Karl Stachel is no mug when it comes to competitive IOM racing and he also has some talent with boat building.
Nighthawk proved to be up with the pace when it finished 9th in a NZ Ranking regatta held recently at Gulf harbour
The IOM class was intended to result in boats “capable of being built by non-expert builders, either from a kit or from scratch, or inexpensively by a commercial builder, without being at a disadvantage in terms of performance when compared to yachts built using an unlimited amount of time and other resources.”
This Nighthawk design is the outcome of a long project to meet this goal.
The key to simple construction is to build the hull out of plywood panels. It is available here as a full kitset which includes all the laser-cut ply for the hull, deck and interior, plus all the other fittings which are permanently attached (eyebolts, mast-post etc).
The hull and foredeck are 1.2mm birch ply which has water-proof glue and a high-quality finish. All other parts are 1.8mm hoop pine.
A typical labour time is 20-30 hours, with the total time quite a bit longer waiting for epoxy to set.
You will need to buy some readily available materials like epoxy, varnish, sandpaper etc. To go sailing you will also need all the electrics, running and fixed rigging, appendages, rig & sails.
Appendages set
Note that there is also a ‘with appendages’ version which includes the fin and rudder + rudder arm and has the fincase and bulb already made to fit the fin, and the bulb at the right weight.
