I am currently in Queensland staying at Mooloolaba.

It is a part of my Christmas break - or at least a sort of break as I have to keep working on my trusty laptop to catch up on my current backlog of work.

One of the more pleasurable aspects of being in Queensland this time was to meet Chuck and Sandra Leinweber - the proprieter's of Duckworks - one of the largest internet sites for the building of wooden boats.

The three people inspecting the OZ PDR rudder on the left are Chuck Leinweber, Steve Wagstaff and Peter Hyndman. Click images for larger views

Chuck and Sandra also happen to be my agents in the USA and are inAustralia on what they call their "ONCE IN A LIFETIME AUSTRALIAN TOUR". They came and stayed a couple of nights at Mooloolaba too - in the house on the banks of the Mooloola River.

On Saturday Chuck and Sandra were present for a boat launching and a day of sailing some of my designs on the river.

Steve Wagstaff launched his "Two Dogs" another Australian PDRacer.

Steve Wagstaff launched his "Two Dogs" another Australian PDRacer. We had a look over his orange boat and noted a number of cool changes from the plans.

1/ He had shaped the centreboard aperture to match the centerboard shape. This will reduce drag. I was a little annoyed (in a good way) as I wanted to be the one to introduce that to the PDRacer class. A bit less drag is a bit more speed

2/ He also had created a nice transition between the coaming and the side tank face by working the change in profile neatly to recess the plywood into the coaming. I think it is a little beyond most builders and it is not essential either - but it is great he has tried it.

He had shaped the centreboard aperture to match the centerboard shape.

Steve is a old hand at racing Lasers - so the PDRacer is nicely rigged as well.

In general the boat was much more nicely built than I can do.

Perhaps that is why I am a designer and not a builder any more ...

In general the boat was much more nicely built than I can do.

Steve took his orange OZ Duck out and Chuck and I chased him for photos in the larger and faster Goat Island Skiff. I was a bit concerned until Chuck pointed out his camera was waterproof.

Peter joined us with the yellow PDR and we took some nice pics of the two Ducks sailing South.

Peter joined us with the yellow PDR and we took some nice pics of the two Ducks sailing South.

I then took Steve's boat out for a sail after lunch and capsized it while he was sailing the yellow PDR so he could see how easy it is to right.

Simply lie down in the water and pull down on the tip of the centreboard - that light hollow timber mast makes all the difference.

Steve is a naturally cheery type of person - but he seemed to be grinning extra broadly in many of the photos.

Steve is a naturally cheery type of person - but he seemed to be grinning extra broadly in many of the photos.

A full collection of photos is here.

Michael Storer plans sold here