Chapter 4

One thing I discovered ... it makes no difference if every piece is laser cut ... some parts for one boat won’t fit another. Stringers need to be cut long and there’s always hand fitting ... two things. We’re not building thousands of cars ... we’re building a boat ... with parts cut oversize for hand fitting. Just sanding to remove the laser char changes things. It’s only during inspection that you find out it’s wrong.

Inspectors know the rules:

LOA: 3.7 m/12’2”
Beam: 1.52 m/5’0”
Sail Area: 8.8 sq m/95 sq ft
Mast Length: 6.09 m/20’
Suitable Crew Weight: 55-80 Kg/120-180 Lbs (Not a requirement.)
Hull Weight (with fittings): 48 Kg/106 Lbs (The hull can be over weight but not under. The inspectors love assigning weight to bring the boat up to class specifications.)

Farr drew the plans before New Zealand adopted French measurement. Certain modifications were made to the drawings after the fact.

I’d been studying UTube on the ‘net and a couple of ‘shortcuts’ made sense ... an Arrow stapler with the staples attaching the plywood to the keel. Lay out a thin string and staple over the string and through the plywood. After the glue sets up lift the string and pull the staples. Works better than prying the staples out with a sharp screwdriver. And... 4mm plywood with fiberglass cloth and resin works as good as a 6mm floor and it’s stronger.