The Boat Clen will use to row Solo from Australia to Mauritius

The Solo Class boat is an evolution in the concept of ocean rowing boat design.

Originally designed by Phil Morrison, the Woodvale Solo Class boat has been developed to give the serious solo rower the comfort and stowage to complete extended ocean crossings.

The cabin volumes make the boat aggressively self-righting and the lowered aft cabin floor means that there is ample space not to stoop while taking shelter.

The boat will be constructed from carbon-fibre, kevlar and epoxy, using a vacuum consolidation construction process. This will ensure that not only is the boat exceptionally strong, but extremely light as well.

I’m going to be building the boat here in South Africa using local skills and expertise. I’ll be taking regular photos and updating the site so that you can see what the construction process looks like once it begins.

Here are a couple of 3D models which we rendered from AutoCAD. It’s not a final product, but it will give a good idea of the overall construction of the boat.

One Man, One Ocean

One Man, One Ocean - South Africa's only Solo Rower will show and tell all in his exciting daily presentations at the Gauteng Outdoor Adventure and Travel Experience - June 2008

In April 2009, Clen Cook will Row 6,000km Solo across the Indian Ocean from Australia to Mauritius.

He will be taking part in the Woodvale Indian Ocean Rowing Race, one of the toughest endurance events in the world. It is a 60-plus challenge which will push him to his physical and mental limits, and then demand more.

He is the only South African competitor in a race limited to only 30 boats, and will be the first South African to row across any ocean Solo.

His boat, custom built in SA, is a high tech, lightweight carbon-fibre and Kevlar construction, 7,31m long, 1,8m wide and specifically designed to cross an ocean as quickly as possible.

Unaided and self-sufficient, he will be totally reliant on solar panels to power his communications, navigation and safety equipment, as well as the most critical piece of kit onboard - the water maker, which converts sea water into fresh drinking water.

Using only human power to row the ocean, Clen will face 40-ft swells, an unrelenting sun, the oceanic wildlife and of course, himself.