Bill,
Good to hear from you.
Actually, the class rules allow no room for changes in the hulls whatsoever.
While there is 1/4" tolerance, the rules make it clear that the tolerance
is for construction error. If the measurer detects that the hull has been
pinched up front in a manner that is an obvious attempt to use that 1/4 inch
for
benefit, the measurer can disallow the boat. I don't think any one design
boat has a more stringent rule. Also, our rocker rule is much tighter than
the 505. In short, you can't take weight out of the ends nor can you change
the design of the hull at all. The deck is a bit more open and certainly the
fittings are a free for all--like the 505.
Quite a few people mistake the epoxy clear coat of a Swift as a "wood boat".
Nothing could be further from the truth. It's easy to get four to six
seasons out of the protective Epifanes varnish coat that goes over the 207
epoxy--maybe more. The place that suffers the most is the side of the hull
that
faces south and has no boat cover (this is for boats that sit out year
around).
USA 002's deck is still really beautiful but the hull really needs a little
sanding and new varnish on the starboard side (faces south on the dock). If
I had the luxury of storing the boat differently relative to the sun each
time I sailed, I'd likely get 6 years out of the hull varnish as well.
Most of the 505 design differences were the result of too large a tolerance
in rocker measurement. In 1954 the methods available to build boats likely
required more than today's methods. Because of the full size station
templates and the strongback system, it would be very hard to build a Swift
that
varied at all in rocker (even 1/4") and that is why we have such relatively
tight
rules compared to the 505.
I hope this helps and I think you'll find this Swift crowd not very inclined
to flame anyone. This is a great group of people who generally are very
hard to offend.
We look forward to having you in the class.
Best regards,
Bram
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