This was another successful workshop with 22 attendees from 9 clubs in the M&S District.

As noted in the email during the week, an excellent book on SAIL TRIMMING was recommended and some of the illustrations were used to explain how sails create the forces that drive a boat and the wind flow around them (Eric Twiname’s ‘Start to Win’, available from Amazon). Although describing the forces involved and what to do with the sails on an IOM and his new Marblehead, UPROAR, Roger produced an A4 page with the relevant diagrams on one side and an upgraded SAIL TRIMMING advice sheet on the other, based on the one on the Handbook pages of MYA Knowledge Base. For those that were not able to be at the workshop a PDF is attached for your information, along with a page giving details of a very simply made 1 gram wind indicator.

The workshop included how to test and improve the mast rake to get the best balance from the rig, the effect of both sails on how the boat sails and ‘feels’, sail camber, mast bend, boom angles, mainsail twist, jib twist etc.

At the coffee/tea break there was a great deal of discussion, which was obviously enjoyed by all, as it was almost embarrassing to call the meeting to order to continue the workshop; the answering of questions, how to test the sail trim on the bank before putting it in the water, further information exchange, a little bit on the design philosophy behind UPROAR and the unanswered question about why the lower rig’s mast position is behind the centre line of the fin. Unfortunately time was running out and we did not do the promised critique of 2 IOMs brought to the meeting. If the owners bring them next time Hugh and Roger can do the critique then.

The next Workshop is on Friday 27th of March with the subject:
Friday 27 March – RACING RULES, STRATEGY and TACTICS: this workshop will concentrate the mind and help focus on the new season’s racing. This will cover how to get round the course quickly, situations to avoid and tactics to use to improve your position in the fleet.
We look forward to seeing you!

Cheers, Roger

Dear All,
This workshop will have a message for everyone who sails, whatever the class and so we expect a good turnout, whether you are an IOM , Marblehead, Footy, 8 metre or any other class sailor. As stated below we are hoping that you will be bringing your boat for a critique.

Friday 20 February – SAIL TRIMMING: your rig is your engine and you need to have it developing maximum power, so that not only does your boat handle well and ‘feel’ good, but also sails fast. Sail trimming and techniques for achieving this by both improving standing rigging and running lines will be demonstrated on boats that we hope you will bring for a critique by Hugh and Roger.
On occasion I have recommended a book about the subjects under discussion during the workshop, often about the rules. On this occasion I’m recommending the book before the workshop, because the first 25 pages “Tapping the Power Source” covers this Friday’s talk well, but has the advantage of covering next month’s workshop as well.
Eric Twiname’s ‘Start to Win’ is still available from Amazon, although think it is currently out of print. This is a really good book, a classic, which explains a lot of the theory with brilliant diagrams. As I knew Eric and his dad, Alec, who I sailed against in National 12s on the River Tyne in my student days, I have a few stories to tell.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Cheers, Roger

GAMES 1 Now to be held at Guildford on 22nd February 2014 

Due to weed at Poole GAMES 1 will now be held at Guildford 

There was another very good turnout of 21 enthusiasts from 5 clubs and the feedback afterwards was that it was a really excellent and informative evening workshop.
CONSTRUCTION was the subject and Roger Stollery followed on from the previous DESIGN workshop, demonstrating how the shape of designs is created with an understanding of how they are to be made. There were examples of frameless hull shapes, made merely by joining specifically shaped panels together, like the SUPABUG design Footy. From that starting point of the most basic box section hulls there were curved shapes requiring more extensive shaping using temporary frames on which to construct the outer skin, or being sculpted out of solid wood or a series of ‘bread-and-butter’ planks of wood.
The examples on show were carved plugs for the CRAZY TUBE, BOTTLE boat, YOT BOOT and ICE Footy. There were questions about how you get both halves to look the same when you are carving the wood to create shape which is ‘inside those bread-and-butter buttock lines’. This is done with ‘inside’ shaped patterns which are tested against your carved shape until it fits perfectly.
These patterns are the reverse of the section shapes that you need when you are planking a hull shape OVER those frames. There was a good example of the sections permanently in place in Charles Smith’s balsa planked barge hull. He explained the difficulty of planking the barge shape which is a simple box section in the centre transforming into beautifully curved ends. There was also a balsa planked IOM hull plug where the shape is created outside those frame sections.
After the introduction Roger moulded a Footy keel and rudder in just over half an hour to show how easy it was in that once you had a mould. It did not require very much skill to produce a beautiful shiny product. That session was over in just over half an hour which included explaining the process and answering questions as the parts were being moulded. During the moulding session the meeting was buzzing with discussions about the planked boats as well as the moulding.
In ‘Blue Peter’ style, there was a keel, rudder and ICE hull, which had been made before the meeting in moulds ready to be cracked open and 3 people had the pleasure of doing this and some of these bar on the attached picture page of the evening. Many of Roger’s moulds may be borrowed.
The meeting continued after the coffee break with continuous talking and there was a lot of learning from each other as everyone had a skill to offer.
The next Friday Evening Workshop is on Friday 26 January and will be on REPAIRS, with this including not just the mending of hulls or keels, but the finer details of keeping your rigs in tiptop condition ‘in the workshop’ to give the maximum amount of driving force.

[gview file=”https://guildfordmyc.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/evening_workshop.pdf” save=”0″]
Report by Roger Stoller