~ ~ ~ S P L A S H ~ ~ ~ Another OB17 launched.

To help other builders, please list the boat you are building in the Thread Subject -- and to conserve space, please limit your posting to one thread per boat.

Please feel free to use the gallery to display multiple images of your progress.
User avatar
Lucky_Louis
Very Active Poster
Very Active Poster
Posts: 1081
Joined: Wed Jun 25, 2003 1:00 am
Location: West Coast, CANADA

~ ~ ~ S P L A S H ~ ~ ~ Another OB17 launched.

Post by Lucky_Louis »

Edited: Here's a link the main build thread

Hi All, yes it floats. "Odyssey' hit the waters of Powell Lake around 16:00 PST, Saturday June 16, 2007. The day dawned to steady rain, gusty winds while I frantically tried to finish all the little last minute details. The paint on the sole was still so fresh, I had to use upside down carpet to walk without damaging it. The epoxy to hold the seat pivots was less than 8 hours old when the stern hit the water :D Then within an hour of our launch schedule, the sun poked out, almost an omen! The salt water looked a little wild for a 1st run so we decided on the lake instead.

Last minute checks before heading out. Still have to buy fenders :?

Image

The ramp was abandoned, no looky lou's which was OK.
Image

It's gonna float! 8)
Image

This is where the first chuckle happened. SWMBO clutched the bottle of bubbly, spoke all the right words, and swung and hit.. and swung and hit.. and swung.. well you get the drift. Some muttered words about pre-scoring bottles, a manually extracted cork, some spraying of Champagne and the great push off. She sits within an inch of her lines. Good one Jacques!
Image

It's right about here that I realize my faux pas - I had installed the steering backwards! A right turn on the wheel produced a left turn and vice versa. D'oh :oops: :oops: The Teleflex NFB system allows the cable to be threaded and secured two ways. My bad but I was determined so I carefully proceeded.
Image

First impressions? Very stable but light feeling. Acceleration is instant, literally she planed in 1 boat length. Very flat attitudes. Tracks like on rails yet eager to turn. Not all sensitive to trim inputs. Very dry ride.
Image

Just coming off plane.
Image

These are the first batch of photos, the SPLASH album here
Last edited by Lucky_Louis on Tue Aug 25, 2009 2:55 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Image OB17 Splashed June 2007

WobblyLegs
* Bateau Builder *
* Bateau Builder *
Posts: 1065
Joined: Tue Feb 22, 2005 1:56 pm
Location: Walker Bay, South Africa

Post by WobblyLegs »

Louis,

I was starting to get worried...

Well done - you must be as pleased as the pig in the wotsit!

This other pic of yours makes it look huge!

Image

8) 8)

Again, a smart job and a very good looking boat.

Have fun with it.

Tim.

Jerry-rigged
Very Active Poster
Very Active Poster
Posts: 634
Joined: Tue Oct 04, 2005 3:22 pm
Location: Hopefully fishing Christmas Bay

Post by Jerry-rigged »

Great Job!

Looks like she really scoots:
Image

Congradulations on the launch!

Jerry
Fishing from a paddle boat...

User avatar
msujmccorm
* Bateau Builder *
* Bateau Builder *
Posts: 563
Joined: Mon Mar 13, 2006 3:34 pm
Location: Gulfport, MS

Post by msujmccorm »

Louis,
All I can say is awesome boat and awesome countryside.
Jeff
fl14 done, can't decide what's next!

MadRus
Very Active Poster
Very Active Poster
Posts: 1718
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 7:00 pm

Post by MadRus »

Congratulations! Beautiful boat, and it looks like you had a nice day afterall. Thanks for the pics, they're inspirational. Those are the clearest set of pics I've seen yet of an OB17. Love the paint job on Odyssey too.

Boomer
* Bateau Builder *
* Bateau Builder *
Posts: 2024
Joined: Sat Feb 15, 2003 1:00 am
Location: South of Tn., North of Fl.

Post by Boomer »

Beautiful boat--fantastic finish.
A right turn on the wheel produced a left turn and vice versa.
That's the traditional way-- so you're an old salt at heart.

Daniel Huckleberry
Very Active Poster
Very Active Poster
Posts: 862
Joined: Mon Jun 19, 2006 12:40 pm
Location: Fairhope, Alabama

Post by Daniel Huckleberry »

Congratulations, as well! I have been wanting to look all day but my internet was down. These were the pics I was hoping to find!

A beautiful job well done. Be proud you deserve it.

Huck

User avatar
Lucky_Louis
Very Active Poster
Very Active Poster
Posts: 1081
Joined: Wed Jun 25, 2003 1:00 am
Location: West Coast, CANADA

Post by Lucky_Louis »

Thanks for all the kind words guys. It's kinda nice to have my own 'splash' thread instead of congratulating all the other great project launches out there.

Here's a few early figures:

Four adults (800 lbs give or take), 18 gallons of fuel. 20P x 13½" SS prop.

Planes easy at 14mph.
4200 rpm 32mph 3.2 gph
4800 rpm 38mph 5.1 gph
3600 rpm gives nice 25mph cruise and 2.8 gph

WOT by myself, I hit 44 mph in a light chop at 5200 rpm and rock solid, no twitching or chine walking.

All the numbers are pretty loosey goosey so far, tough to drive and get readings so I'll pick a calm day and do a real definitive test with SWMBO or another buddy at the helm.

I can say that all the initial fiddling to get the panels right and the careful fairing payed off in spades - no sign of porpoising, no pull left or right, wake is the flattest I've ever seen on a 'v' hull 17' boat and she just jumps onto plane. My son did a lot of video which he wants to edit first so I'll post a link to that as soon I get it.
Image OB17 Splashed June 2007

Daddy
* Bateau Builder - Expert *
* Bateau Builder - Expert *
Posts: 2779
Joined: Thu Nov 18, 2004 9:49 pm
Location: Lake Champlain, Vermont

Post by Daddy »

Great anti-theft device, that steering system.
Daddy

User avatar
Knottybuoyz
Very Active Poster
Very Active Poster
Posts: 2556
Joined: Sun Sep 03, 2006 8:09 pm
Location: Iroquois, ON Canada

Post by Knottybuoyz »

Congrats Louis! Just in time too! I hope you have plenty of adventures to tell us about. Cheers!

Rick.

PS. For the christening, score the bottle with a glass cutter first. Then put it in one of those plastic mesh bags. Saves the embarrassment of the bottle not breaking and broken glass on the bottom at the boat dock! It's also acceptible to do as you did, just uncork the bottle and pour! ;-)
Yours Aye! Rick
"It's not the boat "you built" until you've sworn at it, bled on it, sweated over it, cried beside it and then threatened to haul the POS outside and burn it!"

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Bing [Bot] and 0 guests