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Here's my project as I bought it... after working an entire day on the trailer in the rain to make it road worthy.
http://img2.freeimagehosting.net/upload ... 2adb18.jpg

Mike,

Thanks for posting the photo. Always nice to get a look at a forum member's boat. Okay, forget what I said about shallow draft, oopsie. Perhaps some of them had swing keels (?).

Great to have a trailer; and I don't see any homeowners' association lurking in the background to hassle you about having the boat in the backyard, either :-)

--- Rachel

That design sure is similar to the San Juan 24, isn't it.

Very similar. A lot of boats made in the 70's/80's are like that. In the early 70's (heydey of IOR racing) the SJ 24 was a very popular boat, with more San Juan 24's being measured under the IOR rule than any other boat.

You'll have fun with that boat. They are a fun boat to sail.

I don't have a picture handy showing it out of the water. The keel on the US 25 is different than the standard SJ 24 keel, but very similar to the "Lowenslaw/Kirby" keel, which was on a limited number of San Juans

I too was struck by the similarity to the San Juan 24.
Here's an underbody shot of one from a similar angle to Mike's US25 photo (check the one on my signature line link too):

That does look similar to my US 25, except for the stern. The link to the Triton brochure that Tim gave http://pearsoninfo.net/triton_yachts/tritonyachts.htm is it, except the interior layout is changed a bit.

Quick, somebody photoshop a big "01" on the side of that boat!

:)

Mike

I too am doing a refit on a US 25 this winter. I like the design, given the limits of IOR influenced boats. There are places where the workmanship leaves a bit to be desired, but that's the joy in re-doing a boat like this, you get to fix the mistakes others have made, and make it as good as the design will allow. Generally they seem to have a sound hull, obviously hand laid up with roving and mat. The deck inner skin seems to have a fair bit of chopper gun layup, but that doesn't bother me since it is only a thin layer to seal off the balsa core. The plywood stringers and bulkheads are fastened to the hull with a chopper gun as well. The only faults I can see are the lack of a real bilge and the damage that that a leaky deck will cause if the boat is neglected. Seal the windows and all deck fittings with good sealant, and check her out regularly during the off season and she'll be a good boat. Check out the chainplate stringers well as the chainplates have probably leaked and the plywood stringers on mine had deteriorated completely.
They are pretty quick for their age especially close hauled and answer the tiller very well with the high lift rudder. They carry a fair bit of lead in the keel (about 1/3 of displacement) so are pretty stable for an 8 foot beam.
They seem to work best to windward at about 20 degrees of heal or less, so are pretty comfortable for land based creatures like me.
Good luck, keep us posted on your work, and fell free to question.
There is a website dedicated to US yachts, http://www.diysailor.com

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