UPDATE 5/20/2002



THE REYNOLDS 33 IS SAILING!!!



Since our last update of 4/24/2002 I am very happy to announce the official launching of boat #1 with sails and rig! After only 10 months from conception of the R33 Cat in July 2001 launch day was this last weekend on 5/18/2002 in Huntington Harbor and her performance and handling exceeded expectations.



After a small pre-launch ceremony with friends and family we launched the R33 at 1:30 pm and powered her to the dock. Although the speed limit was only 5 mph in the harbor we couldn?t resist finding out how fast she would go with our new 15 horsepower Johnson. She touched 10 knots flat out in smooth water.



After getting to the dock we finished assembling her running rigging and attached her carbon fiber sails to the boom and headstay. We shoved off under power and hoisted the sails. We cut the engine and in light shifty winds of 6 to 14 knots we accelerated to 7 to 8 knots and hit 13.8 knots with main and jib. With Main only we were regularly hitting 10.3 knots. The boat tacked on a dime with or without jib. To say the least I was very please with her first days performance. The R33 performed very well considering the rig and sails were not tuned to their potential.



WHAT?S NEXT???



During the next three weeks of sea trials we will push the boat hard to try to find any weaknesses in her construction. Watch for more frequent updates and sailing photos as we take additional video footage and photos of the R33 in a variety of wind and sea conditions.



If all goes as anticipated we will initiate our plans to start the construction of the first five set of R33 hulls in the next three weeks. To assure hull strength in boat numbers 2, 3, 4 and 5, the hulls, decks and bunks will be stocked unassembled. This will allow us the ability to reinforce the hulls if boat number one shows any weaknesses during sea trials. We do not anticipate any structural problems as we have constructed the boat to be strong instead of light. We could save more weight from the hulls if we were constructing a full-on race boat. But that was not our intent to build a full-on race boat. The R33 will be fast but more importantly she will be strong.





For more information goto: http://reynoldssailing.com