Hi all, what a great weekend at the states, until the boom gave way. :-( on the sail front for my two cents, i would like to buy local for the after sale service but my 9 year old Goodall can still go in 20+ knots :-) what fun!!!

Hi Darryn. How was the sail on the weekend? I`am waiting for a report on your new sail Peter N

Oh, didn't realize anyone was waiting

Had a lot more power then normal but I could flatten it out when I needed to. Not as flat as my uk sail but I found If I reduced rotation, tightened the foot and dropped the traveller 10cm I could drive upwind in 25knots steady as a rock with the boat hardly heeling any extra in the gusts, just accelerating. Pointed higher then the boats around me, a couple of degrees, and going a bit faster then them when they tried to point as high. In moderate conditions I can power it up AND point, different to both my other sails were its one or the other, makes getting through the chop a much more pleasant experience, boat doesn't seem to hobby horse as much either.

On a reach, tight or all the way out to boom at the end of the track, there is a narrow groove where it just takes off, I have a couple of telltales I have put on the sail, if I drop a small amount of downhaul and keep the telltales flowing then I need to be hanging onto something or I will get chucked off the back when it accelerates.

Running I have not got it sorted yet, vang doesn't work like my other sails, seems to choke it. I spent most of my time playing safe and just sailing whatever angle I needed to catch waves but I missed some I should have got and that bugs me. Definitely felt I should have been able to maintain my speed and sail a bit lower, certainly possible after watching you guys at the Nats. Its a good problem to have because thats a good excuse for a day after day of midweek sailing until I get it right, gee life sucks

So I am very happy with the sail, wish I hadn't been distracted with my other sails for all those years, looking forward to unlocking the rest of the performance from the sail. Never expected I could buy a stock sail with the various battens recommended by Lindsay and it would go this well from day one.

See you at the Vic states.

Darryn
Bullet
1782

did u get foam or rod battens?

Hi Matt, I went for the foam battens, I just asked Gary, Tim and Neil at the Nats what they were using and asked Lindsay Irwin to give me the same. There is a combination of hard and soft, some tapered, some not. I tested them by putting some marks on the sail at max draft then took lots of pictures of the sail with varying amounts of downhaul, outhaul and mainsheet pressure from underneath the sail, laying on the tramp with the boat strapped to the trailer on a windy day. Then download the pics onto the computer and measure were the max draft really is and guess what? It was in the right spot already, no stuffing around grinding battens.

Darryn
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Hi Darryn,

Great to see you with an Irwin sail at last.

Did you go for soft or stiff battens and did Lindsay ask whether you were light weight, medium weight or heavy weight ?

I got the stiff battens which had a longer straight length on the exit.

Is the bolt rope the new plastic extruded section and if so how does it feel when you are hoisting it ?

Regards,


Peter

The bolt rope is the plastic extruded section, it goes straight up the mast very easily, much better then a rope type bolt rope.

I have a mix of soft and stiff battens with some tapered, I didn't mess with what Lindsay recommended as I thought it would be the best starting point. I am sure fibrefoam or Lindsay would be happy to sell you more battens Wouldn't be to hard to work out which ones to replace.

He didn't ask my weight, I would be in the heavy weight category at 90kg. He suggested if I felt underpowered I could go for a softer top most batten but I just want to use the sail for a while before I make changes. I doubt that I will as I like the shape now.

Darryn
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Hey,

Darryn - thanks for all the info, just helped me look for where to tune the new sail in, much appreciated.

Now just hanging out until Sunday to get it on the boat, unlike others I have to go to work midweek........

Cheers,

Hey couldn't let this one go through to the keeper.

Look forward to having you visit, if you need any local info just ask, have you got accom etc sorted?

Word of warning Shannon is faster than Bob.

damn its getting tough,
i got the fibreglass rod battens as for the fact if i happen to fall over (quite regularly) i might land on the sail and snap battens. im just about to order a new sail also.
On other notice mr pearce on Mossie 1812 overture has bought a new sail which i think its a UK sail from sydney i think and it seems powerful really powerful, material feels really soft not like what we have which is like a cracking piece of paper.

Matt

I noticed in his photo and now his comments that Darryn has a vang. In 20 years of racing cats I've never had a boat with a vang. Do all the Mossies use them or is it just guys who ahve come from monohull or Paper Tiger backgrounds?

I am sorted for accomodation thanks, found a cabin at Eagle Point caravan park.

I remember Shannon was fast at St Leonards and then there is the Paynesville locals plus some new boats coming too. Essentially another Nationals but condensed into 3 days which makes it worth the drive.

Darryn
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1782

I have a vang, it sits in the sail box on the trailer......

Personal preference generally, some do - some don't.

Vangs...ALL sloops at nationals went with out (to get twist), maybe 50/50 cat sailors go with (some swear by, some swear at). It's nothing like what you would see on a laser etc, just a way of holding the boom down on a dead run much like a foot does.
No paynesville sailors use..:)

Vangs, always and interesting topic. It seems that in some states a lot use them and in other states no-one.

We have 2 Mk2s in our house, one with and one without, where I started sailing mossies (NT) no-one used them, SA seem to and Vic seems not to.

Personal choice but it does make it harder for your crew to move from side to side.

David
Salpicin de Resplandor, 1744

I find the Vang useful as a sail shaping control, just another option.
1, In light wind upwind I can centre the traveler and with a bit of vang force the mast rotated with the leech open, Vang sheeting basically.
2, Downwind with my crosscut sails I can set the mast rotation to 90 degrees and hold it there with a fair bit of Vang tension. Cannot gybe with it on, I use a weak bit of rope (4mm) to attach the pulleys to the wire strop which breaks if I try and gybe in high wind with vang on.

I notice boats that use centre sheeting wouldn't need one as the rope coming down from the centre of the boom probably does a similar job.

Doesn't work downwind with my radial cut sail, its already deep enough at the luff of the sail so I dont need to force depth into it by over-rotating the mast and leech is quite "tight" on the Irwin so vang stops it breathing downwind.

I think I will keep having a vang on my boat, I am fitting a new front beam at present, I dislike unnecessary holes in the beam but I think its worth the 4 extra.

Darryn
Bullet
1782