The New F-22 Sport Tri - Almost Here!
The first F-22 Main hull is nearing completion
while the first floats are ready and waiting!
The F-22 production boat still remains mostly in a development mode, but the end of the tunnel is getting near. As has been frequently stated, there was never a set time for availability, and the F-22 was going to take a while to do properly, as was also the case with the 'Hall of Fame' F-27 (which took 7 years). It would have been easy enough to rush just another 'it will do' boat onto the market, but that has never been what the F-22 is about. It was always intended to be another market leader, with many new innovations, and setting deadlines can too often lead to short cuts and/or boats with problems.
F-22 Kits (boat in a box)
F-22 beams, beam mounts and folding system are available now, as is the F-22 rudder system, while main and float hulls will become available soon. All items currently available at this time are listed on the Online Store.
Production Boat
Actual availability of the finished full production boat continues to be difficult to estimate, but we are working as fast as we can (within budget), and the first kit hulls will be available this year , and the complete assembled production boat soon after.
Earlier: the float mold plug just back from a mold specialist who did the final fairing and finish.
Gives a better idea on how the finished float will look. .
The float plug was hand built in order to properly develop the flangeless float join system, which was first used on the original F-27. But these took too long to make, with various issues, and these had to be changed to a traditional style join on later boats, with horizontal join seams and external flanges. However, it was decided very early that only the flangeless option will be acceptable for the F-22, but only if the system was easily buildable to achieve the necessary low cost.
Such floats were tried again in the F-33, where an acceptable construction technique was developed, but they still took longer to build than desirable, so the process has been further refined and made easier with the F-22. The center join alignment has been one of the problem areas in production, as even a small misalignment can cause considerable rework. This was the main reason why the F-22 float plug was built so carefully, in order to achieve an exact match. The finished plug had special mold flange areas added, to enable a perfect trim and match, something not achieved before. Final molds were then made. This whole process has meant considerable thought, and 'hands on' time, but the F-22 floats are going to be set a new standard for trimaran floats.
and the molds just made! Quality of finish is obvious.
Other molds are also in process, and the daggerboard case side molds have been completed (shown below), along with daggerboard itself. The daggerboard molds have been designed so that they can also be used for the centerboard, to avoid duplicate molds.
Daggerboard case molds. As with all F-22 parts, these have been optimized down to the finest detail
for easier and more efficient production.
The first daggerboard case made, and ready to be fitted into our first production boat
The main hull mold has many improvements, particularly in the beam recess areas and around the bow. But compared to the floats, the various new features have already been well developed and tested on the F-22 plan and custom built versions, so the hull mold was reasonably straight forward enough to where the full hull could be CNC machined, which has took weeks off the building time.
The real thing - Jim Buckland's F-22 RIM FIRE with cuddy and aft cabins
Costs
Cost of the full production F-22 or 'boat in a box' kit remains hard to answer at present, as one cannot really tell until after the first hulls and boats are built, plus it can vary significantly with standard of finish, quality of materials, degree and standard of fitout, and from country to country.
The target prices in the US market currently range from around $25,000 for a basic kit to under US$48,000 for a basic sail away production boat. It should also be emphasized that the prices given are only estimates and will vary over time, plus they are for high volume series production boats, not for low volume or professionally built 'one off' hulls or components. Low volume items will always cost more, just as a custom built car can cost two to three times more than a production car. Higher prices are a common penalty to having one of the first of any thing new and unique, and for the best pricing one will have to wait until full series production is under way.
The F-22 has been slow in coming, but a faster development would only have put prices up, with more capital and staff being needed, many of whom could not be used efficiently in early development stages. So although beams, rudders, hulls etc., could have been available much earlier, they would have also cost 25 to 30% more.
This was in fact the situation with the original F-27, which was developed relatively quickly once actual construction began, but the interest on the significant capital required for its quicker implementation required a significant premium of around $8,000 to $10,000 be added onto every boat sold. Fast development times can be expensive.
In this regard, efficient production of F-22 beams and beam mounts was only reached recently, with the various reinforcements finally refined enough for profiles to be fully computerized and then cut in bulk. There are 67 pieces of reinforcement making up each beam (268/boat), and 31 for each beam mount, so it is very important that these be cut efficiently. Hand cutting will not do it at current prices, and the computer controlled machine cutting now being used allows 30 sets to be cut simultaneously. This sort of efficiency is key to keeping the F-22 final pricing low, but it does take time.
The original Tramp production line (at left) in Australia in 1981. This was, and still is, a great little
boat, but it was pushed through quickly, at great expense, and we soon had production up to 6 per
week. However, too many things were rushed and not developed properly, which made it harder to
build (more expensive than it should have been) and the very high development cost always weighed
it down. The Tramp also had conventional top to bottom joined floats, which can be seen, with the
flange covering vinyl gunwale 'rubbers' in place. Worked fine, but such extrusions can be troublesome
after a few years, and also add a lot of weight.
Everything was done better with the F-27, with more development time taken, which made it a
much better boat and more efficient to build. Note the flangeless floats on this earlier model.
However, a significant investment meant there was more pressure to get it done quickly,
which forced some compromises, while the investment required was very high.
The mistakes of the past are going to be avoided with the F-22, which has been developed very economically, and without the need for any outside investment to date. This may change once the boat is ready for serious mass production, but any such investment can then be kept to a minimum, and without too much influence on the design or standards. This will mean a more refined boat, and significantly better pricing once production models start rolling off the production line.
Overall, it should again be emphasized that there are no guarantees in regards to availability, and the above prices are targets only. Good design and the setting up of a brand new efficient production operation, while also keeping it within a reasonable budget, just takes time.
There are also no local agents or distributors as yet, in any country, as nothing further can be established until after the production boat or kit is in full production.
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