australian ns14

[steve jones]

hi from aus,
                    i sail ns14 in downunder and love the look of your boats.our class used to be extremely
competitive but in the last 6 yrs the numbers are drying up and competition level decreased.we had a bump measurement issue which is behind us now but new rules grandfathered these boats and have not allowed anything thinner.we only have one boat builder with a design which isnt selling and a used boat market which is almost dryed up so trying to increase numbers is a very tough deal.sound familiar?like to meet and chat my gf and i discussed and decided in future love to come over and give one of your boats a go maybe you would like to visit us. we are competive in our class ns14 and wuold love to have a run at maybe your nats.i think this kind of exchange could be beneficial to both classes for friendship and ideas please contact love to hear what you may think sjones@idl.com.au
or here going to keep logging in to see whats going on

[THG]

http://ns14.org/

Looks interesting - isn't the Tasar a relative of the NS14?

[steve jones]

yeh but tasar is like a ns14 of about 25yrs ago i like boats that develop not one designs looked at your history a bit 1967 boat called mr jones my name is jones at i was born in 1967 my interest in your class  grows if i went to the taser site i would not see a 1967 design i would just see the same design one after the other we weigh around 126kg 4 kg to light for taser rules so we have to carry corective weight or sail heavy boat which we have done but we enjoy the ns14 class dynamics which seem similiar to yours the continual release of breathwaste oops one design dinghys is killing development sailing in aus

[icecreamman]

Having seen your posts on the website and then looking at the NS14 site, it would appear that you are similar to the 12s, yet you comment on Bethwaite boats ruling the roost in Oz. Has nobody else had a go at designing an NS14 recently. I am sure that with parting with some dosh you could get hold of some current 12s lines if you wnated. You could even have a go a building one yourself to a slightly longer 12s design. I would speak with designers if that is the case as I am not sure what would happen if you tried to make a 12 to NS14 lengths. That is what happens when you know nothing about designing boats and just enjoy sailing them.
Looking at the pictures on your website, it is difficlut to see if you are allowed dangly poles. Are you or not?

[steve jones]

no reason why we cant have dangy poles we are just windage freaks i spose and in triangle configurations only one square
it did catch my eye but i think to learn more about your class would be get ticket and get on one look like great fun
designs have slowed becuase of bump issues i have been dealing with a guy who designs all types of dinghys and sails called michael nash aero my boat has been grandfathered on bump rule and you cannot design anything narrower so i now have a fast design which by new measurement rules very hard to match. michael thinks he can do better but at moment no need.i dont design or build i just race.until something faster comes along which it hasnt no need to change.
this is problem with class michael produced new design every 3 yrs incrementlly faster than last giving as fast sleek looking boats and providing lots of boats to second hand market because of trade up every 3 years
this is not happening for the past 5 yrs and second hand market has dried up leaving it very hard to increase numbers we have fallen from 80 to 40 boats at nsw states sad to see this happen but association thinks new design tiger not a michael nash design can win well it did once and nothing since
complicated story but maybe your class has had similiar situations before
if a design does not  show superior speed to others people wont bother buying and stick with what they already have eg me
nash design aeros dominated class fromearly 80,s to early 2000 20 yrs aero1 to aero11 but allowing measurement bumps eg tequila 96,99 killed the class there was no genious in these desgns just thinner and uglier not a great promotion for class simple mistake savge consequence
see n12 natsionals being held soon?
down loaded n12 sailing guide infomative and great laugh im having a great time checking out the n12
 please stay in touch the real ns14 site is ns14.org look under nsw some good reaching pictures there

[hairy dog]

having sailed both ns14 and N12 (both badly...) they do have similarities but I found them very different.  The 12 is extremely responsive compared to the 14 which are narrower and with less rocker.  The 14 is faster to windward and points higher, perhaps due to the rotatng wing mast.

And another thing; ns14's have daggerboards

[icecreamman]

I would give the dangly poles a go Steve as they make one hell of a difference downwind for us boys who do not have kites. There is not too much of a problem of windage due to the elastic that shoots the pole back up the mast. They make the rounding of the windward mark and disappearing downhill in a blow and having to get your crew to gingerly walk forward and stick the pole in as the boat appears to be skating all over the place much less worrying for both helm and crew.
Just ask the hairy dog how to set one up, or if you guys actually live relatively close, get him to actually set one up for you. It will make a great difference, especially if you are the first person to fit one and the rest of the luddites take their time sorting one out.

[John Meadowcroft]

Having also sailed both boats, the problem with the dangly pole on an ns14 is that the rotating wing mast (another 12 prohibition) is supported by a low set of spreaders set on diamond stays.  These entirely foul the operation of the pole as when the mast is rotated down wind the spreaders get in the way.  The only solution is a shorter pole, and that is not fast in a 12.  The ns14 is substantially faster in all aspects of sailing.  The rig is more efficient (fully battened main, and higher aspect ratio), the hull is longer and it is lighter.

If the mast could be supported without this typical spreader arrangement you might be on to something.

Jib booms were found to be second best to dangly poles for 12s but they may well be a better solution for the ns14.

enjoyable boats to sail.

[jimc (Guest)]

The pole up the mast would make a vastly greater difference on an NS mast than on a 12 one. All to do with the flow separation if you believe Bethwaite.

[hairy dog]

dangly pole would definately interfere with the aerodynamics of the mast section.  I had thoughts about permananty attaching a thin (1/2 inch) pole to the clew and a fne taught wire up the front of the mast section; using it as a barber hauler up/off wind.  I tried this on a 12 and it worked OK but as the NS14 is more stable (especially fore-aft) there seemed little to be gained over an "old fashioned loose in the bottom of the boat" one.

btw.  NS14 masts don't bend.  The mainsheet is all about leech control.

[Enigma NS1964 (Guest)]

I've fitted a shiny new carbon dangley pole to my boat and will be testing it this coming season... I've set it up such that i could revert it back to a standard pole if it turns out to be a flop, but thinking a bit about it I decided it was worth trying. There is also an aero 9 in ballina with a dangley pole.

When launching the pole; I've been finding that the pole seems to slide down when the launch line is being pulled and then it thumps into the foredeck if hauled on too quickly, plus it takes a bit of messing about to get it to flick out to windward; any suggestions as to how to get it to work a little better? I try to aim dead downwind when launching the pole to help it, but it still takes some speed-sapping rocking rolling and messing around to get it to work.

cheers,
jono
ns14 1964

[fixed (Guest)]

We damage the deck as the elastic wears out.  Get stronger elastic and you should be fine.

[easy (Guest)]

And to get it to windward;

-helm pulls on windward sheet tight.
- crew ensures old sheet is free to run
- crew launches pole as helm eases sheet

[Lukepiewalker]

I always tried to use as long a run of elastic as I could. This meant you could have reasonable tension on it without it getting to tight towards the end of it's travel.

[janeraine]

G'day!
Where are all you guys sailing down there?  I'm an experienced N12 crew (N3130 1985-2002) and also spent 5 years crewing Merlins. I'm moving to the mid north coast NSW in about 4 weeks time and will be looking for a crewing job out there - willing to try anything!!  Any suggestions?
Jane