THE PIXEL - STABLE, LIVELY, AND OH SO COOL!

THE PIXEL - STABLE, LIVELY, AND OH SO COOL!

From the BRUCEKIRBYMARINE.COM website

There is an enormous advantage to designing a boat for a particular purpose. You are not limited by class rules or inhibiting tradition. You can make it the way it should be - and these days a boat for the kids must take advantage of the very best that modern technology and design have to offer - self bailing cockpit, stable hull form without undue weight or wetted area, epoxy construction for strength and resilience, and carbon fiber rig for low weight, flexibility and durability.

The Pixel is constructed for the use and abuse of the inexperienced sailor, and for the pure delight of the experienced.

A designer frequently is asked what his favorite creation is and the answer frequently is “the most recent," or "the one I’m working on." So right now the PIXEL is at the top of our list. This new design is aimed at kids graduating from the Optimist or other small one design training boat, and not yet ready for a Laser. The PIXEL was also designed to teach youngsters how to sail together, how to work together, and how to interact in making the boat sail at its best. In this way the boat becomes a training system for recreational sailing, sailboat racing, and for personal communication.

Today's young sailors have a word for the type of boat they like. That word is "cool" and we have worked hard for more than two years to give the PIXEL a whole lot of cool.

Sailing the first of four prototypes in the fall of 2004 and early in '05 we were overjoyed to find that adults also wear the boat comfortably and there is a growing move to use the wee yacht for frostbiting and for college and high school sailing.

Frostbiting also gives the boat a double use - junior trainer in the summer and fun for father (and mother?) in the winter. So he who writes the check has a chance to use the product.

On a November day in '04 when we were sailing the prototype in Connecticut a 240 pound (his wife whispered that it's more like 255) Sonar sailor decided he wanted to give it a try. He went out as crew with a 100 pound youngster - a total weight of about 360 pounds, plus winter clothing) and had a good ride in 10 to 12 knots of wind. The boat did not seem to be overburdened. But perhaps more important than the sailing performance was the fact that while at the dock the big guy managed to step around the mast and crouch up in the bow to rig the jib. We had the cameras on him, but he did not go swimming!

THE EDITOR TAKES A TURN

Sailing World Editor John Burnham , who sailed the PIXEL with Lightening champ Jim Crane wrote, "Considering that the wind was light, maybe 4 to 8 knots, and that we were 100 pounds over the target crew weight, we had a fun sail. The helm balanced easily, and the boat accelerated well in the puffs, moving nicely through the chop."

Although adults seem very happy with the boat, the initial thrust has been for youngsters from 90 to 130 pounds (40 to 60 kg.) The first time we saw the boat sailed by kids in really heavy air the test pilots weighed 70 and 120 pounds (32 and 55 kg). They put the new dinghy through its paces in spectacular fashion, able to keep her flat upwind and zipping with stability and good control through jibes on a full plane.

The super light carbon fiber mast bent to the puffs and absorbed the shock of hitting waves. It was our first experience with a carbon rig in a small boat and all the good stuff that's been said about the material proved to be true.

Through those early sessions we picked up some great quotes from both young and adult sailors: -

Bill Crane, Lightening, Sonar and 420 racer, after an outing in 20 to 25 knots of wind - "we planed downwind and we planed upwind. We never stopped planing."

A 115 pound sailor from Riverside, Ct. YC after walking around the mast to rig the jib - "we couldn't walk forward like that on the boat we've been sailing or we'd be swimming.

A 15-year-old from Stamford , Ct. YC - "I love it. The (bleep) is a truck compared to this boat."

Youngster at Milford YC, sailing in very light air - "I just love this boat. I can't imagine how it can move so well in no wind."

EPOXY, HEAT AND PRESSURE

The hull is being made with epoxy resin in heated molds and is being vacuumed bagged for laminate quality and uniformity. The carbon fiber mast is a jump into the future. If it is true that carbon is the material of the new century, then it follows that the PIXEL has begun life as a child of this century and will not have to play catch up.

Performance has been exceeding expectations and the carbon mast is a major contributor to this happy situation. The very light, highly flexible rig has resulted in greater stability, less pitching and faster acceleration. The mast's ability to de-power the mainsail gives the boat a wide range of efficiency up and down the wind scale.

THRILLS AND SPILLS

Small sailboats will capsize. Thrills and spills are part of the game, and we have gone to great lengths to make the PIXEL easy to bring upright and get back into action. The open transom allows the big cockpit to empty immediately as the boat comes back on its feet after a capsize, and 25mm drain holes get rid of the small amount of water that's left, or that might come aboard in the form of spray or rain.

It is also true that dinghies will "turn turtle" or go upside down under some circumstances. With the PIXEL we have taken measures to reduce the likelihood of turning turtle. There is 8 mm closed cell foam in the top two feet of the mainsail to give it buoyancy, the mast is plugged at each end to make it watertight, and we have built in two flooding tanks in each side of the cockpit so the boat will sink down in the water when on its side to reduce the chances of turning right over.

Under extreme conditions, such as when a very strong wind or rough sea is hitting the bottom of the boat when it's on its side, any unballasted boat will turn turtle. But there is a school of thought that says that under these conditions having the boat go upside down is not a bad thing as when in that position the boat stays in one place and any crew member who has been separated from it can swim back to it more easily than when it is on its side and blowing downwind.

COST VS. QUALITY - NO CONTEST

Price wars in the boat industry can cost the buying public dearly in quality. For years builders have avoided some of the details that are standard in the PIXEL because they add cost to the boat. We have opted for quality and up to the minute thinking. With this new little boat we have kept the price very competitive by taking advantage of the lower material and labor costs In China; and this cost/quality advantage has been passed on to the buyer.

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TEN YEARS FROM NOW ALL GOOD SMALL BOATS WILL HAVE CARBON RIGS, BUT THE PIXEL WILL HAVE HAD CARBON FOR TEN YEARS. THAT WORKS!

ADVANTAGES OF THE CARBON MAST COMPARED TO THE SAME SIZE SPAR IN ALUMINUM ALLOY:

LIGHT WEIGHT MAKES IT EASIER TO RIG AND UNRIG THE BOAT.
LIGHT WEIGHT INCREASES THE BOAT'S STABILITY AND CUTS DOWN ON PITCHING.
THE SPAR IS VERY STRONG, UNLIKELY EVER TO BREAK UNDER NORMAL USE, AND IT CAN'T KINK OR TAKE A PERMANENT BEND LIKE AN ALUMINUM ALLOY MAST WILL DO.

For Purchasing Information, Contact:

United States PIXEL sales:
Wes Oliver, Home of PIXEL
10 Nearwater Road
Rowayton , C T 06853
203 853-1717, Cell 203 858-9621
e-mail wwolive@optonline.net

For all inquiries outside the USA

Bruce Kirby Marine Design
213 Rowayton Ave.
Rowayton , C T 06853
203 853-1899
e-mail brucekirby@optonline.net

Pixel Specs

Construction:

Hull : Epoxy fiberglass

Mast: Carbon Fiber

Boom: Anodized aluminum

Main & Jib: Polyester

Spinnaker: Nylon

LOA: 13' 9"

Beam: 5' 6"

Weight: 185 lbs.

Sail Area: 94 sq. ft.

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