www.bucko.com.au

You have reached the home page of buckomarine , the home of the bucko . A single handed skiff with wingmast and double surface sail .

bucko . naut. n. a swaggering or swashbuckling fellow .

That's just what the Mk 1(see pic. below ) is , give it less than your full and undivided attention and she will throw you off . This boat was launched in May 2000 and has been used as a test bed for lots of ideas - some good , some not so good (you may interpret disaster if you wish ) 

Above is the original "Ali " (named after my daughter )on a breezy day being sailed by Adam Chadwick of 12 foot skiff fame , below is the Mk2 version  "Polymorph V "on the same day and giving a much safer ride .  

In early 2001 we decided to try and build this more user friendly boat and were lucky enough to be offered the designing skills of Rob Widders of Osprey Design Services who volunteered to draw up some modern lines . After much consultation and several sets of lines being considered , building work was started on design 427W (w stands for wide - the first plan looked way too narrow to me given that one of the design objects was to be able to raise and lower spinnakers in lots of wind ) See "New Boat" page for more detail . The other major decision was to try and develop a double-surfaced sail that could be hoisted and lowered in the normal way .(See "New Rig " ). This second idea is still being worked on but even on its first outing delivered huge power combined with very low drag , totally different to any sail I have used before . Another boat  has been built off the same jig and it is using what is basically an I.Canoe rig with self-tacking headsail . To my way of thinking the jib is an extra hassle that can cause problems though very fast when under control . Time will tell which rig is superior . 

   Now on to the single-handed skiff concept . Around the world there are a dozen or so boats that fit this definition (see Links Page) and some of them look pretty good . Some are trying to go hard with the One Design concept , I guess to try and make some money out of their expensive tooling . I believe this is the wrong approach and we should instead be utilising some sort of formula within which development can occur - this type of boat is very new and to freeze designs at this early stage is premature . What I reckon should happen is for a Single-Handed Association to be formed and any existing single handed monohull class be eligible to compete , any new classes should have some sort of length restriction placed on them . Too open you reckon ? OK here are the rules . 

1. Any competing boat shall be rigged , launched and retrieved by the skipper alone.
2. One set of sails and one set of blades to be used per regatta . 
3. The courses shall be designed such that they give incentive to manoeuvrable and efficient designs rather than rewarding only straight-line speed . i.e. Max length of any leg to be 1000m with  P , M , or slalom type courses preferred - this would be a matter for discussion  .

These restrictions appear very basic but I believe will lead to boats which are fast but still pleasant to sail and very efficient . A combination of courses would be used with a suggested format below :

  Each race day 3 or 4 short races to be programmed , each should be less than 30 minutes duration , maximum length of any leg to be 1km . 

Day 1 . Triangle + windward/leeward , finish back at start . Either top or bottom reach of triangle to be at 90 degrees to the breeze . 

Day 2. Windward/leeward  , two laps but with a couple of slalom buoys for the downwind legs . First two races finish downwind . Last race of each session has a windward finish .     

And so on , I am sure other courses can be trialled , this is just the starting point . 

This is the home page of Buckomarine and J & J Buckland Marine . Bay 18 , 14-16 Arizona Rd , Charmhaven , 2263 , NSW , Australia.

ph. 61 2 43931455

fax. 61 2 43931433

E-mail : bucko@terrigal.net.au