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johnMi

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Posts posted by johnMi

  1. Yes, a brilliant race, a bit of everything.

    It was great from the start under kite to North Head, except for the fact that we were being covered by all the big monos so we couldn't really hit our stride. We peeled to the screacher and headed off with Tigre nipping at our heels all the way to Leigh, sitting in the high teens all the way (max speed 20.2 knots).

    Then things went awry. From there to Whangarei heads the winds could be 100 degrees variation and anything from 0 to 18 knots. PlanB passed us both and we then match raced them for the next hour.

    At Whangarei heads the NNW came in a solid 15 to 18 knots and very lumpy seas. The boat took off sitting nicely on 7 to 9 knots, but every 30s or so the boat would go thru the waves rather than over and with all the crew needed near the bow to keep it down it was going to be another 6 to 7 hrs like this. We decided to pull out.

    I was really impressed with Sledge, and it wasn't her performance that caused us to pull out. She was pointing as high and going as fast as the monos around us. 20 yrs younger and I would have kept at it.

    It was nice to put her on the trailer at Marsden cove on Saturday and tow her home.

    Definitely an enjoyable race even if we didn't finish.

  2. I reckon Deans being screwed unfairly here.

    Maybe he needs to step aside, but he has been loyal to NZ (at a time that everyone else was out for themselves) and should be treated fairly

     

    Who from the TNZ heirarchy leaked this.

     

    I hope if Dean is scrapped, he takes TNZ with him.

    • Upvote 1
  3. Good on you Thinkhappy. I have a saying

     

    ' If you are not living on the edge you're taking up far too much room'

     

    Single handed sailing has always been a love of mine, sailing round the coast of the North Island and in the good old days a beer and a cigarette in my hands. I love singlehanded races and joined the shorthanded sailing assoc to promote Singlehanded sailing, only to be told SH Sailing is too dangerous. Bollocks!

     

    As you say, what damage can a tracker do to another boat if you hit it. You might scratch the paintwork, or might even puncture the hull if you hit it just right, but far less damage than that boat hitting a floating container.

     

    You will always get the 'holier than thou' telling you you are Naieve, or careless, but hey, tne only one I believe is in danger is you. My biggest fear has always been falling off the boat, but now with the GPS PLB it,s just about waiting till someone picks you up.

     

    Wear a lifejacket and have a PLB and 'Live on the edge'. If I was twenty yrs younger I would challenge you to the Singlehanded Coastal Classic.

     

    I will look on in interest.

  4. Looks a very interesting design, very light, and would be interesting to see how it would compare to our racing multis here in Auckland.

    How much 'drag, is induced by having such a short windward hull?

    And what sort of sail area does a 50ft cat or tri run as a comparison?

  5. E E don't ruin a good boat by making the top Trailer Sailer on the market into a keeler.

    Sure, change the foils, but don't remove the lifting keel.

    I know it's a grind to pump it up, but once it's gone you'll lose at least $10-15,000 on resale value.

    Some of the best sailing (on a mono) was on my Elliott 7.4

    Why not try and swap it for an E7.9 then and get a bit more length, then change your foils.

  6. EE

    One boat you do NOT have to worry about is the Elliott 7.4

    If you have a look at the SRI of Trailer yachts the E 7.4 was more than double the numbers of the next closest trailer yacht.

    However, when I owned Elliott 7 I think it only took a few Kilos to hold the mast level with the water. But as soon as that weight was removed it bounced up quickly.

     

    Knot Me

    The biggest issue with a knockdown (from experience on Elliott 7) was the action of the crew, 5 guys not wanting to get their feet wet, then when the water got on top of the sail, that compounded the problem. The windage was quite high and the mast tip was being 'pushed' into the water. If there had also been big seas, I think we would have had it go completely upside down.

    It only took one of the crew to climb thru the lifelines for it to come back quite abruptly.

    As Fish said, it's the things (in my case crew) that move to the most inconvenient positions that cause the problem.

  7. What is it that you guys are so quick at bagging and criticizing Rob Denney.

     

    Tim, what about the comment of the strength of 3.5 kgs/sq m verses 2.5 kgs/sq m.

     

    So, Rob has a few different ideas to you guys, but surely you guys can take it without getting all precious about it!

  8. The Ross 650 is a very tender flighty boat, if you don't mind a wooden boat, the small joker is a great boat, water ballasted and light to tow. Waikato yacht squadron have alot of them and could give you heads up on any for sale.

  9. Quote

    "Cat 5 YNZ Safety regulations, clause 7.4 (M):

     

    "A multihull yacht shall possess sufficient windward ability and assurance of coming about in

    bad conditions to enable her to tack away from a lee shore or other extensive obstruction"

     

    Tell me this, when you shunt do you not go backwards (to leeward) at some point ?"

     

    Tim,

    I believe this means, that you actually get away from a lee shore, if that means some room is lost changing tack but the overall gain gets you from the shore, that surely would be acceptable.

  10. Surely that is all part of sailing these magnificent machines.

    There is no way you could put restrictions on wind speeds etc.

    I find it a challenge to know what the boat (and us) can take, and if it means joining the UDC club, so be it.

    I always sail with a lifejacket on because we DO push it hard.

    (Mind you, I reckon even with the modified mast and new sails PE is a very forgiving boat,)

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