Kestrahl

IRC has a bit to answer for, we have some of the english designs in Singapore, the Corby 29 and Ker 32, they are terrible boats compared to something like a T30... Melges 32 or Mumm 30 are still nice boats, but the cost of transport/importing is restrictive for a small boat compared to a bigger boat you can sail home.

I used to make about 20 or 30 a year. Never used the old dodger as a pattern, always patterned directly from the frames and boat, and installed the grommets on site when fitting. The old Sunbrella stretches and the clear shrinks over time. If it has been reinforced with PVC or leather that also shrinks. So the old dodgers often end up all warped, especially if the window has been replaced a couple of times. The sections will not be flat anymore. The poly thread does vary a bit in quality and its very rare for it to match the lifespan of sunbrella, normally needs restitching one or two times

Don't they have different stiffness battens in the US? the top batten has to be the correct stiffness that it will form a shape even in light wind. If the batten is to stiff then it will hold the sail flat (with creases around the pocket). I would suggest trying a different sailmaker, putting a pocket on each side of the sail sounds like a silly idea.

The more backstay you can put on the better its going to look when its partly furled. Forestay sag has a huge effect on sail shape. Before we went offshore in our Davidson 35 I built a dacron 125% no2 with heavy UV and rope luff (less effective than foam). I look photos and computer analyzed the shape, fully out and partly furled, there was actually very little depth increase for the same wind strength. We also raced with it partly furled in 30+ knots a couple of times and performance was still fine. The furler is a harken with fairly light and small foil which I think helps.

It looks like BP8 had nowhere to go and HB carried the breeze to the east of him a bit longer but now may be sailing into a even bigger light patch than BP8. But who knows, go HB! When does it update again!!

We had a Aakron yachtmaster, lasted 1.5 years (in the tropics). And have seen a few others lying around in pieces. Now have a Mercury Hyperlon which is okay. AB and Achilles seem to be the two preferred brands for world cruisers. Takacat not so good either and appear to be made in the same OEM factory in china as Aakron, Highfield, our Mercury and a bunch of others.

Are the quotes comparing the same sail, batten layout, reefs and cloth? You could assume all dacron's are similar in price but in actual fact some can be double the price per m to others. I know Hyde use Challange PC which is very low end. Talk to the NZ agent for Hyde - Fyfe Sails, ask him about different dacron's. The other problem is they won't ship full battens. But you could do a lot worse up here than Hyde!

I'm not sure why they want to fix it, in a one design fleet its going to become the boat that nobody wants!

There are still a lot of people who appreciate having a classic NZ boat. Definitely up here its nicer having a Davidson then just another Beneteau. I'd prefer a well maintained and upgraded kiwi boat over something french. Unfortunately the market is saturated with 2 types. There are the people who think they can spend minimum upkeep on their boat and then sell it for the same price as what they paid, and then there are those who throw 100k into it and then believe its worth 100k more.

Sorry Markm, I would have to agree with the last 3 posters. I think the some of the NZ designed and built boats, for 20-30 years old are doing very well on the cruiser/racer front. If you want a boat you can race competitively but also cruise you can't go past some of the older kiwi designs. What euro racer/cruiser is going to beat an Elliott 1050 around the track but offer the same level of comfort? IRC isn't helping by favoring heavy boats, or you can go for the volvo copycat wide stern twin rudder racer/cruiser, but opps its overweight and under-rigged (Elan 350) Where the oversea p

Stand corrected 80% of the time you get what you pay for with sails.

Duty on finished sails is 7% unfinished is 0%