With the problems and long lead times of getting a new competitive IOM, a number of people have approached me about how to start  building a boat. There are a number of very competitive designs out there which are certainly faster than I am!  I am putting this out there because if there is interest in this area i would be happy to share my photos and experiences of building the 15 IOMs completed over the past 2 years. I rather think there a number of sailors who would like to build and sail a woody by are not sure about first steps. So over to you, if i get enough interest i will start the ball rolling.

Tom Roberts (Gosport )

Looks beautiful Tom.  

In my full sized sailing, both my wooden Solo and Osprey happily beat the " plastic" stuff.

The issues I would have are the higher number of collisions in RC and my over reaction to scratching a work of art.  And the biggest obstacle is that I have two left thumbs and little practical skill.

But I agree-  joining the IOM fleet with a competitive boat is far from easy and this is going to improve matters.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 19, 20223 yr by ianrmcdonald
Misstype

Tom, I absolutely support your idea, so yes please, do share photos and experiences of your builds.

From my previous posts you'll know I have limited experience and haven't even completed one IOM yet. My build process is a bit stop-start due to not having a clear view ahead of the best process. I made lots of mistakes and would have benefitted reading more blogs.

I expect my first mistake was deciding to use balsa (though it does have some advantages). Secondly I cut frames from 3mm ply, but this proved to be too hard to use pins to hold the planking in place. So I switched to foam board - much easier to work with. I now realise I could have used cedar and straps/rubber bands to hold the planks in place (balsa is not stiff enough to resist small indentations caused by straps). I'm currently a bit stuck, scratching my head on how to best arrange the internal bits for the radio gear, servos, battery and sheeting. I know I'll overcome all of these, but I'm sure you've been there too at some point, so your shared experience would be very helpful indeed.

I will go back to the start of the process but i thought i would send these images of how the winches have been fitted in some of the boats. The key is to keep all the weight on centre where possible You will see examples of a winch being fitted in the centre both vertically and horizontally. I have now gone over to using arm winches mounted under the foredeck. i keep a centre web down the middle of the foredeck for structural strength and appearance. There are many ways of fitting the winches and servos but it is important to keep access easy. The orange boat is a much modified Alternative made of cedar but i did not like the colour of the wood so it got painted ! It has a winch mounted on a shelf fitted just in front of the bulkhead. the final image is the first V8 i made. As you can see the layout is really old school ( copied from my Jazz  made many years ago). Some of these ideas have been changed and discarded so they are just ideas of how  it has been done in the past.

Thank you for posting the photos Tom, you’re a prolific builder!

I’d really like to know your current ideas for forming the kicker well, fin box and radio pot. My understanding is that the kicker well is needed to allow the rig to be placed lower in the hull, hence reduce heeling moment. The fin box is tricky because it has to exactly match the fin dimensions and needs careful construction to ensure accurate placement and no leaks. It also has to support 2.5kg of lead! The radio pot is convenient in use, but a bit of a nuisance to build. Do you use composites for these?

My current build is held whilst I ponder these points. I’m sure you’ve grappled with them too at some point.

Hi you could make fairly simple molds for both the kicker well and the radio pot well out of scrap wood and filler. then just make a fibreglass moulding from this..

I buy my fins from Dave Creed so i ask him to supply  the fin box to match the fin profile, does not cost a lot and saves many hours ! 

I tried making the wells out of wood t  it is not easy . 

I did use a piece of 1.5mm ply for a couple of boats, if you heat it up a bit with a hair dryer or even hot water you can bend it to form the shape of the mast well , make a cardboard template  from a well on another boat.

 

Martin, in answer to your question about the well and Finbox. I use Dave Creed's mouldings and trim to suit.   FInbox projects through the hull and is bonded to the Well prior to setting up. Easy to align with Finbox fitted through the hull.

I don't want to hijack this article so have attached some pictures to my article on Alternative build; to keep it all in one place. Hope that helps.

Richard

Edited December 20, 20223 yr by Richard98
Typo