Ajax Discussion document 22.12.2004

The Ajax mould has been moved from John Selby’s works to a barn in Tattingstone. This means that it is now possible to inspect and work on the mould. The East Coast committee has visited the barn with David Kerridge. The mould is in generally poor condition. It has a quantity of dirt and rubbish in it. The frames that hold it in position have been removed and it has probably moved out of line and or warped.

Previous discussions with John Selby suggest that a professional boat builder would need to make approx 6 boats at one time to justify the large amount of work which would need to be done to the mould.

Discussions with Guy Wallhead, who is a boat builder and repairer, suggest that he would be tempted to make a new mould from an existing boat rather than spending a huge amount of time on the old mould.

My guess (after discussions) is that a new boat made by a professional builder would probably cost approx £20000-£23000 to get on the water. This assumes an order of 4 or more boats.

If an individual made a boat for himself from the old mould in his own time, it would obviously be much cheaper. (i.e. Not counting his own labour)

I personally feel that the demand for a new Ajax costing £20000-£23000 would be very small and it is unlikely that any will be built. (Competition from other bigger classes. eg ? RS Elite. ?? £19000)

If individuals are allowed to make their own boats, then there is a much greater likelihood of new boats being built, but the fleet will then have the problem a series of “one offs”. By this, I mean that each boat will be likely to be built quite differently, as the “lay-up” is not clearly defined in the Rules. Would we require an independent assessor to supervise the build at regular intervals?

The class rules state (4.3) “Boats shall be built and completed only by builders licensed to do so by the association……….”

The old keel “mould” has been lost and a new one was constructed when Narcissus was built in 1987. Unfortunately this keel looks quite different from the others. A new pattern will need to be made. David Kerridge has kindly offered to make drawings for a new pattern.

The class has never weighed a series of keels to get a feel for the variations in weight. In my view, it is likely that the large variations (873 Kilo – 920 K) in weight between the boats are likely to have been caused by the weights of the keels rather than the hulls. We intend to weigh a few keels soon.

I feel that the class need to answer some questions: -

1. Do we want new boats built or "stagnate" with what we have?

2. Do we allow people to build and race their own boat?

3. Or do we insist on a professional builder to increase the chance of similarity between any new boats and continuity for the future?

4. If we are going to allow new hulls, how do we ensure that the old hulls are not outclassed?

I would like the members to ponder on these questions and then to answer specific questions at the AGM in June at RHYC (and by proxy vote)

John Williams (Chairman for the committee)