Apple Simplicity in a Capable Little Boat

Matt Layden: some say he's an evil genius, others that he can live on salt water & seaweed alone, we Paradox sailors call him The Stig. (Apologies to Jeremy Clarkson, Top Gear).

There is something's about Matt Layden's small boats that I find are freakishly Apple-like in design. The Paradox for example, has been perfected, not by adding, but by taking away, simplifying. On the delete list are:- 

> headsail. It takes the lone sailor forrard in heavy weather, whether to dowse it, replace it, lash it or remove it, then threatens to whip your eye out as approach it. leave it out! 

> keel or centreboard. prevents entry to shoal waters, creeks and rivers, careening, parking on sandy beaches & drying out. It literally is a 24 x 7 drag on performance.

> cockpit and companionway hatch, those great scourges in heavy weather sailing, their to catch & store bast amounts of seawater. 

> Standing rigging. prone to breakage, chaff, clutter & create windage.

> tiller or wheel steering. self-steering is designedit into the Paradox, the design is balanced so as to provide selfsteering & a neat arrangement of tiller lines below provides a tiller lock as well as remote steering. 

> exposure to the elements. whether they be dollops of chops, heavy spray or green water, the ceaseless drying winds, rain, hail and snow, or the slow bake being out in the direct sunlight all day, are dealt with by the provision of a fully sheltered cabin. 

Other benefits include; access to all internal spaces for maintenance & repair, plenty of stowage, moveable ballast. In all areas it's: simplicity, form and function over complexity, cost & unnecessary bling. 

A small cruising yacht that can be built in months, is affordable to build, & can be towed by a small car, launched in knee deep water then sailed offshore with a great measure of comfort and safety.

 

Paradox fits my desire to do "off grid"  longshore solo sailing with comfortably and safety. 

An added bonus is that she provides something uniquely personally for me; for many years I've daydreamed about building a "submarine" type boat - an enclosed sailing vessel that I can sail while below drinking coffee, reading & occasionally peering out the porthole to check progress. All very womb like in a Freudian sense. In Paradox I can sail this way across lake, bay or stretch of coastline before shipping the stick & towing her home for a bit of care and maintenance. Simple. 

For a detailed description of Paradox and it's younger sister Enigma copy this address into your search engine: https://aiki.pbworks.com/w/page/1594232/Advantages%20of%20Matt%20Layden%20mini%20cruisers