Paul Dijkstra Composites receives building licence for the Olympia Jol
Paul Dijkstra Composites has started developing a new Olympia Jol, designed by Juan K Yacht Design. At the end of this year, we will produce a new set of moulds, with the aim of sailing the first boats next season. The O-Jol is a one-design class originally conceived for the 1936 Olympic Games, hence the name Olympia Jol. The boat is sailed by one person. Dutch sailor Daan Kagchelland won Olympic gold in the class that year. Until Marit Bouwmeester won Olympic gold in 2016, this was the only boat in which the Netherlands had won Olympic gold at the Games.
In March this year, we were approached by O-Jol sailors Onno Yntema and Sybrand Vochteloo to ask whether we would be interested in building new Olympia Jols. Paul Dijkstra, a familiar name in competitive sailing and builder of Solo 673, was keen to take it on.
The design process
The Olympia Jol design has remained unchanged for years, so we thought it would be good to take a fresh look at it. Who better to bring into the project than the designer of the winning Star and Finn boats at previous Olympic Games? The choice of Juan K was therefore an easy one, and we were greatly honoured that he wanted to be part of the project. Juan K is also known for the Volvo Ocean Race boats Ericsson III and IIII, ABN AMRO I and II, and Groupama.
The Olympia Jol design process was fascinating. Juan K is a true artist and started from scratch with the Olympia Jol design. He created several hull designs for us and was able to explain the reasoning behind the choices he made for each one. Everything is drawn in 3D on a computer and put through various simulations. Sybrand and Onno, who were also involved in the design process, then helped us with the deck layout. Ultimately, the following design came out best in all the tests, and we chose it.
As a licence is required to build an Olympia Jol, we applied for one. It was granted last month by the German Sailing Federation (DSV). After the design was completed, Toon Neijman, class measurer for the Watersportverbond, carried out a digital preliminary measurement to ensure our boats comply with the rules.
Building method
Over the coming months, we will focus first on making the moulds. We will make the mould from a 3D-milled plug, around which we will laminate the mould. Lance Tijhuis, draughtsman and production planner at PDC and also a competitive sailor in the Solo class, took over the technical drawings once the design had been finalised. He also draws everything in 3D and designed the mould with autoclave curing in mind. This allows the boats to be cured not only under vacuum, but also under pressure and at a controlled temperature.
This further improves the quality of the laminate and gives the boat more fibre per kilogram, resulting in a stiffer boat. The boats are built using glass-epoxy prepreg mats. These are fibreglass mats that already contain epoxy. The material is stored in a freezer and only taken out when it is ready to be used. The mats are flexible and can be laid into the mould. An optimised laminate schedule has been developed for the Olympia Jol to ensure that the reinforcements are placed in the right locations and the fibres run in the right directions. The boats are made strong exactly where they need to be, without becoming too heavy. Once all the laminate has been laid in the mould, a vacuum bag is placed over it and the air is extracted. The mould and boat are then placed in the autoclave under vacuum, where the boat is cured at high temperature and under pressure.
We will first build a batch of three Olympia Jols for the men who have contributed their ideas throughout the process and have become regular visitors here. After that, we will increase production. Questions? Feel free to ask via info@pd-composites.nl. Want to know more about the Olympia Jol in the Netherlands? Visit the website of the Dutch class association.
