I ended up buying an Ovni 37 Sonate and we made some major modifications: stern arch for solar (800W) and a hard dodger to keep the wind/rain off you. (https://skipperandflipper.com/2021/12/0 ... gin-again/) Both self built in my family garage with inadequately sized bending equipment to the best of my current ability. Say what you like about the French, but those men and women at Alubat know how to build a quality aluminum boat. It was the driest boat I have ever been aboard and we loved it.
I was boat builder for many years, but only worked in the composite industry. NON ALLOY was my medium and I specialized in prototypes and one-off work. To this day I keep up with the industry and understand its best practices- but WOW do I dislike it. The smell gives me the willies.. The dust is loathed.. I ended up realizing that NON ALLOY is a terrible thing.
Aluminum is the only material recreational boats should be build of. Plain and simple, hands down, the best.
So after sailing this wonderful aluminum boat of ours thousands of sea miles across the western Caribbean, I began to realize we needed a new dinghy. Our RIB was in poor condition, seams leaking and splitting, tubes coming off the hull. All before it was even 7 years old!
But I really loved our RIB. They make great little boats. The ability to anchor miles from town in the peace and quiet of nature and fly over to the hustle bustle of it all on plane at 15-20kn was amazing. It also encouraged us to do a lot more freediving and SCUBA because we could reach more isolated locations, farther away from the mothership in a timely manner.
When we fist started sailing we had originally owned hard dinghies, more specifically a plywood pram and then a Fatty Knee's. No other dinghy rows as nice as a Fatty Knees- they do their job perfectly. Just dont expect to go any speed over 3-4kn and you will never be disappointment because those little boats are incredibly durable and will last a lifetime.
So I set about trying to figure: how do I combine the hard dinghy experience of a product that will last a lifetime and take infinite abuse with the amazing ability to be supremely stable and still travel on plane at high speeds? I think we came up with an answer that we call the GoDu: https://goduadventure.com/
This is currently our only aluminum alloy boat. But we are so happy with the prototype! Been racking up the hours to 40+ so far and really loving this thing. Made a couple minor changes for the production version, like carrying the grab line around the bow and adding some addition transom angle.
The entire boat is .09" except for the transom cross beam for the motor mount, which is 2x4x.125".
