I had never come across this design until an old friend and customer of mine got in touch and said he wanted one. The Bufflehead was designed by Hugh Horton after a great deal of development, to be as good a sailing boat as possible which could still be a comfortably paddled canoe. The result is fabulous.

Beautifully balance under sail, she turns like a dinghy around her aerofoil leeboard yet tracks well under paddle. She can be built ultra-light, or tougher for dragging over oyster beds in the outback. This one is 3 and 4mm ply, sheathed inside with Kevlar, outside with glass, and stiffened  with carbon. The carbon rig was developed in the US, fully-battened with a 3-part socketed mast and 2-part boom.