Cold Lightning: A Novelty Sailcraft Plan by W. D. Jackson

Cold Lightning is one of the more unusual designs in this collection, and that is part of its appeal. Its backbone is a 16 ft (4.88 m) 2 x 6 main longeron made from ordinary house-framing lumber, carrying a plywood fuselage and a streamlined mast and boom. A 71 sq ft (6.6 m²) sail provides the power. It is a fascinating project for tinkerers who enjoy building something out of the ordinary from materials found at any lumberyard.

Cold Lightning at a glance

Detail	Cold Lightning
Type	Novelty sailcraft
Construction	16 ft 2 x 6 main longeron from house-framing lumber, plywood fuselage, streamlined mast and boom
Power	Sail: 71 sq ft
Designer	William D. Jackson
First published	p. 31
Craft Print	No. 302
Plan sheets	11

Built from the lumberyard

Using a standard 2 x 6 as the main longeron is a clever, budget-friendly move. House-framing lumber is easy to find and inexpensive, and the long, straight member gives the craft a rigid spine to hang everything else from. It also makes the core of the structure easy to understand, even for builders new to unusual craft.

The plywood fuselage and streamlined mast and boom show attention to clean airflow, which matters on any sail-powered craft. With 71 sq ft of sail, it is lively without being unmanageable, and eleven sheets of drawings guide the unusual construction step by step. That level of detail is welcome on a design with so few familiar reference points.

The original plan sheets

These are the 11 original sheets, scanned from the magazine. For building, use the full-size PDF in the download section below.

Who designed it

William D. Jackson designed Cold Lightning, issued as Craft Print 302, with the original article on page 31. Jackson's long run of Craft Print designs included many novelty craft alongside his more familiar runabouts and dinghies.

Before you build

• Pick the straightest, clearest 2 x 6 you can find for the longeron, since it carries the whole craft.
• Shape the streamlined mast and boom carefully and seal them well against moisture.
• Rig and test the 71 sq ft sail on a calm day before trying it in a stronger breeze.

Download the plan

All eleven original Cold Lightning sheets in one file, ready to print at full size or follow on a tablet.

Download the complete plan (PDF, 11 sheets, 3.7 MB)

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