How to reef a Balance Lugsail. A neat trick of using shock cord (bungee) for the intermediate ties makes it much faster to tie in a reef as well as remove the reef after. it also minimises the risk of damaging the sail if something major breaks elsewhere.
BETH sailing canoe – The designer has lots of fine things to say about the sailing performance of BETH – but Andrew Barclay has been racing his against mixed fleets in British Columbia where she sails equal with Laser Radials in light wind and gradually outclasses them in stronger.
I provide some tips about getting a bit more from the boat.
OK … it IS a rant. But it was prompted by the very legitimate question about why have a mizzen sail.
But sadly I descend into a rant about how expense is a really poor predictor of performance.
In general I don’t like most sailing books and most sailing lessons.
I think that a learner doesn’t need to learn many new words. Also because they don’t explain the correct principles in the beginning their explanations become really complicated.
If you understand how to use a sail to get power – when it is at maximum power and when it isn’t it all becomes very logical.
Gyula, who built the first European OzRacer in 2008 wants to modify it for an outboard motor or an electric trolling motor – calculate output
The new OzRacer RV is a much simpler build of the original OzRacer concept. It also is a direct relative of the slightly larger and much faster OZ Goose
One of the most important things as a designer or sailor is to keep an open mind, but also to be able to analyze things in light of real experience and prior knowledge. These are online and paper resources that force thinking in different ways.
This article, after a bit of a spiel, goes on to give some great resources that “opened my eyes” at different times in my life.
They focus on areas of structural design, sailing, sail aerodynamics and touch on a bit more.
John Goodman who recently spent 5 days semi racing a Goat Island Skiff in the Texas200 event got back to me with some observations and even some pictures of aspects of the boat and the sailing.
I have responded with suggestions to make some further improvements. Between John and me there are some useful tips about setting up a boat for more speed.
However the standard setup of the Goat is fine for most – it is still pretty quick in standard form.
There is advice for both lug and sprit traditional rigs here.
Ralph Gersson in Holland got a very nice mail from Michael McNamara from mcNamara sails UK. He made a nice sail for Richard Harvey’s GIS “Blanche” and Ralph has decided to order.
Michael, a racing sailor with a lot of background talks about the experience of sailing the Goat Island Skiff.
Ok … balance lug vs sprit boom triangular sail – what are the advantages and disadvantages of each of these two rigs that naturally control sail twist
Dan Taylor in Washington State, USA emailed me to provide pics of the lug rig alternative for the Oz Racer. The sail looks very nice indeed and the light wind and a perfect sunny day were the other necessary ingredients.
Interview/Podcast with Michael Storer on why Australian boats are different, why traditional rigs have some distinct advantages.
I’m staying with Peter and Jo Hyndman – Peter built the first Goat Island Skiff to my plans about 12 years ago and we have been firm friends since.
Their boat is now 12 or 13 years old and has not been repainted or revarnished. Properly done with premium products and still looks great.
Goat Island Skiff group has developed a faster reefing system for cruising dinghies. No special fittings are needed so quick cheap and simple
Chasse Maree magazine published an interview with Michael “The quest for performance is not a matter of materials, it’s a state of mind” Translated by Christine deMerchant
Brushes, Squeegees and Rollers all have advantages and disadvantages for boatbuilding epoxy coating. This explains and provides useful tips.
