Today I got out my strongback that I used on the first Star 45 and cleaned it up a bit. The original frame bases came right off and the bottom balsa alignment pieces stayed in place. Bit of luck there!
I removed the frames from the laser cut panels and cleaned them up a bit. I was very careful last time to be sure to clean up all the laser burn marks but this time I'm being lazy.
The new frames slipped right in place but I haven't glued them in place yet. Let me explain why.
My intention in building this second Star 45 is to make an experimental version that updates the design just a touch. The Star 45 has a very classic design, but it's also somewhat modern in the front sections and reminiscent of a modern offshore ocean racing yacht like a Volvo Ocean 65.
I really like the look of the modern Volvo Ocean yachts and other similar variations. My idea is to tweak the Star 45 to make it look somewhat similar. Not an exact knockoff mind you... I want to use the existing frames and make it easy on myself. But I'd really like to incorporate a few of the signature design elements of the ocean racers into my new Star. For example; a wide aft beam, open transom, etc...
Take a look at this image. Notice that the sides of the boat are at roughly the same incline for the entire hull. The Star frames do the same thing. Notice the gentle bottom curve. Same with the Star. With a bit of tweaking I think I can use the standard Star 45 frames to make a new, ocean racing Star 45x!
I intend to keep a slight aft curve to my deck plan instead of the 'arrow' style that the true ocean racers have so that my boat will still turn. I also will stick to a single rudder. It will be deep enough to turn the boat while healing.
So tonight I've been playing around with frame placement and think that I've got an idea that would make it all come together. I've placed frames 1 through 6 in the normal spots. But then I skipped a slot and place frame 7 in slot 8, and then skipped another slot and placed frame 8 in slot 10. What this looks like is that the aft transom will be quite a bit wider than the normal Star 45 but will still carry the smooth curves of the bottom and sides.
I'm going to sleep on this for a few days and try to think of why it should and should not work. Of course I'll need to make commensurate adjustments to keel placement and will probably carry the rudder much further aft than normal. In fact, the entire rig will probably have to come aft but that should look OK too.
So... anyone have any thoughts? Please let me know!
Yes, of course this Star 45x will not be class legal. I know that and don't intend to race it against any other Star's as the closet one I know of is 700 miles away in San Francisco.
Anyway, what do you think? I'd love to hear from some of you about what else I should be thinking about in order to pull this off!
Peace!
I removed the frames from the laser cut panels and cleaned them up a bit. I was very careful last time to be sure to clean up all the laser burn marks but this time I'm being lazy.
The new frames slipped right in place but I haven't glued them in place yet. Let me explain why.
My intention in building this second Star 45 is to make an experimental version that updates the design just a touch. The Star 45 has a very classic design, but it's also somewhat modern in the front sections and reminiscent of a modern offshore ocean racing yacht like a Volvo Ocean 65.
I really like the look of the modern Volvo Ocean yachts and other similar variations. My idea is to tweak the Star 45 to make it look somewhat similar. Not an exact knockoff mind you... I want to use the existing frames and make it easy on myself. But I'd really like to incorporate a few of the signature design elements of the ocean racers into my new Star. For example; a wide aft beam, open transom, etc...
Take a look at this image. Notice that the sides of the boat are at roughly the same incline for the entire hull. The Star frames do the same thing. Notice the gentle bottom curve. Same with the Star. With a bit of tweaking I think I can use the standard Star 45 frames to make a new, ocean racing Star 45x!
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| Click the picture to go to the original website where you can see more images of ocean racing yachts |
I intend to keep a slight aft curve to my deck plan instead of the 'arrow' style that the true ocean racers have so that my boat will still turn. I also will stick to a single rudder. It will be deep enough to turn the boat while healing.
So tonight I've been playing around with frame placement and think that I've got an idea that would make it all come together. I've placed frames 1 through 6 in the normal spots. But then I skipped a slot and place frame 7 in slot 8, and then skipped another slot and placed frame 8 in slot 10. What this looks like is that the aft transom will be quite a bit wider than the normal Star 45 but will still carry the smooth curves of the bottom and sides.
I'm going to sleep on this for a few days and try to think of why it should and should not work. Of course I'll need to make commensurate adjustments to keel placement and will probably carry the rudder much further aft than normal. In fact, the entire rig will probably have to come aft but that should look OK too.
So... anyone have any thoughts? Please let me know!
Yes, of course this Star 45x will not be class legal. I know that and don't intend to race it against any other Star's as the closet one I know of is 700 miles away in San Francisco.
Anyway, what do you think? I'd love to hear from some of you about what else I should be thinking about in order to pull this off!
Peace!
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