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Well done Phil, you got it!


Would definately recommend sending in the measurements, then there won't be a problem. If its a repair or two thats required, there is a tarpulin/tent repairer about 1/4 mile from Spinnaker that did some mods on our cover quite reasonably

Burton Week's not too far away now so an opportunity this Saturday to get those early season boat handling issues sorted with the aid of video etc

10:00 am rigged and ready as usual. It's Saturday early in the season so it's unlikely there will be catering so please bring your own butties. Tea and coffee will be available and there's a rumour that we'll be going to the pub afterwards


Can you let me know if you're coming so we don't get caught out with numbers etc

Look forward to seeing you

Cheers

We had a 16:1 cascade system and a problem with throw. Now rigged as Antony, 2x, 2x, 4x and it's fine, adequate power and no problem with throw.

No 5 has our vote


Phil & Dawn

[the]

You will all have noticed (I hope) that there are some fairly major rule changes that are now in force.

Next Wednesday, 8 April, Spinnaker has arranged for rules expert John Doerr to
chat to us all about the racing rules. This is a great chance  to come and hear from the expert what the
rules changes for this year mean to us all. John is the chairman of the ISAF
Racing Rules committee who write the rules and was head of judges at the
Beijing Olympics last year.  An evening not to be missed by anybody. This evening is open to
anybody with an interest in sailing and not just Spinnaker members so pass it on.


It
starts at 6:30 and is open to everyone interested. I know it's a bit of
an early start but if you can get there, I sure it will be worth it.
The galley and the bar will be open for food and refreshments and if you would like to come along perhaps you can let me know so that we can forewarn the Galley on likely numbers.

Cheers

We had the same problem as Ted compounded by limited swing spreaders that could move forward ie, not prevent the mast from inverting. FIling the mast foot tenon at the front so that it rested firmly on the back edge did the trick

Phil

Well done Brian, I think that’s a very good summary of the effects of this change and what might lie ahead for us AC owners.

My first thoughts on this issue were how did such performance changing rule get through without knowledge (to us mere mortals) of the discussion even taking place and then how such a performance changing rule could get out without a fanfare of publicity, without any mention in The Latest Chapter, nay, without even a whisper, in fact sneaked into the middle of this year’s handbook? There are earlier comments about sailing round with 20 kg of water sloshing around in the bottom of the boat etc even if you did fit buoyancy to the max of the “old Rule”. What would the uproar be if the committee reduced the all up weight of the boat by the same amount? Can you imagine? Yet this is what has happened to AC boats with this change which far, far outweighs the effect of any nuance of the methods of measuring sails, battened mains or, dare I speak those words (Yes I do, it’s a development class) even lifting centreboards? Not even the press office of Number 10 or Number 11 could have got news out with such little publicity.

I don’t mind the change, in fact I welcome it with open arms, I don’t mind the means by which the information was put out but as an entrant for Burton Week, for which this change could have a major impact, but I do have a big issue about the timing of this “announcement”. Burton week is early this year and it doesn’t leave much time for radical surgery.

Enough of that. This change could pimp AC boats in a real performance enhancing way, increase their life and inject new life into the older boat market (to the good of all). OK, the hull shapes might not be as fast and you might not plane as early but it does mean that you won’t fall out the back door in a tacking duel in light weather as you scoop up water every other tack and you won’t grind to a halt upwind in a chop.

I, too, believe that Jo has shown us the way and well done to the committee for allowing such a radical change

OK boat builders, how about a kit? A couple of vacuum bagged floor panels, carbon one side, foam and glass the other that can be cut to size, some bulkheads and a pot of gooey stuff should do the trick. Any takers??

The solution on our D8 to hauling the board up and down and also stopping it floating up was to fit a continuous uphaul / downhaul line as follows.

From the front port side of the c/b case run a 6mm line to a cheek block on the top handle of the c/b.

From there the line goes forward to a s/s lined fairlead on the front starboard side of the c/b case (it should be a through deck block but the c/b case top  sn't long enough when the c/b is raised).

The line goes back underneath the c/b case capping to emerge through a through deck block somewhere near the thwart.

From there it goes through a block on the aft edge of the c/b handle (fixed by a thin line so that it will twist) and then back through a through deck fairlead on the port side of the c/b capping near the thwart.

From there it is tied to a thick piece of shockcord which then goes through a hole in one of the c/b case supports and is knotted off.

A picture is worth a thousand words I know but the boat is down in the boatpark. If I can find a photo, I'll post it.
Anyway, draw it out using the above and you'll get the idea. The effect is to give a 2:1 uphaul and a 2:1 downhaul with enough friction in the system to prevent the board floating up (which it did before) and without having to tie it down which wasn't clever. The shockcord is needed in the system as the length of line required is at a maximum when the board is half up and you need something to take up the slack when the c/b is fully or fully down.

You clearly don't have a problem with the c/b floating up but this system will give you that extra purchase to pull it up or down.

Phil

Phil and Dawn Brown N3398 are planning to be there now we've done our capsize practice for 2009 (Simon has the photos)

I've got hold of 2 kayak buoyancy bags at 25 litres each. They are the same length as the standard bags in our Design 8 but are tapered ( as would fit in the bow of a kayak). I'm planning on fitting them low down at the back and being long and thin, they shouldn't impede the flow of water out of the flaps and should give an additional 50kg of buoyancy without getting in the way of the toestraps either.

[enthusiasm]

Can't agree more

A little while ago, Antony suggested I or Simon wrote an article about Spinnaker's growth. I thought, yes, I can do that, until I sat down and thought about it, because I'm not sure what I could write.

To briefly use the religious terminology, at Spinnaker, we're a very broad church. We have some good guys who have been in the class for yonks, newcomers to sailing even, dad's sailing with sons or daughters, I sail with my wife (risking domestic harmony),  sailors young (crucially, we have some keen young sailors) and old . We've V AC and DBs, we now have Ian building one (watch THAT space, that will be quality), we have an RYA coach who will stand on his feet all day and talk about sailing if you let him, quiet guys and noisy ones.

If we have anything that might contribute to success, if that is what we have, it's enthusiasm, dare I say it passion, and visibility within the club, because, as John descibes Salcombe, when we sail, it's at the club and we are perceived as a fun boat with guys and gals having a fun time.


So, Kevin, absolutely, as many people as possible from as wide an audience as possible.

John, absolutely, club sailing, it's the base of any class

and Dodger, just so, spread the word

Apologies accepted, you'll get over it!

But seriously, great idea but it doesn't only have to happen at the national level, it can work at the club level too.

 At Spinnaker we have a largely untapped pool of good sailors coming through the Oppi and Topper coaching squads. The challenge is to lure them away from the usual progression of boats and into N12s. We're working on it.

On try a boat, I've done it at other clubs in other classes and there is a huge PR spin off generally but also a realisation for anyone who hasn't sailed one before that a boat they thought of as difficult to sail is actually sailable, exciting, a lot of fun and actually sailed by people who love their boats. Thanks for reviving an idea Sam. Alex, Simon, Ian, Dave, Steve, we should do this next year


My apologies for sitting at the computer instead of sailing but there's no wind at the moment

Great turnout, 8 boats, 6 from Spinnaker (which is less than half the fleet now!) and 2 visitors (but we did get apologies for absence). Thanks to everyone who came, with boats or without. 

We'll be running another 2 days coaching next year and as soon as we have dates confirmed, we'll let you know.

Hope to see you then. Good sailing.

I see that Wilde Thyng is coming to Spinnaker

Has anyone got contact details for the new owners Nick and Ros Rodgers so we can invite them to the coaching day this coming Saturday?

If Nick or Ros is reading this, welcome to the fleet, send me an email and look forward to seeing you soon

IS THIS SATURDAY . . . .

An idea of numbers would be great, let me know if you're coming so we can organise coach/rescue boats etc