Messages

Stuart - fine, glad you're sorted.  Offer open to anyone else interesetd, too ...
Mike D

Stuart - I have a suit in my loft from N3496 that have a bit of life left in them.  I'm in Hampton, SW London - you'd have to come and collect them.  Any reasonable modest offer, once you've seen them, will be fine.
Email me on [mail=michael.day@hrp.org.uk]michael.day@hrp.org.uk[/mail] if you want to take this onwards.
 
Mike D
ex-N3533 etc

Matt
From memory, Mike Cooke made that carbon mast plate for me for Flipside and I stuck on the stainless steel strips. I'm sure P&B do a s/s version. 
 
Mike D

Rock Lobster has waved goodbye to the Thames and now belongs to Tom White - all good fortune to him ...
Mike D

Nick
You're right about this being a frequently-asked question - that's what the 'designs' section of the website is for.  The best thing to do is to go through that and take its advice.  You don't say what your budget is and that will determine to a lare extent what you might be looking at.
The other approach is to look at all the boats for sale on this site and elsewhere and then check the design guidance.  One final piece of advice is to go for a design that was built in reasonably large numbers and avoid the one-offs.  The number of any design built is a good indicator of its success in its particular era.
Oh - and welcome to the Twelves!
Mike D
N3533 (still just ...)

Having booked our B&B for Pevensey next weekend, we're now not coming ... boat not fit to sail.  So, we have a double room booked for one night now available in a beachside location very close to the club.  We've already paid £60 for it - offers are welcome.  Call me on 020 8783 9243 or 07717 581632, or email [mail=anne@annemurch.co.uk]anne@annemurch.co.uk[/mail].
Mike D
N3533

Invitations are now out ... lunch for adults (at 1430) =£15.  Lunch for children (at 1300) = £7.  All are welcome, wherever you live and whather you've sailed actively around the Thames Area or not in 2012.  Please indicate to anne@annemurch.co.uk by 7th January.

Mike D

N3533

A date for your diaries - the Winter 2013 Open Meeting at Ranelagh will take place on Sunday 27th January with a provisional 1200 start.  The annual Thames Area lunch will follow.  

More info and invitation to book nearer the time.

Mike Day 
N3533

'Pretty mixed' weather?  I guess you mean, Mike, that some days the gusts will be force 7 and others force 8!  Windguru forecasting no relief after Sunday now ...

Mike D
N3533

Actually, that's not too bad looking at some of the other fleets - we haven't managed 20 in the last few years.  The Solos only have 15 entries when usually they have closed their fleet at 40 by this time, ditto the Yawls.  Unless there's a late flurry (and expect 2 or 3 more Twelves) I think this could be a worryingly low figure for SYC overall.  Their decision only to take online entries might be backfiring, or maybe the Olympics?

Mike D
N3533

Pretty riverting stuff at Weymouth.  Ainslie goes in to the medal race on Sunday 2pts behind the Danish sailor.  Assuming he beats him by one place and with points counting double, it's a tie ... but how do they break it in the Olympics? Numbers of firsts or result in medal race?
 
Mike D
N3533

Ah The Wedge, Whitstable 1971 ... the only Twelve I think that was incapable of turning a corner. The reverse rocker was so extreme that it planed with the lower part of its stem in the water then a couple of feet of the keel behind out of the water.
 
Impact - the first four-plank boat - is also missing from the list above - but Ogre? 'so successful beyond its contemporaries'? Not when I was watching ...!
 
Finally - Olympic update - we said hello/goodbye to the Olympic Torch at Hampton Court Palace this morning and waved it on to Gloriana (now there's a boat!).  Next up - Bradley Wiggins on Wednesday.
 
Mike D
N3533

Just a quick plug for the Ranelagh Open this Sunday, 1st July.  The start is 1130 prompt.  As usual it will be one long race on the Tideway for the prstigious Silver National Trophy.  I'll be there with Rock Lobster trying to remember how to sail.  I'm sure that Ranelagh would appreciate knowing who else is coming.
 
See you there.
 
Mike D
N3533

Having sailed against Big Issues a lot over the last few years, I'd say that more than most modern designs, they are weight sensitive.  Mike and Alex Storey go really well in theirs and I don't think Mike Cooke had much weight onboard when he was competing actively.  Similarly, Tim Laws made N3497 go well with a relatively light crew.  Others - all good sailors - have had less joy compared to their performance in other designs.  So, I'd say watch out if you're over 20 stone all-up.
Mike D
N3533

Nigel - without wishing unduly to prolong this exchange, the great thing about foiling rudders is that it's relatively easy to retro-fit them to earlier designs and to get a significant performance improvement.  Some Foolishes and Chapters have been modified to great effect.  So, rather than outclassing the earlier designs, foiling rudders are an inclusive devlopment.  I do appreciate that the cost is not cheap but then you don't get much change from £1000 for a new suit of sails. 
 
Mike D
N3533