i550class.org

Kind of late to the party, but new member from the metro-Detroit area… and soon will start hull #557.

Still in the planning stage, but today cut all the pieces of my intended construction cradle. After reading lots of different blogs, this is the design I came-up with. I have more spacing pieces, and left places to add more bunks if needed.

Next step… Okoume or Hyrdotek… any input would be appreciated!

Hi Dan, welcome to the forum, thanks for joining us.

I'm probably not the right person to ask, as I ended up just ordering a pre-cut "kit" from Watershed (meranti) but with the price of Okoume being about 1.65 X that of meranti, I'd just stay with meranti unless extreme lightness is your desired outcome. While not having weighed my boat, everyone who has ever lifted it or helped flip it is in agreement that it is well under 500 pounds, and with keel/bulb coming in at 175 pounds, foam/CF rudder & the carbon rig/sails and hardware will bring the total to well under the 800 pound class minimum, I'm sure.

So my point is it's easy to get a really light build and spare the extra cost of okoume in my opinion. This being a forum, I'm sure there will be other opinions!

btw, nice cradle and I envy you your building space!

Tim Ford
hull # 87
http://nbayracing.com/i550Build.htm

Dan,

It's good to have another build in the Lake Erie area. Put-in-bay race week some time in the future? In any case, I went with Hydrotek primarily because it has some natural rot resistance, which you don't get with Okoume. You save a few pounds with Okoume, and if it is sealed well, there shouldn't be any problem. In the scheme of things, the price difference isn't all that much, as the plywood costs get swamped by everything else.

Good luck with the build. If you're in the Cleveland area, stop by to see the boat.

Phil

Tim / Phil - thanks for the welcome and input... sounds like Hydrotek is the way I'll plan to go... for today anyway!

As for Put-in-Bay, would be great, but I have a lot of work to do before then!

HI Dan,

And welcome to the fleet. I used Meranti on my build also, I think that I ended up choosing it because it was a little stronger then okoume, and considerably less expensive.

Have fun with your build.

Cheaper is not always better! That said, I agree with all the above. Make sure your ply is stored properly, all those little warps and bends will need to be faired out later. Welcome!

I used Meranti 5-ply to BS1088. The only available marine plywood in Singapore.
Not forgetting you're going to paint it inside and glass it outside.
Meranti is pretty stiff, and I had trouble forming the half-cabin geometry.

Cheers,

Well it's been a few months... #557 is officially on-hold.

The good news for me... earlier this month I purchased #172 as a complete boat! The boat was originally named "Wild Child", but that will likely change... just don't know yet. Anyway, there now will be a i550 on Lake St. Clair!

Sails are being measured now, then the PHRF application to DRYA!

@Phil - if you're still up for a pair of i550s at a regatta in the Oh/Mi area, let me know!

Dan,

Sounds good to me. I think that Chad and Kevin are typically up for a road-trip so maybe more than two. If we get five boats we could enter Put-in-Bay as a one design.

Phil

I hate to she her moved out of the SE. Good luck racing her.

Dvialard wrote:Well it's been a few months... #557 is officially on-hold.

The good news for me... earlier this month I purchased #172 as a complete boat! The boat was originally named "Wild Child", but that will likely change... just don't know yet. Anyway, there now will be a i550 on Lake St. Clair!

Sails are being measured now, then the PHRF application to DRYA!

@Phil - if you're still up for a pair of i550s at a regatta in the Oh/Mi area, let me know!

Is that the one that came from FL? Killer deal, wish I jumped on it sooner!

It has been a full month and no report of Wild Child taking a cold bath. What is up with that?

Hey dvialard I'm from across the creek in windsor ont. Can I have #503. And just finished my cad and am cnc cutting my panels. I sail out of bayview yacht Club on epic. I would love to check out your build some time