Finn Plans

[Longbow]

I was wondering if anybody knew of a source for plans for building a wooden Finn. I looked for a glass one on and off for a few months and they seem to be really rare at least in the U.S. I've heard that they can be a handful to sail, but were a lot of fun for larger sailors. If anybody on the forum has built one, I'd love to hear about it.

[DGentry]

Try Bamamick, here on the forum, for leads on Finns. Also, you might try the class association.

Personally, I'd call a Finn hard work and uncomfortable, and ducking under the low boom to be knee distressing. The fire hose in the face bit isn't much fun, either. But, I have limited time in Finns, and I'm definitely the wrong size for one, so my opinion is suspect.

There's good racing to be had, and lots of technical variables to play with, though.

Good luck!
Dave

[bamamick]

Very good racing to be had. Fun to sail if you like the physical aspects of sailing.
Wooden plans? Try the IFA at their web site. No one has built a woodie since the Eastern Bloc countries stopped in the 60's and 70's, but the topic came up not too long ago as a young Finn sailor named Josh Revkin was interested in a strip-built boat. There was a lot of encouragement, but nothing in the way of useful information.

Go to the North America Finn site (www.nafinnclass.org) and look around. Join the yahoo group, and ask the question there. I'd be surprised if anyone could help you to be honest, but someone, somewhere MUST have an idea about plans.

If you decide to build one let us know. I would be very interested in the boat that you built. I would LOVE to see a boat built like the Swift Solo, with carbon fibre struts, a modern rig, and all the bells and whistles.

Mickey Lake
Finn USA871 'one white duck'

[ChrisBen]

Find yourself a copy of "Dinghy Building" by Richard Creagh-Osborne. In it you'll find the lines and table of offsets for the International Finn Class racing dinghy as well as many construction details.

[rbgarr]

An open Finn hull with a split rig could be an interesting possibility. Sort of like a modern Coquina.

I know... I've blasphemed.

[tprice]

The original Finn design came from a sailing canoe with it's hull shortened, adding a transom. Richard Sarby in '49
TP

[Longbow]

I was looking around on the internet and found out about the International Phantom, which seems to be very similar to a Finn. The website site shows a homebuilt boat that looks pretty straightforward. I joined the Yahoo group and asked about getting plans, hopefully I'll hear something back. I've added the link below if anyone is interested.

http://www.phantomsailing.clara.net/homebuilt_woodboat.html

[Hwyl]

You could always build a Solo (Jack Holt design)

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss226/John_Meachen/S4201778.jpg

[P.I. Stazzer-Newt]

I was looking around on the internet and found out about the International Phantom, which seems to be very similar to a Finn......

The usual reason to own a Finn, Phantom, Solo or whatever - is "To Go Racing" - for which you need other people to race.

Are there fleets of any of these craft nearby - and if not, what class are the locals your size racing?

[bamamick]

That vang (kicking strap) is very interesting on the Solo. What are the dimensions for that class, Gareth? Looks small to me.

Mr. Newt, you are correct. Racing in a fleet is the best, unless your club has an active Portsmouth fleet, which is also quite fun if you are in the right frame of mind. There are no active 'fleets' of any of these classes in North Carolina. There is talk of a Finn fleet on the Chesapeake in Maryland, but that's still on the horizon. The bottom line with the North America Finn fleet is that they/we (I wish that I could honestly count myself in their number, but I haven't spent the time as of yet) travel about like a band of gypsies. You will see most of the same guys ar races from Miami to San Francisco to Toronto.

I do the 'isolated member' thing with the Dragon, and it is not nearly as much fun as it is having six or seven buddies to practice with, but it is easy to travel with a Finn, the guys are pretty easy to talk to and learn from, and the 'mystique', if you will, of sailing in a class that so many absolute greats have sailed and won in, makes the overall experience pretty damn rewarding. Besides that, it's a 'real' boat. It's not a board you are sitting on. That makes a difference. The low boom doesn't bother me much because I have sailed Stars for 30 years, and the Star boom is just as tough to get under. All in all the Finn is the right boat for me right now.

Longbow, if you ever want to give it a try, let me know. We can probably arrange a sail for you (about 100% sure that we can arrange it for you).

Mickey Lake

[P.I. Stazzer-Newt]

That vang (kicking strap) is very interesting on the Solo. What are the dimensions for that class, Gareth? Looks small to me.
...

Mickey Lake

http://www.solosailing.org.uk/index.asp
http://www.solosailing.org.uk/boat/overview.asp

Typical sailor is between 140 and 170 lbs.

[bamamick]

That's an even smaller size range that what you'd find on the OK, typically.

I think that an OK dinghy would be pretty neat, for someone a wee bit smaller than I am.

At one time there was a Phantom class in California, but I don't know if it is the same boat. There was another one of those 'sort-of' Sunfish named a Phantom, iirc.

Mickey Lake

[Longbow]

Thanks for all the replies. I sailed 420s and Lazers in college and would like to build a fast dinghy for my own use when I'm not out with my family. I'm currently getting everything in line to build a Bay Skiff 15 for use with the kids, but eventually I'd like something a little more exciting for myself. I looked at the Megabyte a few years ago and liked it, but I thought I might be a little large for it. I'm 6'1'' 220 lbs. So I thought that a Finn might be neat. They seem to be as rare as Hen's teeth though. I liked the look of the Int'l Phantom and it looks like an easy build on the webpage, but there doesn't seem to be much information available about how to get the plans. I like to race and there is a good club in NC that let's you race whatever you have with a handicap, but I also just like sailing a fast boat even if I'm the only one on the water! What I'd love is a fast 1 or 2 person boat with an unstayed mast that I could rig quickly and sail without a trapeze and that could be built easily at home out of wood. So if anybody has any suggestions I'd love to hear them. I hope to start a thread on the Bay Skiff build soon, hopefully I'll make some progress on it this weekend.

[Hwyl]

Our own Michael Storer's "Goat Island Skiff" might fit your bill.

http://www.storerboatplans.com/GIS/Goat%20Island%20Skiff%20Sailing%20pretty%20pic.jpg

http://www.storerboatplans.com/GIS/GISplan.html

[bamamick]

At 6'1" and 220 you are the perfect fit for a Megabyte.....except it's not wood (I've also got a Megabyte).

Build two Penguins. Build the first one as a practice boat and then give it to me for being so nice in offering advice, then build the second one as your own, mistake-free model. :)

Honestly, there are few perfromance sailing/racing boats for the home builder who wants to singlehand these days. We've got some pretty cool folks who are in the business who can offer advice. Hopefully they will see this thread and offer some input.

You know, you could build an IC.

Mickey Lake

[John Meachen]

A wooden Phantom is entirely possible as they were originally designed to be built that way.The website gives a few hints http://www.phantomsailing.clara.net/ and as you will see there an amount of friendly rivalry and badinage exists between Finn sailors and Phantom enthusiasts.

[rbgarr]

These guys are having fun in their Finns (video): http://www.finnsm2009.se/index.php?id=movies.php

Lines and half models: http://www.halfmodellen.nl/Engels-Finn.htm

[DGentry]

Well now, if you're looking for an easy to build, high performance solo dinghy, sans trapeze, you might consider a sailing canoe. Not an IC, although those are buildable (but not easily or cheaply), but something more along the lines of this:
http://sailingcanoes.dragonflycanoe.com/upl_man_531.jpg
Yes, that's a sliding seat.
Check it out here: http://sailingcanoes.dragonflycanoe.com/16_30/index.html

Or, perhaps, Michael Storer's Beth:

http://www.storerboatplans.com/Beth/Beth8.jpg

No sliding seat, just abs and quads!
http://www.storerboatplans.com/Beth/beth.html

I suspect, even at your size, that either of these would give you as much of a thrill ride as you like, depending on the wind, of course.

There seems to be a fledgling fleet of the 16/30's (again), too, so you might even be able to get in some one design racing . . . one day.

Good luck!
Dave

[bamamick]

The more I think about it the more that strip-built Finn sounds like a boat I would do some damage for. Sooner or later someone is going to build one, since it seems to be something that is coming up in conversation more and more often.

Mickey Lake

[johnw]

Or you could try this.


http://swiftsolo.com/images/811_100_1301.JPG

http://swiftsolo.com/regattareports/utahsummergames.html

[bamamick]

Coolest boat ever, but I think that one of the requirements was a 'hiking' dinghy.

Mickey Lake

[Longbow]

I really like the Goat Island Skiff, but I thought that it would be a little too powerful when I am out with my kids (2 and 7) and wasn't really a single hander. I've been following some of the build threads and I'd be really interested in building one in a few years when my girls are older, if there's any chance they'd be willing to go sailing with their dad. The swift solo is an awesome boat, but it may be a little too high performance for me. I have to say the sailing canoes have always really interested me. I've done a lot of regular canoeing in flat and whitewater, but I've never tried to sail one! Looks like it would almost be like windsurfing from a seated position. As I mentioned, I sailed 420s in college and really liked them, and I've seen wooden ones in the past, but it seems like it would be a difficult build to get the side tanks and the curvature right.

[Boatmik]

In a way the Finn is an impractical boat except for racing - big boat to handle on shore by yourself, but at the same time there have been a number restored and used for recreational sailing. Not to mention a racing scene for restored older boats in a number of different countries.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3068/2799830880_ae977ba310.jpg

The hotshot ones would provide some nice hand me down type sails and bits for the antique ones too.

I put some links up on the photo page for the boat above
http://www.flickr.com/photos/boatmik/2799830880/in/set-72157606960134538/
it is owned and was restored by Australian boatbuilder and designer Ross Lillistone.

Best wishes
Michael Storer

[rbgarr]

Thanks for that link to the history of the Finn class. It's wonderful reading, especially about the Swedish yachting community's background in sailing canoes. The part about Rickard Sarby designing and building the first Finn with one hand (after a machine accident took off a couple of his fingers!) is impressive.
http://www.classefinn.it/finnatics/eng/history1.html

http://i43.tinypic.com/2ptzedz.jpg



Way off topic: It almost looks like this guy was going for the look of a Finn for this electric launch, but it's not quite the same length, sheer and run. Pretty close though! :D

http://i44.tinypic.com/hsnat5.jpg

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

The Phantom is considered by some people to be somewhat fragile. I don't know why.

Here is a nice wooden singlehander which is fun to sail:

http://i535.photobucket.com/albums/ee352/acraigbennett/DSCF0917.jpg?t=1239613870

[frank pedersen]

The Firefly was the 1948 Olympic single-hand class before the Finn was designed. Paul Elvstrom took his first gold medal in one at a young age (maybe 18 or so.)

[Hwyl]

The Phantom is considered by some people to be somewhat fragile. I don't know why.

Here is a nice wooden singlehander which is fun to sail:

http://i535.photobucket.com/albums/ee352/acraigbennett/DSCF0917.jpg?t=1239613870

You have mentioned that he needs to sit further forward, I can't quite see, but if he is holding the tiller and not the extension; severe words are called for.

[frank pedersen]

That Swiftsolo does look interesting. The port hiking stick seems to be dragging in the water and the mast appears to be padded - perhaps if you miss your footing on the gunwale.

[rbgarr]

The 'padding' may be an added-on sleeve to increase sail area, sort of like you see in the 49er? Or maybe that's not the purpose....

http://i39.tinypic.com/2dkmjxc.jpg

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

You have mentioned that he needs to sit further forward, I can't quite see, but if he is holding the tiller and not the extension; severe words are called for.

He's holding the extension. It was a light day as you can see - if he brought the bow down a couple of inches he would lose wetted area aft.

That boat by the way has the "higher" boom now permitted under the class rules.