A year after starting the build, I finally get some bullets!

The boat went really well but I was a bit rusty:

Race 1 started in about 4-6 knots, and I was starting with Pete (in AUS 9) a bladerider, about 7 finns and 6 OK dinghies. I shot out to an early lead despite feeling like my pointing was a little low and soon had about a 2-300m lead over the fleet. However I sailed into a hole on the right of the course and rounded the top mark behind several of the Finns. I overtook the Finns on the reaches of the first triangle but on the 2nd upwind leg I had a shocker and let all the Finns and nearly all the OK’s through on me (basically I just parked in a piece of glassy water). I caught all but 1 of the Finns and ended up crossing the line 10 seconds behind him. In those light and flukey conditions the speed difference upwind between a Finn and the IC was small – I would accelerate quickly but stop quickly while the Finn would point slightly higher and maintain momentum.

Race 2 was a windward leeward 3 loop sprint race – I had my racing brain in gear this time and had a few more knots of wind (it was now about 10-12 knots) – I hit the start line with good speed however I missed a lift and let the fast finn pip me at the top mark. Again sailing the angles downwind I had him at the bottom mark and then just powered away from him (like an IC should). Once the IC was planing I found I was pointing as high as the finn and still footing fast. On the second loop my rudder popped up and I sailed one long tack to the top mark with it not in the water – but by overstanding the mark I gave myself enough time to push it back down, tack and sail to the finish.

It was great to get some bullets, and I now need to spend some time in the boat getting back up to speed – it will always be tough to win on YS on short course racing but I was pretty disappointed with 19th and 15th respectively overall (http://www.yachting.org.au/site/yachting/results/adelaidesc/2009/club/north/singlehanded/series.htm )– the only small positive on my results is that we have some hotshot laser and Finn sailors at our club at the moment.

On the boat: the boat felt great, but in the light stuff I was using huge amounts of Cunningham to get the battens to pop (infact after stuffing around releasing and tensioning the Cunningham – Iended up just racing with it on). Next week I will fit the other set of battens Lindsay sent to me.

New Rudder

New Rudder stock - Geoff has been busy putting together a new rudder stock for the flatpacks after some issues with the original design (and then the change from kick up to cartridge rudders). I've just glued in the stop pins an lockdown tab at the rear and given its 40 degrees here it shouldn't take long to dry. If we get some breeze I'll get it out on the water this evening.

In other awesome news, the 2010 Nationals will be at Adelaide Sailing Club in March next year!

Frustration

I just haven't been able to get the paint on the hull in time to race this weekend; sub 10 degree nights and driving rain has made it near impossible to paint for the last 2 weeks. However I have a window of opportunity tomorrow and Monday so I should be able to have her already to be back on the water for a Friday twilight sail before racing Saturday.

As you can see above in the pictures, Pete has traded the FD for a 12 (woo-hoo), my rudder is now a cassette drop in (note the squared off stern - Hayden said my IC was to long), Winglets tapered to remove the '2nd hollow' from when looking at the boat from above.

Pressure

No, not work or family, but barometric pressure is what has been hampering repairs (well that and a large ingress of water in the kitchen!).

However after racing Petes FD last weekend, I got the incentive to finish the boat repairs no matter the weather (yes the FD is a pretty boat but so boring after sailing an IC).

Geoff posted the replacement rudder blade with the new stainless steel and Carbon shaft and I dropped it into my rudder stock this morning. I then bit the bullet and cut the stock up to change it from a swing up arrangement to a conventional (in IC terms) drop in rudder. While the araldite is drying on that mod I faired the bow repair and put in a second filler coat. Once this is dry I will lay up a layer of carbon around the bow then fill and fair (ditto with the stern). Unfortunately this work, and timelines means I will miss the Zhik regatta, but will be on the water at ASC with the boat on opening day.

Given the inauspicious start the flatpack has had, and the start of a new season, I am thinking of painting her a different colour and giving her a different name.

AUS31 needs a nose job

I must have accidentally laminated a black cat into AUS31 as I seem to be having some bad luck:

I broke the rudder right on the start of race one on Saturday (no kidding, it was on the start gun), even worse is that I was in a great position so I ploughed at near full speed into a fireball underneath me. His boat is holed, my boats bow is open and I have no rudder.

So tonight I'll give it a really good clean and work out how we do the rhinoplasty on the bow, meantime the rudder goes back to the workshop to have a stainless steel pin put through it (Insurance will probably have to handle the damage to the Fireball....)

Back to the shed.....

Back on the water - Finally

Well after a well needed break and spending my weekends doing family stuff i finally got a nice day to get the flatpack (with modifications) back on the water. Now sporting a regular sheeting jib and a lower more raked set of spreaders (and the lowers removed) I headed out in about 10-15 knots. As soon as I was through the break water and hardening up on the wind I noticed the improvement, the boat just hooked in upwind and I quickly found a groove. I played around with a couple of OK dinghies which were tuning new sails and found I was footing fast but still pointing as high as them.

Pete then came out in his Nethercott (AUS9) and I was able to out point and easily pull away from him. The boat felt great and I wish I had it set up like this when I went to the Nationals!

Well its a week off skiing in NZ next week and then the winter hot up series - I'll also be looking to do some heats of the IC Traveller series this year.

Post Nationals

Been a little quiet since the Nationals, catching up with family after spending the last 6 months in the shed.

However AUS31 now has a conventional Jib sheeting system and a new set of spreaders - 150mm lower than the old ones. Hoping to get some good weather next weekend to hit the water.

Meanwhile here are some pics from the Nationals http://www.facebook.com/photo_search.php?oid=35025993421&view=all 

AUS 32 Launches and the 2009 Nationals

Though the images appear in the wrong order chronologically, they are:

1. Broken Self Tacker - AUS31 on Heat 6 of the Nationals
2. Broken rudder shaft - AUS32 Heat 3 of the Nationals
3. Nethercott, Flatpack, Serendipity (flatpack)
4. AUS32 'Serendipity' on her maiden sail

Pete launched Serendipity (AUS32) in almost no wind the day before the Nationals and quickly discovered that he needed grip and that he needed to plug a leak in the transom.

Hayden ran the measuring stick over AUS31, and pointed out that I needed to fair in the ends of my flares to reduce having 2 hollows in profile view - this is an easy fix. I also need to fair my tiller stock - which I was planning on doing anyway as i am switching from kick up back to cassette rudder.

For an overview of the Nationals I suggest you check out the Nationals report and results (which I will publish shortly) but here is my bullet point take on the nationals:

• AUS31's rig needs major work, the self tacker flexed too much meaning the jib pulled to dead centre and back winded the main badly - upwind I was lucky to be withing 15 degrees of the other boats pointing range. 
• The mainsail was far to full and the battens just would not click over, after day 1 I switched back to the old flat AUS018 mainsail and immediately performed better
• The hull slipped very easily through the water, and makes very similar noises to Haydens 'Miracle Drug' upwind. Though I was getting a gurgling sound down aft which may be a bit of air getting sucked in around the kick up rudder.
• I need to do more work on my plank to get it to slide better
• I need to round the leading edge of my foils a little more - suggested by Seth after he noticed it took me a little while to get going after tacks
• I need to move the daggerboard slot further forward, the boat was hard to tack
• I need to put on a conventional jib sheeting system, this decision was made easier by the self tacker ripping out of the boat.
• I need to strengthen the rudder axle on my boat as insurance against what happened to AUS32
• I may look at a different vang system to the GNAV
• I need to rub back the boat and get the finished surface that I want.

Overall I am disappointed with my result in the Nationals, but I am pretty pleased with my first 5 and a 1/2 races in the first boat I have built. Though  could not run with the other new IC's i could beat the Nethercotts when things held together even though I had some very visible major rig issues. I need to sit down and work with Geoff on a plan to address some of the above issues and incorporate the changes into the flatpack building instructions so that others can benefit from this Beta testing. I am looking forward to taking the flatpack back east in October to see if I can apply what I have learned.

Hitting the road

The Adelaide Sailing Club Express is packed and ready to roll:

• AUS 31 (Christian) in the trailer
• AUS32 (Petes) on the roof
• Brendans and Andrews RSX Sailboards on the trailer roof

Both AUS31 and 32 need a couple of things done before we race, but we should be able to take care of those Friday before we race.

Safe trip Pete, see you in a couple of days.

Pre-nationals float

I got out yesterday for about 4 hours:

Launched at about 1200 off of ASC; it was an offshore breeze with about 10 knots on shore and 5-15 on the water. I have kept the kick up rudder but substituted the bolt for a S/S pin as the hinge and have also made a better lock down system which worked fine – useful since I’ve nearly had IC’s get away from me while mucking around with rudders on the downwind leg. I ran out of the bay and got myself sorted out in the boat then beat back into shore, my impressions were:

• I was sitting too far aft, so I moved the carriage to just over the aft edge of the c/b
• I had forgotten my gloves
• My mainsheet didn’t seemed to run freely on starboard tack, and the plank didn’t slide all the way on this tack either.
• The Main seems very full in the head

I chucked in a few tacks then decided to come in and address some issues and get my gloves. I went over my mainsheet and found I’d fastened the pulley on backwards (meaning it had to twist a long way to get to stbd tack), I also fed all my control lines to a piece of elastic on my seat (so I could pull them all to me while on the end of the plank). I laid the boat over and tightened the top two battens as there were some creases running up-down over those areas.
After doing this and getting my gloves on I launched again but the wind had dropped off to under 5 knots, the boat sailed along nicely but I was having major issues getting the battens to pop across (needed a massive amount of Cunningham and a bit of vang to do it). All the control lines to the seat looked messy but actually worked quite well (we’ll see if it does when racing); I also let off the leeward stay downwind for the first time since completing Flatpack and the boat seemed to respond positively.
Unfortunately with no other boats on the water I still have no real idea of how fast the boat is, but she is slipping through the water nicely and feels good. I am concerned about how full the main looks, and may run it up the mast tonight to see what other adjustments can be made- worst case scenario is that I will have the old AUS018 main if it looks like being a super windy series. I think I have goofed with the plank/carriage, with one end being wider than the other – I will sand again tonight, but I think I need to have a good look at this (unfortunately after the Nationals) to see what I might have done wrong and how I fix it. So, tonight is a quick rig and check, then a wash and pack up of the trailer ready for Pete to drive over Wednesday.

The 11th Hour

4 days from packing the boats into the trailer and AUS32 emerges from the shed. She's had a few modifications made: Gnav has been substituted for a regular vang, she'' be racing the nationals with Kinder sails and not new Irwins (until we get the mast bends fully sorted), and she may still have her centreboard moved.

Boats get packed on the trailer Wednesday, and Pete hopes to have her ready for a test sail by tomorrow afternoon. Meanwhile, I'm off to ASC for my last float before the Nationals.

Broken Vang

The fitting pictured above is the universal joint between the GNAV strut and the mast - it seems the proctor plastic isn't up to the task. Pete is going to knock up some alloy ones tomorrow while I finish putting his carriage together. 1.5 weeks to nationals and the primer is still drying on AUS32.

More Mast work

Did some more mast bend work on the mast last night as it seems the original data we took my have been incorrect (bugger).

A=5710mm

B=1840mm

% 40kg 50kg

25 100mm 110mm

50 133mm 146mm

75 96mm 110mm

87.5 61mm 70mm

The rain got too heavy to do Petes on the boat, so I used the CST method:

M Point zero load 25kg load

1000 0mm 21mm

2000 0mm 35mm

3000 0mm 42mm

3710(LP) 0mm 40mm

4000 0mm 37mm

5000 0mm 33mm

AUS31 Prebend

Top Pic has rig tension but no cunningham or vang, bottom pic has rig tension cunningham and vang - the difference in sail shape is amazing (and I'm amazed that in all my years of sailing I've never done these sort of comparisons - I've just played around with the settings someone else has suggested). The GNAV changes the sail shape so much in the 'push' it puts on the mast. I've also switched around the way my rig tension feeds at deck level to get a smoother line from the hounds-spreaders-deck. I'll send these pics to Lindsay and Geoff and see what they think.

Meantime it is zero knots here still so it looks like sailing is a wipeout, will be out next Sunday at ASC (OK dinghies are having a measuring day aswell so should atleast get a speed indication from the beast before the Nationals the following weekend).

Tarted Up

AUS32 has had undercoat applied, just in time too as it started raining last night and it is expected to last all week.

AUS31 can be seen out in the rain as I try to chase some more pre-bend; when Lindsay Irwin rings me on a Saturday and says my mast needs work, I listen. Speaking with Geoff last night, he reckons that I need to play around with the whole picture of GNAV, rig tension and spreaders - so it looks like a long day in the rain today.

More test sailing

Got AUS31 out on the water for a couple of hours today - and I am much happier with the way she went (though looking at the pictures i still don't think I have enough mast rake so I'll need a new forestay). One of the things I'm about to ring Geoff about is converting the kick up rudder back to cassette style - the kick up simply requires too many moving parts (well, 2 moving parts - the rudder down and the tiller locking in).

I'm still not convinced I have it right by having the vang cleat on the boom, but I'll use tomorrow on the water to get a better feel for that. I also have to look at a better mainsheet cleat or no cleat - as I cannot get the system I have to work.

The boat itself sailed very nicely - it went upwind with good feel and very light helm, tasking went smoothly (though I did have to heave on the cunningham to get the batterns to flick). The self tacker seemed to work well and I was easily able to reach the jib sheet and cunningham. She is much more stable to sail than I remember Josie feeling, and she can sail with more control on her ear (not that you want to do this - but it does mean you can get her back under control if you do get smashed by a gust, or in my case are unable to uncleat the main).

I really need to sail against another IC to see if the boat has pace in it, so I guess we'll see at the Nationals

AUS32's Carriage

Pete is halfway through assembling his carriage, the whole boat is really coming along quickly now - but with 3 weeks to go will he make it?

And check out that rudder, blade is the same as min on AUS31 but Geoff has upped the level of finish on the stock (now we know it works on my boat it has elevated from a Beta). It just keeps getting better and better!

AUS31 Weighs in

Hull + carriage + boom + fittings 35kg

Hull + carriage + boom + fittings + centreboard + rudder + tiller extension + seat + mast = 48kg

I'm very happy, though the official weigh in will be when Hayden throws the tape over at Toukley next month

AUS31's new sails

AUS 31 'Flatpack' has received her new Irwin sails, I just quickly put them up today and they look good. I will have them out on the water all day next Saturday (it is annoying to not have a drivers license until July).

Main differences to the sails I had on AUS26 are more luff round in the main (a fair bit more given how hard the things were to pull up) and the jib cut (not as high aspect as my usual jibs but the geometry of the flatpack didn't lend itself to that).

(you can also see the yard has been neglected in place of boat work)

AUS32 has her filler coat on the hull and the seat is carboned on the bull noses and Apex. Rails will be made today and fairing of the hull will start.

Flat out on AUS32

We're both flat out on AUS32, and with only 3.5 weeks to go we're going to struggle to get her ready for the Nationals.

Seat (mark 2 as the first 1 had some issues from not following the designers advice) went together last night and looks good. 

AUS31 is back in the shed at the moment getting the prettying up that she missed out on in an effort to make the abandoned Adelaide nationals. Her new sails have finally arrived so I'll get them up on the weekend.

AUS32 More Progress

The carriage rails are going on AUS32 - and using WRC as level supports is a much simpler way that the way I did AUS31 (evolution people). To help Pete get to the Nationals with his new boat, it looks like I will give him my seat and carriage and I will build a new set for my boat. So a little croweater teamwork to ensure both boats are ready for the June Long Weekend.

AUS32 is on the go

Pete has got his Disco running again and is back working on AUS32 - foredeck is now on as is most of the dancefloor (still beeds to be able to get into the front tank for the fitting of the self tacker. As can be seen AUS32 has a different look to AUS31 with Pete opting for and angular foredeck and straight bulkheads.

In the background can be seen the remains of a seat - not all builds are successful, so we have salvaged what we can off of AUS32's seat and will rebuild shortly.

AUS31 can be seen in the shed too, she is getting rubbed back ready for her top coat.

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

Well, it would have been  a warm but light Nationals had they gone ahead in Adelaide, but with the change to Toukley in June I got the chance to get some more time on the water:

The good

• Adding more mast rake made the boat handle much better, tacking and gybing were easy in the 7-12 knots which is comforting
• Switching the jib sheet to coming back from the mast stump worked well as does the vang off the boom
• The plank came out dry showing that my work on it during the week was worth it

The bad

• I snapped the tiller (a drop in piece which is now re-enforced with a 100mm resin impregnated wooden plug and is strong as houses)
•  have to play around with my mainsheet blocks as I am having a few issues cleating and uncleating the main

The Ugly:

• I really need the new sails for the boat as the AUS018 sails don't do the boat justice
• I need to clean up the hull and fittings now I know they work
• The mast is 55mm too long - not sure if I'll live with this or trim it
• I need a longer forestay as I may want to have even more mast rake and I am on the last setting

Sailing wise - the boat went upwind beautifully, I had the carriage forward (in fact over the centreboard) tracking upwind and had the bow just pushing into the water (about 3-4cm) as I slid along. Stern had very little disturbance and the boat slipped quietly through the water. The boat really doesn't like healing too far and has a definite 'groove' when sailing flat. Unfortunately with AUS13 not hitting the water (Kyle was taking his son and nieces out on a pacer and some bics) and AUS9 only getting out yesterday (Pete had pressing car issues) I can't give a write up compared to other IC's (hopefully next Saturday). But I can tell you that I am very happy with the way she handles and responds and I am looking forward to racing with the new sails on.

Geoff (not the designer) asked me to give my opinion on the self tacker - I have been a fan of this since having it on AUS018 (which was an IC/AC convertible Nethercott). To be honest, I don't think the self tacker track needs to be any wider than the standard 'slot' for the fairleads in the upwind position (so basically a 20-30cm width). This allows for hands free on the jib upwind sailing and the jib is still able to be trimmed easily downwind. My self tacker track is wider, but i don't believe it makes a difference on these skinnier boats (and a narrower self tacker means no need for sheet position control). A self tacker is a little more annoying in that you need to be creative to ensure the sheet can be led to you on the seat, but in my opinion it is worth it.

Dialling in the Mast Rake

Using a Datum to set the mast rake, turns out that I had no rake at all last Saturday - hope to see some big improvements this Friday on the water.

I've also put her measurements on the ICAA website - IC Measurements

AUS32 is plugging away in the shed, it had a bit of a set back with plank construction but should still be on track to be at the IC(y) Nationals in June. 

Not a great first race

12-15 knots and grey skies with a lumpy sea set the scene for the first race, we (AUS31, AUS13, AUS9) lined up with the lasers/finns/OKs . Well, I lined up after a few swims, I was having major problems tacking but I got to the line sort of on time.

I had good height, and the boat was tracking well but with a championship race I went low to keep out of the others way. I blasted away from the nethercotts UNTIL I tried to tack and then things went bad. I just could not get out of irons and ended up capsizing (interestingly the boat does not turn turtle). I couldn't work out what was going on but got upright and caught AUS13 at the top mark and then took off on the reaches - the boat just blasted off the wind (I even slammed the seat into waves a few times to see if the carriage was ok - thumbs up here) but upwind again my world of hurt was back. I got to the top mark, but was actually concerned that my tacking could see me foul another boat so I pulled out and headed into shore.

On shore I was acid, wondering what I had done wrong in the build..... then I got over it and started analysing:

I had gotten my sidestays shortened as I got my measurements wrong on the stays, so I got them altered BUT I never thought about the forestay. Sure enough my mast was raked forward - a long way.

So the Good news:

• Boat was dry inside despite my swims
• Boat held together
• Boat was really quick downwind

Bad news:

• Plank leaks
• Jib sheeting off the boom didn't work (have now swapped the jib with the vang cleat)
• Boat didn't go to windward or change direction (mast rake should fix this)
• Elastic on tiller didn't work (where the tiller kicks up, will replace with a pin)

So, I'll fix the problems during the week and we'll get out next week for some 2-3 boat tuning.

Weigh in

With Pete as my witness we put it on the scales (complete with water still dripping from the seat (I forgot to drill holes in the footwells) - with everything on (Seat, boom, rudder, and all lines) except the mast we got 37kg. Yes, the scales are correct.

I still have some fairing and painting to do but I am pretty happy with that (I hope its still strong enough).

Pictured is AUS32, with her foredeck going on, and as you can see the flatpack is very customisable with AUS32 having angular foredecks and will also feature straight bulkheads as opposed to the angled aft bulkhead in AUS31.

Launched

AUS 31 hit the water this afternoon, for a quick 30 minute sail. Initial impressions are that it is a lively hull that slices through the water nicely, but I will report more on this next weekend in its first race. Today was just about proving that it works, and seeing any things that need to be changed prior to racing.

Things to do:

• Add bung plug to seat - despite some mods it still leaks
• Fit toe straps (and attach jib sheet to centre of fwd strap)
• neaten up boom slider fittings (currently functional but not pretty)
• Order new sails - the AUS18 sails work for trials but a new set is needed
• Fair and paint (after Easter)

A prep night

Okay, well the rudder and stock is together, cassette is done and ready for glue, GNAV is assembled - need to buy some bolts tomorrow and make a countersinking tool and fittings will be bolted on.

Above is a pic of the parts for the carriage (sides and front/back) on the left and an assembled carriage with mainsheet block on the right. In case you're wondering its the centreboard cassette and bits of the GNAV in the background.

Oh, and there was no resin work tonight as its pouring with rain as well as I need to put a new plug on the vacuum cleaner as it got trodden on yesterday and has no pins left.

Paint and Progress

AUS31 has had her 'final' paint before the Nationals (yes it is undercoat, and yes she will be rubbed back and faired after the Nationals - I just ran out of time to get the finish I want before the racing starts. Fittings are being added now.

AUS32 has her bulkheads in and will get a dancefloor and foredeck this weekend.