave her my name. When Barbara called, I drove to Raytown to meet with both of them and evaluate the boat’s condition.

Joe had put a tarp over the boat when he put it in the garage in 1975. Unfortunately, the garage roof had leaked, and over time, so had the tarp. The boat had about eight inches of brackish water in it, and my first thought was “dry rot”! The trailer tires were also flat, but miraculously took air after 45 years, and didn’t leak. I gathered up the foils, spars, and sails, hitched her up and drove her to a steep-sloped parking lot to get the water out. Joe told me that he didn’t believe in bailers and transom drains, so I had to bail her out for over 30 minutes with a coffee can and a sponge.

As the water went down, I began to notice the quality of workmanship that was hidden under the dirt and sludge, and it was amazing. All of the hull was high-quality mahogany plywood built on Sitka spruce runners and a white oak keel. The spars were also spruce and the rudder and dagger board were solid mahogany. The rub rail had been extended with mahogany and spruce laminated together, and Joe had built little cabinets under the rear seat, where I found his and his wife’s sailing gloves, still waiting for the next race. The level of detail was more understandable when Barbara told me that Joe had a long career as a lithographer for Hallmark and other companies. The best part was that Joe had sealed the boat with some type of strange vinyl-based varnish that only allowed minimal penetration of dry rot to the first layer of plywood. Windmill 1061 could be restored!

I towed the boat to the shop in mid-September and began the battle of removing layers of 50-year-old varnish. The vinyl varnish that saved the boat from dry rot now became my enemy. The vinyl base would not respond to stripper, and scraping knives had a tough time getting a bite. Sandpaper clogged up quickly with melted residue. 40 hours of scraping and sanding finally yielded a bare hull, spars, and foils ready for refinishing. As a preventative, I overlaid the keel seam with a four-inch wide strip of fiberglass mat and resin. The first swipe of new varnish caused the beautiful mahogany grain to jump out, and I knew all the work was going to be worth it. After four coats, some new flotation, and some updated hardware, she was gleaming and ready to launch.

On October 6th, Barbara and her daughter Brooke, brought Joe out to the lake to fulfill his wish. After reminiscing awhile and giving the boat careful inspection, he helped me with some of the rigging, and we held a ceremony to re-christen Windmill 1061 as “Leeward” in honor of his faithful wife and crew. Launching and rigging at the dock didn’t exactly go smoothly, but we got her to the starting line on time, turning several heads and getting thumbs-up signs as we went. Miraculously, the 47-year-old hull didn’t leak, and we managed to show Joe a mid-fleet finish in the first race. It was an emotional day for all of us, and Joe was very grateful. Barbara had given a lot of time and effort to make the event happen, and she was thrilled with the results. It was also a privilege and honor for me to bring some joy to this fine craftsman, veteran, and fellow Windmill sailor from days long ago.

The Windmill Plans Package can be ordered from the Windmill Class Association Secretary (See contact on the home page ).

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WINDMILL TUNING GUIDE

The following tuning guide is meant to be a good starting point in setting up your boat. Depending on your crew weight, strength, sailing style and local conditions, you may have to alter your rig slightly. As you read this, write down any questions you may have, and we will be happy to discuss them with you in more detail. We are trying to achieve a rig set-up that is fast in all conditions; upwind, reaching and running, and is very easy to adjust or change gears. Your new North Sails are designed around this all-purpose philosophy.

INITIAL SETTINGS

- The first item that should be checked is the mast step. It should be place at about 59-60” from station 0. Make sure that your mast is tight in the step and will not twist in the step.

MAST RIGGING

- The standard height for spreaders is between 104 to 106” above the theoretical top of keel. In checking the fleet, I have found some as high as 117”. While this is quite high, it seems to balance the mast bend nicely, and allow the jib to be sheeted inside the shrouds if you’d like and not foul on the spreaders. The length and angle the spreaders are set to determine the deflection that the shroud is moved away from a straight line between the mast and the chainplates. These factors control the stiffness of the mast. The spreader length should be set to deflect the shrouds about 2.5” to 3” outboard to restrict side bend and pinned to deflect the shroud about 1.5" to 2" forward which restricts fore and aft bend. These are checked at the light air rake settings. When measured from a straight line between the shrouds, the distance to the aft edge of the mast should be about 5" for a Kenyon “A” section, and 6.5” for a Proctor Lambda or Alpha Minus. Spreader length of about 15.5" from the surface of the mast works well with the spreaders at 106” and the chainplates inboard. With the spreader bracket at 117” above the keel, a length of 15.5” works well with the chainplates close to the gunwhale. These numbers will vary depending upon the location of the chainplates and height of the spreader brackets, but the overall deflection is the key. When sailing upwind in 8 to 10 knots, with the boom close to centerline the mast should be straight up to the forestay. If the spreader area goes to leeward, you need to either loosen the rig if it’s tight, or shorten the spreaders. It is also a good idea to have nicropress stops under the spreaders so the spreaders don't drop in angle.

CENTERING THE MAST

- Before calibrating your mast rake, check that the mast is even in the boat athwartships. You can do this by hoisting a jib and tensioning the rig until the shrouds are tensioned. Attach a tape measure to the end of the main halyard and raise it to full hoist. Check the distance to each chine directly below the chainplates, and adjust the shrouds until the mast is in the center of the boat. Next sight up the back edge of the mast to ensure that it's straight athwartships. If the measurement to the gunwales is even, and the mast isn't straight side to side, then either the spreaders are uneven in length or the mast partners at deck level are uneven and pushing the mast to one side. It is important that the mast is straight in the boat and nominally tight in the partners. Any side to side play in the partners depowers the rig too early.

- Mast rake and rig tension are the two very important tuning variables. We use a “boom band radius system” to measure and calibrate your rake, which uses your forestay. Hoist your jib without attaching the hanks to the forestay. Detach the forestay from the headstay fitting at the bow. Swing the headstay back to the mast, and mark the stay with tape where the wire is even with the top edge of the sail black band at the boom. This is your “zero point.” If your spar has two bands, use the upper band. If you are not confident that the band is in the right place, check the class rules and re- measure it. Now swing the wire back forward, attach a tape to the “zero point”, and measure down to the upper forward intersection of the deck and the bow. In light air and full power, this number should be about 34.5” An average light air setting would be 36”. For lighter crews or increasing breeze, rake back to about 37”. In heavy air rake back to about 38” To set the shroud tension, at your light air rake setting the shrouds should have about 150 lbs of tension, as measured on a Loos Gauge. If you don’t have a Loos Gauge, this is moderately tight where the shroud can be wiggled in a small circle without too much trouble. Heavier crews can use more tension to restrict mast bend, and lighter crews can sail with looser shrouds to allow more mast bend. As the breeze builds and you get more overpowered, just ease the jib halyard off to increase aft rake. This depowers the main through more athwartship and fore and aft bend. As a guideline, if you are pointing too much and going too slow, increase rake and loosen the helm up. If you are fast but not pointing, decrease your aft rake. With the mast in the 3’0” rake setting and the jib up, block the mast to have about 1/2” to 1” of pre-bend, that is where the middle of the mast bends forward.

DAGGERBOARD

- In my limited experience, it appears that the board should be as stiff as possible. It is also important that the board fit tightly in the trunk. The trunk can be shimmed within the WCA class rules with carpet, which will protect the daggerboard and keep it snug in the trunk. In conditions up to a full hiking breeze, keep the board all the way down and even forward in light air. As weather helm increases with the windspeed, you can balance the helm by either raising the board and/or angling the board aft.

MAINSHEET TENSION AND BOOM VANG

- Generally, the vang should just go slack when the mainsheet is at maximum tension. In light to medium conditions, trim your mainsheet so the top batten is about parallel to the boom. If you are sailing in very smooth water, trim hard enough to hook the top batten 5 degrees to windward. The boom vang is a powerful tool in that it will increase the mast bend and flatten the main. When sailing upwind, if you have speed with no pointing, try reducing aft rake, getting the traveller closer to the centerline, or vanging harder to tighten the leech and flatten the main. If you have pointing with not enough speed through the water, try increasing your aft rake, easing the traveller, bending more, or checking to see that you are not vanged too hard. Or just hike harder and sail the boat flatter!

MAIN CUNNINGHAM

- The main cunningham should be slack up to 10 knots. Above 10 knots, tighten enough to remove wrinkles along the luff. Always be aware that the cunningham pulls the draft forward and depowers the leech, which is not always good.

- Our sails are designed with a shelf foot, which makes the sail sensitive to outhaul control. Ease the outhaul 2-3” for power in a chop, and for offwind legs. Tighten in heavy air or overpowered conditions.

JIB LEAD POSITION

- As a starting point, your jib leads should be positioned so that the bearing point on the blocks is about 83” aft of the jib tack pin. Another guide is to set your leads so that the jib sheet lines up with the trim line on the clew of the jib. In choppy conditions it may be faster to move the lead forward from this point, and sheet just a little looser. If your sail does not have a trim line, you can install a line on the clew, defined by the center of the clew and intersecting the luff midway between the tack and the head. This is a good starting point. Move the jib lead aft as the wind increases, and/or more rake, to accomplish the same end result of twisting off the top of the sail. If you have speed with no pointing, try moving the leads forward. If you have pointing with not enough speed through the water, try moving the leads aft. Experiment with different lead positions, especially in stronger breezes, as changes are readily felt. The leads should be about 16” to 17” from the centerline. This can be adjusted by changing the length of the shackles which hold the ratchet blocks to the track slider. Generally, 16” is best for light air, and 18” or so best for heavy air.

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The Windmill is an American sailing dinghy that was designed by Clark Mills as a one-design racer and first built in 1953. The Windmill hull design was developed into the US1 single-handed catboat in 1974.

1. Production

Originally intended to be amateur-constructed from four sheets of plywood, the boat was also commercially manufactured from fiberglass. The design was built by Johannsen Boat Works, Lockley Newport Boats and Advance Sailboat Corp. in the United States , but it is now out of production. A total of 5700 examples of the type have been completed. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ]

The Windmill is a recreational sailboat, built predominantly of plywood or fiberglass in the form of a double hull with a foam core, resulting in an unsinkable boat. It has a fractional sloop rig with aluminum spars. The boat and is sailed only with a jib and mainsail, no spinnaker and no trapeze. The hull has a rounded plumb stem, a conventional transom, a transom-hung rudder controlled by a tiller and a retractable daggerboard. It displaces 198 lb (90 kg), [ 1 ] [ 2 ]

The boat has a draft of 4.17 ft (1.27 m) with the daggerboard extended and 6 in (15 cm) with it retracted, allowing beaching or ground transportation on a trailer or car roof rack. [ 1 ]

For sailing the design is equipped with jib and mainsail windows for visibility. It also has an internal 2:1 mechanical advantage outhaul, a 4:1 boom vang controlled by the boat's skipper and a 4:1 Cunningham. The boat has adjustable jib fairleads and a mainsheet traveler, plus an Elvstrom bailer. [ 2 ]

The design has a Portsmouth Yardstick racing average handicap of 90.2 and is normally raced with a crew of two sailors. [ 2 ]

3. Operational History

In a 1994 review Richard Sherwood wrote, "the Windmill is a high-performance sloop that can be built from plans or from a kit, or purchased complete. She is very light and planes quickly. Class rules are strict, and neither spinnakers nor trapezes are allowed. With a double hull and closed-cell foam, the boat is unsinkable. This type of construction also results in a very rigid boat." [ 2 ]

The boat is supported by an active class club, the Windmill Class Association. [ 6 ]

*Note: In 2002, there was an incorrect initial scoring by the race committee, leading them to declare co-champions

• McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Windmill sailboat". sailboatdata.com. https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/windmill. 
• Sherwood, Richard M.: A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition, pages 58-59. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. ISBN:0-395-65239-1
• McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Johannsen Boat Works". sailboatdata.com. https://sailboatdata.com/builder/johannsen-boat-works. 
• McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Lockley Newport Boats (USA) 1964 - 1988". sailboatdata.com. https://sailboatdata.com/builder/lockley-newport-boats-usa. 
• McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Advance Sailboat Corp. 1960-1980". sailboatdata.com. https://sailboatdata.com/builder/advance-sailboat-corp-usa. 
• McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Windmill Class". sailboatdata.com. https://sailboatdata.com/association/windmill-class. 
• "WCA News: August 1965". WCA News. 
• "Windmill Newsletter: July 1962". Windmill Newsletter. 
• "WCA News: December 1970/January 1971". WCA News. 
• "WCA News: October 1967". WCA News. 
• "WCA News: October 1968". WCA News. 
• "WCA News: October 1969". WCA News. 
• "WCA News: October/November 1970". WCA News. 
• "WCA News: Dec 1970/Jan 1971". WCA News. 
• "WCA News: January 1972". WCA News. 
• "WCA News: October/November 1972". WCA News. 
• "WCA News: August/September 1973". WCA News. 
• "Windmill News: August/September 1974". Windmill News. 
• "Windmill News: August/September 1975". Windmill News. 
• "Windmill News: August-September 1976". Windmill News. 
• "Windmill News: August-September 1977". Windmill News. 
• "Windmill News: October-November 1978". Windmill News. 
• "Windmill News: August/September 1979". Windmill News. 
• "Windmill News: August/September 1980". Windmill News. 
• "Windmill News: August/September 1981". Windmill News. 
• "Yacht Racing/Cruising September 1982". Yacht Racing/Cruising. 
• "Windmill News: June/July 1984". Windmill News. 
• "Windmill News: June/July 1985". Windmill News. 
• "Windmill News: August/September 1987". Windmill News. 
• "Windmill News: June/July 1988". Windmill News. 
• "Windmill News: August/September 1989". Windmill News. 
• "Windmill News: August/September 1990". Windmill News. 
• "Windmill News: October/November 1991". Windmill News. 
• "Windmill News: August/September 1992". Windmill News. 
• "Windmill News: August/September 1993". Windmill News. 
• "The Windmill News: July/August 1994". The Windmill News. 
• "The Jouster: September/December 1995". The Jouster. 
• "The Jouster: September/October 1996". The Jouster. 
• "The Jouster: July/August 1997". The Jouster. 
• "The Jouster: July/August 1998". The Jouster. 
• "The Jouster: July/August 1999". The Jouster. 
• "The Jouster: July/August 2000". The Jouster. 
• "The Jouster: July/August/September 2001". The Jouster. 
• "The Jouster: August/September/October 2002". The Jouster. 
• "The Jouster: September-October-November 2003". The Jouster. 
• "The Jouster: August 2004". The Jouster. 
• "The Jouster: August 2005". The Jouster. 
• "The Jouster: July 2006". The Jouster. 
• "2007 Nationals @ Edenton Yacht Club (2007) - Windmill Class Association". http://windmillclass.com/schedule/1#Result. 
• "2008 WCA National Championship @ Lake Winnipesaukee, Gilford, NH (2008) - Windmill Class Association". http://windmillclass.com/schedule/11#Result. 
• "2009 Windmill National Championship @ Rock Hall YC, Maryland (2009) - Windmill Class Association". http://windmillclass.com/schedule/28#Result. 
• "2010 Windmill National Championship @ Lake Lanier Sailing Club, GA (2010) - Windmill Class Association". http://windmillclass.com/schedule/77#Result. 
• "2011 Windmill Nationals @ Rock Hall YC, Maryland (2011) - Windmill Class Association". http://windmillclass.com/schedule/80#Result. 
• "2012 Windmill Class National Championships @ Rock Hall YC, Maryland (2012) - Windmill Class Association". http://windmillclass.com/schedule/122#Result. 
• "2013 Windmill Class National Championships @ Fishing Bay Yacht Club, Deltaville,Va (2013) - Windmill Class Association". http://windmillclass.com/schedule/120#Result. 
• "2014 Windmill National Championship Regatta @ Hoover Sailing Club, Westerville, OH (2014) - Windmill Class Association". http://windmillclass.com/schedule/171#Result. 
• "Windmill National Championship Regatta @ Rock Hall YC, Maryland (2015) - Windmill Class Association". http://windmillclass.com/schedule/194#Result. 
• "2016 Windmill Nationals @ River Dunes, NC (2016) - Windmill Class Association". http://windmillclass.com/schedule/218#Result. 
• "2017 Windmill National Championship Regatta @ Erie Yacht Club, Pa (2017) - Windmill Class Association". http://windmillclass.com/schedule/239#Result. 
• "2018 Windmill National Championship Regatta @ Rock Hall YC, Maryland (2018) - Windmill Class Association". http://windmillclass.com/schedule/259#Result. 
• "2019 International Windmill Championship Regatta @ Fishing Bay Yacht Club, Deltaville,Va (2019) - Windmill Class Association". http://windmillclass.com/schedule/286#Result. 
• "2020 Windmill National Championship Regatta (CANCELLED) @ Presque Isle Bay, Erie Yacht Club, PA (2020) - Windmill Class Association". http://windmillclass.com/schedule/298. 

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November 30, 1999 by Sail1Design Editor 1 Comment

Frank & Dan each looking for a lane

The Windmill is a 15 1/2 foot, 2-person racing dinghy designed by boat-builder Clark Mills in 1953. True to his objective, Mills designed a boat that is high performance, yet can be inexpensively constructed by amateur builders. Today, both wooden and fiberglass Windmills remain equally competitive. With its narrow, hard-chined planing hull, the Windmill is a born racer. Yet being a non-trapeze, non-spinnaker boat makes the Windmill accessible to a wide range of sailing skills.

Length Overall 15′ 6″ Beam 4′ 9″ Hull weight 198 lbs Sail Area 119 sq. ft. Spinnaker n/a Crew 2 Mast Height 20′ 3″ Portsmouth Ratings: Level 89.7     Light air 92.3    Medium 91.4     Heavy 86.4

Class website: http://windmillclass.myfleet.org/

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March 6, 2022 at 13:10

I wish to purchase plans to build a Windmill sailboat. Please provide information to allow me to place an order to obtain these plans. Thank you for your attention to this communication. Ferd Rodriguez eMail [email protected] from: Indian Rocks Beach, Florida

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Sailboats embody the mystery of the sea, of going only where the wind is willing to take you. We offer a variety of sailboat sizes, using several construction techniques. We offer sails, hardware and rigging for many of our sailboat designs. This enables you to focus on building your boat, not searching around for all the bits and pieces needed to complete the project.

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Glen-L 25 - Plywood

Windmills Plane and Simple

• By Dave Reed
• June 28, 2024

At the water’s edge on a ­bayside beach in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, a vibrant orange Windmill sits in its dolly. Crisp white sails hang limp from the spars, but invisible puffs excite cassette-tape strands attached to the shrouds, foretelling what’s out yonder on Tampa Bay, a placid vastness stretching into the hazy blue horizon.

I step back and admire the angular little yacht and think, Now that’s one sweet Windmill .

The hull is polished and radiates in the morning sunshine. A closer look inside the boat reveals high-tech ropes meticulously spliced and led through micro blocks with a no-grams-spared level of perfection. Two-hundred pounds all-up, narrow, slab-sided and hard-chined, I’m told, this Windmill is an old-school reaching rocket.

This is one of eight Windmill dinghies rigged up and waiting for wind at the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series in St. Pete. Loitering under nearby palms is a tightknit clan of devotees, led by local sailor Lon Ethington. As past Windmill class president, he volunteers to give me a Windmill 101.

“It’s a planing dinghy,” he says, with a beam of smile framed by a tight white beard. “It’s just plane fun!”

Get it? And yes, that is the class motto.

Surrounding the visiting Windmills in the boat park are techie A Class Catamarans and Melges 15s, modern marvels of small-craft one-design racing. The majority of them are the same-old white look-alikes. But not the Windmills.

“Everyone has a unique color,” Ethington says. “Windmills bring the color.”

He’s been “Windmilling” for about two decades and has had a hand in dragging this ol’ one-design class into the modern age. He is both a student and professor of the boat and its improvements, and frankly, he says, there’s really nothing else to be done to make it better.

Designed by Clark Mills, creator of the Optimist Dinghy, the original plywood kit-build Windmill was envisioned to be the transition dinghy for aged-out Opti kids. But Mills missed the mark on this one. It was too much for the tykes, Ethington says, “so the adults took over.”

A change to fiberglass came soon enough, and through multiple builders over 60 years, roughly 700 Windmills have been built, 13 of them in the past five years. Class rules have been updated accordingly, Ethington says. A redesigned daggerboard and rudder make them more responsive. Full-length top battens and more-durable cloth allow Windmillers to get more seasons out of their Dacron sails.

“Because it’s quick to accelerate, the boat doesn’t wear out your equipment,” Ethington says. “Your sails last for several years because the boat is so light.”

Having the Melges 15s and Windmills in the dinghy park is a stark example of the evolution of doublehanded dinghy racing. Their shapes alone—the wide and shallow surfboardlike 15 against the narrow and tall Windmill—make them different, but the vibe is the same: The people are the energy that keeps these antique one-design classes going. To know them is to be one of them.

Ethington raced a J/24 for two decades, and when he started racing Windmills, he was struck by the friendly and easygoing culture of the class. Way more laid-back, it fit his style. “It’s the most civilized class I’ve sailed in,” he says. “I’ve done more than 20 [Windmill] national championships, and we’ve had two protests go to the room.”

The orange boat on the beach belongs to Pat Huntley, the 58-year-old class measurer, who hails from Pennsylvania. It is as dialed in as a Windmill can be, legally. “The dynamic in the Windmill class is that it is a really friendly group,” he says. “They don’t take themselves as seriously, but they’re tremendously good sailors.”

In fact, way back when, it was the people, not the boat, that drew him into racing Windmills. It’s a story he loves to share. Ten years ago or so, he was dating his now-wife, Janet, and they were visiting her family in Florida, where he happened upon a Windmill. “I see this goofy little boat on the front lawn of the Clearwater Sailing Center and start asking about it,” Huntley says. Long story short, the Windmills had just wrapped their Midwinters, and further inquiry led to Ethington, a longtime friend, who extended an invitation to the national championship in Columbus, Ohio.

Janet, at the time, wasn’t a sailor, but Huntley convinced her to crew for him at nationals. “I said: ‘Come on, baby. It’ll be fun.’”

She said yes, and it was all good until the wind shut down. “Janet had quickly made friends with all the girls and all the wives, and one day we’re all sitting around and waiting for the wind. She looks at me and says, ‘Hey, we’re all gonna go shopping at the mall,’ And I’m like, ‘It’s nationals—you can’t just leave. And the girls were like, ‘Yeah…we don’t really care.’ After that, she said, ‘We should buy one. These people are fun.’ And so that’s what we did right there and then.”

Ethington’s appreciation for the Windmill is its acceleration and tendency to plane easily downwind with the jib pole extended. Most of the time, the class races windward-­leeward courses, but at 12 knots or more, the sailors prefer triangles. “Reaching through life…we like that,” he says with a grin, recounting his most thrilling Windmill experience.

“Once, we were sailing on the back end of a hurricane up in Long Island,” he says, “and I have no idea how fast we were going, but I was sitting on the transom of the boat, and my crew was behind the seat trying to keep the boat up. We were skipping over the top of the waves, and it was the most exhilarating feeling I’ve ever had on a sailboat.”

When he became a dues-paying member of the class, Huntley took over as measurer, mostly because “there was a lot of monkeying around with the boats.” Battling to preserve the one-design integrity meant reining in top sailors and stalwarts such as Ethan Bixby, a professional sailmaker and perennial class champion. “He’s a brilliantly fast sailor, but he’s also an International 505 guy, and those guys love to tweak. I’ve tried to keep the Windmills the other way—tight and right—so you can take my boat and go just as fast as I can.”

Working through a ­handful of builders over the years, some better than others, the official class molds now sit at Tartan Yachts in Painesville, Ohio, where boatbuilding icon Tim Jackett has agreed to build Windmills on demand—or rather, three boats at a time. “He has sailed mine probably four or five times,” Huntley says, “and he enjoyed the boat so much that he built one for himself.”

A race-ready used boat fetches anywhere from $5,000 to $6,000, and a brand new one checks out at $12,000. “We’re doing our best to make sure all the boats—new and old, glass or wood—are still competitive,” says class president Ralph Sponer, who started racing Windmills in 2009. 

“We’ve tried to maintain with a builder that, yeah, we can use carbon, and we can do a lot of things to make it advance, but when we build a new boat, we have to make sure we don’t make the other half obsolete. We see in a lot of classes where there’s maybe 1,000 boats, but only 10 to 15 can really race competitively.”

Without a spinnaker, they’re plenty quick, and one key trait, Huntley says, is that the boat teaches a lot about apparent-­wind sailing. The Windmill is about 100 pounds lighter than a Snipe, he says, and “while we have a similar rig as a Snipe, we basically weigh more than 100 pounds less. With that in mind, we’re sailing a lot at higher apparent-wind angles, not ­plowing downwind.”

With roughly five regional championships in the US, the big event is always nationals, hosted this year by the Rock Hall, Maryland, Windmill contingent. They’re aiming for 25 to 30 boats, which is the high norm these days, and this is where the class’s rock stars shine. “The competition level here is pretty high across the board,” Sponer says, but the class faces the same challenges of countless antique one-design classes. 

“The biggest thing is just ­trying to find another generation of sailors out there,” Sponer says. “One thing we do have going for us is that we were once kind of ahead of our time, with the boat being so narrow and quick to plane.”

With roughly 90 active class members, there’s an urgency for the class to grow its ranks, which Sponer says has been the recurring challenge since taking the president’s chair nearly 10 years ago. Still, for this year’s nationals, he hopes to draw 30 boats or so. And while they now have trophies for the top 10, they also have trophies for the class’s septuagenarians, born the same year as the Windmill itself. The octogenarian trophy is forthcoming, and as far as Sponer is concerned, that’s OK. 

“When I see a 70- or 80-year-old successfully sailing in all conditions, out in a narrow boat like Windmill, I have a lot of respect for that person,” he says. Because remember: “It’s just plane fun,” regardless of one’s age.

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Windmill is a 15 ′ 5 ″ / 4.7 m monohull sailboat designed by Clark Mills and built by Advance Sailboat Corp., Lockley Newport Boats, and Johannsen Boat Works starting in 1953.

Rig and Sails

Auxilary power, accomodations, calculations.

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio .311 Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64) 2/3

• SA : Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
• D : Displacement in pounds.

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Ballast / Displacement * 100

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
• LWL: Waterline length in feet

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam 1.33 )

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
• LOA: Length overall in feet
• Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

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Sailboat plans

Discussion in ' Wooden Boat Building and Restoration ' started by messabout , Jul 20, 2022 .

messabout Senior Member

I have plans for several older racing style sailboats. They include International Contender, Australis catamaran, Windmill. Florida Moth also called Cates Moth. All are legitimate original class society or IYRU plans. Also have plans for Cinnamon, an 18 foot stripper cargo canoe. This set of plans from Canoe and Kayak magazine. The claim is that it can do 12 MPH with a 2 horse Honda. The sailboat plans are old and yellow but still useable if for no other reason than study plans or a nostalgia visit. The canoe plans are still fairly fresh. Price: Any or all, Free . pay for postage only.  

Will Gilmore Senior Member

I sent you a PM about the Windmill plans.  

Will, I will send the plans in a day or two.  

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5 Best Wind Generators For Sailboats (2024)

Wind generators, also known as micro turbines, have come a long way since their first appearance on the cruising scene back in the 1970's. Loud, relatively low output and large bladed, these forerunners of the modern day wind generators were both a mechanical marvel and a source of constant consternation. They were basically a small automotive alternator encased in an aluminum housing, with little thought into aesthetics or longevity. Cruisers equipped with an old Windbugger or K.I.S.S. wind generators come to mind as the loud boats in the anchorage no one wanted to be around.

As we all know, there are very few, if any, automotive products that last very long in a marine environment. A large stock of spare parts had to be stored in case of breakage, and daily maintenance consisted of checking the bearings, monitoring the voltage vs. wind speed for signs of decreased output, and rotating the blades into the wind when the boat position changed.

Today's best wind generators boast such features as CAD designed, self-feathering composite blades that are whisper quiet, brushless magnetic alternators, automatic braking and over-charge protection. Boxy aluminum housings have been replaced with sleek, carbon fiber and fiberglass nacelles.

While you may spend a small fortune on a wind generator that has all of these features and more, you can also opt for more budget friendly models, readily available from Amazon, Home Depot and other on-line retailers. The best wind generators are usually the most expensive, but when you are looking at the lower cost models, remember to add in the cost of wiring, mounting hardware, remote monitoring stations and installation, should you choose not to do the work yourself. Not all wind generators are purpose-built for the marine environment. Buyer beware: a turbine designed for the hobbyist on land will not stand up to the rigors of an offshore passage.

Table of contents

As with any mechanical device you are researching, it is a good idea to learn some of the terminology associated with the product. Not all of us know the meaning of 'swept area', 'power capture' or 'yaw error'. Likewise with the electrical side of the wind generator. Learning about output wattage, amps, and microprocessors can seem like a daunting task, but it is necessary to know these terms before you shell out hard earned cash for a quality wind generator.

Some features of wind generators, such as weather-proof coatings and low-noise operation, are common to all makes and models. The use of rare earth elements like Neodymium, (Nd2FE14B, used in magnetic rotors), can add hundreds of dollars to the price of some of these wind generators, but defiantly do add to the overall dependability of the unit.

Some of the more desirable things to look for in a wind generator are:

• Ease of Operation

Also known as plug-n-play, the simpler the set-up, the better. Choose a model that has built-in controllers, that ???makes for less complicated wiring runs. A remote monitor is handy to check on the status of the charging system without crawling into the battery room, or looking up to see if the blades are still turning. If you are ordering your generator and having it shipped, ask your salesman to be sure it has detailed assembly instructions and perhaps an owner's manual in either DVD or booklet form.

• Low Cut-In Speed 

Wind generators work best when the blades are humming along in 20 knots of wind, but that's not always the case. Low cut-in speed means your batteries are getting a charge in the lightest of airs, if only a trickle charge.

If you happen to be ashore when the wind kicks up, you don't want your turbine to spin wildly out of control. Some generators feature a type of automatic speed governor that slows the blades down before they self destruct. Back in the day, you had to pull down on a cord to apply the brakes, then climb up the mast or mounting pole and manually tie off the blades.

• Over-Charge Protection

A 'brake' also kicks in when the batteries are nearing or at full capacity, to prevent overcharging. Some controllers slow the rotation of the blades, others 'dump' the excess power generated through a resistor and heat sink. Wiring an in line reset-able fuse can prevent damage to your batteries should a malfunction occur within the charging system.

• Portability

If you are one of those part-time sailors who cruises for a few months, then dry-docks your vessel for the off-season, choose a light-weight portable wind generator you can set up at home to off-set your electric bill. In case of a hurricane or other emergency when there is no power for days at a time, your wind generator can power cell phone chargers, laptops and rechargeable battery stations. Removing your wind generator and locking it away in the cabin also deters thieves. Portable wind generators that are light can be mounted on higher surfaces without worrying about upsetting the balance of your boat. The heavier the generator, the lower it should be mounted, allowing for safe passage under and around those spinning blades, of course!

It is also a good idea to know your boat's needs and desires before settling for a low cost, low output wind generator. Everything that runs off a battery, including the DC to AC inverter, should be listed, along with their amp/hour draw, to determine how much power you will need to generate. Compare your toys with your reserve amps of your house battery bank. Do you just have a few LED bulbs and a masthead light to run at anchor? Then you can get by with a low output generator. Are you keeping a keg cooler, stereo, disco ball and Netflix going all night? When underway, are you powering SSB, weatherfax, VHF and radar? Then you need a rack full of batteries, and a wind generator with the capacity to keep them topped off.

Speaking of batteries, make sure the wind generator you purchase can charge all the different batteries available. Even if you only have wet-cell lead/acid marine batteries now, you may upgrade to AGM, Gel or even LiFeMgPO4 (Lithium Iron Magnesium Phosphate) batteries in the future. Some wind generators and their controllers are not advanced enough to charge these newer power sources.

Unless you are well versed in the application of electrical theory and DC current, you probably don't know much about wire size and current loss. Even the best wind generator will not function as advertised if the power can not get from the blades to the battery. If you have a long run from your generator to the battery bank you intend to charge, make sure your wires are correctly sized to prevent line loss from resistance and over heating. Most installation manuals will have a wire chart included for DIY installations, and there is always a help line to the manufacturer.

Here are four out of the dozens of wind generators out there that have positive reviews and some of the most desirable features.

1.) Superwind 350, 353

This German manufactured turbine features their patented Auto-Feathering Overspeed-Avoidance System. This is basically the same method a helicopter uses to gain lift, and settle back down. As the wind speed reaches 25 knots, the blades 'feather', or dump air, making them less efficient, and slowing their speed. As the wind lessens, the blades re-pitch, becoming more efficient. This action delivers a steady flow of charging current to the batteries, without going into a shut-down mode to prevent overcharging, as some models do. The Superwind generators also can be combined with solar panels and conventional diesel generators. The Superwind generator family also uses a brushless A/C stator for maximum control of noise and radio interference while the unit is producing power. Two sets of bearings in the 350 make for smoother operation and overall longer bearing life. Available in 12v, 24v, or 48v outputs. At close to 30 lbs, these units are well built and dependable. With a price tag right around $2,700 for the Superwind 350 kit, you can expect German Engineering at it's finest.  https://www.superwind.com/superwind-350-353/

2.) Automaxx

The Automaxx line of wind generators comes in 12v, 24v 48v models, in outputs from 400w up to 1500w. Survival wind speeds are listed at 110mph, but we hope you would never have to put that spec to the test. With very low cut-in speeds of less than 6mph, you will get charging amps on the slightest breeze. All their models come with auto-braking and manual braking system protection, over charge and over-speed protection. The 3600 rotation of the power head keeps the unit into the wind, even when you are docked or med-moored. Simple plug and play setup with an internal MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) charge controller makes the DB400 an easy to install unit, while their other models feature a remote charge controller. Works well when combined with solar chargers. At 16.75 lbs., it is lighter in weight than the Superwind, and it's seven times less expensive at around $400.00 for the DB400.

https://www.automaxxwindmill.com/

3.) MarineKinetix MK4

One look at this brand's marketing home page is like an advanced course in wind generator physics. The list of specs for it's models is truly impressive. Not only do they boast all the latest technologies featured in their product, they explain all the scientific jargon they use in terms us simple sailors can understand. They have been providing wind generators to the sailing community for 8 years now, and have a devoted following.

If you need to know the difference between $400.00 wind generators and $1,800 units, check out the product overview section of their website.

The MarineKinetix brand has the the industries best 3 year limited warranty, so they must be pretty sure about their product.

The 12v models of this brand are currently out of stock, due to parts supplier back-orders, but if you are in the market, there are plenty of 24v and 48v units in stock.  https://store.marinebeam.com/marinekinetix-mk4-marine-wind-generator/

4.) Rutland 1200

One of the quieter wind generators out there, the U.K. made Rutland has a long track record of dependability and customer satisfaction. A manual switch is used to stop the blades when high wind is expected, there is no auto-brake. The Rutland can be combined with solar panels up to 20A, and can be also be used with deep cycle gel or AGM batteries, and there is a remote digital display available. One of the Rutland's best features is it's Tri-namic Blade profile design, which achieves low start-up speeds, silent operation in any wind, and maximum power transfer from wind to rotor. Overall good performance and features for the $1,600.00 price tag. https://www.emarineinc.com/Rutland-1200-Wind-Turbine

5.) DuoGen-3

Wind generators are a fairly common sight in most anchorages, and towable generating devices have been around for some time. The DuoGen-3 combines the two into one multi-use charging system. Underway, the high strength carbon fiber mast is lowered down to submerge the blades. At anchor, the unit functions like a typical wind generator. The results are impressive. In the water mode, the DuoGen-3 generates 200 Watts @ 16 amps cruising at 8 knots. Wind generators do not do well sailing downwind, so this may just be the answer. Available in 12v and 24v versions. Charging regulators are not included, so monitors and controllers have to be matched to the unit and sourced locally. https://eclectic-energy.co.uk/

Choosing the right wind generator for your vessel should be a pretty straightforward process, once you have an idea of your needs, the area you will be cruising in, and how long you expect to be 'off the grid'. If one generator is simply not enough because of the size of your battery banks and the load you put on them, you may need to purchase a pair of turbines. Customer support and availability of parts may be the determining factor in your purchase. Talk to other wind generator owners, and get a feel for what they have experienced with their current of former wind generators.

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Daniel Wade

I've personally had thousands of questions about sailing and sailboats over the years. As I learn and experience sailing, and the community, I share the answers that work and make sense to me, here on Life of Sailing.

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Windmill Class Association

File Photo: 2009 Midwesterns

Length Overall 15' 6" Length Waterline (LWL) 13' 8" Beam 4' 9" Sail Area 119 sq. ft. Draft - Board Down 4' 2" / Board Up 6" Mast Height 20' 3" Minimum Hull Weight 198 lbs Portsmouth Ratings:     Level 89.7     Light air 92.3     Medium 91.4     Heavy 86.4

The Windmill Class is a National Association of Owners and Builders of the Windmill One-Design Sailboat . Clark Mills designed the Windmill to be a challenging and exciting boat for teens to sail when they graduated from his Opti design. Today the Windmill Class brings families together from across the country to enjoy the thrill of friendly rivalry on the water and camaraderie ashore.

Race Results Template Download the template to upload results to the website send the template to following email address.

Class Contacts

Register / Login A password will be e-mailed to you Reset Password More information Image gallery, floor plans. Use the form below to contact us! Windmill Pooler The URL for this page is Pooler Added 22-Sep-2018 © 2001-2024 ./)   . . ./)   . . 221 IMAGES Planing hull Instant get Boat building plans sailboat Pin on Mono Hull Sailing Windmill Sailboat Building Progress New Windmill Sailboat For Sale Windmill VIDEO Sailing Video From The Weekender DVD Set Sailboat Whirlygig Windmill Sailboat Building Progress vawt plans new invention available Yellowtail From a Kayak Sailboat Plans--Daysailers 10 ft to 15 ft LOA COMMENTS Windmill Composite Construction article Further information about the composite construction technique described in this article can be obtained by contacing the author by email Tom Lathrop or calling him at (252) 249-2646. The Windmill, a 15 1/2 foot sloop rigged racing daysailer, was a product of the fertile mind of boatbuilder Clark Mills of Clearwater, Florida. Duckworks The plans call the boat a Windmill, and as a historical note, 20-30 Windmills were built in K.C. in the late '50's and early '60's in small groups. That's because Lake Jacomo was opened for use in 1959, putting sailboats in high demand, and the Windmill was one of the few sailboats that you could build yourself out of wood in your own ... Specifications that make the Windmill a high performance sailboat. The speed of the Windmill, and the endurance of the Windmill Class Association, has been preserved over time by . maintaining exacting specifications for the building of Windmills. This finished Windmill was measured by the . Windmill Class Association Chief Measurer and certified as meeting ... Windmill (sailing dinghy) Windmill on a trailer, showing hull shape. The Windmill is a recreational sailboat, built predominantly of plywood or fiberglass in the form of a double hull with a foam core, resulting in an unsinkable boat.It has a fractional sloop rig with aluminum spars. The boat and is sailed only with a jib and mainsail, no spinnaker and no trapeze.The hull has a rounded plumb stem, a conventional ... Building a Wooden Windmill The Windmill Plans Package is a complete source of information on how to construct a first class boat, all you add is your time, skill, love and a portion of what you have left after taxes. The Plans Package includes: The Blueprints and Specifications A How-To-Build-a-Windmill Manual - 64 pages of text, plus 73 photos and 27 figures. New Windmill Sailboat For Sale Home: Specifications: Planing: Speed Ratings: Jib & Pole: Controls and Adjustments: Class Association: Photographs: Prices: New Windmill Sailboat For Sale . Boat - Dagger board -- Rudder . The story of the Windmill begins soon after Clark Mills designed the popular Optimist Pram. In response to a demand for a boat to . bridge the gap between the Pram and the Olympic racing classes, Mills ... WINDMILL A boat with a BN of 1.6 or greater is a boat that will be reefed often in offshore cruising. Derek Harvey, "Multihulls for Cruising and Racing", International Marine, Camden, Maine, 1991, states that a BN of 1 is generally accepted as the dividing line between so-called slow and fast multihulls. Prices Prices. The price of the hull with all the blocks, fittings, dagger board, tiller and rudder is $9,800 (sails, mast and boom are not included). The hull can be picked up in Philadelphia, PA. - Delivery can be arranged. New hulls for rough use, like fleet racing, can be made for significantly less. without all the custom inlay and showroom finish. WINDMILL TUNING GUIDE INITIAL SETTINGS. - The first item that should be checked is the mast step. It should be place at about 59-60" from station 0. Make sure that your mast is tight in the step and will not twist in the step. MAST RIGGING. - The standard height for spreaders is between 104 to 106" above the theoretical top of keel. Windmill sail Spring sails were invented by Scottish millwright Andrew Meikle in 1772. The sail is divided into a number of bays, each having a number of shutters. All the shutters are joined together by a shutter bar, and the force required for the wind to open the shutters is adjusted by a separate spring on each sail. Although automatic in operation, the mill must be stopped in order to adjust the ... Windmill (Sailing Dinghy) The Windmill is a recreational sailboat, built predominantly of plywood or fiberglass in the form of a double hull with a foam core, resulting in an unsinkable boat. ... In a 1994 review Richard Sherwood wrote, "the Windmill is a high-performance sloop that can be built from plans or from a kit, or purchased complete. She is very light and ... Windmill The Windmill is a 15 1/2 foot, 2-person racing dinghy designed by boat-builder Clark Mills in 1953. True to his objective, Mills designed a boat that is high performance, yet can be inexpensively constructed by amateur builders. Today, both wooden and fiberglass Windmills remain equally competitive. With its narrow, hard-chined planing hull ... Shop Sailboats. Sailboats embody the mystery of the sea, of going only where the wind is willing to take you. We offer a variety of sailboat sizes, using several construction techniques. We offer sails, hardware and rigging for many of our sailboat designs. This enables you to focus on building your boat, not searching around for all the bits and ... The Windmill class The design made the Windmill an affordable class boat that could be (and still can be) home built with performance at least equal to the Snipe. ... The Snipe was designed by William Crosby, editor of Rudder Magazine, and the plans were published and promoted in the magazine in the early 30's . It was one of the first one design classes designed ... Windmills Plane and Simple June 28, 2024. The Clark Mills-designed Windmill, raced since the early 1950s, continues to serve the planing needs of US dinghy sailors. Walter Cooper. At the water's edge on a ­bayside beach ... Windmill Windmill is a 15′ 5″ / 4.7 m monohull sailboat designed by Clark Mills and built by Advance Sailboat Corp., Lockley Newport Boats, and Johannsen Boat Works starting in 1953. Great choice! Your favorites are temporarily saved for this session. Sign in to save them permanently, access them on any device, and receive relevant alerts ... Sailboat plans The sailboat plans are old and yellow but still useable if for no other reason than study plans or a nostalgia visit. The canoe plans are still fairly fresh. ... Likes: 453, Points: 63 Location: Littleton, nh Will Gilmore Senior Member. I sent you a PM about the Windmill plans. -Will (Dragonfly) Will Gilmore, Jul 22, 2022 #2. Joined: Jan 2006 ... 5 Best Wind Generators For Sailboats (2024) Automaxx. The Automaxx line of wind generators comes in 12v, 24v 48v models, in outputs from 400w up to 1500w. Survival wind speeds are listed at 110mph, but we hope you would never have to put that spec to the test. With very low cut-in speeds of less than 6mph, you will get charging amps on the slightest breeze. Windmill Class Association Home Portsmouth Ratings: Level 89.7 Light air 92.3 Medium 91.4 Heavy 86.4. The Windmill Class is a National Association of Owners and Builders of the Windmill One-Design Sailboat. Clark Mills designed the Windmill to be a challenging and exciting boat for teens to sail when they graduated from his Opti design. Windmill sailboats for sale by owner. Windmill preowned sailboats for sale by owner. Windmill used sailboats for sale by owner. Home. Register & Post. View All Sailboats. Search. Avoid Fraud. ... 22'-6' Chesapeake Light Craft plans Norwegian Faering Cruiser Salem, Oregon Asking $4,500. 37'7' C&C Racer/Cruiser Traverse City, Michigan Asking $38,000. 26' Pearson 26 WINDMILL Blue Water Surf Value Rank (BWSVR) 8143. Capsize Comfort Value Rank (CCVR) 1963 Windmill Pooler sailboat for sale in Missouri 4'. '. Missouri. $3,400. Description: 1963 Vintage wooden Windmill sailboat with trailer. Over 50 hours was spent restoring the beautiful wood on this unique boat. The hull is mahogany with Sitka spruce inlay, and the spars are Sitka spruce also. The daggerboard and rudder are solid mahogany. CLASS ASSOCIATION The Windmill Class Association is an extremely active and involved group of sailors. It is not uncommon to see couples and multiple generations participating. The social nature of the group is inclusive and helpful. The social ethic is to share knowledge. with the intent to upgrade the sailing experience for everyone. Irish company plans renewable energy megaproject for rural Nova Scotia Irish renewable energy firm Simply Blue is gearing up for a multibillion-dollar project on Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore that's meant to convert wind, solar and biomass energy into jet fuel.The company has been quietly working on the project for three years and shared details publicly for the first time on Friday.The megaproject would include wind and solar farms that feed electricity to a ... catamaran gulet motorboat powerboat riverboat sailboat trimaran yacht