Ronstan Midwinters

Davis Island Yacht Club hosted the 2014 A Class Midwinters sponsored by Ronstan.  The conditions were great once the sea breeze filled in at 3 p.m. each day.  We were unable to sail Sunday because the breeze filled in too late. Ben Moon won the event on a Nikita with winglets. I placed second on the O without winglets. Woody Cope placed third on a Nikita with winglets. Sam Armington placed fourth on the O without winglets. The top three all used Fiberfoam masts. First, third, and fourth used Glaser sails, and I used a Brewin. Sam and I sailed well and pushed the boats hard downwind.  We lacked a little bit of speed upwind.  For the next event we both plan on having winglets, and we plan to do some testing and working on our rigs to get more speed upwind.  Here is the link to final results. Sam wrote a summary here.  The next event is the Hall Spars Admirals Cup in Gulfport. I expect more of the top US sailors at this event as they have now returned from worlds. Hopefully we will have a sea breeze so Sam and I can compare our upwind speed from the last event.

2014 Coconut Grove Sails and Canvas Invitational and Intergalactica

This past week I had the opportunity to sail in Islamorada in 2014 Coconut Grove Sails and Canvas Invitational and Intergalactica.  The Invitational was sailed on monday and tuesday.  Monday the wind started at 10 knots and built to 15 buy the end of the day.  Seaweed was a problem earlier in the day, and those with rudder winglets struggled to clear there rudders. I ended up with a 1, 3, 2, and a 15.  The 15 was the result of a broken boom.  The new style rigs are requiring more sheet tension and as a result my boom broke.  After fixing the boom, I headed out for the second day and got a 3,3,1,1,1.  In the middle of the second race my rudder cracked at the head, but luckily it was light and everyone was doing the mild thing downwind. Bob Hodges won the first event, I got second, and Woody Cope got third. Usually we use wednesday as a lay day, but since a cold front was forecasted    to pass on thursday we raced on wednesday.  The wind was blowing about 20 knots with a small chop.  Many didn't make it to the starting line.  I started on port and ducked the fleet so I wouldn't have to tack twice.  Once I tacked for the lay line, I appeared to be crossing the rest of the fleet coming from the left and then my boom broke again, this time in the middle.  Clearly we need a stronger laminate schedule for the next one. Bob Hodges won that race and was one of only four who finished. Friday was the last day of the regatta and three races were scheduled. The wind was shifty and ranged from 5 knots to 15.  I sailed well and had finishes of 2,1,1.  However since we didn't have a fifth race I couldn't drop my dnc from wednesday. Bob Hodges won the event, Ken Marshack got second, and I ended up third.  Even though I didn't finish where I wanted to because of breakdowns, I am still happy with the way I sailed and the way the new rig performed. I have been putting off the installation of the rudder winglets because I didn't like the rudders I was using, but now I am about to make all new rudders and the winglets will go on for midwinters.  My new rig worked great.  I have a Fiberfoam bendy mast with a Brewin sail, it provides plenty of power when I need it and I can blade it out when I am overpowered upwind.  Bob Hodges was fast with a Dna, winglets, Saarberg mast, and a Glaser sail.  Woody used a Nikita with winglets, Fiberfoam, and a Glaser and was really quick upwind. Results are posted here and a slideshow of the Invitational can be found here.  I would like to thank to John and Carla from Coconut Grove Sails and Canvas and I would also like to thanks the race committee for another great job.

The next event is A Class midwinters at Davis Island Yacht Club at the end of February.

A-Class Catamaran North American Championship

This year the A-Cat North Americans was held at Alamitos Bay Yacht Club in Long Beach, California. The venue tends to be a sea breeze venue because a marine layer comes in overnight and burns off at about 12:30 pm exposing the land to the sun.  I had experienced this once before when I sailing in the Youth Multihull Championship in 2011.
Our boats arrived on Saturday.  I had enough time after unpacking and measuring to go out for a sail and tune up with a few of the competitors in the late afternoon sea breeze, which was about 17 knots. On Sunday the Glasers ran some practice races for us and helped us with sail setup.  Monday was the official practice race.
The conditions for the first race day were challenging.  The first race was held inside the breakwater in 5 to 10 knots of breeze before shifting right 30 degrees when the sea breeze began to come into full effect.  I finished 4th  in that race.  Later in the day I struggled a bit in the breeze because of my weight but managed top 10 finishes.  The second day was very strange.  The marine layer didn't burn off until about 3:30 which was after our two races had been completed.  I managed to finish 2nd and 5th in these two races which were held in light winds. After day two I was sitting in 3rd place.  The third day we sailed back inside with a typical sea breeze and I had scores of 7,6, and a 9, which hurt my scores a bit and dropped me back to 5th in a tie.  The last day we sailed two races outside and I did what I had to do to finish the regatta in 5th. The conditions for the last day were very choppy with the breeze building.
Overall it was a great experience and I learned a lot.  I would like to thank St. Francis Sailing Foundation. Next years A Class North Americans will be hosted by Peter Johnstone with Gunboat in Wanchese, North Carolina.

Clear coated

The rudder stocks and mast are now clear coated. Now We will move onto sanding and refinishing the boat so it will have the best finish before the North Americans.  Today I sailed in the light winds at the Gulfport Yacht Club in their Saturday series and tied for first. I will return in two weeks and most likely load the trailer for California then.

For Sale!

I have decided to sell my F18. I will become too busy in the future with school so I am deciding to focus on one boat which is the A Cat and excel in that.  It is listed here.   If interested call 804 512 0248.

Cleaning Up

Now that I have gotten all of my arrangements straight to go to Long Beach for the North American Championship's in August I will spend the next month or so preparing the boat.  This consists mainly of a clean up.  A new rudder system will be made and we plan to repaint the boat. I also plan on adding rudder winglets. We will lose some weight with the new rudder heads and sanding off the old finish. In two weeks I plan to sail in Gulfport, then we will sand it down.  All of this work is mainly to make the boat go through the water as easily as possible.

Sarasota Herald Tribune

For Fathers Day, our project was featured in the Sarasota Herald Tribune. Read the Article here.  The Observer also wrote an article, which can be found here.

Sarasota Sailfest Report

We had over twenty multihulls attend Sailfest, including five A Cats.  The A Cats were all of the "O" design by O.H. Rodgers.  Both mornings began with strong breeze before dying and shifting.  The first day was all about connecting the puffs and deciding when to go wild or when to go mild downwind. Sam and I both suffered at making this decision, but we applied what we learned from the first day to the second day.  Sam was fast downwind, particularly when the breeze was above 8 knots. Woody and O.H. were quick when the breeze was light, doing the mild thing. Even though the fleet was small, the racing was tight with the top three boats only being separated by two points after ten races. Sam took three races and I won two. I finished first, Sam finished second, and Woody Cope finished third. This was the first regatta that Sam and I both competed in, 14 months after we began building our boats. Here is the link to the results.

On the Water and Two Boat Testing

Two weeks ago, we were finally on the water and super pleased with the boat.  After a few minor setbacks, and some great time testing together, I'm getting up to speed, but we still have improvements to be made.  Thanks to Chris Dilling from Grafik Efx for hooking us up with an awesome paint job.

Sarasota Sailfest April 20th and 21st

Every Spring the Sarasota Youth Sailing Program hosts a youth regatta with opti, laser, and 420 classes.  In 2011, Multihulls were added and every year they have been welcomed back.  Usually it has just been the F18 and F16s, but if we can get 5 A cats then we will get a start and we already have two A cats in Sarasota.  It is also the weekend before the annual Gulfport Regatta. Here is the link to the online registration: http://www.regattanetwork.com/event/6521

Remember it benefits Sarasota Youth Sailing!

Update

It is 3 days before The Hall Spars Admirals Cup at Davis Island Yacht Club. I've been really busy, which limited boat work. However, we did make a spare daggerboard. It came out a little heavy because we used a symmetrical laminate rather than coring the bottom so it can be used as a spare for either side. We also gel coated the mold before the lay up which gave us a very nice finish.

New daggerboard sliders

The last daggerboard deck sliders didn't hold up as we had planned. This caused some damage to the bottom of the trunk. We made a new system and I bonded on a carbon piece to the deck that we made off of a mold. Then we made the sliders fit in the new deck piece.

Coconut Grove Sails and Canvas Invitational and Intergalactica

     I traveled down to attend the Invitational and Intergalactica in Islamorada on Saturday the 11th.  The Invitational was held on the 13th and 14th and we had beuatiful conditions of 15 knots and sunny. After battling with Tracy Oliver, who was sailing on a Barracuda, I emerged with a narrow victory.  Then Ben Hall, Ben Moon, Bailey White and a group from Atlanta showed up for the Intergalactica, which began on Thursday.  After a light day one I was winning a tie breaker with Bailey White for first.  Bailey sailed a DNA.  Friday brought breeze in the morning, which died to nothing in the last race.  Ben Moon, on a Nikita, won the day, but could not overcome Bailey on the DNA. I placed third after tying with Ben Hall, who used a Barracuda with flat sterns and L rudders.

    Overall it was a great experience and I met many good people.  It was a busy week sorting out issues with my boat and I would like to thank O.H. Rodgers for helping me with my repairs and Skip Kaub for donating carbon for a minor rudder head repair.  I also would like to thank O.H. for the use of his molds and the help along the way.  He designed a fast boat, which won all three races on the first day of the Invitational, Woody won the first two and I got the last one.  I went on to win two more the next day.  After some modifications, the next event is A class Midwinters at Davis Island Yacht Club.

from left to right: Tracy Oliver, Jeremy Herrin, Mike Krantz

Downwind in Breeze

Boat Start

Racing Downwind against Tracy

Paint and practicing

We recently painted the A cat made a modification to the starboard daggerboard. I have just been working on boat handling and getting comfortable on the trapeze downwind. Now I am off to Virginia for Christmas then in January is the Invitational and Intergalactica.

Almost there

I have sailed the boat about five times, each time in more breeze. The last time i sailed was in 17 to 21 knots and I trapezed downwind in the flat water. I could match the speed and angle of a viper f16 once up to top speed.
Now the boat is back at the house to finish. We are fairing everyday and plan on spraying paint this coming weekend. The starboard board needs more toe in. I cut off the bottom 4 in of the rudder also. I have also added a lower position on the mast for the forestays so I can put more bend in it upwind. There is 5 weeks until the events in Islamorada.

Sailing

Yesterday, I managed to go sailing finally since I have been busy sailing the f18.  The wind was too much to go sailing at first but backed off just enough to go out. I sailed for about 25 minutes before realizing I had cracked a rudder head, which altered the steering.  There was enough time to go upwind and downwind twice though.  The boat had excellent height upwind, but seemed to lack speed. Downwind the boat performed well and I even trapped a little.  I think the boards should be raked further forward though.

Rig up!

Today we made 2 rudder heads, tillers, and put the mast cup in. Then we raised the mast and I had to figure out all of the shroud lengths, making sure the rake was right with a level, and also checking the tension. Then I pushed up the sail. Tomorrow we should get 545 sprayed on it and hopefully I will sail it next week.

Update

We've made great strides in the last couple of weeks. Fairing is almost done, rudder head mould is complete, rig is here, and the boom is almost done. We will Make the rudder heads this week and finish aligning the boards so the boat can be measured.

Hung up

87 lbs, and we're ready to prime! Mast and sail will be here next week!  A special thanks to Michael Peters Yacht Design and Buckeye Sports Center, for becoming a part of the project, and to Harry Fendt for the photography.

Put Together

   Lots has been done the past few weeks.  We put together an alignment jig, glued the boat together, and taped most of the boat, (we're waiting for a few more feet.)  On a smaller scale, we built pieces for the traveler track to sink in flush and are currently working on building covers to the beam-hull joint to increase platform stiffness and aesthetic appeal.  The blue foam you see is shaped down and we will use it as a male mold, then will be ground it off.  The boat is really starting to look good and I'll post a few more shots as soon as all the fairing is done.

   Aside from all the boat building, we've been doing some sailing too.  A few of us from Sarasota Youth Sailing took out some of the more veteran cat sailors for a ride they wont soon forget!