i550class.org

Hi all,

I've just purchased plans for hull #628. It will be a few years until I'm in the water but the planning starts now!

I have a few potential uses for the boat...
1 - Racing on the flatter river waters of Sydney harbour (gets a bit choppy in the harbour propper)
2 - Cruising around on weekend trips with the possibility of sleeping a night
3 - Getting on the water with non-sailing friends with either a reefed rig or outboard only.

I'm pretty settled on the wide cockpit option as I like the idea of hiking without having to swivel the legs over the side. It also fits with my potential plan for alternative sleeping arrangements...

For the cabin, I'm leaning towards the shorter option for more cockpit space sailing and carrying people. I'm not a small person at 195cm (6'4 and a bit) and 100kgs. I've read through posts on this forum and found a few mentions of 6'3 people managing a sleep onboard.
There looks to be plenty of lengths to lay down inside even with the short cabin version with the feet tucked under the cockpit floor but has anyone had trouble fitting their feet into this space? I'm a US size 12. The opening to slide the feet through on the molds is just under 300mm but that's without any kind of cushion or mat laid down.

What I'm considering and would really like some advice/ opinions on is...
-Would raising the cockpit floor to allow more foot space be worthwhile or even needed?
-Has anyone set up sleeping arrangements in the cockpit with a boom tent? I've seen the boom tent on Shazza which looks fantastic but for sleeping under?
-Have any larger individuals advice on companionway setup/ease of entry and exit
-Has anyone loaded up an i550 in motor mode with 5 or 6 people?

Thanks in advance,
Greg

Hi Greg,

Welcome to the i550 community.

I have pretty much the same configuration that you are talking about. I know that some people like the cabin-less cambered decks, but I personally like having the cabin on the boat for storing stuff below, or the potential for sleeping on board. One of the most comfortable places to sit on the boat when cruising is on the weather side of the boat, feet out, leaning your back against the cabin. I haven't used my boat for camping, but I have taken a couple of naps down there. For camping, I would definitely either have a removable mast support post, or better-yet, maybe a carbon fiber bulkhead arch there, making the post unnecessary. If I were going to spend any nights in the cabin, I would definitely add a forward hatch for some breeze, and screening to keep the bugs out.

We've had as many as eight adults on-board for sailing. It definitely is a "low-rider" with that much weight, but the boat still goes. We've taken four adults and a large dog motoring around. The boat is actually a pretty good fishing platform.

Phil

Hi Phil,

Thanks for the info. eight people! not sure i'm going to try that but good to know it's possible.
Removing the mast support sounds like a great idea for accommodations. Do you know of any builds that have done this?
Good tip on the hatch too. I'll have to add that to my parts list!

Cheers,
Greg

Yes, Hi Greg and thanks for joining us!

I definitely don't think a higher cockpit floor is necessary. You could most likely find a structural alternative to how the low the opening to the space behind the hatch (under the cockpit floor) is, maybe by using a CF composite in a ring frame to support that space/structure. I can crawl back into the area under the cockpit (not fond of doing it but had to run my under the floor vang control back and needed to crawl back there -- don't try this on a HOT day and I guarantee you I am bigger around than a size 12 shoe!

Coincidental, b/c I have just been on-line looking for a forward hatch to install, really liking the idea of a circular one.

The idea of a removable mast step is a great one! Maybe run the shrouds to a highfield lever so that tension can be easily and quickly taken off the shrouds when the compression post is kicked out. The biggest impediment to being comfortable below, for me, is the darn compression post!

Thanks Tim,

Sounds like I've got a bit of drawing ahead of me. But I can smell a budget blowout on the horizon! I'm planning to scrimp and save as much as i can in other parts, second hand gear etc. could end up looking like an interesting mishmash... carbon interior parts with cheap second hand fittings.

Thanks for the tip on the highfield lever I was starting to wonder if I would need to/ could loosen the tension with the post gone. Will add these to my 'to be purchased' spreadsheet.


I picked up my first bit of the boat on the weekend, a centreboard from a tacking proa my dad and I (mostly my dad) built about 10 years ago. About the right size for my Rudder. I'll make some tweaks to get it closer to the NACA shape. the blade is 1240 long and 255 wide. Seems to be fairly light but has a combination of glass and carbon. A bit of modification at the top and bottom, fairing and new paint and there's a few hours saved.

Hah! That's great. That thing has "rudder" written all over it.

You've got a great head-start!

Cheers,
TF