Puddle Duck Racer

A Puddle Duck Racer or PD Racer is an 8 foot (2.44 m) long, 4 foot (1.22 m) wide, 16 inch (40 cm) high, spec series, racing sailboat. It is a one design hull shape with wide options in other areas. Billed as "the easiest sailboat in the world to build", the scow hull is a simple box, usually built of plywood. PD Racers have a Portsmouth Handicap rating of 140.0 and their USSA code is PDR.

History and scope

Designed by David "Shorty" Routh, the PD Racer design was first published and released in 2003, and the first hull was built in January 2004. With a focus on a simple design that uses low cost materials, PD Racers are intended to be accessible to a wide variety of people. All the materials needed to build the boat can be found at a hardware store, and the dimensions allow for a tolerance of a quarter-inch, allowing for less experienced builders to assemble a boat that fits within the design rules. They can be cheap to build, with a simple plastic tarp for a sail, and reports place the cost to build the boat as ranging from $150 to $300 to construct. The design is suitable for use in school projects.