For the sailors who dream to build own boat and race the Minitransat (but are not convident enough to build in Carbon, or lacks the money) I present the MINI CP... By Francois Lucas. 
Francois Lucas has designed the MiniCP for amateur builders and now the first one is under construction by a Frenchman, Loeïz Rio. Here are the first pictures, I hope to recieve more during building.
Lucas proposes a very complete set of plans with CNC files for cutting of ALL the plywood parts of the boat, including little reinforcement pieces and including building frames. It's not boatbuilding, it's puzzle assembly!
Francois description of his design:
The Mini CP is simple:
- Fixed keel for weight, construction time and money saving.
- No daggerboards because its heavy, expensive and long to built.
To keep good performances, the water-ballast option was choosen: thanks to the optimized location, they don't have effect on large angles test. On the other hand, they give all the power upwind and at reaching.
Hull design optimized with his experience (Mini transat 2001) and the actual developments of minis: as for Mini
99, the focus has been pointed on power (wide hull, very stiff), with strictly symetric heeled waterlines (excellent "course stability").
- Very straight waterline for better acceleration.
- Stem shape improved for good motion in rough seas.
- And the ultimate improvement: easy to do with plywood construction, a lifting strake in the hull, like on motorboats: water deflexion, thin bow waterlines in the lower part (upwind), volume in the upper part (downwind).
Advantages of MiniCP:
Imagine you have a production mini, easy to handle, with:
- 150 kg less, maybe more
- 2m draft
- 2 x 200l of water-ballast
- 5 m2 sails area more upwind and 10/15 m2 downwind
With thoses figures, I say that MiniCP is faster than production boats. As you can see, you find actually always
a production boat in the 10th first at every race. Conclusion: with MiniCP you KNOW you can finish in the top ten. So why spend 150000 € in a top-carbon machine for that?
MiniCP with carbon rig cost exactly the same prize as a production boat for an amateur builder. Ok you have 800 hours of work, but this requires careful thought.
I deliver the building plans (in french - with translation index - and
decimal units) and CNC files.
CNC machining can be made here in France in a firm I know, or as well in
your country with the CNC files.
François LUCAS
Architecture Navale
32 rue Kervégan 44000 Nantes
tel: 02 40 08 06 43
fax: 02 40 08 07 93
Site: http://www.fr-lucas.com
Mail: fr.lucas@free.fr
PS, Francois Lucas, he knows a lot about minis, as he is for years on the Classe Mini comittee for
design, so he sees minis a lot, he designed a couple, he raced the Minitransat twice i believe, designed a Class 40. Just not well know outside France (yet). For Dutch builders, i have CNC contacts available . |
