Globe 5.80: Boatbuilding adventure: The first self-build minis are created

A lot has happened since the idea of a new self-build boat was announced in the spring. The development team, Don McInytre and Janusz Maderski, have since sold dozens of plans all over the world - including to Germany.

Despite, or perhaps because of, coronavirus - after all, some people are at home more often due to the pandemic - small boat enthusiasts in numerous countries have started building the sea dwarf. A separate boat class is to be created, the Class Globe 5.80, and there are to be regattas on the doorstep, across the Atlantic and even around the world (see YACHT 17/2020 ).

But no one has yet seen the boat under sail, no boat is finished yet. Piotr Czarniecki, who has made building number one his number one priority in Poland and has now completed the interior of the 5.80 metre short boat after building the hull, has made the most progress so far.

In Germany, Heinz-Erhard Förster's Finewoodwork boatyard is building a Globe 5.80. Originally, the boat type was to be called Mini 5.80, but because the name was too similar to the Classe Mini and its 6.50 metre short runabouts, it was changed to Globe 5.80.

Every self-builder who wants to register their boat in the class association later on is invited to document their build in a blog. In addition to Heinz-Erhard Förster, who also officially offers CNC-milled kits of this boat type for self-builders, two other Germans have started the construction (blog). Their experiences so far can be found in the Overview of all mini self-builders' blogs.

Also in the Facebook group "Globe 5.80 Builders" the budding boat builders exchange ideas.

Much more information about the construction of the Class Globe 5.80 is published in the major report "Abenteuer Bootsbau" in YACHT 17/2020. It is part of a four-part series on sailing with small cruisers. Part three is also about building other small boats yourself: what plans and kits are available and what experiences have self-builders who now sail their finished boats had with them?

The magazine can be ordered online here.

The complete overview of the small cruiser series:

NEUBOOTE (YACHT 15/2020)
What the current market offers and what buyers should look out for

USED BOATS (YACHT 16/2020)
Which second-hand cruisers are traded a lot and what makes them special

SELF-BUILD PROJECTS (YACHT 17/2020)
How to make simple sailing boats yourself

TRAVEL & ADVENTURE (YACHT 18/2020)
Why small ships and big experiences are not mutually exclusive