The DSA Dazcat is nearing completion
The ocean without barriers: why the Association's new Dazcat catamaran must reach the water.
The DSA's new catamaran is taking shape in the boatyard. The twin hulls and superstructure are finished, and for the first time you can see the boat she is going to be: a fast, capable offshore catamaran built from the keel up for disabled sailors.
She is based on a proven Dazcat design, and when she is finished she will be one of the most accessible offshore sailing catamarans in the world. Our aim is to take people with even the most complex disabilities out across open water, on a boat where every part of the experience has been designed around them.
With the main structure complete, the work left is the specialist accessibility fit-out. That is the part that sets this boat apart from any other yacht of her size.
For many of the people who will crew her, the biggest thing she offers is choice. The choice to go offshore, to stand a watch, and to be part of the crew on the water instead of watching from the pontoon.
Built for inclusion from day one
Accessibility has shaped every decision on this boat, from the routes around the deck to the systems below. She is being built for sailors with a wide range of disabilities, including people with very complex mobility needs, so they can take a real part in sailing her.
The DSA has been taking disabled people sailing since 1993, with more than 50,000 sailing experiences delivered so far. We see the same thing time and again. People arrive unsure what they can still do, and leave having helmed a boat, trimmed a sail and found out they are capable of far more than they thought.
Why the last few months matter
There are six to eight months of specialist work left, and progress has slowed while we raise the money to pay for it. This final phase covers the systems that turn a good catamaran into a fully accessible offshore boat.
Those systems are what let disabled sailors use the boat independently. Once they are in, she can take people offshore for decades to come.
The funding challenge
When the project started, the build was costed at around £1.8 million. Since then, supply-chain problems, inflation, higher material and energy costs and global instability have pushed up the price of large engineering projects in every sector. Completing the boat will now cost £2.4 million, and we have raised £1.6 million.
Those increases came from outside the project. Some of the sponsors we expected to work with have stopped trading or had to hold back because of cash-flow problems, and restructuring across the marine industry has ended some long-standing relationships. Others have stayed with us throughout, and we are very grateful to Scott Bader and Artech Advanced Materials for their continued support.
There is good news too. Existing supporters may be able to give a further £200,000 to £300,000 over the coming months. That still leaves a gap. To keep the build moving and launch in April 2027, we need to raise at least another £800,000.
What's at stake
This boat is about the people who will sail her. A young wheelchair user on their first offshore passage. A veteran getting their confidence back after a life-changing injury. Someone who has spent years being told what they can't do, standing their watch as a full member of the crew.
You can't put a price on those experiences, and they are exactly what this boat is being built for.
The hulls are built. Now we need to finish the job and get her in the water.
With the right support, she will leave the dock in April 2027 and start showing that open water is for everyone.
Want to help launch her? You can read the full case for support and the detailed costings on the new catamaran page, or make a donation today. To talk about corporate sponsorship or a major gift, contact Mike Wood on 07541 754196 or mikewood@disabledsailing.org.