Contemplating an i550

Hi all,

This is my first post so be gentle. I've found myself enamored with the idea of building a sailboat, and like the idea of a fast 18' daysailor. After searching the net and forums, I'm leaning heavily towards the i550. I am a carpenter and also have some experience with epoxy having helped a friend build a couple strip kayaks. Also, living in Colorado should help with price as I believe they are shipping kits out of Durango. My question stems from the fact that I am soon to become a father, and am wondering about modifying the design to be a little more family friendly.
First I am wondering about adding seatbacks or coamings? to keep the ride a little dryer, and to keep the little one on board in a few years. I'm thinking along the lines of the Vanguard Nomad. How much additional work/headaches am I looking at? Would there be a severe hit to the performance?
Also wondering about a ballasted centerboard. Seems like it would be a bit easier to lift/drop than the keel. I know performance would suffer with that big gash in the bottom of the boat, but by how much? Is a drop keel of this size easier to handle than I think?
What do you guys think? I guess I'm kind of going for a homebuilt Nomad. Fast ie. planing hull daysailor that is comfortable, can be crewed by a couple, and maybe raced. (What kind of rating systems/classes are in CO anyways?) Or maybe I am desecrating a great racing boat and there is a better design out there for my needs. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Jon

 

Well as far as lifting the keel goes you wont have a problem with it

 

The i550 has a real buzz around it at the moment with over 200 plan sets sent out. If built to the maximum sail area it will be quite heavily canvassed and probably require attentive sailing. Of course you don't need to put every square centimeter of sail on it to make it easier to handle with just two.
I don't know about coamings. It would make the design more complex and time consuming to build. I'm not sure about compliance within the class rules either though there does seem to be some room to customise. I'm also looking at the design as a potential builder and would love to start such a project
BUT
having just become a father in the last year I can tell you - there isn't much free time for boat building!!!

 

i550

For those that don't know this boat(and I didn't) here is the website:
http://www.i550sportboat.com/i550.html

 

http://www.boatbuilder.dk/Daydreampicture.htm

Family friendly boat, food for thought

 

Haven't stopped by this forum in awhile. Jon, where abouts in Colorado? we're in Pagosa Springs. As of this first weekend in November we've just sent plan sets #246 and #247 out to Britain.

And Doug L. the i550 is a great little boat you should join us, ...... here's the Kool Aid....

 

Very nice boat, but boy what a selling speach on the web!
No experineces required, 300 hours, almost no cost!
I think it is a very fast boat, as fast as the seller is a fast writer.
Don't pay attention, just my two cents
I like the boat very much, nice design, very atractive.
Cheers
Daniel

 

I doubt a lifting keel that size will pose much of a problem.
I haven't seen the actual boat, but her specs suggest a heavily canvassed, relatively light boat that could be pretty exciting in a bit of a breeze.
Coamings? Well, you could add them, and they wouldn't hurt the performance. But they would hurt your butt if you try to hike out.... which is why small sportboats have those flat spots at the edges of the cockpit, so you have something to sit on when leaning out to windward.
I say, ask yourself if speed and sportiness are really what you're after.... if yes, you might enjoy the i550, but if you're looking for a more sedate family day-tripper, you're probably looking at the wrong boat.

 

Here's the Cox's Bay Skimmer 5.5 x 2.25m length/beam, 21 m2 SA, weighs 125 kgs, not including water ballast, free standing wing masts sketch rig - goes pretty well.

 

================
Wow! Way to go.... More details.....

 

cox's bay skimmer

Wow, that thing is very cool.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I guess the lifting keel is the way to go. I'm worried about a tight fit vs friction with lifting, but if it works then it works. idkfa, that is a nice looking boat...nice, but a bit more time than I'm looking to put in. Gary...holy sh**, are you serious? I need to take a ride on that! I doubt that I have the coordination to keep that thing under control. Timber, I'm in Vail, I was actually down in Pagosa not to long ago. Absolutely gorgeous area. Still Colorado as Colorado should be I'm sold on the i550. I've got a bit of experience working with pre-preg carbon doing rowing shafts, blades and whatnot. I was thinking about going with a short alum spar to begin with, then adding a nice bendy top in carbon for some backstay tuning fun down the road.
And yes...I probably underestimate the time it will take...but...I'm getting a garage and I need something to put in it other than my salvaged Saturn. And I'm getting a kid...and her dad needs someting cooler than an O'day 18

 

Before you go with a back stay it is proably a good idea to see how most of the Oz/NZ sport boats are rigged, pretty much like big skiffs

 

If you look up the Australian "CBH ratings" you can get an idea of the speed difference between lift keel and centreboard, because several of the trailer-sailers rated under CBH are available in lift keel or centreboard versions.

CBH is a PHRF style system but seems reasonably reliable. A higher number is faster.

A few samples for swing-keel/CB versions WITHOUT sealing flaps/gaskets are below. Versions with sealing flaps/gaskets are rated the same as drop keels (which seems a bit tough, as flaps are slower than a smooth hull).

Austral 24 - drop keel .675, swing keel (centreboard) .665
Boomerang 20 - drop keel .640, swing keel .620
Ultimate 18 - drop keel .600, swing keel .59

Above are all early '70s/late '60s masthead rigged heavyweights, sort of like a Catalina 22.

Timpenny 770 - swing keel (CB) .710, drop keel .740


Maybe also google the Compass Careel 18, because it's a similar size of boat that's very comfortable (if one hell of a lot slower than the i550!). There may be some ideas in that boat.

The i550 was designed as a Micro Cupper; the Micro Cup class is still strong in Europe and their website may have some interesting ideas. Most of the fastest boats are "Protos", which are serious racers, but there are also "Regatta" and "Cruiser" variations tht could inspire you.

I only sailed a Micro once, but they seem like great little boats; considerably slower than a similar sized sportsboat (like the Elliott 5.9) but probably also a lot cheaper and cruisier when comparing like to like.