Barend Migchelsen, (pronounced Mikkelsen) learned to sail in The Netherlands in 1943.
In 1975 he started to build boats and boat models as a hobby. His first boat was a 16
ft. constant flared, hard chined, Frisian scow with lee boards.
He believes that the best way to beat the high cost of acquiring a boat is to build
one. Constant flared, hard chined hulls are not only easy to construct, but also easy to
design and loft with the help of the Pythagoras theorem.
He organizes eight hour courses, given in four, weekly sessions of two hours. The course is taught in a classroom. That way he gains six months on
the winter season when outdoor instruction is impossible in much of North America because
of the unfavourable weather conditions. Ian Bruce, NA,
co-designer of the world-famous Laser, was clearly impressed with the
clean lines and quality of the students' models made during the
course.
With a jig made of mounting board on some three feet of 2x3" lumber
"spine," and the
course textbook, each participant builds a 2 ft. model to scale of a 12½ ft. Skiff
on the kitchen table, for a total cost of $25. A 12.5 ft. LOA Skiff can be constructed for
$300, including a trial-mast and sail. That is less than 10 percent of the price of the
smallest sail trainer. With an engineer’s scale the original measurements are used
without conversion; a foolproof track-to-run-on for beginners.
