new hulls

[Nautic12]

what sort of interest is the forth comming New Molds recieving in and around the USA ?Do builders anticipate a rush of orders or is it more a wait and see reaction.Will the olde type plugs/molds be
destroyed or enter a class museum ?And as a matter of interest what
is the fate of test hulls ?[?][?]

[Larry Ludwig]

Speaking for myself...I am backed up, quite a bit with construction (concrete) as well as orders. There is no significant difference between the new and old molds. The only difference will make the construction of the rudder easier because it will be symetrical... i.e. the taper has been removed and it was very slight.

Test hulls do their thing and then they are destroyed. I usually run them through the bandsaw.[xx(]

visit us at www.LudwigRCYachts.com

[Gene Rosson]

Larry;
Please expand your explanation a bit. Taper has been removed from which element of the boat? Rudder, sternpost, keel section at sternpost, or ?

Am I to take this to mean that the current hull is essentially the same as the pre 95 hulls ? I get varying answers from the guys at the pond. I am told that my boat was built in 1998 but it is from the old mold. Something about the new mold not having been approved at the time. I like the boat well enough just as it is but Just for giggles I'd like to know more about it. What I'm trying to figure out is: if it will be one of those boats that tacks five seconds before the header arrives on the new tack. [:D]

Thanks

[Larry Ludwig]

If you view your boat from astern, and observe the profile of rudder/rudder cavity you will see that there is a slight increase in the chord of the rudder as you move from top to bottom (vertically)

This has been faired evenly so that the rudder's leading edge (which is inside the rudder cavity of the keel) no longer has this very slight change. Now the rudder's leading edge will be symetrical from top to bottom. This will make it easier for rudders to be fitted to the hull, which means it will be easier for guys to assemble their own boats without having the hassle of trying to match the rudder to the boat.

Sorry.... no windshift radar here. That costs extra. For a nominal fee we will install a rabbits foot, 4 leaf clover, or lucky penny under the mast step.

As to old and new molds... if your boat was built in '98 then you should be under the '95 standard which is the same as all the boats built from that time to present. Pre `95 some of the older hulls tended to be more narrow in the keel which caused two different things to happen. The boats were more tender because they were not able to get as much lead as deep, but they were also able to be ballasted out lighter at the same waterline which made them better light air, but at a disadvantage in anything else.

The problems being caused by different mfg's making their own molds and subsequent hulls has been ended by the new standard. Don't lose sight of the fact that the differences were all very slight, and the proof would be that there was never a demand for one particular hull over another based on obvious performance issues.

Is there a difference in the new mold? No, it is just that instead of different guys making their own molds, we will all now use the same plug to make all the molds used from now on, and they will be made in the same way from the same one shop so that they are as close as they can be made. You the owner will still have the chance to decide on your own rudder type, deck type, and method of ballast, as well as sails and method of rig (within the framework of the class rules) Then when you get all that you have to make it go.

Remember, you can tune a boat, but you can't tuna fish.
[:o)]

visit us at www.LudwigRCYachts.com

[Gene Rosson]

Larry:
Definitive answer. That clears the air quite nicely.

I have noticed that the rudder is larger at the bottom leading edge than at the top. I took the ballast out of my boat (not an easy undertaking) and only then observed that the ballast as well as the keel is slightly bulbous. Bigger at the bottom than at the top by some one eighth inch in width. Perhaps the rudder has been shaped to account for that detail. Fairing battens will tell.

Thanks much for your valuable feedback.

Gene

[greerdr]

Great discourse.I am so happy we are this tack vs. pre-95,95 std and new molds as anything but a STANDARD new hull.As has been said so many times on this forum..one missed tack is so much more important than any micro-knot difference in hull shape.I anxiously await Capt. Ludwigs latest offering to a great sailor on our pond here in Palm Bch Gardens.

R.C.Greer