Project History (and the Sours 26)

Ever since I was a little kid I've wanted to build a boat. A few years ago I started sailing and absolutely fell in love with it. I have a San Juan 24 that I sail and do some racing with. It's a great boat and I have tons of fun with it. Another thing I love is building things. Over the past 5 years, I've built 3 houses and a shop. I love working with my hands, creating things. So I've decided to combine my love for sailing and boats with my love of building things and try this project. I know that for less money, time, and effort, I could go buy myself a proven design. But that's not the point. Really for me, just like in sailing and in life, the journey is itself the destination.

So why this design? I really liked the idea of building an I550 but when it would be done, it's a bit smaller than what I'd like. I was looking for something a bit bigger than my SJ-24 but also with sportier characteristics. That's when I found David Sour's add on Craigslist. He had asked Tony Gondola of Northwest Marine Design to draw up lines for a wooden hull inspired by the T-bird but with a modern sportier shape. Unfortunately, after starting the hull, David didn't have the room to complete the project and was looking for a good home for it. So that is how I came into the project. I basically have just the hull. I'm trying to find any drawings or info that Tony may still have that can help me, otherwise, it's a pretty wide open project that will require lots of design work along the way. (Yes I know I'm probably in way over my head--but in my life I've found myself spending a lot of time in that position and have actually kind of grown to like it)