More on Design 1557 Spirit Class

As a follow up to my posting of earlier today regarding design 1557-C3, here is Orpheus, hull number five of the series.  She was built of wood by American Marine of Hong Kong.  Her cabin trunk is specific to this hull. I think the house is very nicely proportioned.  There is 6-1" headroom under the deckhouse. Image courtesy of Jeff Sanders and Wooden Boat magazine.

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Star Olympic Racing Class Revisited

The old wood Star Ive been working on intermittently for the last two years is finally done and up for sale. She comes with a very nice custom built trailer, so is ready to travel anywhere. If you or anyone you know has ever wish for a Star, now is the time. The price is shockingly low.

The boat comes with a complete suit of North Sails. She was built in 1962, of beautiful "old growth" spruce. The topsides are made up of two 12 inch planks each side!
No one builds boats like that anymore.

Please, serious inquiries only:
michelangelo89 (at) yahoo.com

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Radius Chine Plywood Class 950

The Didi 950 is our newest design and the plans are now nearing completion. They show a very modern boat that is designed to comply with the Class 950 Rules and which can be built by any reasonably competent amateur woodworker.

Sail plan of Didi 950

The Class 950 Rule produces a fast boat that is great for level boat-for-boat racing. The rule results in reasonable proportions and features, for a safe and strong boat with comfortable accommodation that is also good for a performance cruiser.

Class 950 accommodation

Construction is radius chine plywood with a hard chine aft in the topsides. This format produces a very modern hull that is built mostly from a very low-tech sheet material, yet looks as good as any moulded composite boat that can only be built with skills that most amateurs dont have. Most men are comfortable working with wood and this construction method allows them to use those skills to build a competitive boat.

3D Profile of Didi 950

The more that I look at this boat the more that I would like to be on it for offshore or ocean racing. This would be a great boat for sailing trans-Atlantic in the Cape to Rio Race or going across the Pacific in the Trans-Pac Race. Close-reaching to broad-reaching under asymmetrical and powered up by water ballast tanks, she will be a thrilling boat, reeling off the miles like few others in this size range can do.

3D View with contours to highlight hull shape.

Someone close by, please build one of these boats. I need to sail on this one.

For more info go to http://dixdesign.com/didi950.htm and visit our website at http://dixdesign.com/ to see our other designs.

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Design 77B J Class Racing Yacht Cheveyo

Graphics Courtesy Spirit Yachts, Ltd.

We are pleased to announce our collaboration with Spirit Yachts, Ltd. of Ipswich, England to build a new J-Class racing yacht. The boat will be named ‘Cheveyo’ (pronounced shu-Vay-o), a native American word meaning ‘spirit warrior’ and will carry sail number J1.

The yacht has been commissioned by a U.S. syndicate of investors and sailing enthusiasts. A driving force behind the project is the desire to experience the thrill and elegance of yesteryears yacht racing on a modern vessel steeped in the essence of tradition.

While the J-class Ranger design utilized lines 77C because it was found to have the best potential for racing in the sheltered waters off Newport, Rhode Island, Cheveyo will be built using the Ranger 77B hull design for the more exposed conditions of today’s classic regattas. If you recall in 1936 an original series of six hull designs was submitted by Starling Burgess and Sparkman & Stephens to Harold Vanderbilt for the 1937 America’s Cup defense. Each of the six Ranger designs was extensively tank tested by Burgess and S&S to select the optimum hull-form to defend the America’s Cup against the challenger Endeavour II, designed by Charles Nicholson. The ‘Super J’ Ranger was thus born, and went on to triumph decisively over Endeavour II in the 1937 series.

Cheveyo will marry the classic design of yachting’s golden era with modern build techniques of the 21st century. Spirit Yachts will use sophisticated wood/epoxy construction mated to laser cut stainless steel ring frames to create an exceptionally stiff yet lightweight hull.

On deck, this new ‘Super-J’ will remain true to the beauty and grace of the original design. The authentic low-profile deckhouse has been retained, resulting in a clean, unobstructed working deck. Complementing this will be high-modulus carbon spars, carbon rigging, state of the art sails and all the modern sophistication of a contemporary performance yacht that will allow her to be raced competitively against any modern yacht and, most importantly, in the spectacular growing J-Class fleet. Authenticity continues below deck with a beautiful 1930’s-inspired interior.

Here is a sail plan rendering and the general arrangement plan.

Principal Dimensions

LOA 139-0"
LWL 86-11"
Beam 21-0"
Draft 15-0"
Displacement 392,423 lbs
Sail Area 8,290 sq ft

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