i550 hard chine sportboat

[timber]

It has been described as an ugly duckling. However the number of boats is steadily increasing. As of May there are about 380 plan sets and about two dozen are about to launch and join the dozen already sailing. Simple to build and cheap is the route to bring more people to sailing

[CutOnce]

Originally Posted by timber

It has been described as an ugly duckling. However the number of boats is steadily increasing. As of May there are about 380 plan sets and about two dozen are about to launch and join the dozen already sailing. Simple to build and cheap is the route to bring more people to sailing

I like the boat and agree with your conclusion. I don't agree with the "ugly" label - but then again I'm not a trust fund boomer that spends more time in the bar than on the water.

The example built by Meade and Jan Gougeon is very nice.

--
CutOnce

[timber]

Thanks for the eye is in the beauty of the beholder. There is a great youtube video of the Gougeon Brothers build; classical music (hi,yo silver) and the link is here
i550class.org and i550.org.

[timber]

Or easier yet.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDs_BKdYjaQ

[wheels]

"Easy to Build" but ugly is a bad idea

Originally Posted by wheels

the i550 is one of 3 boats I've been doing alot of research into. Personally I think it is gorgeous. Angular and aggressive. Not to say that a 40ft sloop isn't beautiful in it's own way.

you seem to miss one big part of the equation here. Heart. Any knucklehead can slap one together with a couple hundred hours of work. But the builders invest more time energy dedication and love into getting it just the way they want. Wouldn't you want your builder to put that much effort into building whatever design you happen to choose?

If it gets people interested and involved in sailing it's a great step in my opinion. it's function is to get people on the water. sailing. Fairing and glassing might take some time but it's not difficult. Joe Sixpack can put it together in his garage with his kid helping in a relatively short time. They are fun. They are fast. They are capable. Not all of us want to spend 5-25 years building something for retirement. We want to get on the water and play. its not so much the cost end as it is a time end.

it's why the little puddle duck racers are so popular/ugly. Sure there is a HUGE amount of compromise in design vs performance. But they work. They are fun. And they get people sailing.

We understand the desire of some to have every detail hand worked to perfection. There is nothing wrong with that and I truly admire those with the patience and skill needed to complete more traditional build methods. But it's not for me. I want to get out there and get wet

[timber]

During the last few weeks another i550 has been launched in Portland OR. You can check into i550na.org to follow up on this one.
Another i550 is going to splash on Flathead Lake, Montana. It is a beautiful little boat. Go to i550class.org for this one.
Interestingly, PHRF around the country has given the i550 ratings anywhere from 120 (ouch) to 174. We think that an average of the two might be accurate.

On the other hand the purpose of this design is to open the eyes of the young and old (that would be me) to high performance sailing, not to do any rating busting.

Like the Puddle Duck the i550 is the most economic way to build a boat to get out on the water. We just made a point on one end.
T

[frank smith]

I think the I550 is a cool boat . Btw I have seen similar hull designs as large a 44 feet .

[BPGougeon]

I highly recommened the i550. The boat you saw on the linked video is an absolute blast. I cant wait for the water to warm up a little. I plan to spend most of the summer on that boat.

[timber]

Thank you for the words of support.
Tim

[timber]

Time to bring the fans of the i550 up to date. We have recently sent plan set 415 out. There are 8 or more building in Tasmania in anticipation of the upcoming trailer sailer and sportboat nationals. Portland Oreon is a center for the PNW with carbon rigs arriving for 5 boats and a recent launch on Flathead Lake , Montana.

[jim lee]

Timber, where are the carbon rigs being made?

-jim lee

[timber]

An update is in order for the i550. We've been busy and Plan set #454 just found a home in Corpus Christie, TX. Also Eastern and Southern Europe are getting plan sets. This summer (winter for you antipodeans) will see the doubling of the number of boats sailing in the US and Australia.
Cheaper, faster, funner

[Jetboy]

I was very close to building an i550 before settling on an 18' folding trimaran. I would love to race head to head against an i550 to see how the two home-built boats compare. I think I'll have a bit more time involved and possibly a little more $ in materials, but I think we'll be pretty close. I think the sail areas will be close as well. Any chance there are any being built in Utah?

[timber]

There are none building in Utah that I know of. However there might be and I just don't know about it. Check the map at i550sportboat.com to see if there is a planset orbuilder or sailing i550 near your location.

[Jetboy]

It looks like there is one building near me. I'm not sure I'll even be on the water this season, but if all goes well I might be sailing by fall. If so I'll have to try to get in touch with him and see if he wants to go sailing some afternoon.