(OZ Goose sailing on Taal Lake, Philippines. Photo used with permission.)
The OZ Goose is a 12′ box boat that is simple and inexpensive to build. It is a stable sail-training platform that can accommodate an instructor and one or two students. The boat is simple to sail and provides wonderful performance as sailing skills are developed.
The video of the 2017 Philippines National Regatta illustrate the OZ Goose and its potential beautifully:
Goose Michigan is a grass-roots community-based organization with the goal of introducing people (children, youths, teens, young adults, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles – everybody!) to the hobbies of boat-building and sailing. Based on the OZ Goose boat designed by Australian Michael Storer, OZ Goose Michigan is inspired by, and loosely patterned after, the community boat-building/sail-training program begun in the Philippines several years ago. That program has built nearly 60 boats and introduced many people – young and old(er) to boat building, sailing and racing.
How inexpensive is the OZ Goose? An OZ Goose can be built, rigged (hardware, lines and a new sail) and painted: ready to sail for $1,200.00. By comparison, a new Optimist sailboat costs $4,500 and a new Laser sailboat costs $6,500 – but both of these boats are sailed by one person. The OZ Goose can be sailed by one, two or three people – offering the experience of sailing to more people at a lower cost.
OZ Goose Michigan offers you the opportunity to learn life-long hobbies of boat building and sailing. Come join the fun!