Sure. The discussions I had with Chris were via phone and the info is mostly all in this thread.
A couple points I may have missed are that he is in Florida now and, and if someone bought the boat and get it to him, he is willing to do the work to fix the boat and build a new mast for the estimated amounts listed above and return her paint ready. The numbers I listed ($6500 for cedar/carbon mast, $8k-10K in hull work) are direct from Chris based on discussions over the phone regarding her condition. He hadn't seen pics at that time and did not seem to be aware that she was for sale.
As mentioned, you'd need a trailer on top of that as well as new sails, running rigging, paint, fit out, etc.
I guess the hull work would be mostly manhours and to a lesser extend materials, so if you know how to do it yourself I would guess one could bring that down significantly.
Going for a full carbon mast (SELDEN?) then again would add to the cost. And considering she is overweight, it makes me wonder if that would
One thing that I didn't understand very well is why he used a carbon-covered cedar mast, and a full one at that. Red cedar is good at taking compression when building the mast, but it is heavy!
Something one hardly ever wants and definately for a racing tub like a mini 650.
I never build a mast myself, but I have been wondering if one couldn't just use an aluminium mast as mandril?
We also talked awhile regarding some of the cool nuances of the boat...the roller on the transom is a fairlead for an anchor, the cockpit locker is designed to perfectly hold a honda suitcase generator, etc etc. He said were he to do it again, he would build the carbon/cedar spar hollow this time to allow for internal halyards and go to one set of spreaders as opposed to 2.
Glad to see Chris and I agree on that mast, both on the weight issue as well as keeping your deck tidy: run as much as possible up that mast internally: halyards, electrical wires (top light, windex, antenna's...)
He said that the boat was built during his time in Canada and that she was designed to do a specific race that runs between Greenland and Iceland...I googled but can't find the name now, but that's why she has high freeboard, etc...the design was for high latitude sailing. He didn't make it to that race before moving on to bigger boats, but he did set a speed record for circumnavigating Newfoundland. He ultimately sold the boat to one of the crew from the J-class yachts.
She wouldn't serve well with that extra weight in the lower lattitudes (like a transat), but she might be interesting around here for something like the "Fastnet"-race.
It can be choppy, and it is not all downwind like the transat.
Regarding the construction. she is tortured okoume ply throughout the hull and deck, with the exception being mahogany in the cockpit, carbon inner and outer skins. The keel is a 1.5" high carbon steel rod and he highly recommended AGAINST removing it in any way...the keel is integral and gridwork is extensive. He said any repairs he would recommend doing in place provided that the steel is still usable after the damage. The keel is a specific foil profile and must remain as such in order for the boat to be fast...I have it written down somewhere.
That keel might have been an issue for transport. She would fit a lot better in a 40' sea container without her keel that with it.
Does that mean that a canting keel would be out of the question or would that work provided that she adheres to (mostly) the same profile.
All in all, my discussions with Chris were very amenable and I believe that whoever takes on the project can count him an ally. The broker had asked that I tell him any information that I may find out regarding the boat so I emailed him all of this and he should therefor be aware,. In full disclosure, I also made an offer on the boat but have as of yet not heard back from them. Unless they moved her, she is inaccessible until the spring as they fill their yard with boats for winter storage. I am happy to facilitate on this end if you are interested.
Where are you located? What was the budget for your friend's new build? You mentioned not being able to reach Chris...where are you trying to reach him? Also you mentioned that mini association never officially measured her; I did check with the North American mini class and they said that she was a properly licensed mini.
I tried to connect with Chris on LinkedIn, but no luck yet. What I would have needed the most are any plans/documentation he had of her. Also any documentation/pictures of her being build would have been interesting as well as homebuild boats older than 5 years are exempt of the CE certification as defined in the EU Recreational craft directive (2013/53/EU) but one has to document her being homebuild.
If not she would need to be post-build assessed, cost: roughly $2000.
As for Jay's Mini, I would have to ask him. But I would imagine being limited.
He is a shipwright that works on boats that participate in the Vendee Globe and the Route Du Rhum and the like. And the plans he got for free from VPLP Design (google them if you don't know them), at they are using the boat to test certain new features. So it would pretty much come down to the cost of the materials.
And I'm from Belgium, so shipping cost would be high. Probably more than the boat is worth at this moment. She would need a cradle and be put in a 40' sea container, and loaded either in Newport RI or Baltimore MD.
If you feel up to the task to 'rescue' her, by all means ... Nevertheless the offer to facilitate things on your end was quite nice, especially considering you also made a bid on her.
Sincerely,
Jurgen
