Puddle Duck is sort of a scaled up, plywood version of an Optimist.
Optimist is a fantastic youth one design sailboat. It is good for two 7 year old children or one teenager up to about 140 lbs.
Puddle duck has significantly more form stability, as a result you can fit one Fat Dad + their kid + a dog comfortably in the boat.
The other biggest difference (besides total passenger weight) is that with mostly 90 degree angles, it can be built with a hand saw and some nails in a weekend. Optimist requires considerably more woodworking (or preferably, fiberglass) skills.
Optimist is a fantastic youth one design sailboat. It is good for two 7 year old children or one teenager up to about 140 lbs.
Puddle duck has significantly more form stability, as a result you can fit one Fat Dad + their kid + a dog comfortably in the boat.
The other biggest difference (besides total passenger weight) is that with mostly 90 degree angles, it can be built with a hand saw and some nails in a weekend. Optimist requires considerably more woodworking (or preferably, fiberglass) skills.