Didi Mini by Dudley Dix

Low budget performer

• Economy of plywood
• Radius chine hull, stitch & glue cabintop
• Round bilge from sheet material
• Amateur or pro builders
• Fixed or canting keel
• High performance racing on a tight budget
• See the Didi Mini Mk3, with updated hull and rig

Mini 650 or Mini-Transat boats attract great interest worldwide. Tiny but costly offshore yachts, they give spectacular sailing, and are generally beyond the ability of most amateur builders. Commissioned by a client who wants to build a reasonably competitive boat himself, this design is our contribution toward reducing the cost of these boats.

Detailing is based on the series of radius chine plywood designs that started with my DIDI 38 "Black Cat", and was followed by the DIDI 34, Didi MG30 and DIDI 26.

Design principle is simplicity and to the Mini 6.5 Class limits. The initial design has a fixed keel and conventional water ballast, as well as single aft daggerboard for tracking downwind. We have added a canting keel & forward daggerboard to the package, so that builders can choose the option that suits them. Linked twin rudders are steered by central tiller.

Keels are hollow aluminum fabrications with through-bolted beaver tail ballast bulbs. The fixed keel has optional trim tab. Both keels are supported by the hull structure by means of an internal aluminum box frame. The fixed keel has an integral post to transfer some of the keel loads through to the deck structure.

The deck layout is a fairly conventional 3-winch arrangement. The smaller headsails sheet to the top of the cabin and are led to the cabintop winch. The larger headsails and spinnakers sheet to the cockpit winches. Tweeker lines replace headsail tracks.

We have sold nearly 60 sets of plans for her, as at Dec 2005. Drawings include full size Mylar patterns of the backbone, bulbs, rudders and daggerboards. Optional full size Mylar patterns for the bulkheads are also available.

Pre-cut kits are available from various suppliers. Kits vary from bulkheads with hull & deck skin through to almost everything needed to complete your boat. Please clarify with suppliers what is included in their prices.

We have made some modifications to the design, as from January 2004. The stepped stern has been replaced by a deck extending to the transom, moving the mainsheet track aft and giving more cockpit space. A small mound has been added over the emergency hatch, allowing it to be mounted higher above the water. At the same time the rudder linkage has been changed to improve the geometry of the rudders.

We now also have a cruising version of this design, the Didi Cruise-Mini. It has a smaller rig, optional lifting keel, more accommodation and more headroom in the cabin. It is more suited to those who want good performance but a simpler boat with a bit more comfort.