Optimist Club Racer

[tech_support]

How many builds does it take for a basket mold to be a cost effective building method? It must cost almost as much as 1 hull by itself?

Depends on the value of your time We will probably offer a mold set for free when a club/organization buys 10 boat kits, or a discount on the kits equal to the mold. To buy the molds separately would cost a little more than the plywood for one boat. Jacques spent MANY hours on that mold. A basket mold for one of our other designs does not need to be nearly as elaborate as the optimist molds.

Why did you choose the green pressure treated plywood for the mold?

Its stable/thick and will not warp, stored flat it should last decades, plus its readily available. We use

I just smoothed the mix with a scraper

thats the best way, no need for plastic to just fill a weave. The plastic can reduce the amount of weave you have to fill if you squeegee it over wet glass. It compresses the glass/epoxy.

[Justin Pipkorn]

A basket mold for one of our other designs does not need to be nearly as elaborate as the optimist molds.

I am using a rudimentary basket mold for construction of a 16 foot Otter/Lissa. The mold parts cost about $50. and will take about 8-10 hours to construct. From my experience with the basket mold for the VG20, I believe that much better tolerances can be held even if the mold is used only for one boat. With a small boat like the Otter, I will be able to complete the entire inside of the boat while in the mold. Then roll the boat and finish the outside.

In the case of the VG20, I was able to "recycle" the strongback to make a dolly to hold the boat and move it through the stage when the keel was mated.

[tech_support]

The gunnels are being glued up on the first two Club Racers.





The little deck is glued down to the strips/spacers. It is oversized when glued down, then trimmed to be flush.



We cut a third kit last week, so the fleet will be four very soon.

[tech_support]

They are building away over at the youth sailing foundation, sending two more kits over today. Here are a few boats out of the molds and being faired.

[chrisobee]

Shine, do you think that the Optimist Club Racer is a better sailboat than the D4/D5?

[jacquesmm]

It depends on the use.
The D5 and PK78 are much better dinghies and sail better thanks to their vee bottom but if you want to race against other boats, the Optimist is the best choice.
For a kid that is.
With it's flat bottom, the Optimist slaps a lot in any chop.
Being an old design revised by a committee, the Optimist is more difficult to build. For example, it requires a coaming instead of a simple rubrail.

[ks8]

And the hope is that, unlike the D5 or PK78, the Club Racer will be permitted to race against *official* Optimists, at the local level, and maybe even at the Nationals ( ? ). But International is another story, and you'll need a true Optimist there. But look at all the training and fun youth can have on the club racer, locally, inexpensively, to see if they want to step up to that national and international competition level.

When you've got a small fleet rigged, I'd sure like to know how they fare in competition with spec Opti's. How about a match race with someone in a spec Opti, both experienced skippers, first to win (4) races, wins, but, skippers swap boats every race, to make it more of a *boat vs boat*.

[tech_support]

When you've got a small fleet rigged, I'd sure like to know how they fare in competition with spec Opti's. How about a match race with someone in a spec Opti, both experienced skippers, first to win (4) races, wins, but, skippers swap boats every race, to make it more of a *boat vs boat*.

There is a very large Opti fleet just south of us in Jensen Beach, our local club will be racing with them quite a bit. That club has a few wooden optis and about 50 plastic ones. So Im sure we will have a lot of feedback.

[tech_support]

Yesterday the Youth Sailing Foundation launched the first 5 boats of their fleet (17 boats now built or in construction). There was a nice turnout of volunteers, families, and children. All Of these boats were built from our kits... (note the builders did make a few modifications to the decks)

http://www.bateau.com/proddetail.php?prod=Opti_CR

Here is the link to the gallery...

http://gallery.bateau2.com/thumbnails.p ... 96&page=12





























more under construction

[ks8]

Cool... thanks for posting the update!