Restoring '71 IOR classic

[Nitro]

Been lurking here for a while so thought to introduce myself and my current boating project.

I was raised on Narragansett Bay and have been sailing my whoile life. Started out with a dinghy, cruised on a friend's Bristol 39/40, toyed with a few more dinghy's through college and beyond. Upon moving to Smith Mountain Lake, VA, restored J/24 hull #17 and upon moving to NY bought a Bristol 31.1, then a Morris 40 which we sailed throughout New England. Alas, once the three kids started arriving, the Morris required too much TLC and had the wrong layout for a family anyway so we parted ways three years ago after six great seasons. I still managed to squeeze in several Bermuda races on a friends' boat to satiate the smell of salt.

Boating is a disease, at best a vice. When I stumbled upon my current project, a '71 McCurdy Rhodes/Luke-built aluminum early IOR racer, it was love at second sight. As my boat builder describes it, I essentially "bought a hull and engine and am building a new boat". Not that she couldn't be sailed 'as is', but she was trucked immediately to Maine and into the capable hands of a small boatbuilding collaborative with a penchant for classic wooden boat restorations. My instructions are to, "make her a battleship on the outside and a wooden boat on the inside". She'll emerge next Spring far more Herreshoff than Luke. She's receiveing new 'everything' (a seriously comprehensive list) to become a comfortable/elegant family cruiser with a new, state-of-the-art sail plan (new CF rig) and Cat-1 spec's for competitive offshore racing performance in light air.

Anyway, thanks in advance to any and all who may answer questions to my inquiries over the coming months. And if I can help anyone in kind, don't hesitate to png me.

[Faster]

Pretty boat... Welcome to SN.