Oddity - homemade yacht by Pete Goss

Who is Pete Goss?

Pete is quite widely known outside of the purely yachting and sports "party", but if someone does not know about him yet, then now we will tell. 

Pete Goss is one of the most famous British yachtsmen. He has traveled a total of 250,000 nautical miles or 460,000 km in his career and is not going to stop there. Pete is a retired Marine. He was awarded the Légion d'honneur for rescuing fellow yachtsman Rafael Dinelli during the 1996 Vendee Globe solo round the world race.

Together with his wife Tracy, he has been traveling together on yachts for many years. The heroine of today's article is the sailing yacht Oddity - their new boat, on which they continue to sail, rediscover already known regions and search for untouched places. However, the history of the unusual homemade yacht is much more interesting than it might seem.

Previous boat and COVID aftermath

Literally a few years ago, no one could have thought of Oddity. Then, in 2017, Pete and Tracy got their brand new sailing yacht Pearl. This yacht was a Garcia 45 Exploration. Pearl was named in honor of Pete and Tracy's 30th wedding anniversary. On it they were going to make a measured and unhurried trip around the world.

March 2020 took the entire planet by surprise with the already raging COVID pandemic. At the time, Pete and Tracy were on the East Coast of the United States. They had to hurriedly collect the most necessary things and go home to the UK, leaving Pearl in the US. 

After some time, the couple decided to sell the Garcia 45 Exploration. They were shocked that the boat was bought literally 6 hours after the announcement was published. The new owners immediately took the yacht - with a bunch of things from the previous owners. Pete laughs: "There were a lot of tools, Tracy's sewing machine and a drawer with my holey underpants." 

The couple were saddened that they were unlikely to see their "Pearl" again. But at some point, an idea popped into Pete's head. He decided to make himself a boat with a vintage design with his own hands! From this moment the story of Oddity begins.

Oddity is one big oddity

The main idea was to make a small, but reliable and versatile boat - such that you can go to the open sea and explore small canals and rivers. Pete had become a fan of leisurely cruising with his wife, so this seemed like the perfect boat. 

Pete shares his memories: “We just wanted to travel, we wanted to get to Odessa and the Black Sea and then move along the rivers along the rivers, see beautiful old cities, feel their soul. One of the most important rules of cruising that I have learned over the years is that the slower your cruise, the richer the experience.”

To implement his idea, Pete turned to his old friend Chris Rees. Rhys has long been involved in design and shipbuilding in the old school style. Together they began to create that very ideal boat. 

Pete recalls: “We sat down with a glass of wine and just drew a boat. No software, no 3D modeling – just Rhys and me sharing knowledge and decades of experience on different boats.” When Pete and Chris finally finished drawing the concept, it was time to create a 3D model of the hull. They tested it for stability literally in the sink.

New old style boat

The result of the work was an 11-meter sailing yacht with an unusual sailing rig for the layman - a gaff sail. Historical note: the gaff sail appeared at the beginning of the 17th century and became a natural development of the ideas laid down by the creator of the Latin sail. It was soon superseded by the well-known Bermuda sail. 

Other features include a rounded bow in the style of old yachts, two lifting rudders and a mast. The mast is remarkable in that it can be raised and removed by hand while on board. The boat retained its original name Oddity - “strangeness” in English. As Pete himself describes the boat: “A farm boat, a favorite tub.” 

Thanks to the rounded bow, it was possible to achieve an increase in the volume of the interior. Oddity is designed to live comfortably on board and have enough living space. However, as the first cruises showed, it is quite suitable for passing the French channels. 

Pete didn't own a gaff sailboat before Oddity, but he says it's the perfect solution if you want a "versatile, all-terrain" boat. He also adds that Oddity is a perfect example of "a mixture of modern and traditional".

Creation of Oddity 

The yacht was built within seven months. Plywood and epoxy fiberglass were chosen as the main body materials. Although the plywood was reinforced, it still remained plywood. Her Pete and Rhys were literally carved with a jigsaw.

The yacht was built within seven months. Plywood and epoxy fiberglass were chosen as the main body materials. Although the plywood was reinforced, it still remained plywood. Her Pete and Rhys were literally carved with a jigsaw.

For greater safety, the sides were reinforced with a large rubber anti-corrosion flooring. Ferries and pilot boats are often decorated in this style. In addition, there is a steel lug at the waterline level. Pete says, “This is to make it easy to get the boat out of the water with a pickup truck.”

Bowsprit, frames, stern pulpit and stern arch are made of galvanized steel for greater strength. Pete boasts that there is nothing stainless steel on board at all. The arch at the stern is used as support for the Superwind 350 generator and 150 W solar panels (260 Ah batteries are installed on the boat).

The cockpit turned out to be deep and reliable. Pete himself says that "probably too deep." In his opinion, the final version of the floor turned out to be too low, but he is going to fix it.

A powerful 46 hp engine is installed on board. Beta brand. Pete and Tracy are going to do a lot of sailing. Therefore, they decided that the best option available would be to install a large, powerful, reliable and simple engine. 

Interestingly, Pete made some changes to the design of the tanks after one incident. Then Pete and Tracy had a rather bad experience with a cracked metal fuel tank. At Oddity, Pete decided to fix this problem and made custom hardened plastic tanks. As a result, there is space on board for 426 liters of fresh water and 344 liters of fuel.

Oddity interior and first winter on board

The Oddity Salon is large, colorful and filled with natural light. In a word - to match the owner. As Pete himself says, after Pearl, the couple would hardly have been able to move to another boat with a small cabin. “It's important for us to see the beauty of the anchorage,” comments Pete. Hatches are located along the entire perimeter of the cabin, as well as in the roof of the bow.

Interestingly, the Oddity ceiling profile has a decent bevel. The main reason for the difference in cabin height is that the angle of the ceiling reduces the glare from the water, which will inevitably enter the cabin due to the number of windows.

The boat is equipped with a Webasto heater and has reliable thermal insulation. Even in cold weather, it is warm enough for a comfortable life on board. Oddity was launched last spring. Pete and Tracy have already made a trial cruise. Their journey began in Plymouth, England and ran through the Isles of Scilly. There, the couple encountered the first rough waters aboard the Oddity. Pete smiles: “The wind was about 25 knots, the sea was very rough. But we were running under the motor at 1600 rpm. At this time, Tracy and I were sitting in the salon and drinking tea.”

For this winter (which is already slowly coming to an end), Pete had serious plans. He was going to correct the balance of the ballast on board and change the height of the cockpit floor. Then, according to him, Oddity will be completely ready for a full journey.

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15.02.2023