17/03/2025
Well, here we are again. We’re back after taking an extended break overthinking summer. Well a break from making boats and spending time rebuilding uber printer 😎.
We are all eagerly awaiting the release of the V4 Alioth so orders have been a little thin for the last couple of months 😉. We’ll be ready to go with upgrades when the time comes. The really good news is that Keel/Rudder/Rig/Electronics are all going to transfer over from the V3 so upgrade costs and shift to new hull will be fairly manageable!
The change to the update schema for the Alioth is significantly lighter weight than a glass boat and IMHO is returning us to the build it at home and go have fun model 😀.
I have made some new parts i will be including in kits going forward that replace the need for M3.5 eye bolts. So a little saving in $ but mostly it will mean 6 less holes to drill in the hull! I’ve been testing these for the last several months in some Solid B / C breezes and some ugly sea states (Thanks to the east coast lows) successfully. I need to make a couple of adjustments to the designs based on the testing, but overall they’ve been very successful.
And here’s another shout out to the ease of replacement of 3DP hulls. Last week at my local club I unfortunately was on the receiving end of a Port/Stbd bingle at the far away top mark. 🤷♂️ accidents happen and it was a full on T Bone at speed which did crack S3, filled me up with water and ended my day early. Sad, but I have a replacement hull ready to go and will be check measured and have me back sailing in a week.
Are 3DP IOMs mor fragile than glass? Debatable. Can they be repaired by replacement quickly and at a low cost. Yep 😉.
Print it, put it together and take it out and play with it!
