getting ready for the race season

[Evil_Weasel]

...sail boat race season that is.

been hustling at work to get this done in time for the summer season.

ok..so i know it's not bike racing...but it is 65 feet of honeycomb carbon fiber technology. it's basicllay a middle distance ocean racer (new port to bermuda type stuff), the class used to be called maxi, but i'm not sure what the new name is. my part in all this at the moment is putting the hydraulics together.

(Pardon the dust lots of sanding still going on)

the bow...paint goes from red to black...i call it the darth vader boat.


she is abit long.


on a hard tack only one rudder is in the water at a time...in long distance racing a hard tack can last for days.


view of the deck from the foward hatch. you can just see the dual steering wheel pedistals.square box like hole is where the mast goes.


below the foward hatch. main hatch and engine box behind the laminator guy. engine is a small 4cyl yanmar diesel. drive shaft and prop lifted up into hull when not in use. crew quarters behind that. no floor boards yet.


close up of some of the un painted CF near the transom. the whole boat is either honeycomb CF or soild CF. the honeycomb is retardedly light...but a pain in the balls to drill into or mount stuff to. there is a process, and one batch of 10 holes can take a day and a half.


more CF work near the bow.


i'll try and update more as i go, but i may be bounced to other projects as things pop up.

i never knew something so slow could be so high tech.

[GixerJockey]

Ok... I gotta know... How much does THAT cost???

[Evil_Weasel]

i put in a rack of hydraulic valves for the sail controls today...there are 7 valves...each valve is 7K. the light weight batteries to run the engine/electronics alone are worth close to 60K. to build the mold that we eventually built the boat on was 250K...i have no idea what the whole project runs...probably a couple mill. hell, the hardner for the resin we use with the CF is something like 150 bucks a gallon and lord knows how much of that we use.

["Dangerous" Dan K]

As a lifelong boater that's just getting into sailing, BAD-ASS. And I thought I was setting myself up for some work when I bought my first sailboat this week and it needed work, figuring I'd do some extra learning as I went. Compared to this shit my boat came ready for the water!

[Evil_Weasel]

As a lifelong boater that's just getting into sailing, BAD-ASS. And I thought I was setting myself up for some work when I bought my first sailboat this week and it needed work, figuring I'd do some extra learning as I went. Compared to this shit my boat came ready for the water!

thanks, it's pretty cool to start out with almost nothing and a few months later you have a boat. if you run in to any questions on your boat project let me know.

["Dangerous" Dan K]

thanks, it's pretty cool to start out with almost nothing and a few months later you have a boat. if you run in to any questions on your boat project let me know.

Yeah man, what you have there is amazing. Very cool.

Mine is nothing special, just a 25' Mac that was destined for the boneyard before I got my hands on it. Most of my work is cosmetics, electrical, etc - all stuff I know how to do. Sails are basically new, even though the main has some paint spilled on it. My only real hurdle, far as i can tell so far, is the standing rigging. I need to measure it all out and have custom stuff made, nobody makes a standard standing rigging kit for this boat. Running rigging kit is an order-by-boat deal. My biggest hurdle will probably be learning to sail it I've crewed sailboats, I windsurf and I've done the 8' sailing dingy thing but never anything like this. I know the principles and have been researching my ass off, so I'm not to worried about it. I've got a few offers to come out with me and show me the ropes too, we'll see if anyone actually comes through on it. It's gonna be my NHMS camper too

Appreciate the offer, Ill let you know if I run into anything I can't handle.

[GixerJockey]

Make me carbon fiber body work for the 1000... Just use the leftovers from this project. No one will notice...

[Paul_E_D]

VERY cool. Is that your day job, or a hobby?

I went to highschool at Portsmouth Abbey. My roomates' father owner a race boat in that category called Gem. They did the bermuda race and all that. I never got to sail on it though...

[Evil_Weasel]

VERY cool. Is that your day job, or a hobby?
..

my hobby is bikes, boats are how i pay the bills, lol.


Fairings noel? that's too easy...how about a CF frame.