help tacking and carry heavier helmsmen.  Soon on the heels of WAPB - in fact off the same frames - came Heap Big Rudder (so named because the designers last notes to the builder were to stick a very large rudder on the back of all these boats having watched Warren capsize countless times in Once bitten during the windy 1985 Championship) which was simply WAPB with the transom dropped half an inch to reduce the bustle at the rear end.  This lengthens the waterline for speed in sub-planing winds but needs a lighter helmsman.

Riders on the Storm 2
Otherwise known as Buckle Up, this was a modified version of ROTS 1, incorporating the owners' ideas for the next season.  On the water for 1988, this boat is possibly the best of the Holt breed for the heavyweights, and won the Silver Tiller in 1988.  This was followed up with second place at the Inlands in 1989, 4th overall at the '89 Nationals, and another overall victory in the Silver Tiller.

Canterbury Tales
Ian Holt and Jon Turner share the credit for this design.  The original Canterbury Tales was built in 1988 but has really only become a vogue design in the 1990's.  In 1987, while ROTS 2 was taking shape in Bradford, Ian Holt was talking to Turner about a new boat for himself.  The final result was Turner's interpretations of Holt's requirements and ideas, with the end result a Modified Diamond Smiles, with "all the edges rounded off".  Further to the success of this design in timber, Turners' yard decided to take advantage of modern materials to produce epoxy sandwich versions.  A mould was taken from the original Canterbury Tales.  Rig development in the shape of modern deck-stepped masts using the lightweight Superspar M1 mast, square-top hoops and sail development has further extended the performance of this already successful hull shape.  Interestingly the design has proven successful carrying a range from 20 to 24 stone, although minimal rocker aft has meant that the design favours lighter helmsmen.  Canterbury Tales designs built by Jon Turner have won the Nationals for three successive years - 1990, 1991, and 1992, and both the Inlands and Silver Tiller in 1991 and 1992 - quite an achievement!  Only about 15 of these designs have been built by Turner since 1988 and they are much sought after when they appear on the second-hand market. However back in 1999 Guy Winder obtained the Turner hull mould and then made a deck mould to match.  In the subsequent period Guy has made in excess of 40 FRP boats which have proved both fast and durable.

Alan Jackson has built slight modifications of the Canterbury Tales to suit both the light and heavyweights.

Steppenwolf
This design is the result of considerable research into how the current Merlin Rocket hull shape can be improved.  It is a progression from "Diamond Smiles" and Dangerbat.  All three boats have a distinctive shape that was based upon a flat forefoot, a straight run aft from the forward edge of the centreboard case, and a powerful transom.  The combination of the transom shape and the flat forefoot made these boats exceptionally fast on a power reach, did not harm upwind or downwind in a breeze regardless of crew weight, but made them hard work to sail well in light winds, and they hated turning corners.

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Ian Holt/Kevin Driver Designs

Let it Ride

This Canterbury Tales variant had been developing in Kevin Driver's mind for some while but only became a reality when he set up his own yard at Beer in 1995.  3537 "XS" was the first boat built, for Henry Wright.

Let it Ride takes further the developments previously made by Jon Turner in his Heaven Sent design, itself a Tales variant.  Compared with the Tales it has considerably fuller underwater sections forward of the mast, a flatter run with virtually no curve along the lands at the turn of the bilge, and increased beam at the transom.  Meticulous attention to detail has enabled the constraints imposed by the rise-of-floor rule to be minimised.  Two boats exhibit minor variations - 3537 XS has extra rocker aft, whilst 3543 Storm Cloud has a hollow run.

Boats to this design have proved significantly faster downwind than Tales in marginal planning conditions.  Claims that they are less manoeuvrable, are more difficult to handle in a blow and possibly marginally slower in sub-planning mode are difficult to assess because the limited number of boats built to this design have generally gone to top sailors. 

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Ron Hall Designs

Empty Pockets
Ron Hall modified Ian Holt's ROTS and Canterbury