Paint and practicing

We recently painted the A cat made a modification to the starboard daggerboard. I have just been working on boat handling and getting comfortable on the trapeze downwind. Now I am off to Virginia for Christmas then in January is the Invitational and Intergalactica.

Almost there

I have sailed the boat about five times, each time in more breeze. The last time i sailed was in 17 to 21 knots and I trapezed downwind in the flat water. I could match the speed and angle of a viper f16 once up to top speed.
Now the boat is back at the house to finish. We are fairing everyday and plan on spraying paint this coming weekend. The starboard board needs more toe in. I cut off the bottom 4 in of the rudder also. I have also added a lower position on the mast for the forestays so I can put more bend in it upwind. There is 5 weeks until the events in Islamorada.

Sailing

Yesterday, I managed to go sailing finally since I have been busy sailing the f18.  The wind was too much to go sailing at first but backed off just enough to go out. I sailed for about 25 minutes before realizing I had cracked a rudder head, which altered the steering.  There was enough time to go upwind and downwind twice though.  The boat had excellent height upwind, but seemed to lack speed. Downwind the boat performed well and I even trapped a little.  I think the boards should be raked further forward though.

Rig up!

Today we made 2 rudder heads, tillers, and put the mast cup in. Then we raised the mast and I had to figure out all of the shroud lengths, making sure the rake was right with a level, and also checking the tension. Then I pushed up the sail. Tomorrow we should get 545 sprayed on it and hopefully I will sail it next week.

Update

We've made great strides in the last couple of weeks. Fairing is almost done, rudder head mould is complete, rig is here, and the boom is almost done. We will Make the rudder heads this week and finish aligning the boards so the boat can be measured.

Hung up

87 lbs, and we're ready to prime! Mast and sail will be here next week!  A special thanks to Michael Peters Yacht Design and Buckeye Sports Center, for becoming a part of the project, and to Harry Fendt for the photography.

Put Together

   Lots has been done the past few weeks.  We put together an alignment jig, glued the boat together, and taped most of the boat, (we're waiting for a few more feet.)  On a smaller scale, we built pieces for the traveler track to sink in flush and are currently working on building covers to the beam-hull joint to increase platform stiffness and aesthetic appeal.  The blue foam you see is shaped down and we will use it as a male mold, then will be ground it off.  The boat is really starting to look good and I'll post a few more shots as soon as all the fairing is done.

   Aside from all the boat building, we've been doing some sailing too.  A few of us from Sarasota Youth Sailing took out some of the more veteran cat sailors for a ride they wont soon forget!

Final result

After our disappointing first day with results of a 15 and 12 we realized we were no longer contending for a position at the front of the fleet. We set a goal to make mid fleet. The next day we moved to 12 with two 8th place finishes. The rest of the regatta we steadily moved up two positions a day averaging 8th place finished each day. The last 2 days we had to make many tactical decisions to beat the Irish and the Italians. The next to last day we did not perform, leaving us in 10th place with one race left and 3 points out of 8th place. The last race was light and we won the pin and showed great speed to the left and tacked with half the fleet from the left, only to get a huge right shift, but we found the Irish in last and Italians right behind us. The last upwind was very challenging with our competitors spreading out and shifty breeze. We rounded with one boat in between us and the Italians and Irish. We needed to pass 2 more boats downwind to secure 8th. We split opposite of the fleet and it paid, we crossed France, Norway, and the Omans. This got us the necessary points to secure 8th place overall, mid fleet at ISAF youth worlds. The team had one last night together and everyone split early the following morning. I am now flying to Boston for the hyc regatta with over 25 f18s. Then it's back to building a cats.

ISAF Youth Worlds Endings

What a day we had on the last day!  To jump from tenth to eighth we had to put two points between us and the Irish and three between us and the Italians.  We had a difficult time finding any power in the boat up with a nasty chop, strong current, and light breeze.  Combine that with erratic wind shifts and one of the heaviest crew weights, we found ourselves toward the back of the fleet for most of the race.  On the last run, we were able to split off on starboard tack to find pressure and calmer waters, we made tremendous gains and were able to get the job done at the finish, gibing inside a fleet of boats that were minutes ahead.  Overall a great regatta and an awesome experience to have worked our way up through the standings into a respectable eighth place.

Race Day 4

We're still moving up!  Today we had our best finish so far, a sixth but started the day with a disappointing tenth.  It was a productive day in that we eclipsed the Irish team and were able to close the gap to three points on the Italian team, which should be a very manageable objective for the last two days of racing.  Currently we stand ninth; progress is always good but we're still not satisfied!

ISAF Youth Worlds

Today is our day off, we have raced three days and have three more days of competition.  The racing has gone well.  Having never sailed the SL 16 or any other catamaran without dagger boards, we have had a very steep learning curve.  As if the boat hasn't been difficult enough, the breeze has been blowing offshore giving shifty and gusty sailing conditions.  Over the past few days we have made strides refining our boat speed and  strategy allowing us to lead yesterdays first race for the first two legs against a very deep fleet.  After the first day we were 14th, but slowly we are climbing up the standings and currently are 10th.  The next two positions are within striking distance, with 9th being only a tiebreak away!  Follow Team USA's results, including Mitchell Kiss who is leading the Laser Radial class!  http://www.isafyouthworlds.com/editions/2012/results.php

ISAF Youth Worlds

Its finally here!  This morning we arrived in Dublin after flying through the night.  After settling down, we went over to the Royal St. George Yacht Club, the event host.  Had a first look at the boats, and I was able to meet a few of the event organizers and local sailors, which will be a great resource for us.  The fleet looked quite numerous, and tomorrow we will be able to get our equipment, and hopefully get out for some practice.
Follow the action! http://www.isafyouthworlds.com/

More Progress

Over the past few weeks the rear traveler bracket and the pads the traveler bar will rest on were made.  The deck, stern, and bows were taped together and faired.  The eyebolts for the stays were bonded in.  Today the bag was stripped off of the knuckle of the rear beam where a sleeve was placed over the beam to hull joint.

Curved Board

Today we popped the first curved board out of the mould and it looks great. The materials used to attach the trampoline to should arrive tomorrow.

Hulls together, working on traveler supports

G10 reinforcements for shrouds and cleats were bonded to the inside of the hull.  2 layers of fiber glass were also added towards the back of the boat for the traveler track. The outer hulls were bonded together and and the center support for the traveler bar and center hiking strap was created today.  Tomorrow the track will get seated on to the deck and the daggerboard trunks will get taped onto the deck.

All together

Glass reinforcement for traveler 

bottom of beam, ready for carbon

Beam

Some pictures of my beams, tomorrow they will be sleeved and completed, (lets hope!).  Both are glued together and we added reinforcements below the mast step, and employed a slightly different lamination schedule on the front beam.  

Beams on!

These past few days we have been aligning, cutting and fitting the beams.  We taped the hulls together and put them back in to the jig and cut holes where the beams enter so they can bond together with the bulkheads.  The beams were glued in and sanded and yesterday we finished it with carbon over top of the beam and onto the bulkhead, bonding the beams to the bulkhead.  Tomorrow we will make a daggerboard trunk and place g10 backing plates for the hardware.

fitting the beams, cutting holes in deck

beam with filler 

inside of the hull

Hull in the jig

Progress

Sorry for the lack of updates recently, but we have got my beam molds built.  I went with an airfoil section and my dad spent the last few weeks building and fairing the plug to perfection and the work is evident in the fairness of the mold.  We pulled a part for use as a jig, will detail later.  This week we will install my bulkheads and hopefully build some beams.  I will detail the construction of the beams.  We will be sailing all next week when were not working or building boats!  Youth Worlds is approaching quickly!

Aligning the Hulls

Today we accomplished many tasks.  We finished putting a carbon sleeve on to the front beam and taped in the bulkheads to the other hull. Then we cleaned and rearranged the shop so we could move the alignment jig downstairs.  The hull halves and beams weigh 71 lbs together.  Tomorrow we will make a dagger board trunk and cut holes in the inner hulls to allow for the beams to enter.

Hull Alignment Jig

Inner hulls in jig, outer hulls on top of jig, and front beam lying on top

port inboard hull

10 hulls waiting to be moved