I've been doing some more messing around with IOM hull design and have tweaked my initial curves to have a fuller bow and to displace 4000 grams. Here's how it looks now. I'm nowhere near actually making this boat yet, but I'm happy with my progress so far! Cheers!

I'm flirting with the idea of designing my own IOM. There are infinite possibilities, but the one I'm stuck on right now is a wave-piercing bow and hard chine from amidships aft. Here are some early mockups sketches... Just messing around with boats! Cheers!

I finally finished drawing the Vickers V8 frames for laser cutting and have sent the files to Vickers Sailing for inspection. I might make my own personal hull in the next few months, but I'm also considering getting into my own design too, so who knows where the wind will take me. There were three sets of frames that I sent in. The first includes only the basic frames that will plank an empty hull. This is the file I promised to deliver, and it uses Ian's original lines, so perhaps they might release this for use in the future...?? You'll have to ask him.  One set included all of the internal frames and bits that I'll use on my own boat. I'm not sure if they will ever release that because it does rearrange some of the interior parts that Ian originally designed. But it'll work for me.  Then I also made a "Fore-deck Framing Set" to make a separate planked foredeck. I haven't tried it but it should work well. Again

Got bored, plus I wanted to add it to the 3D Vickers V8 IOM I'm working on, so I modeled a SAILSetc Block 65-SE through-deck block for RC sailboats. It also turns the sheet direction, so it's sometimes called a turning block. NOTE: There was some concern on RC Groups that I had copied his product without permission. I have not copied his product. I have only made a 3D drawing of his product, and I have actually purchased three of his blocks for installation in previous or current boats.  Here was my response on RC Groups: "This is just a drawing of his block. It's not a real block. There is no value in a picture of the block. You can’t make an actual block from this 3D file any more than you could from a pencil drawing or photograph of it. It’s not a manufacturing file. There are no internal parts in this shell. It’s only a drawing of the outside of it. It’s used to help model 3D designs so that you know where you place bits and you know how it

Lots of progress has been made on the Vickers V8 IOM (International One Meter) R/C sailboat. I'm about 80% finished so far. Will probably just sit on it for most of the summer and get start actually building it in September or October. Here's how it looks so far: While I have agreed to make the laser cut frames for the hull, I have no expectations that Ian Vickers will choose to use my internal bits. I have made some decisions for my own version of the boat, but if he ever decides to release the files I'm not sure if he'll allow my internal bits to be released. He'll probably just release the laser cut frames for the hull. That said, I've made some decisions for my own version, which includes a scoop deck. I'm also dumping the plastic pot because I just hate the look of those things. My boat will have deck patches which I've found to work quite well. Here's the scoop deck: The scoop deck will allow a full-sized vang to swing

A few weeks ago I emailed Ian Vickers to inquire if he might send me a DWG file for his very highly-regarded IOM, the V8. He agreed! So now I'm working on designing a laser-cut frames file so that I might make the boat later this fall. I've already started. Here's what I have so far: So far it's going well. My next steps are to design a main bulkhead, a mast well/fin box arrangement, a rudder frame, and on and on. But in the end it should be a nice way to build a V8. My problem though is that I also now have the original digital computer files for two Frank Russell designs too... the Goth Mk4 and his newest IOM, the Ellipsis... In addition, I have the paper plans for the Alternative by Brad Gibson. I'll almost certainly do the laser cut frames for all three, but which one to build first?? Aloha!

A few months ago I was finally able to get some time with "The Book" - America's Cup Yacht Designs, 1851 - 1986 by Francois Chevalier and Jacques Taglang. In that book, the authors share extraordinary line drawings of the original designs. It has become the "go to" book for America's Cup enthusiasts. It has also become the go-to book for J-Class R/C (radio control) sailboat hobbyists. The lines shown in the book are among a very short list of acceptable design perimeters that the J Class people acknowledge. To make a qualifying J Class boat, you must stick to the measurements shown (with a slight addition to the draft allowed to account for water not scaling). I was able to make many great scans for future modeling. The J Class groups specifically sail 1/16 scale models of America's Cup yachts that were, duh, "J Class" boats - boats from the 1930's exclusively before the America's Cup switched to 12 meters after WWII. The J boa

Was bored yesterday and modeled a mast ram for IOM's. That is all. Aloha!

So all the cool IOM kids seem to have nice wooden boxes to store their rigs in. This might be my next quick project then, so that I can pretend to be cool too. :-P The rig box images that I've seen online are mostly similar, and would work well, but David Jensen from Bellevue, WA, USA (The same guy who designed a fantastic IOM boat stand I posted about earlier) has a really nice design that he shared on RC Groups . Or if that link doesn't work, the go here and search for " IOM sail box " or " IOM rig box ". It holds three sets of rigs for the A, B, and C rigs. He also has a nifty way to attach his IOM boat stand, with a boat on it, to the rig box. His rig box has wheels attached, so once everything is loaded up he just wheels it to the launch spot. Very nice! There are other sources online. They show different variations of the same type of sail box. Here's a nice looking one . Here's a YouTube video of a really nice one . Wil

Ta DA! She's finished! My new, Corbie 5 wooden IOM RC sailboat is completed. Wood hulls look so much more classic than fiberglass. They may be a bit slower, but they look great. For my first IOM I think it turned out well! Might have to make another one in the future though to fix all the mistakes I've made on this one...  And I just had her maiden voyage. It went much better than expected given the confusion I've had with the rig. The helm was almost perfectly neutral and I can easily adjust for a slight weather helm if desired. She floated, to my eye, right on her waterline. There was at most 1 knot of wind in the gusts and hardly any otherwise, but she still went very well. It was a very exciting and trouble-free maiden voyage! And afterwards the inside was bone dry... not a drop. I must thank Ian Dundas of Scotland for all of his incredible help and advice throughout this project! His patience in putting up with my incessant questions was endless. Thank you Ia

I waited 48 hours after my second coat of Klass Kote clear 2-part urethane , and then tonight wet sanded starting with 1000 grit and worked up through 2000 grit, and polished the hull with three different grades of compounds and polishes using my Porter Cable 7424 polisher. It turned out really well. It'll look even better with a coat of wax on the topsides. It still doesn't have the depth of shine that I'd like, but it's really close. I might even do the old scale modelers trick of spraying some Future floor polish on the topsides. It would really shine it up.  I still can see a few pits and dips, but whatever... it's a hobby not a profession. I'm getting better but am a ways away from the guys who can get those deep, deep shines. Maybe someday. To totally eliminate the small pits and remaining orange peel, I'd have to sand much more aggressively, and then risk cutting through the clear coat. Someday I'll try harder, but when I

Today I wet sanded with 800 grit and then sprayed on a second round of 2-part clear urethane. It looks better regarding the underlying scratches, but I'm still getting some orange peel. I'll see how it looks when dry and then decide if I'll wet sand and polish the whole hull or just leave it as is. Aloha!