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Well, the season's nearly over, but not quite . . .

 You've been club sailing, done some open meetings, Burton Week even and it's nearly time to put the cover on for the winter (yes I know you hardy lot keep sailing through the winter, but I've got a nesh crew).

You've got the sailing bit sorted out but what about the racing bit?

This is the final N12 coaching session of the year so before you forget about it all until next year, here's your last chance to pose those questions that have niggled you right through the season:-

Would I have been better if . . . ?

What should I have done round that mark?

What does everyone else do when . . . ?

What do the Rules say about . . . ?

 
 We'll have the usual format of on the water session followed by video debrief, but this time the emphasis will be on racing rather than boat handling and it will really be down to you to decide what we practice, chat about or debate. (Of course, there will always be the opportunity to focus on a bit of boat handling as we go along)


Follow the link to "Coaching sessions" to see where we are, the following link will give you more info on the club
 
  http://www.spinnakerclub.co.uk
 

Start time advertised as 10:30 am, that's the rigged and ready to sail start time, the kettle will be on by 9:30. There will be tea and coffee but it's unlikely that we will have any catering on site that day so bring your own butties.
 
 
 Please let me know if you're coming, any queries, let me know.
 
 Look forward to seeing you

Recommend Leigh & Lowton. Great club, good facilities, sailed there for years

Prevailing wind is down the lake so decent beats and pretty open surroundings so wind is fair.

As for a decent number of 12's, go convert a few! 
 
Give it a try. Good luck
 
Phil
3398

Speak to David Hall at Ovington Boats, they can supply a matching pot of gelcoat

Would love to come, it was my home club for more years than I care to remember but unfortunately, it's Spinnaker's 50th Anniversary Regatta that weekend as well.
 
Great club and a great piece of open water, I recommend it

On the contrary Rick, with a couple of exceptions everyone who has contributed to this thread wants to change something about the class or the boat, rig, hull, numbers sailing, weight, perceptions, attitudes and you can go on.
 
  
If you hadn't noticed, this is a development class (OK some debate about whether it has stopped developing) and that's probably the one thing that unites everyone and something that they do not want to change. The dinghy marketing companies' telephone numbers can be found from their websites. 
  
The problem is sorting out a way forward out of all the options that have been suggested!

......and a plan has to based on
 
Market research -  which means talking to people inside and outside the class and recording those views
 
from which a Strategy can be developed
 
from which a Plan can be formed.
 
There is an old adage that says if the only reason you can think of as to why you are doing something is that you have always done it like that, it's time to question why you are doing it.
 
Now the answer to that question might be that you have been doing the right thing all along and nothing more need to be done, you've just forgotten the precise reason . . . but my gut feel is that that wouldn't be the case here.
 
It's more than clear from this thread and others that there is not an easy or quick solution but delay in the process will not help our cause

Rick
Where does "high maintenance compared to other boats" come from. Explain
Yes, if you have a wooden boat you have all the joys of varnishing etc, but a glassfibre boat? Surely not.
 
There is more CHOICE, you have to make one.

There is more FREEDOM, you are not constrained by rigid class rules that only allow specific fittings in specific locations

OK, if you want, go buy one of the standard off the shelf, don't have to think about it packages from the likes of Laser, Topper or RS, you can even buy rotomoulded boats that are built like brick whatsits that are all but indestructable

If you're talking about sails, I don't see that as any more expensive than other classes and if you want to talk about Lasers, it's a brand new sail for every regatta at £465 a go because one windy race and they are shot.
 
This is not that type of boat and long may it remain like that
 
There are some popular myths and serious issues about perception and demographics that need addressing and at Spinnaker we have a shortage of crews that is keeping people from being on the water and probably has something to do with both the other factors
 
From Meds new boat, it looks as if the heavywights now have some hope so lets get on with tackling the issues
 
. . . we need a plan
 

I was trying to get across that people get too hamstruck on designs, open meetings etc. It's navel gazing and destructive.

Why don't we try a 12 m rig for this development class of ours? Would it make it more attractive to non N12 sailors. I don't think we know because I don't think we've asked them.

However, Steve Cockrill developed an 8.1 rig for the Laser for those who considered themselves too heavy for a std rig and it has sold. 

What about some trials? Any thoughts from our designers or sailmakers?

And here's another constant, the debate on designs. If there ever was a disdvantage to being a development class is the constant worry as to whether you've got the right boat/sails/bit of kit etc etc. It's enough to psyche most people out before they start.

Last year I started a thread which went like this:-

"It is a fact that at least 90% of us sail in boats that are faster than us, or with the right bits, would be. So, for the sake of this piece, let?s level the playing field for a moment and assume that everyone has a carbon mast and new(ish) sails.

Right, what else is different?

The last time you raced, did you get all this right?

?     Self preparation ? are you race fit, have you put enough practice in this year, are you mentally prepared, do you have appropriate goals?
?     Boat handling ? how few mistakes did you make, was every tack/gybe perfect?
?     Boat tuning ? was the boat set up for the conditions; did you alter settings when conditions changed?
?     Tactics ? did you not lose places at marks; did you sail in clear air, did you have a strategy fro the race?
?     Starting ? were you on the front rank at the right end of the line?
?     Boat preparation - does everything work, good foils, smooth hull etc?
?     Teamwork ? were you
?     Racing Rules ? do you know them and did you use them?
?     Did you learn from your race? Do you keep a racing diary?

Make an honest assessment of what difference having Design A or Design B would have had in your last race.

Be clear, there is no silver bullet in terms of a boat that will automatically, by mere fact of owning a particular design, get you to the front of the fleet. Time on the water is hugely important, put the top 10 in just about any design and they would still be in the top 10. "

Read it if you like, there are quite a few comments that confirm my thoughts on false glass ceilings. 

Please ignore the bit in the the first paragraph, about carbon masts or sails. You can debate that on another thread please. My point here is addressing the fundamentals and sailing more

 
Right then
 
Hands up who has been to a coaching session this year?  I ran one, FOUR boats pitched up
 
Hands up who has actually been on the water for the specific purpose of practicing?
 
SO please don't complain about designs until you've addressed all the above points.
 
Oh, and I wish I was 12.5 stone again but I don't care, I enjoy it too much!

I think ISAF recognised is a factor for the Tasar in Europe. It used to be the case, someone correct me, that continental European clubs would favour internationally recognised classes ahead of non recognised, to the extent that German clubs, for example, would always support at least one international class.

This has never been the case in the UK and we have had a greater proliferation of classes over the years.
That isn't a plea for recognition, just that Europe is a slightly different playing field

Well said James.

Here we go again. Anyone looking at the recent posts on where we should be going would be forgiven for thinking that we are a traveling class that only does open meetings.
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What’s wrong with club sailing???
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We’ve a dozen 12s at Spinnaker now and most of the time they sit under their boat covers. I know, I’m as guilty as anyone and I’m not getting at anyone in particular, so don’t take offence. But unless we get out on the water and show the kids coming through that a N12 SPARKLES, unlike a Laser that can just be a grunt at times, then they are just going to follow route of Oppi, Topper, Laser. (No need for Laser sailors to get sniffy, that’s a personal opinion based on experience. I sold a Laser to buy a 12).
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Mike, thanks for the post that epitomizes, for me, what N12 sailing is all about, friendly competition in a terrific boat.
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To me, at club level, the “glass ceiling” is largely irrelevant. Mike will confirm that we gave the DB’s a good run for their money at our Open and if the comments afterwards were that our Design 8, with a carbon rig, was a bit slow to pick up on the plane, then my defence is that we were pushing 25 stone in the boat, so what do you expect? My only desire for a DB right now is to avoid bailing out after a sloppy roll tack. (Must practice more) Turbo charge an AC and in most conditions it will give as good as it gets. Look what Jo Richards did with Bouncer (which was built 31 years ago).
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However, this is not a debate about different designs but one of perception, both within the class and by others. 
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Lets get our head “out of the boat” and start asking people outside of the class what they think about us. We already know what we think, this discussion board is full of it.
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We will then have some research that will tell us why other sailors do not or aspire to sail a N12. We can then formulate a strategy to address those perceptions (even if it is to do nothing, at least we will have considered the situation) Only then can you create a marketing plan to put that strategy into effect.
 
Do some market research, outside the class
Formulate a strategy and a plan
In the meantime, get out on the water at your club (and save petrol!)
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And don’t be so precious about the rules, it’s supposed to be a development class
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Surely the best advert for the class is for us all to get our boats on the water EVERY weekend!!
Kevin
 
. . . . which is about grass roots sailing . .  at the club level.
 
Much navel gazing and pontification seems to have taken place on this and related subjects, forum threads, debates.
 
Has anyone done any market research OUTSIDE of the class? We all know why we sail N12's, and it's for as many reasons as there are designs. BUT we are clearly seen to struggle against other classes.
 
How about a questionnaire for completion by non N12 sailors that we can take round our own clubs to find out what people think? Or might the answers be unpalatable??

Fair point Mike.

I've taken a transom out landing at Weston with a fixed blade, it does get a bit shallow. In my defence, m'lud, I wasn't the nut on the tiller that day!


The stock as decsribed in the "How to" section looks easy enough to build and can't weigh that much on top of the blade and tiller

Noted, couldn't think of the word when I did the post

If you want a bit of theory from a fluid dynamicist who was also an enthusiastic sailor, immerse yourself in these two articles

http://www.int505.org/eck1.pdf

http://www.int505.org/eck2.pdf

Bransford was an amazing guy, full of theory and innovation (he was producing balsa cored carbon sheathed foils long before anyone else). As part of his work he had access to some NASA research and modelling techniques and used a great deal of other peoples computer time into his research into foils. ( The theory of aerofoils in air at subsonic speeds readily translates to dinghy foils in water as the Reynolds numbers are similar)


NACA 63 is a laminar flow section that does have a lower drag at zero angle of attack but it has a very narrow low drag bucket ie as angle of attack increases, it rapidly become high drag, one reason being that the laminar flow round the foil soon becomes detached and turbulent on the low pressure side thus inducing drag. Possibly acceptable in a board but not in a rudder.

The NACA 0000 series has much wider low drag bucket and is therefore more forgiving and for a rudder, 0012 is generally accepted as a norm.


For the historians amongst you, the NACA sections did not come about from any research but from the work of NACA in the 1930's to codify some of the sections that were being created by the aircraft builders of the time so they're getting pretty long in the tooth

Bransford did model another section E1161-24 which had a slightly sharper leading edge, the max thickess at 24% (compared to the 30% of a 0000 and 40-60% of a 63 section) and a hollow trailing edge  that he maintained  was better (see the second article).

I built a fixed rudder to that section that was absolutely bullet proof. I used a straight leading and trailing edges tapering to about 40% of the top chord as it was easier to produce (that's a relative term, it took ages). No matter what any foil shaper says, the only way to get real performance out of a foil is to use templates and not shape by eye.

All that was based on then. The trend now for high speed craft such as skiffs, 505s and Moths etc where the planform is not fixed in the rules is to use very high aspect ratio foils, both rudder and board, with the advantage in the former that the foil is less likely to cavitate (aslo countered by putting fences near the surface and parallel to the direction of flow to reduced the amount of air dragged down the foil when it does)

However, a significant disadvantage of high aspect foils is the lack "paddle" effect of a lower aspect rudder in light winds.

Is anyone using high aspect ratio foils in the 12?

Happy reading

Now, what was the question??

Sorry you can't make Spinnaker, maybe we can canvass some opinion for you