Paper Jet 14 Build UK 5 entries, 83 photos Back to the log

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Paper Jet 14 Build UK

Paper Jet 14

Ben Stevenson · 2026

A build log

Paper Jet 14 Build UK

Paper Jet 14


kept by Ben Stevenson

2026

The boat

Paper Jet 14

Designer
Dudley Dix
Plans from
Dudley Dix Yacht Design
Length overall
14′ 0″ (4.27 m)
Hull
plywood
Construction
plywood
Started
1 May 2026
Built by
Ben Stevenson

First boat, single garage and garden, at weekends and evenings only

What it took

By the numbers

83
Hours at the boat
4.4 months
From first day to last
5
Days written up
83
Photographs
449
Words written

The work

Contents

Chapter 01

Rig & Spars

Mast, boom, standing and running rigging, sails.

5 days 83 hours from May 2026

Rig & Spars 24 h

Spars begin

Started with spar construction due to kit lead time and outdoor availability. Generally went well. I changed the 2mm radii reduction to 3mm for the mast joiner. I changed the lower mast section to be round until after the gooseneck. I would not use roving as a wrap but twill weave instead for the sprit. If I were to start over, Id add a core to the short top mast for a gennaker block (might fill with epoxy foam or make another short top mast). Instructions are very clear but leave a little to work with for ingenuity. Having a planer would make the spars far easier than just a table saw and thicknesser.


Rig & Spars 24 h

Spars continue

Continuation of photo backlog for this build with mast construction, scarfing, tube fitment for hardware, rebate for mast tube joiner, Epoxy work and sanding. Lots of sanding....


Rig & Spars 24 h

Spars continued

Continuation of backlog from spar construction photos. I would not use roving to wrap the bowsprit but a lighter twill weave instead. It's almost transparent but not quite. The mast joiner that I made in above photos ended up too large by several mm and the masking tape stuck to the inside. I specified a mainsail for Selden series 2 sail track (7mm Dia bolt rope) which subsequently became hard to source. >6 week lead time and around £30/m. So I made sames of PVC tube inside profiled Poplar. Shown is 10mmID which is slightly large but easier to source than 9mmID (75m min order quantity). I was nervous of the bare PVC tube idea as another blog I read split the tube on first outing. Having made samples in 8mm, 9mm and 10mm ID. I would suggest bolt rope dia +2mm as an ideal starting point.


Rig & Spars 5 h

Mast Joiner

I made another mast joiner as the original was very sloppy (too large). I made a separate madrel from some spare pine and wrapped around it to 10" length then cut it down to 8" post cure. The ID profile is much better than the original and the ends did not taper due to the rebate step. I would use less material in future as there was a lot of post cure sanding. I'd probably start with really light (160g) glass twill to get the profile snug and let it part cure before applying approximately 2m of 200g carbon twill. Followed by 300mm of 160g glass twill or finishing cloth. Leave rear face down to set as the run off needed sanding round afterwards.


Rig & Spars 6 h

Mast joining tube finishing work

Mast rebate trimming to fit new joining tube. Followed by joining tube sanding to match mast profile. I would first epoxy coating the main mast before sanding the carbon tube as the black dust was hard to remove from bare wood.

boatbuildlog.com

Paper Jet 14 Build UK
5 entries, 83 photographs, written down as the work was done.

The words and photographs in this log belong to Ben Stevenson.

The log itself lives at
https://boatbuildlog.com/builds/paper-jet-14-build-uk

Printed 11 September 2026