Like all projects, the build of IC USA-244 “Mayhem” began innocently enough. I have been sailing IC’s for sixteen years, and it had been 10 years since I had built USA-201. I had never been a big fan of racing boat for boat against Lust Puppet (a National Canoe that has been terrorizing the Chesapeake since the late 1980’s) as she was built to a different rule but the idea of racing boat for boat against other IC’s designed to the same rule, that is a new ball game, and I wanted to play!. I had always been interested in designing boats so the proposed new IC rule was irresistible. To promote the new rule, and with luck see the new rule adopted as the IC Class Rule, I decided to design & build a boat to the proposed rule, and to bring it to McCrae for the 2008 World Championships. .
In December of 2006, the construction started with the seat. Steve Clark (USA) has always been generous with his seat mould, but the need to build & replace several seats for himself and the other members of the “Farm Team” in the spring meant that the seat mould would only be available in December. My garage, aka “The Little Shop of Horrors” can not be used between November 1 and April 1st for boat building as I need to park my car in the garage during the winter months, and it is just too %^&%*&^cold, Steve invited me down to the “Lab of Luxury” in Warren RI. Two Saturdays produced the top & bottom panels that I brought home before XMas.
I set the seat aside until the thaw in April after returning from Sarasota & the Midwinters. The hull was designed with Hull Form Software by Blue Peter Marine Out of necessity (a lack of room for anything else once I started the construction of the hull mould), I started the construction with all of the sub assemblies first. Seat, seat carriage, & blades all being substantially complete before the construction of the hull began. The basic parameters of the hull had been established during the winter months of early 2007
The original schedule was as follows:
April Complete the seat
May Seat Carriage
June Blades
July Build Hull Plug
August Build Hull
September Rig Mast & Hull
October Sail as much as possible before shipping
Emergency surgery to remove my appendix laid waist the month of July, so the shop name “Dire Straights” seemed appropriate. No one was taking bets that this project would be finished before the container was packed for OZ but I succeeded (with two days to spare) and what follows are photos & captions that illustrate most of the key steps along the way. To date this boat has won the National Championship in both 2008 & 2009.
