My F16 Blade build

Looks good. You are a patient man!

I am only patient with kids and animals. My family and friends would not have

patient

on the list if they were to describe me I think <img src="<>/smile.gif" alt="smile" title="smile" height="15" width="15" />

looks very nice. Could you estimate the materials cost (or the amount of material you've used so far)?

Where did you get the plans / scantling drawings?

Sorry, no cost estimate. It is cheap to build the hulls though. Spruce planks ripped into ribs. Some light glass and more epoxy than you think. We did 12 half hull panels so the cost have to be split on 3 boats.
Real cost is in fittings, foils, rig and sails.

Designer is a personal friend and supplied scantlings. This is a one off and there will be no more scantlings from him, at least that was what I heard back then. Designer is currently building a Farrier tri so he is busy. If I am going to build other boats it will not be in strip plank. Go for plywood if you want a fast build.
I do happen to have 4 extra hull panels in storage though, after a partner pulling out of the build..

I love the build, looks like a fun project.

What are the advantages of a strip build?

It is easier to source good spruce, epoxy and glass than it is to source good okume marine ply.
It is also potentially cheaper if you have good sources.
It might be lighter, if done right.
It might be stiffer if done right.

The downside is that it might be more expensive, heavier and not as stiff is done wrong. For sure it will take you much longer to build in strip than in ply.

We choose strip as we were unable to find good gaboon marine ply without importing it at a horrendous price.

Everytime I see a boat being built outta wood, all I can think is you are nuts, but I play with wood all day, and at the end of that day, I don't care to do anymore.

Looks very nice Rolf. I've been kicking around building a boat plug in a semi similar fashion.

Wood is cheap and a process I know. Most other parts I already had so wood was an easy choice based on cost.
Today I might do something different.

My main driver is cost as I dont have much money to use on the sport. Scrounging and DIY is the theme.. Purchasing a boat is just too expensive for me.

Rolf you do very nice work! Its great that you are building a boat, most of us just talk and never do. Part of that for me is the money doesn't make sense. I can scrounge (have more boat parts than I care to admit) but the major costs of mast, rigging, beams and sails aren't going anywhere and still run $10K if bought new <img src="<>/frown.gif" alt="frown" title="frown" height="15" width="15" /> I guess if you built molds for the hulls, molds for the mast you could build an exotic boat for cheaper than buying, excluding labor. Would be a fun group project.

Here's my next build:

Only needs to add a fishing rod and a shotgun before it is perfect!

Depends. I have scrounged two set of beams, two masts and lots of fittings and stuff over the years. Sails we will purchase pre-cut and assemble ourself, or cut the panels ourself as well.
If the money is there, it absolutely is best to purchase. If the interest and lack of money is bad enough, building and accepting the compromises and investment in time is the only way to get on the water in the boat you would like.

poifek

Jay, why do I think the words,

Here, hold my Beer.

were involved with the design of this craft?

All you need now is an F18HT mast and a spin pole!

PS, didn't know you were an Alabama fan, but it's all starting to make sense now...

;^)

Pete, imagine how cheap the one-design build would be?

We could have a huge fleet in no time. Don't need a trailer, don't even need an RC/PRO. Just plenty of Jack Daniels

Heck, you could even demolition derby those things.

Perhaps only in canals or other areas with stagnant water and there would be a class limit on the number of teeth the operator possesses.

jeez, a PDQ catman style.

Quick update:

Both main decks now installed. Tomorrow I plan to put on the rear decks of both hulls. Then trim and glass over the weekend. The hulls will then be structurally complete and we can move on to the fittings we will build.

In that regard it looks like my CNC mill will be ready just in time. I might not have mentioned here that part of the project includes building a CNC mill to produce fittings and some other stuff which is too expensive to purchase (and besides quite fun to build, including building the tools to build the parts.. No wonder this boatbuilding takes time <img src="<>/laugh.gif" alt="laugh" title="laugh" height="15" width="15" /> ).

Today I did the first cut controlled by computer on the X and Z axis (pic below). Z axis will be the next step before cleanup, finalizing and G(eek)-code learning. Test was a very simple circle G-code program, but the thing seems to work pretty well.

Rolf, you are a patient man. I couldn't complete your project in two life times.

Now, let's talk about modifying a Blade to a small tri, using the Blade hull as the main hull. <img src="<>/laugh.gif" alt="laugh" title="laugh" height="15" width="15" />

Are you planning to sail that tri on one hull?

I think you will find that one Blade hull dont have enough bouyancy to give you the performance a cat would do.

There is in my opinion a crossover point on cats vs tris where the extra hardware of the tri slows down the boat until a certain size is reached. Below this size the cat is the better performer. Especially a potent cat like a Blade.

If you want to experiment, why not work on a tilting rig instead.

I often sail the cat on one hull. I was really thinking of the amas as training wheels, like on a bicycle.

So the target would be to sail the tri on the center hull only?

Rolf,any information you can share about your CNC build. I would like the information for the FIRST Robotics team I am on. It would be nice to build a CNC to teach the youth programming and manufacturing skills.

I can be reached at:dale.vanlopik

at

att

dot

net

Thanks

How about we trade boats are you build a tri from an i20?

Pass.

I would go with a 20' main hull, but that's just me. [/hijack]

Rolf, you sir are wild man. A 4 or 5 axis cnc its on three short list if I ever win the lottery.

Hi Dale,

what would you like to know?

My CNC is based on a chineese mini-mill. I sourced stepper motors and the 4 axis controller (tb6560) through e-bay. Power supply for controller and steppers I picked up used at work and same for an old computer to run the controller.
The only thing I had to manufacture from scratch was the stepper motor mounts. For that a lathe simplifies the build a lot.

If you are looking for details, you can find all kind of the sort on cnczone.com.

Karl, if you want it, build it <img src="<>/smile.gif" alt="smile" title="smile" height="15" width="15" /> I dont spend time in front of the tv which gives me time for projekts. How large a machine do you need for your projects, and why 4-5 axis?
Sometime in my future there might be a large size router for wood projects but with replaceable heads for sailplotting and sailcutting. Lasers are also cool..

There is so much i want to build and do and so little time..

Thanks Rolf. I will look into it.

Rolf - did you say you got the plans for your F16 build with the high aspect daggarboards?

I always thought the Blade F16 would do well with high-aspect daggars, but don't know how difficult it would be to either:

-buy plans with the upgraded daggarboard design
-modify an existing Blade

How much did your plans cost?

I don't watch a lot of tv either, especially in the warm months. For work, I'll never get a cnc. Too slow, too many secondary/support equipment needed, and they really aren't the answer for what I do for work. If I were making a thousand, or even a hundred of one part it would make sense, but its just not what I do.

Now, for making things out of aluminum for boat/motorcycle/whatever, I'd want to be able to draw it up, throw a blank in the machine and let it buck.

a 4 or 5 axis can make all of the compound crazy curves that are extremely difficult to do any other way. I really want to make some billet rudder stocks as an example. Same with making molds, want a new daggerboard shape? Throw a blank of aluminum in the mill and watch the chips fly.

Just a toy to me, and one that I won't be buying unless I were to win the lotto, (which I rarely play). Right now it's cheaper to just hire out the job to those with the tooling, and let me do my job to pay for it.