In the Photo Albums is a thead called "Building a Blade 16". Is there anybody out there that has the plans for building a Blade 16? or similar boat? Thank you.

The Blade is a Formula 16 boat. The Formula 16 site names two guys, Phil Brander and Greg Goodall, that sell plans for F16s. They are the designers of the Blade and Taipan respectively, I believe. I am not sure how to get in touch with either one directly. Maybe post your question again on that site's forum.

http://www.formula16.net/content/view/40/57/lang,en/

Very cool boats. Good luck.

Dave W

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Dave Wilson
Hobie 16, Hobie 14
Tampa, FL
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Thank you. That got me off dead center. I, once upon a time , had John Lindahl catamaran plans bought through Gougeon Brothers site in the late '80s but that project got dropped after the hulls got built (had to move and couldn't take the hulls). Chunked the b/p's about five yrs ago (dumb ass thing). I've had correspondese with Mr Lindahl lately but he advises that particular boat is dated in design (his '80s design that was sold thru Gouegon Brothers/West System) so I might not build that particular boat. The Blade seems to be an up to date design.

So thanks for the tip. I'm outta here.

I also have become interested in building a Blade 16. Just think..a 235 lb. cat with 162sq ft main,37sq ft jib and a188sq ft spi...awesome!! Phill Brander designed the original blade which could also be built from ply. The next generation was/is the Aussi Blade which I understand to be a production boat only. To satisfy the build-it crowd Phill designed the Razor. This boat incorporates the improvements of the Aussie Blade into a ply built version. The Razor has a subtle chine on the bottom allowing an easier build without the need to steam torture the ply into shape. Don't know if plans are available yet as it is a new boat. You can read and see pictures of it at...http://aus-f16.blogspot.com/ Another good source is... http:/www.formula16.net/ click on the gallery to see some awesome homebuilts...made my mouth water! Hope this helps.

the new ahpc Vipers are sexy

Hailers,
Where do you live? There has just been completed a homebuild F16 on the Florida panhandle that takes the latest and best of designs into consideration. If you are in the area you should get in touch with him. Also, Goodall was involved in the development/design of the Viper. As for the Blade (US), it's earlier design has since evolved to the Falcon. Both excellent platforms, modern and competitive. There is an additional and excellent forum for the F16 crowd over at CatSailor.com. There are several F16 homebuilders there who would be a good source for you.

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Philip
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Not to hijack the thread, but I see Nacraman57, & Philip here today.
I flew out to L.A. to look at a sail & jib for my 5.7, bought it & met a really interesting guy with tons of experience, right up to racing tornados at the Worlds,(many years ago). He even had an old photo of sailing with Tom Roland on a 36' Cat. He built battens for Nacras, along with several Tornados, and his current boat, a 21' Nacra he built-all carbon fibre, I could pick up a hull, 65 lbs! A carbon mast was hanging under the carport, along with a ton of surfboards. I could pick up that mast with one hand!
The afternoon was a combination of American Pickers & Sanford & Son,(c'mon lots of you guys are old enough to remember that show). He had a bunch of busted Nacras.
Anyway, thanks to the photos/measurments Nacraman sent me, I got the correct beam V brace.
Philip, don't worry about those cleat parts I needed to replace, I now have enough spare parts to keep my 5.7 going til I die. This gentleman had literally drawers, & boxes upon boxes of them. Philip. I also now have a car loader, several spare dogbones, a DS rod, full set of foam core battens, AND ALL THE NEARLY NEW END CAPS I NEEDED. They do exist.
I bought a new GPS for driving around L.A. & up the coast. It showed that Carpenteria (Murrays) was a 4 block detour, so more stuff was obtained. Man this was better than Christmas!
Of course my wife needed a day of shopping also, hhmmm, maybe those parts weren't so cheap after all.
I brought a large steamer suitcase, a double ski bag & a snowboard bag, so Monday morning I'm going to try & get the good folks at Air Canada to accept the better part of a 5.7 (sans hulls & mast) as checked baggage!



Edited by Edchris177 on Nov 07, 2010 - 11:01 AM.

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Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
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Edchris177

I'm going to try & get the good folks at Air Canada to accept the better part of a 5.7 (sans hulls & mast) as checked baggage!

Sounds like a great trip Ed, let us know how the flight goes and how much those extra bags set you back!

If your parts source wants to sell more of his stash, let him know about the classifieds here.

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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN

How To Create Your Signature

How To Create Your Own Cool Avatar

How To Display Pictures In The Forums.
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Hey, Edchriss177...You lucky dog!! i've always wanted to take a trip like that. I enjoy reading your posts as you share the same enthusiasm for the 5.7 that I have. Today is my 59th birthday and tomorrow I am going to call in sick and go sailing one last time before winter hits here in the upper midwest. For those of you sitting in a cubicle on Monday morning check out my video "hobie beach sick day" on youtube.com. My interest in the f16 class rests in the fact that a few years from now, will I have the physical wherewithall to horse my 5.7 up and down the beach without aching for days after the fact!

Don't worry Damon, I did.
I got lucky coming home, showed the girl my company ID, & she took all the bags except sail.
"Is that one of your checked bags?"
Yes, ma'am, (look nonchalant as if it's an everyday travel bag & not actually nine feet long)
"Well we can't put that, whatever it is through the system. You take it on over there & they'll help you".
Thank you ma'am.
It was to big to go through the X ray, I had to take it to a different security point where they opened it & swabbed it for explosives, a 5.7 sail takes up lots of room when strewn about a medium sized room(no way in Hell would they let me take photos of that procedure!) Everything went as checked baggage! No extra cost.
Anyone familiar with older Nacras will recognize the long yellow tube going into the belly, at LAX. That has the sail, battens,jib, clew blocks, V bar. He was gentle with that one, but lower left you can see him throwing my steamer suitcase at the conveyor. I think this new site you click on photos to get the full size.


Here is some of the other loot I bought. I really didn't need another sail, but my jib is getting well used, & if something does happen I didn't want to be in the position of having to buy a brand new one, & losing a bunch of the season. This one is quite a bit better than my old one, crisp, clean, clew plates don't show much wear. I needed the micro cleats for the furling jib, & my traveler cleat is jerry rigged from borrowed Invitation parts, he gave me an entire swivel cleat setup, stainless steel cams, should last longer than I do. Also needed beam end caps & a car loader, the rest of the stuff is mostly spares, cause you just never know. A retired chap pedaled up as I was examining the sail. From his comments I'm sure he thought I was several bricks short of a load..."you flew out here from where, to look at a used sail?"


Nacraman, you're lucky to still be on the water, I parked mine a couple of weeks ago due to cold water. I was going to fly down & come back on the late flight, but my wife decided she should come along so we went for 4 days. Cars are cheap, $89 for the four days, but stuffing that sail & battens into a Corolla meant they went from the trunk right up onto the dash! We kept driving north, up the Pacific coast highway (#1) through Carpenteria, home to Murrays. They run a warehouse operation, but they were pretty good about taking me through it & finding everything else I wanted. We kept going up past Big Sur to Carmel by the Sea, Clint didn't meet me for a beer. Came south on #1 again, then deked inland through the wine country at San Luis Obispo, then down #33 through Los Padres Natl Forest. I always thought the Logans Pass in the Rockies was the most spectacular drive in North America, but that hwy 33 gives it some hard competition, really a spectacular drive. Plus my new Garmin 265WT was the best $110 I've spent in years, never missed a turn in totally unfamiliar territory & cities. I'm going to pickup the 550 waterproof model next summer for boating.



Edited by Edchris177 on Nov 09, 2010 - 06:43 PM.

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Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
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