I’m slowly teaching myself to model boats and fabrication in Rhino and dreaming about offshore racing (what’s new). The current concept project is a 26′ trailerable, simple, light boat for single and doublehanded distance races. Like SSS transpac, pac-cup, swiftsure, and some of the regional races. It’s clearly inspired by the french Bepox boats, Moore 24, Olson 30, Mini-transat boats, Moonshine, and Paul Bieker’s Riptide and International 14 boats.
It’s designed to be built with developable plywood above the hard chine and strip planked below that. Constructed upside down it would use wood / epoxy. Since the hull is further down, weight matters slightly less. Going up, it would use a carbon and foam deck and cabin structure, and likely carbon panels or honeycomb for the cockpit (depending on cost). Ideally a carbon mast too, maybe stolen from some other boat (melges 24? although stiffer would be better).
This is just a basic idea and way for me to learn Rhino, so there are some issues. The cockpit panels don’t connect exactly right. There aren’t enough partial bulkheads. Nothing has thickness. I think that the bow is a bit too hollow and needs slightly more volume to keep bow-up and surfing. Probably needs some more rocker too.
26′ long, 25’8″ LWL, 8′ beam, draws about 6.5′, just over 3,000 lbs probably with 50% of that ideally in the keel. Lots of ideas. Anyone want to help me with fluid dynamics and foil design?
