Turtle 198 Full Plans

A simple sailing catamaran or tender

For Turtle Study Plans, click HERE

Rowing and easy sailing boat/ unsinkable/ stability / no centerboard / trailerable / cartopable / single rudder/ selfstanding carbon fibre mast or aluminium, in 2 parts/ furling single sail / very easy epoxy plywood construction for stitch and glue construction/ for all the family.

Main specifications:

Building material: 4 or 5mm thick. marine plywood,

glass fibre and epoxy resin.

Hull length: 1,98 m

Length at DWL: 1,98 m

Length over all, LOA : 1,98 m

Beam : 1,25 m (without rubber band)

Fwd freeboard: 350 cm

Aft freeboard: 286 cm

Draft min./max.: 24 cm without rudder / 41 cm with rudder

Displacement: 33 kg without rig and sail and without outboard engine.

Displacement (full loading) 213 kg with 2 persons and 30 kg of bags

Payload (max.): 180kg.

Unsinkable with flotation foam.

Transportable / cartopable

No centerboard, just skegs.

Engine: outboard 2,5 HP (possible)

Mainsail Area: 2 m2 - Furling main / Self standing mast.

Possibility to add a boom.

How did this project come to be:

Turtle 198 has been ordered by a practiced Italian person. He wished to sail the Lake Como in Italy and build a tender to visit his little 4m length Inseparable 398 moored to a buoy. Aurelio already ordered me several plans. Among these designs, he asked the famous Riva! shipyard to built his Inséparable 398, a little catboat with cabin to sail lake Como, and the Venice lagoon.

But Aurelio wanted a new challenge much more interesting than buying a simple plastic tender! A turtle story was beginning.

The aim of the boat is to be a sailing and a rowing Tender. It is not difficult to understand we chose a catamaran to raise the cockpit space (squared) and the initial stability for such a short length of boat like this.

She is perfect to sail in very sheltered waters with light winds either whenever sailing or rowing. Of course she is not designed for strong breezes and very choppy waters.

As well as on every tender, a little outboard engine would be welcome for a tender use without sail, but the rudder would have to be removed.

Cartopable with 33kg of weight.