i550class.org

Let's share up some great pictures of those i550's in build or sailing. I'm happy to keep changing the front page picture to those from the 2010 Epoxy Cup, but I'd like to include some other photos as well.

Jon, how about a shot of that paint job, or the boat flipping onto it's trailer. What's Steve's boat look like? I don't know that I've ever seen a picture of his boat.

Ben, I know you are sitting on a couple of nice ones too.

Cheers, Kevin.

I'm happy to add to the class pictures. How do we do this? Email some pictures or start a build progress thread for everyone and especially those who are technically challenged when it comes to blogs. Kevin your welcome to pull pictures off Facebook if that would help. Feeling great tonight as my sails arrived this evening!

Cheers!

Jon, for right now a email might be the best way. I'm planning a picture and video section where people can upload pictures. Once we have a bunch I'll have them rotate through and if you all get really competitive, we'll be forced to vote . But for now, something different every week is what I'm shooting for.

Saw the picture of the sails. Very nice.

Jon, for right now a email might be the best way. I'm planning a picture and video section where people can upload pictures. Once we have a bunch I'll have them rotate through and if you all get really competitive, we'll be forced to vote . But for now, something different every week is what I'm shooting for.

Saw the picture of the sails. Very nice.

OK, I am a sap on 2 accounts....not sure yet how to post a "new" thread here...and no pics to add, BUT raced this weekend and posted this to the other site so thought you might want to read it here as well:

Sailed in the Big Dinghy Regatta this weekend out of Richmond.
Had Brandt Adornato w/ me both days, John P who helped w/ the build Sat and Tony C (race chair for Richmond YC) Sunday.

The boat performed better than the crew. And we saw everything the Bay will throw at you.

Sat was 5 W-L races in building winds. We were a bit late on the first start, sailing in the Open Div, and had a SWEET spin run but were out of the money it seemed at the finish. Race 2 we were scored a 3rd but at this point I have lost track of that. As the wind built, my oversized spin (Melges 20 sails all around...cut the main and jib down and am sorting out the spinny) was too much to handle.....suffice to say we had shrimp for dinner......race 4 was the same story, pushing up to the upper teens, we couldn't set fast enough (halyard friction issues etc) and ended up w/ the spin 20-30 ft behind the boat....not what you want to see looking up....lots of halyard tween mast top and sail top.....if the rig was going to fail, it would have....somewhere in there we got the spin up and got knocked flat...Brandt (not at fault) was steering, climbed to the high side and was giggling as he looked "up the skirt" of my poor girl..."keel looks good from here!" We decided to cut the last few (disasterous) races short to make it back to the start for the next race....so it was day of letter finishes......and still ended up 5th of 12...not too shabby.

Today was a long distance pursuit race.....we went from ghosting to honking.
Made it up around Red Rock ok...including a decent spin reach/run....but lost out in the flood trying to make it back down the Bay. Then rounded South Hampton in Solid upper teens to 20 plus wind and flew white sails only downwind...GPS confirmed nailing 12 knots solid w/ swell assisted surfing....friggin BLAST if I wasn't so PUCKERED about the rig coming down as we stuffed into the back side of a couple of rollers. (Checking I-windsurf confirms that Point Blunt, just upwind of South Hampton was gusting to 30).

Lessons: weight forward in light to moderate air, heel is GOOD when working to weather, don't use a Melges 20 spin in less than 3-5 knots TWS (it drags in the water) or more than 15...unless your man-parts/wallet are bigger than mine (not sayin much there) and finally BUY THE PLANS BUILD THE BOAT!!!!

That was the best weekend of sailing I have ever had!!

It is so sweet when you go to a big regatta, and so many people stop to ask you about that SWEET looking boat you built....then go out on the water (and in my case) enjoy brief moments of brilliance.

I have ALOT to learn inorder to sail this thing to it's potential...but the boat did NOT disappoint!!

Cheers,
Ben

Great report Ben.

Ben.

Sounds like an awesome weekend. Those m20 kites are really big. Ron lost his compression post in a big blow with one of those suckers up. I think mine is actually wider than his, but not as tall, which is in fact a problem.

To start a new post, you go under each forum (like building or sailing) and there should be a "New Post" button there. let me know if you don't see it.

Cheers, Kevin.

It's time for someone else to get a build picture to Kevin. I know there's progress happening. Jerome, Rocky, Tim either one, someone new. I promise to send him another when I get the trailer under the boat.

I should finish my hull paint until the weekend. If so, İ will update my blog and have many pictures available. Until then, not much to share expect old pictures. I have some nice one about my rudder shaping though .....

Howzabout a little vid?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGrszoC8 ... ded#at=306

(please excuse the skip in the song....."sail on and on and on and on......."

www.bensboogers.blogspot.com has gps data for this day as well......

really cool video ! Link that on our main page as well.

Did someone say pictures ? Shazza got some new stickers --finally done with the new look

That's my kind of woman, Josh! Is there a real woman you modeled her after? I'm in LOVE!

All Shazza's look like that in the land of OZ

The graphics look great, Josh.

Ron

Thanks, it's taken twelve months but we finally got exactly what we wanted. The art work was created by an artistic female friend of my wife Donna. To have the sticker on the side was not the original plan but then I saw what Jon was up to and now Jerome I though why not go a with something a little more individual than a sticker on a white hull?
Hats off to Jon and Jerome for going with some really great designs. Shazza's design only took about an hour which is nothing compared to the effort put in by the two J's.

We can always use some more pictures for the picture of the week rotation. Get those camera's out and take some photos! And then post them or send them to me privately.

Thanks, Kevin.