boat building design advice

[john_hamilton]

me and digby are still consolidating funds but are interested in building a new-design cherub. this was planned to be an Banshee- then the mould broke   our other prefered option would then be an E5 - then paul started talking about a new design. what advice would you all give???
john

[MK]

You can get alot more speed out of cheese, and as things break on it you can learn to fix it yourselves, then tackle a new boat!

[Tom K]

Re. a new build I completely agree with Maf. If you want to go faster round the race course I have three great suggestions;

1.) Time in the boat

2.) Time in the boat

3.) Time in the boat

Hope that helps! 

[Banshee Ambulance]

Given that you have a great boat it might make sense to carry on sailing it and learning as you go. However, if you, like me have more ambition than sense there is no harm in building something. But, and its a big but you will be building for the building rather than the sailing. So if you are budding engineers or naval architects and want a project go for it. Just don't expect a new boat to take you up the nationals rankings.   

[Banshee Ambulance]

There is also room for some collaboration in the SotonSkunkworks project. A couple of extra brains might get it finally off my computer and into the garage!

[ross_burkin]

LondonSkunkWorks should be back in business again soon! 

A few of thoughts:

Building boats is expensive but still cheaper than a 800 or 49er,
Read the tech pages on the website several times,
Get to the sticky weekend if you can,
Home building seems to be going through a little bit of a revolution atm,
Foil building is a very educational exercise and is far less expensive way to learn how to build stuff,
Cheese is awesome,
6P's- Planning and Preparation Prevent Piss Poor Performance


I was (and still am) very lucky to have the likes of Will and Lucy, Roland and Haley, and Stu to mentor me. Many, many late nights have been spent in the company of these guys and girls building boat related bits and bobs...and farting...

[roland_trim]

John,

After a screaming reach in exultant I'm a big fan of the new generation, but have not sailed  it enough to be able to say more.

I think my head is in the same direction as those above, but my heart goes the other way. If you have the cash for what would be a world class toy from Cookie, then I can confirm the E5 was worth the blood, sweat and tears and therefore the equivelent in hard currency.

I'd suggest you call/PM Kevin Elllway and ask him what the differences between the E5 and the E6 are. If you are unsure then the E5 mold is still in existance and in very good condition, but you would have to talk to the people who own it before assuming it was available (Dr & Dr).

[phil_kirk]

John,

Unless you are already a dab hand with diy composites I would certainly reccomend the sticky weekend as a start of your education.  This is where Sarah and I developed/ learnt so much of the techniques that we've used on our build.  I did a bit before in isolation but it was in my mind inferior to what I can produce now.

even if you have an engineering mind a few breakages and repairs (I hope you don't have any though) will help you understand how cheese has been put together and how much material has been used at the joints etc.

These two steps and some practice of the techniques on some easier items will set you in good stead.

I started with flat pannels and constant diameter tubes before moving to more complicated or critical parts. 

This aproach will equipe you with the skills to build a light, strong and competitive boat.

The only down side to building in my opinion is that you loose a lot of sailing time while you commit to building.

[john_hamilton]

thanks for quick responses:
Tom and Maf - we are not intendeing to sell cheese for a very long time yet, we have worked out that we can fund a shell built by bloodaxe and can probably fit out the hull over time, the selling of cheese would probably contribute to the rig of a new boat and foils...
RS405 (sorry iv forgotten your name :S) - What is this sotonskunkworks you are on about?
Ross - im coming to the sticky weekend with cheese and have talked to Will RE mould
Roland - how can i contact, i remember my mum having his number but i think she lost it.

[Banshee Ambulance]

SotonSkunkworks is very much BBT at the moment (Big Beer Talk). I have what I would consider a final design but want to get some feedback before I comit to anything further. I would then make my own mould and build the hull. Essentially it is a bit of Banshee bit of L3. Designed to be a moderate/heavy air planing machine. The therory is design it for the real wind and find a way to sail it in the light stuff later. The advantage of this over an E5 is that I would end up with exactly what I want and I would not be subjected to the time constraint that borrowing a mould would entail. But as I said, early days at the moment.

[john_hamilton]

ahh cool. pity i wont be in southampton permanantly for at least 3 years

[daryl_wilkinson]

me and digby are still consolidating funds but are interested in building a new-design cherub. this was planned to be an Banshee- then the mould broke   our other prefered option would then be an E5 - then paul started talking about a new design. what advice would you all give???
john

Take a mould of my boat if you like.

[phil_kirk]

I understand the wish to build your own design.  very comendable and gains a very high respect from all.

I would question the time constraint of borrowing an existing mould when comparing to building a mould or plug of your own.  To do this is reported to take about 4 months of weekends and evenings etc. 

[Banshee Ambulance]

The time constraint I was talking about was the pressure of having to give the mould back and thus being rushed when completing the shell. If the mould belongs to me then I have all the time I need.