Dudley Dix Yacht Design

03/13/2026

The Explorer 18 was originally only available as a GRP production boat in South Africa. The design is now available for plywood construction, fully-detailed for amateur construction. A builder in India is building one for use by the new yacht club, with others to follow. An Argie 15 was the first boat in their fledgling fleet.
The Explorer 18 was originally only available as a GRP production boat in South Africa. The design is now available for plywood construction, fully-detailed for amateur construction. A builder in India is building one for use by the new yacht club, with others to follow. An Argie 15 was the first boat in their fledgling fleet.
https://dudleydix.blogspot.com/2023/08/explorer-18-lapstrake-plywood-day.html

03/13/2026

"Imagine", the beautifully-built Dix 38 Pilot in Trieste, Italy, is still for sale, with the price lowered by the owner to Euro200k. Contact Dudley by email to connect with the seller.

The owners of the aluminium Dix 38 Pilot "Imagine" have enjoyed her for nearly 14 years but have now reached a stage in life when they can n...

03/10/2026

I was interviewed over the weekend by Paul Trammel for his Offshore Sailing and Cruising podcast. Subjects covered were my background and experiences in sailing and boat design, through to my most recent designs. Listen in at

Dudley Dix has been designing sailboats - monohulls, catamarans, and trimarans - since the 1970's and is still at it. His designs incorporate wood, fiberglass, steel, or aluminum, and he is the developer of the radius-chine plywood method. His latest design is the Didi 120 GSC, a 40' monohull design...

03/02/2026

have completed the redesign of the Didi 120 for single-handed long- distance racing. The new version is named the Didi 120gsc. See more on my blog at https://dudleydix.blogspot.com/2026/03/didi-120gsc-shorthanded-racing-version.html and on my website.
Edit: Everyone wants to see this boat with twin rudders. It is not a wide enough platform to make twins necessary. There is a lot going on at the back of this design that is not shown on this basic 3D rendering. We have a Hydrovane self-steering gear offset to one side to provide back-up steering, an escape hatch on the other side, a very strong rudder shaft in self-aligning bearings, dual autopilots and the need to provide a route for the sailor to get through to the escape hatch. Most important, the two clients involved in the design wanted single rudder. Specify twin rudders when you commission a designer to draw a boat for you.

02/23/2026

A very nice Didi 40cr is looking for a new owner. "Passion X" is a customized version, with modified stern, expertly-built to a high standard. Her price is A$99500 and is a lot of boat and performance for the money. Visit my blog for more info and photos, at https://dudleydix.blogspot.com/2026/02/didi-40cr2-passion-x-for-sale.html

02/16/2026

A Ukrainian woman is planning to sail single-handed non-stop around the world via the 5 Great Capes. Bohdana Semenova is the daughter of Philip Semenov, who built a Didi 34 in Kiev, launched in 2012. Read more on my blog at

Bohdana Semenova is planning for a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation via the 5 Great Capes and the Sothern Ocean. Bohdana grew up with...

01/02/2026

Brian and Helen Russell are becoming very accomplished cruisers. They owner-built their aluminium Dix 43 Pilot "Helacious" at their home far from the ocean in Tennessee but have done most of their cruising in high latitudes. These photos show "Helacious" in surroundings that few boats will ever see.

12/25/2025

A nicely-built wooden Caribbea 30 is being offered for sale in Italy for 20,000Euro. More information on my blog at A nicely-built wooden Caribbea 30 is being offered by her owner/builder in Italy. Asking price is 20,000Euro. More info on my blog at

"Arkhe" is a wooden Caribbea 30 with fractional rig, owner-built to a high standard and a nicely finished, as the family boat. She was laun...

11/11/2025

Description, photographs and drawings of Didi 38 radius chine plywood cruiser racer sailboat for amateur or professional builders

10/11/2025

One of the designs that I am currently working on is a modified version of the radius chine plywood Didi 120 that I designed for David Edmiston in Sydney to build during the COVID shut-down. He launched his boat named "Passion XI" last year. This new version is for Victor Mora of Romania, who will build it to race in the Global Solo Challenge 2031 edition. Modifications to make it suitable for this very arduous race include beefing up the hull skin, internal structure and rig, added watertight bulkheads, new interior arrangement and pilothouse cabin with extension over the front of the cockpit. The deck hardware and control line setup is also completely rearranged to optimize it for single-handed sailing with almost all functions handled from the cockpit. The halliards and reefing lines are all led aft to the cockpit via tunnels that pass through the pilothouse from the cabin roof to the cockpit coamings. I will post more as this design develops, named the Didi 120gsc.