Optimist AutoCad

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Vives

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Hi everybody.

Can anyone send me an Optimist 3D plans in format of AutoCad?
It's for a school work.

PS: If someone have ideas of how to improve an Optimist I'll be pleased to hear it.
 
Contact the International Optimist Pram association. You might, just might, be able to get a set of drawings for the boat. AutoCAD? Not likely.

If you improve the Opti then it will no longer be an Optimist pram. The dimensions of this and almost all other one design class boats are tightly regulated. Even the slightest change would make it illegal for competitive purposes.

If you want to explore some of the similar sized little boats, take a look at an El-Toro, the Puddle Duck Racer (PDR), The Bolger Brick. The Herreshoff Neria pram is a sophisticated design of a pram but not a simple build and perhaps not a lot better than any of the other little boats of its kind. Prettier yes, performance wise not a lot of difference. . There are countless different iterations of prams/boats of that size.

One must decide what the word "improvement" implies. Are we talking about speed potential, building costs, stability, safety, windward ability, ease of construction, or other considerations?
 
The easiest way to improve the Opti is just to start over. It was supposed to be a cheap, easy, home build boat for dads to build for their kids. But competitive boats are pretty much exclusively commercially built these days.

As mentioned, as soon as you change it at all it's no longer an opti, so why bother starting with such a bad boat to start?
 
The Opti is not a bad boat. Sailing isn't just about speed.
Also, the whole swamping thing is a safety feature.

John Spencer's Firebug is a pretty awesome little boat also.
 
Hi Messabout!

When I'm talking about improving an Opti I'm thinking thinks like systems of dredege, a sail more adjustable, faster, and of course if it's possible make it cheaper.

Thank you really much :) :D
 
One great improvement would be a scaled up version for adults. :-)
 
Vives said:
Hi everybody.

Can anyone send me an Optimist 3D plans in format of AutoCad?
It's for a school work.

PS: If someone have ideas of how to improve an Optimist I'll be pleased to hear it.
Click to expand...

The optimist is a very weak offering by my reasoning. The Opti is intended to be the entry level sailboat targeted at kids but from cost to function it does more to carry on negatives than to entice with the positives of sailing. Even before a child has decided to sail the opti looks pokey and dull -more like a bathtub, a cradle, a box, than anything the adults use -let alone the pros. The price of a competitive boat is almost as much as a laser, but most kids don't even want to be seen in one. Then consider ownership -can the kid carry it to the water? Can he rig it himself? Can he carry it to the car? Take it home? Pull it out and show friends? Use to to go on adventures? Mind the fact that the owner has a ~50% chance of being a girl (or it's sexist). If it takes an adult to move it, store it set it up, and stand guard for safety every sail that's a huge cost and impediment. When they do sail a capsize is a major ordeal because the boat is not stable until it is bailed out -self bailing is a must have for this entry level boat. The kid should be able to right the boat and sail away before he stops laughing about the capsize. the rig is OK by outdated standards, but compared to what is available it is pathetic. The sail for a beginner boat should have the minimum controls for camber, twist, and alpha -that's it! And a 5 year old sail should perform the same as a brand new one. When the boat is not sailing it should be compact to store -collapse flat or at least be stackable. Compact storage would greatly enhance the function -it should be easy to take out several boats (a kid and their friends) to sail in new locations, and why shouldn't it be easy to paddle when the wind dies down?

The last 'want' would be an intelligent rating system. Kids come in many sizes. It should be possible to level the competition with sail size, boat weight and weather conditions.

I understand the value of being able to build your own boat but that is a terrible requirement for a first boat, and how many kid's parents even could build a competitive boat? Then consider how hard it is to police uniformity. A far better plan is to use the best manufacturing to build a cheap uniform first boat to learn on and save building for when they know what they want and are sure they want it.
 
I bought a used Optimist for my daughter for $2000 and sold it 3 years later for $1800. It was very competive with a Quantum radial sail that had only been used 3 times, and 3 other sails and 2 rigs. We donated one of the rigs and two of the sails to the sailing clubs program. We hit 6 to 10 regattas a year, driving it on the roof of out Prius-C hybrid without roof racks, and never having to drive more than 8 hours to get to a regatta, and most very local within 4 hours. She was able to sail on her own the first year without taking any sailing courses. She did a few for the friends but mostly just sailing and regattas. It doesn't get better than that. I know a lot of parents pay huge amounts of money for teams and coaches and winter training in Florida, but you don't have to do that stuff. Great boat. Wish there was something like that after they age out.
 
I know quite a few parents that have built wooden optimists, and they are also pretty competitive, and fun for the kids. Nothing really wrong with the optimist. I used to think it could be cheaper, but the resale is really good, and $2000 for a competitive used boat is pretty good. Now she is in a used laser radial for $5000 and will not hold its value the same as an Optimist, and they go through sails and spars much faster, and the fleets are smaller. The other problem after Optimists is kids spread out into different classes. The Club 420 is a good class, but is logistically a lot more work, and finding and keeping crew is a challenge. It would be great to see a cheap affordable class for kids after optimist, that you have to option to build your own, like the optimist. The laser class with the one builder is not a good model, despite the success of the class.
 
The best way to build an Optimist is to build the Optimist Pram, not the International Optimist. I've built several of both and the IO is a PITA to build or to deal with the class. These are basically identical boats but the IO was overtaken by European overkill in rules and therefore overkill in costs and bueaurocracy. Best thing about the Opti is that there are more of them than any other boat, so there are always others to sail with or sell to. I remember building two in 1968 for the grand total of $50 each. $25 for the plywood and $25 for good Johnson sails. Depending on where you live, the El Toro, Sabot or another local boat may be a better bet.
 

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Jamie Kennedy said:
I bought a used Optimist for my daughter for $2000 and sold it 3 years later for $1800. It was very competive with a Quantum radial sail that had only been used 3 times, and 3 other sails and 2 rigs. We donated one of the rigs and two of the sails to the sailing clubs program. We hit 6 to 10 regattas a year, driving it on the roof of out Prius-C hybrid without roof racks, and never having to drive more than 8 hours to get to a regatta, and most very local within 4 hours. She was able to sail on her own the first year without taking any sailing courses. She did a few for the friends but mostly just sailing and regattas. It doesn't get better than that. I know a lot of parents pay huge amounts of money for teams and coaches and winter training in Florida, but you don't have to do that stuff. Great boat. Wish there was something like that after they age out.
Click to expand...

Jamie, Clark Mills (designer of the Optimist pram in Clearwater Florida) did do a design that was meant for Opti graduates. It Was/is the Windmill. Not many of them left but in its day it was a fiercely competitive boat that would go better than its simple design would have been expected to do.
 
there was one on the river here in the 70s. very fast. forgot that was clark mills
 
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