A few IC sailors have been asking me about the canoes I’ve designed over the years –
what I was trying to achieve with each one, how they sailed, and what I learned along the
way. So I thought I’d share a bit of the story here.
Monkey (my first design)
Year designed/built: 2005-2006 (designed before the new rules were adopted)
Design brief: New open rules. Stable and easy to build.
Rig: Originally uni-rig, converted to fractional rig after 2007 Loch Lomond Euros.
Sails: Rowsell
Builder: Alistair Warren
Ownership:
– 2006-2010 – Alistair Warren
– 2010 – Sold to Chris Hampe.
– 2022 – Repurchased from Chris Hampe and modified.
Key modifications (2022):
– Bow lowered by 150mm.
– Main bulkhead extended outboard.
– Stump and self-tacker fitted.
– New daggerboard, carriage, and seat.
– Approx. 10kg weight reduction.
Race record and helm:
– 2007 Nationals (Loch Lomond) (the only development canoe to compete)
– 2007/2008 World Championship (McCrae, Australia) – 4th place – Alistair Warren
– 2023 Nationals & Europa Cup (Loch Lomond) – 5th place – Alistair Warren
Next steps:
Monkey provided a solid foundation but also highlighted a few shortcomings. Dragonfly
was designed to address these, with a new name to reflect her slender hull.
Dragonfly (Mk1 - designed for reliability, not extremes)
Year designed/built: 2010-2011
Design brief: More bow lift, narrower hull, reliable handling (a completely new design to
Monkey)
Rig: Fractional rig. Superspars mast, Warren boom.
Sails: Rowsell.
Builder: Hull – Andy Patterson. Foils, seat and carriage – Alistair Warren.
Ownership:
– 2011-2022 – Alistair Warren
– 2022 – present – Andy Ferguson
Other builds of Dragonfly by Andy Patterson: Colin Newman, Phil Robin
Endgame – Colin Newman
Little Scarlett – Phil Robin
Both boats securing top ten and podium finishes in both UK Nationals and World
Championships.
Race record and helm:
– 2011 Travemünde Worlds – 3rd place – Alistair Warren
– 2012 Plymouth Nationals & Europa Cup – 1st place – Alistair Warren
– 2014 Richmond Worlds (USA) – 3rd place – Alistair Warren
– 2016 Pwllheli Nationals – 1st place – Alistair Warrren
– 2017 Pwllheli Worlds – 3rd place – Alistair Warren
– 2021 Plymouth Nationals – 1st place – Alistair Warren
Next steps:
Life gets in the way before design and build #3 – Dragonfly Mk2)
Roobarb (named after the manic 1970s cartoon
This was an evolution of Dragonfly rather than new design – Dragonfly Mk2
Year designed/built: 2024
Design brief: More extreme but still enjoyable on the water.
Rig: Mast – Ceilidh Composite Technologies.
Sails: Andy Davies
Builder: Hull – Simon Hipkin. Foils, seat and carriage – Alistair Waren
Ownership:
2024-date – Alistair Warren
Hull and deck features:
– Narrower bows, second chine fades at shrouds
– BMS at maximum aft position
– Rocker reduced by 20mm and flattened aft run
– Lowered the deck, stump fitted.
Race record and helm:
– 2024 Travemünde Worlds – 4th place – Alistair Warren
– 2025 Brixham Nationals – 3rd place – Alistair Warren
Next steps:
Roobarb launched two months before the Travemünde Worlds and proved herself with a
4th-place finish. While she meets all design objectives, I’m still learning to sail her to her
full potential. She tacks well and feels stable, but is twitchier than Mk1 with exciting
bursts of speed. A few tweaks are needed before Dragonfly Mk4.
Midnight Quill (Dragonfly Mk3 - the “Gentleman’s Canoe”)
Year designed/built: 2019
Background: Perham Harding required a more stable IC hull shape so I redesigned the
Mk2 hull shape
Design brief: Greater stability with minimal loss of speed.
Builder: Sam Barker
Other builds of Dragonfly Mk3:
Pink Panther – Sam Barker
Harken – Nick Craig
Hull features:
– Wider and more forward BMS
– Flatter aft sections
– Bow closer to Mk1 shape
– Same rocker profile as Mk2
– Lowered freeboard within rules
Race record:
– 2025 Brixham Nationals – 1st place – Sam Barker (Pink Panther)
Summary:
Dragonfly Mk3 seems to have nailed the design brief—more stable, with minimal impact
on speed, as shown by Sam Barker’s decisive win at the 2025 Nationals.
What comes after Dragonfly Mk3? You’ll just have to wait and see!
