The short list revisited...1

One of the designs that has been on the short list for the next Loose Moose is the Dudley Dix DIDI 38/40 which is ( for me at least) something of a departure as it is... sort of Normal. I mean it looks like a whole lot of other boats you are going to see anywhere there are boats. certainly not my normal piss off the neighbors sort of ting...

Actually there is a reason a lot of boats tend to look the same... Certain stuff works!

With Dix's DIDI though there is a lot under the hood that sets it apart from the same old same old plastic Bendytoys and suchlike. Dudley Dix really knows how to put a boat together and the class of DiDI's (from Mini TransAt to the 40CR) all share a serious turn of speed as well as a boat designed to be built easily and cheaply. This is really an important point as not ALL designers of home buildable boats actually know how to put a boat together...

What is even better about the DIDI's is with CNC cutting of the plywood it makes for a real go together fast kit that saves a lot of time as well as money and leaves you with a very pro finish. I was recently asking Roy over at CKD Boats who do kits for the DIDI's, what a 38/40 (and ship them all over the world for surprisingly little) would run and the current cost was just around $13,000 (for the ply kit less plans) which makes for a very cheap boat to build that will kick some serious ass around the buoys or make a fine cruising home for a couple. Throw in the bonus that the DIDI strikes fear into the hearts of Bendytoy owners everywhere (no bad thing) and how cool is that?

We'd, of course, go with the cruising rig and shoal draft option but even so, I'd still expect to show our transoms to most production boats in the same size range more often than not... One of the reasons I like this boat so much is that of all the various designs out there, it is the closest thing to being a CAL 40 you can build yourself and an apt successor to that great design and the Lapworth legacy.

This is one very , very cool boat!