Sun, 31 Jan 2010 13:28:32 -0500 http://www.thirdcoastcomposites.com/postnuke/ PostNuke Powered Site en-us http://www.thirdcoastcomposites.com/postnuke/images/NewLogo1.jpg http://www.thirdcoastcomposites.com/postnuke/ sam@thirdcoastcoastcomposites.com http://www.thirdcoastcomposites.com/postnuke/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=15 The eKo is headed back to it's slip during the month of February. So if you would like to come to the Houston Area to test sail the eKo the weather will be improving.Also if you contract an eKo within 6 months of your test sail, we will reimburse your travel expenses up to $1,000 at the time of delivery. The base eKo ready for electronics, instruments, sails and safety equipment is $48,000.00 FOB League City, Texas.Sam  Sun, 31 Jan 2010 13:28:32 -0500 http://www.thirdcoastcomposites.com/postnuke/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=14 SAIL'S BEST BOATS AWARDS There was a buzz around the docks at the Annapolis and Newport shows, and itwasn't the sound of the plague of locusts we were half expecting, given thedisasters of recent months and years. No, the sun shone, the water sparkled,the brightwork gleamed, and you all came to the show. Well, it sure seemedthat way. o­n the opening day at Annapolis it seemed the docks might sinkbeneath the throngs of visitors; boats were being sold, business was beingdone, and the retail outlets did brisk trade. It's too soon to tell if consumer confidence has truly returned, but the signswere good as the judging team for SAIL's Best Boats awards trolled the docks.There were fewer new boats than in previous years, but the fleet lacked fornothing in variety and quality. From entry-level dinghies to fully kitted-outglobal cruisers, every sailing niche was represented. Here are our choices for SAIL's Best Boats Awards:- Cruising Monohull Under 50 feet: Catalina 445 - Performance Boat: J/95 - Cruising Multihull: Leopard 38/Sunsail 384 - Small Boat Under 25 feet: K650 - Dinghy: Topaz - Systems: Passport 615 - Deck and Cockpit Plan: Morris M52 - Accommodations: Island Packet Estero - NEW Green Award: Eko 6.5 Full details: http://sailmagazine.com/boat-reviews/best-boats/best_boats_2010/ Check out page 7. Nice video by David Schmidt as well.Sam11/24/2009 Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:41:59 -0500 http://www.thirdcoastcomposites.com/postnuke/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=13 Found this this morning.Fri, 13 November 2009 Sailing Magazine - Episode 10 - Nov 09Ever wanted to race a boat under 22 feet across an open ocean? The Mini-650 Class offers amateur builders an opportunity to do just that.  Central to mini-sailing is the Mini-Transat, a race which allows skippers to compete in a transatlantic race o­n a shoestring budget.Today, we talk to Sam Ausmuss, owner of Third Coast Composites and a mini aficionado who cuts boat kit parts for sailors.  These boats are designed to withstand the rigors of ocean racing and coastal cruising. Sam gives us the low-down o­n what mini mania is all about.You can find out more about Mini 650 sailing and various boat kits designed for amateur builders at www.thirdcoastcomposites.comIf you like the podcast and would like to see it continue, please email us at sailingpodcast@gmail.com.  Hearing from you lets us know we're o­n course!Fair Winds,MarkClick o­n the Podcast logo and listen to the interview.Sam11/14/2009 Sat, 14 Nov 2009 11:38:27 -0500 http://www.thirdcoastcomposites.com/postnuke/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=12  Click o­n the picture to download a two page brochure o­n the eKo 650. Click o­n the image to download a PDF of the Eko Sail Plan.For additional information including pricing information contact Sam at sam@thirdcoastcomposites.com or give him a call at 281 451 7061. Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:00:06 -0400 http://www.thirdcoastcomposites.com/postnuke/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=11 The eKo 650 is just back from it's trip to the East Coast. While at the boat shows she was Nominated for 'Best New Boats in 2010' by Sail Magazine (Click here.) at the Newport International Boat Show.She was also nominated for the Sailing Magazine 'Boat of the Year' at the Annapolis Boat Show. (Click here.) We took her out o­n the Chesepeake Bay and test sailed with the BOTY Judges. They seemed to get the purpose of the eKo and seemed to enjoy sailing her single handed. Keep your fingers crossed for us. We will hear more when the January edition of the magazine is published in December.Did some test sails with people we meet at the boat show and set a new boat speed of 14.68 knots with the spinnaker up. Wow.Picture of the eKo 650 team manning the boat at o­ne of the trade shows.Sam10/21/2009 Sat, 24 Oct 2009 16:45:01 -0400 http://www.thirdcoastcomposites.com/postnuke/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=10 So which boat show you ask?The eKo 6.50 will be at the ;Newport International Boat Show (RI)Newport Yachting CenterNewport, Rhode Islandand at the ;United States Sailboat Show10/08/09 - 10/12/09City Dock and HarborAnnapolis, MarylandCome by and see us at o­ne of the shows to take a close look at the eKo. I will be posting some pictures of the boat under sail in the Photo Gallery soon.Sam08/16/2009 Sun, 16 Aug 2009 15:58:58 -0400 http://www.thirdcoastcomposites.com/postnuke/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=9 May 6, 2009She's in the water.May 2, 2009We are almost there with hull #001. Keel is bolted o­n and final fairing is almost finished.She is a great looking boat.More pictures in the Photo Gallery.Sam Sat, 02 May 2009 22:29:08 -0400 http://www.thirdcoastcomposites.com/postnuke/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=8 03-10-2009 - Dry fitting tiller and under deck auto pilot assembly o­n the eKo. Will be putting the rest of the hardware o­n this week. Deck painting was complete o­n Saturday thanks to Katie and Drew working to dust the non-skid o­n.More to come.Sam Wed, 11 Mar 2009 09:16:22 -0400 http://www.thirdcoastcomposites.com/postnuke/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=7 The pour for the keel fin should have been done o­n Monday. This is a picture of the mold ready to receive molten iron.Painted the cockpit areas that will not have non-skid. Katie selected and custom mixed the color for the vertical surfaces. Really fast looking..... (Kind of reminds me of a 55 Chevy Nomad.) 2/27/2009We started to paint the deck today. 02/26/2009.We have started painting the areas were there will be no non-skid to reduce chafe o­n lines and for visual appeal. Our cockpit and non- skit will be two different colors. For a small extra fee we can let you customize the deck colors o­n your boat. Just tell us when you order.....Click here to read more......More pictures can be found here. Wed, 28 Jan 2009 22:03:33 -0500 http://www.thirdcoastcomposites.com/postnuke/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5 The 'eKo' Deck & Hull #001 was started o­n 11/10/2008, yeah.Follow the photographs here.We completed the infusion today. Yeah..... Infusion included hull skin, keel reinforcements, omega and stringers. What a way to build a boat. 12/08/2008All the greenflow was added and first drop test was done o­n the bag. 12/05/2008Finished installing all of the laminate for the hull today. Started putting peel ply and green flow for the infusion. 12/04/2008Finished the loading in the laminate for the hull today. Wow what a lot of material. 12/03/2008Katie is putting in some flow media for the keel area. This layer will aid in the laminate stack around the keel. Pierre designed this area to be very stout.... 12/02/2008Click here to read more.... Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:08:12 -0500 http://www.thirdcoastcomposites.com/postnuke/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=4 August 11, 2008, League City, Texas - Third Coast Composites is proud to announce that a new Series Mini Transat boat, designed by Pierre Rolland, is now being built o­n North America. The first boat will be infused this August and subsequent boats will be available starting in the fall of 2008.“To grow the class, it must be easier to get a boat,” said Sam Ausmus, President of Third Coast Composites. Ausmus, a successful businessman and Mini Class US Vice President, decided upon seeing the fleet tied up in Bermuda last summer that in order to get more people involved in the class, Minis had to be more accessible to the North American market.“Each of the mini skippers had endured either months of waiting for a boat to arrive from Europe, years of home building time, or epic treks sailing thousands of miles to pick their boat up from Brazil.To get more people involved with Minis and Mini sailing, accessibility is going to take more direct action than just publicizing the class.”, he saidBeing an entrepreneur, Sam decided that he would go into business building a Series Mini Transat boat in North America the necessary ingredients to succeed where others had struggled or failed. Click here to read more. Tue, 12 Aug 2008 09:33:37 -0400 http://www.thirdcoastcomposites.com/postnuke/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=3 Third Coast is ready to cut CNC Plywood Kits for the Lynnhaven 16 Canoe.From Dudley's website:The Lynnhaven 16 is designed for those who want a family fun boat that they can build themselves. I built the prototype in 3 weeks of weekends and evenings, total less than 100 hours of single-handed work.This is about as much boat as can be built from 3 sheets of plywood, with very little scrap left at the end of the project. I built the prototype from 6mm (1/4") plywood, which produced a robust boat but a bit heavy at 32kg (70lb). It can be built from 4mm (1/8") plywood to about 20kg (45lb) or anything between.Click here to read more..... Sat, 14 Jun 2008 17:42:20 -0400 http://www.thirdcoastcomposites.com/postnuke/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2  We are cutting kits for the Didi Mini Mk 2, designed by Dudley Dix. First kit shipped to Quebec, Canada. Check the Web Links for a link to builder web site. The Didi Mini is designed to the Open 6.50 Prototype Rules and if care is taken during build, the Didi can be built as light as a full out Carbon Fiber Proto at a fraction of the cost.You may not know but I am building a Didi Mini Mk 1 from a kit that I purchased from Eric over two years ago.You can follow my progress and non-progress o­n my building website Mini-Sailor.US. I am building an all out Plywood Prototype Mini, carbon fiber rig, canting keel, water ballast, etc.I purchased a plywood o­nly kit and have located suppliers for all of the other components and will add them as options as we complete the kit and kit pricing.Click here to read more. Thu, 13 Sep 2007 10:34:18 -0400 http://www.thirdcoastcomposites.com/postnuke/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1 Third Coast Composites announces their first kit - Paper Jet 14. From Dudley's Website.The Paper Jet 14 is designed primarily as a training boat, with the intention that it can cater for a wide range of sailing skills. I wanted a boat that will allow a club to race it as a class boat that will give exciting sailing to those who have the skills but will also allow less experienced sailors to develop their sailing skills in the same boat at a much lower level of performance.The same features that I designed into it for club use will allow a family to use o­ne hull as the platform o­n which Dad can have his excitement of blasting across large expanses of water but junior can sail the same boat (if he can pry it loose from Dad's grip) with a smaller rig and at slower speed.I am not trying to produce a design that will sail the pants off any of the other single-handers. It is fast and it will be really exciting to sail with the Turbo rig, but from the outset (this boat has been in the back of my head for over 10 years) it is intended to provide an economical path for sailors to progress between boats like the Optimist and the costly single-handed skiffs without having to trade up their boat each time to go the next step. They can build a Paper Jet at the cheapest level or the level that they think that they can handle and progress from there. Meanwhile, as long as Dad is not out sailing, the kids can use the same boat at a more basic level. It makes sailing more viable for many families. With time and skill improvements they can move into more costly boats if they feel the need. Click here to read more.... Thu, 06 Sep 2007 19:13:06 -0400