"It was my dream to build a boat." Andreas Scherbarth steers his "Ideefix" across the Biggesee glistening in the evening light. This dream of building his own boat has come true and the builder and owner is visibly satisfied. In addition to the challenge of such a project, which appealed to the master baker with his own organic bakery, there was another crucial point: his dream boat was not for sale. And yet his ideas were not completely far-fetched.
The dream boat should offer plenty of space in the cockpit for sailing with friends, as well as berths for the family to stay overnight at the weekend, space for sunbathing and headroom below deck. These are all wishes that are in line with current trends in boat building, but on ever larger units.
The small cruiser is built according to precise specifications by the company itself
But one crucial detail made most of the series-produced boats uninteresting for Scherbarth: on the Biggesee, a reservoir in the Sauerland region, there are strict size limits for recreational boats. A box rule stipulates that 20 square metres of floor space may not be exceeded. This roughly results in a length of eight metres and a width of 2.5 metres. Attached rudders and gennaker rods do not count. Only electric motors are permitted for propulsion.
More about self-build:
The key data had already been established, but Scherbarth was unable to find a small cruiser under eight metres in length that met his requirements. Besides, there was the dream of building a boat himself, so why waste time looking for a suitable production boat?
Late at night at a birthday party, he sketched the first design on a tablecloth in a celebratory mood. Even though the later study of other designs would change a few things about this early drawing, the name "Ideefix" had been fixed ever since. His boat, created as a fixed idea at a party.
Until the construction phase can begin, a lot of reading and learning is the order of the day
While browsing through his father's collected YACHT issues, he came across the French shipyard RM, which builds folding pontoons from plywood. The construction method seemed favourable to the master baker, who was inexperienced in boatbuilding, as it was comparatively simple. He got hold of some literature and learnt a lot about boatbuilding. Initially, he still lacked an understanding of many technical terms. "I had no idea what a hull was. I simply didn't know. So I first watched YouTube videos and learnt how to do it," says Scherbarth. His learning curve is pointing steeply upwards and he is building his own stock bench so that he can join the large plywood parts together quickly and precisely using a router. Another advantage of the plywood construction is the manageable number of tools required. A hand-held circular saw, jigsaw, multi-master, sander, router and cordless drill are all you need.
In the meantime, we've come up between wooded mountain slopes, drop off, the gennaker is unwound from the furling system and slowly billows in the light breeze, the sun sinks behind the mountains to starboard. We head back to the Lister Yacht Club, but Andreas Scherbarth's story is only really picking up speed.
By Christmas 2015, the idea had matured to such an extent that he completed his first 1:10 scale model. He even built a mock-up of the profile of the cockpit seats to try them out, changing the dimensions and angles until he was satisfied. In January, the baker then orders the materials at boot: eight-millimetre-thick marine plywood, mahogany strips and epoxy and filler for gluing. The materials are delivered at Easter 2016 and Scherbarth starts work in the cellar under the bakery. First, bulkheads and frames are sawn out. One such reinforcement is placed every 60 centimetres and connected with battens.
Little by little, the small cruiser takes shape
He completed the frame by the summer holidays and the planking with the plywood panels could begin. To do this, the frame was turned keel-up. The hull of the "Ideefix" has two distinctive kinks where the vertical sides are connected to the flat underwater hull by diagonal planking. Corners and edges.
By the time of the next trade fair in Düsseldorf in 2017, the hull had been planked with two layers of plywood. Large sacks of salt from the bakery were used as weights to press the plywood panels into the shape of the ribs. Scherbarth had already worked on the small cruiser in the bakery before starting work, and all of his breaks and free time after work went towards continuing his project.
Back at boot, a year after ordering the first materials, the hard-working self-builder orders the rig and obtains quotes for sails. The appointment with the sailmaker is quickly made: in coordination with the crane date at the club, he sets 24 May 2017. Now the pressure is on, the teak deck still has to be laid, the superstructure completed and everything finished with several coats of varnish. He keeps the teak bars at a distance with tile crosses, small plastic pieces that keep the joint width constant. Many new tasks, many firsts, he turns into successes with creative solutions.
Progress, but also setbacks- especially during painting
But that doesn't work when it comes to painting, the drive and resulting impatience for such delicate work is too great. "The only point where I almost despaired was the painting work. Fortunately, my wife enjoyed it and helped a lot," reveals Scherbarth.
During this description, we moored the product of this long labour process at the jetty and moved to a table in the club rooms. Scherbarth spreads out construction plans and countless photos. The meticulous preparation and planning that made it possible for the boat to actually be finished on the estimated date becomes apparent.
Only a delay in the delivery of the ballast carriers - "Ideefix" was supposed to have chine keels - almost caused the deadline to be cancelled. When the boat-building baker reports this, he can still see the anxiety. Condemned to wait by a supplier. But before he could even think about screwing the keels under the hull, the boat had to be taken out of the cellar. The exit was wide enough, but there was a corner behind it, past a shed. Ideefix" only made the turn thanks to the dismantling of doors and attachments on the shed, which freed up the crucial centimetres. The keels were then fitted under the crane.
Exciting moment: the "Ideefix" is launched into the water
After 14 months of working on his own boat, Scherbarth has doubts: "When it went into the water, I was really worried about whether it would float at all." But it does. Initially it was trimmed a little towards the stern, but without any water ingress or other surprises. Once the keels had been fitted a little further forward and the inner ballast had been stowed further forwards, his boat also floated in the planned waterline.
At 2,400 kilograms, the small cruiser "Ideefix" is not particularly light, but not excessively heavy either. The keels together weigh 300 kilograms and the internal ballast an additional 200 kilograms. In terms of volume, Andreas Scherbarth sails the largest yacht in the area. Among the almost 1,000 boats on the Biggesee, there are many dinghies, especially H-boats, Biga 26, Dehlya, First 235 and Varianta 18. With his angular self-built boat, the master baker has already come very close to the maximum permitted footprint.
The next day we hit the water again. After an after-work sail in a very light breeze, the sailing characteristics can now be assessed - and they are impressive. The ten metre long mast carries 40 square metres of laminate sails. The main is not constricted by a backstay and is set wide - just right for light wind conditions. The boat gets off to a good start and is easy to steer. The twin rudder system works surprisingly well. Apart from a small amount of play, it keeps the small, large boat well on course and even surprises with full control when manoeuvring backwards in the harbour.
Many customised solutions make the "Ideefix" a complete boat
In addition, the steering gear, which forms a unit with the traveller at the stern, is designed so that it can be removed in a few simple steps. The push rods are unhooked, the rudder blades remain on the transom and the traveller and tiller can be swivelled next to the boat while hanging from the main bulkhead buoy. This leaves the aft cockpit free for boarding and disembarking when stopping for a swim. However, this unique design is just one example of the countless practical DIY solutions that Andreas Scherbarth has come up with for his first boat.
The halyards from the mast are deflected aft and run into a self-constructed constrictor terminal block on the superstructure. Scherbarth spent a long time experimenting with different rope diameters and manufacturers and matching sheathing braids until the right combination was found. The halyard pinches in the cordage tube, but can also be easily opened again by pulling on the tether.
The foresheet and the furling lines for the jib and gennaker as well as the gennaker pole run below deck through aluminium composite tubes that can be easily bent into shape. The lines then reappear aft in a swallow's nest in the coaming. A removable fastener is dimensioned so that it can be stowed underneath in the cockpit lid when sailing. The fore hatch is not one of the usual standard solutions from Gebo or Lewmar, but is made from acrylic glass, mouldings and sealing rubber.
The Torqeedo outboard has been completely stripped of its panelling and the shaft has been sawn off, making it extremely compact. It can be fitted into a specially designed bracket at the stern, making it almost invisible. When sailing, it can be stored in a small stowage space and is supplied with power via a socket in the transom. Even the boat hook fulfils two functions and is a paddle on one side and a peg hook on the other.
The interior of the small cruiser's own construction also impresses with its wealth of detail
This ingenuity and attention to detail continues below deck on the small cruiser "Ideefix": the companionway bulkhead converts to companionway steps when folded down. The small but adequate refrigerated compartment is located in a drawer underneath - designed and built in-house, of course. Inside, some of the wooden surfaces are painted white and the windows let in plenty of light, making the cabin very bright. Four berths, a chemical toilet and a small pantry also make the small cruiser a fully-fledged touring boat.
There is also no lack of storage space, for example in the dog bunks. But until the rig was finally in place and the first stroke could be sailed, Scherbarth, who had planned everything precisely in theory, was understandably unsure himself whether everything would work. "The whole thing was a risk. But if in doubt, I would have simply installed two electric motors, fitted a petrol tap and turned it into a party boat," he says jokingly.
But he is delighted that things turned out differently and his design sails across the reservoir in a light breeze. Ideefix" is a little sluggish in these conditions. However, with its high degree of dimensional stability thanks to the wide and angular hull and the righting moment of two keels plus internal ballast, the boat is also qualified for coastal cruises far from its inland area.
The construction of the "Ideefix" was not cheap despite the high level of personal contribution
The owner is happy just to be able to put the cuddly cruiser on a trailer and set off for much larger cruising grounds. In summer, he sails with his brother on a 15 metre steel ketch every year anyway. They then set sail from Stralsund.
However, he spends most of his time on his self-built small cruiser. This is the realisation of a dream. And Andreas Scherbarth has paid a lot for it. Despite building it himself, the project was not cheap.
The wood and resin alone cost 14,000 euros. A further 15,000 euros were spent on the twin-reef rig and the high-quality sails. Fittings, ropes, upholstery and equipment as well as small parts added up to a further 6,000 euros. That makes a total of around 35,000 euros for a boat exactly according to their own ideas and the realisation of a dream.
From the hobby shipyard manager's point of view, that's a fair price. Even though the construction period was a strenuous phase, the baker turned boat builder is still full of ideas. Apparently, the next project is already maturing in his head.
Technical data small cruiser "Ideefix":
- Designer: Andreas Scherbarth
- Hull length: 7.80 m
- Width: 2.52 m
- Draught: 1.20 m
- Weight: 2.4 tonnes
- Ballast/proportion: 0.5 t/21 %
- Mast height: 11.00 m
- Sail area (upwind): 40,00 m²
