Gear guide 2018
Hulls
Nearly the entire fleet is made up of Winder FRP boats that
ranging from the Mk1 to the present Mike Calvert modifications which I will
call the Mk6. All of the races at the nationals this year were won by either a
Mk4, 5 or 6 Winder. Close on their heels as normal, is the beautifully built
Genii Evolutions By JT, winner last year in the hands of Nick Craig (maybe a
lack of on the water time and a change in crew did not quite work out for him
this year). The Joker in the pack was the much revamped Jo Richards’ Deadline design,
proving a wooden boat can still compete.
Foils
Nearly all the fleet are using either JT or Winder foils, both
are nice quality and it’s hard to say which does what best as they both perform
well. A couple of boats are using gybing boards and I cannot really comment on
them, but the fashion of the Hatchet board from a couple of years ago appears to
have died out.
Rig
We have some really good rigs in the class now and they are
perhaps the biggest performance differentials as so many are using the same
hulls and foils. Current rigs come from a number of companies and all of them
today are High Modulus, giving a better gust response as well as having a very
small frontal area that helps to not disturb the air around the luff so much. We
still have guys winning with the Chipstow masts, but it would be fair to say
that at least one of them has had a fair bit of modification.
JT 45mm OD hand rolled Fibres at 0-90, 6 Kg Rigged
Selden 43mm OD Mandrel wound Fibres 18 degrees, 5.8 Kg Rigged
Paragon 45mm OD Table wound Fibres at 0-90, 5.5 kg Rigged
Supaspar 49.5mm OD Table wound Fibres at 0-90, 5.7 Kg Rigged
Sails
The Results don’t always show it, but HD continues to be by
far the market leader in the class, not least because of the great service from
Taxi. Exe have done a tremendous amount of work with Christian and Mike this year
on different schools of thought; one with the tack forward, and one with it in
the traditional position behind the chute. Exe managed to win 7 out of 9 races
at the nationals this year, but it must be quantified that this was a home
event for both of them with the amount of sailing they had done there before
the event. We also have guys using P& B, North, Hyde, Dynamic and more
recently, Suffolk sails.
Tack
Over the last two years we have seen a trend in the class to
move to a bow tack. Started by JT in 2010, most of the class have now moved
that way. There are two choices, one to keep your measurement certificate the
same and have your 2.7 jib with a shorter luff and a longer Luff perpendicular,
or to shorten your Main foot and move to a 3.0 jib. Whether you have any of the
three options, your clew should be in the same place relative to the mast.
Nationals
Hull Foils
Rig Sails
Tack
1. 1. Winder Mk5 W
board JT Rudder JT HM Exe Bow
2. 2. Winder Mk 4 Winder
C/R Chipstow P/B Back
3. 3. Winder Mk 4 Winder
C/R Chipstow Exe Back
Salcombe
1. 1. Jo Richards Deadline Driver
C/R Chipstow
HD Back
2. 2. Winder Mk4 Winder
C/R Selden
HM HD Bow
3. 3. Winder Mk5 Winder C/R Selden
HM HD Bow
Inlands
1. 1. Winder Mk 4 Winder
C/R Selden
HM HD Bow
2. 2. Winder Mk 4 Winder
C/R Selden
HM HD Bow
3. 3. Genii Evolution JT
C/R Paragon
HM HD Bow
