{"id":77742,"date":"2024-05-21T11:55:58","date_gmt":"2024-05-21T15:55:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/?p=77742"},"modified":"2024-05-21T11:55:59","modified_gmt":"2024-05-21T15:55:59","slug":"the-storm-18-is-brewing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/racing\/the-storm-18-is-brewing\/","title":{"rendered":"The Storm 18 is Brewing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/storm-18-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image disable-lazyload\" alt=\"Storm 18 illustration\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/storm-18-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/storm-18-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/storm-18-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/storm-18-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/storm-18.jpg 2000w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">The Storm 18  will be built by David Clark\u2019s Fulcrum Speedworks, creator of the UFO, a pint-size foiling catamaran, and the Rocket, a redo of the Howmar Phantom, a 14-foot dinghy of the 1970s.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Courtesy Storm Marine<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n<p>As boat-ownership costs and accessibility continue to stymie the sport, many American sailors and newcomers now depend on yacht clubs, community sailing centers, and sailing schools to get on the water and racing. As a result, institutions that can afford to do so are now looking into club-owned fleets that can be used for adult racing and instruction. Their options are limited, but the founders of Storm Marine, a new company, say that they have the \u201cideal\u201d offering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Several East Coast clubs with deeper pockets and team-\u00adracing programs have recently invested in Sonars, the utilitarian design of the late Bruce Kirby, but these boats are now imported from England and are either cost-prohibitive or too large for most organizations. Storm Marine\u2019s offering instead is a utilitarian keelboat that they say is designed to serve and built to last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSailing is in a bit of a decline,\u201d says Karl Ziegler, a&nbsp;world champion of multiple disciplines and co-founder of Storm Marine, \u201cand yacht clubs are struggling to maintain their membership, particularly young members. A lot of the new members are coming from a couple of different demographics who are not in a position to buy boats to sail. They just want to join a club and be able to sail boats at that club.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What\u2019s now used at most clubs, Ziegler says, are boats that are either outdated in their design and construction, no longer in production, and difficult to maintain and source parts. \u201cThat means an increased burden on the maintenance staff, and quite honestly, they don\u2019t provide that \u2018wow\u2019 experience for the new member who is sailing for the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<style>.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }<\/style><div class='embed-container'><iframe src='https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/c7XDWb1TdR0' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The solution that Ziegler and his cohorts in New England have come up with is called the Storm 18, which will be built by David Clark\u2019s Fulcrum Speedworks, creator of the UFO, a pint-size foiling \u00adcatamaran, and the Rocket, a redo of the Howmar Phantom, a 14-foot dinghy of the 1970s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of Ziegler\u2019s \u00adpartners in the venture is William Craine, who\u2019s been in the boatbuilding industry for decades, most recently with LaserPerformance. Craine\u2019s yacht club on Long Island Sound is looking to replace its ancient fleet of Ideal 18s, another Bruce Kirby design. Certain traits of the Ideal 18 and the Sonar are carried into the Storm 18, which is designed by naval architect Bob Ames.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe looked at a lot of things Bruce did, particularly the cockpit, and then we tried to make it more contemporary,\u201d Craine says. \u201cThis is an evolutionary boat. It\u2019s pretty hard not to be these days, unless you\u2019re foiling or doing something crazy. [The Storm 18] is reminiscent of an Ideal 18 on purpose\u2014because it works.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Craine, Ziegler and Storm\u2019s third co-founder, Chris Daley, did their due diligence before pushing ahead with a new boat, and that included a deep analysis of other designs, canvassing clubs and sailing schools, and picking the brains of experienced program directors and industry experts the likes of Hall of Famer and sailmaker Robbie Doyle. The common demand across all institutions was durability. \u201cThat means fewer parts, an infusion build, and a rub rail all the way around,\u201d Craine says. \u201cClubs that do a lot of team racing and learn-to-sail programs want bow and stern bumpers, so those are standard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stability and safety were next, Ziegler says, so the rudder is oversize. The cockpit is deep and has the option for \u00adnewbies to sit inside the gunwale or racers on the rail. The conceptual sail plan\u2014with a square-top main, a small hanked-on jib, and \u00adasymmetric spinnaker (symmetric is an option for match- or team-\u00adracing programs)\u2014is designed with light-air venues and \u00adbeginners in mind. \u201cIt\u2019s a pretty generic design,\u201d Craine admits, \u201cbut all together, it is something different.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For institutions with limited storage space and infrastructure, there\u2019s a retractable keel, a custom cradle in design, and a swing-up rudder to allow ramp launching where hoists are not available. The target price, Craine says, is $40,000, but larger fleet purchases always garner a better deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As of early 2024, tooling was underway at Fulcrum\u2019s facility in East Providence, Rhode Island, and Storm Marine\u2019s plan is to sail the prototype through late spring before stepping off into full production over late summer or early fall, a moment that for Ziegler, can\u2019t come soon enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis entire project has been a labor of love,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s an opportunity to fill a space that we\u2019ve seen open for a number of years. It\u2019s not a sexy space, but it\u2019s a space of utility and a space where we see an opportunity to impact the overall growth of the sport. We\u2019ve all been the beneficiaries of institutional sailboats, and we just wanted to be part of a project where we could give that experience to the next generation of sailors.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One trend among US yacht clubs is to engage new and existing members with a club fleet this new builder says its just the boat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":77743,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Dave Reed","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"","arc_website_url":"","custom_permalink":"","arc_subtype":"","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":false,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":true,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":"","ad_settings_ads_on_this_page":true,"ad_settings_automatic_ad_injection_into_the_content":true,"ad_targeting":"","alternate_title_newsletter":"","alternate_content_newsletter":"","sponsored_url":"","social_share":true},"categories":[159],"tags":[761,2937,177,178,2928],"class_list":["post-77742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-racing","tag-new-boats","tag-print-march-2024","tag-racing","tag-sailboat-racing","tag-storm-marine"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77742\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}