Diggin Multihulls

So obviously I don't have much time to add to this blog since I haven't done so in 4 years...
Too much to list here however I can at least update some highlights of late.
I've been sailing F18 catamarans recently and collecting Vintage International 14's.
More on the old woody 14's later.

Last week we sailed an F18 regatta in SF Bay- Berkley Circle.  I've sailed 14's there plenty of times but never cats. I'm new to multi-hulls and while there are many similarities to skiffs, there are just as many differences as well. The F18 is a raw powerful boat while the I14 is very technical.
Each compliment themselves. Sailing the F18 in over 25 knots sustained is a challenge but doable. Bear-aways and capsizing are a dramatic event since the boat s bigger than what I am used to, has no t-foils, and tend to keep sailing sideways at 4 knots when on their sides..

These things are a riot in breeze. Here is our Zebra Phantom at the SFYC Multi-hull Championship taking our 1st multi-hull regatta win. Great photos courtesy of Cherie.

New Harnesses Are Here!

Just received the latest batch of Bigfoots...

These Trapeze Harnesses blow away everything else.

Hand Made in Australia. I have most sizes. If not, we can arrange a custom one made to measure for not much additional costs. Embroidery is also available. Get the best, get Bigfoot. Contact me for further details.

USA 1168 - 2011 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

We did it... finally. After giving it away last year, we were not going to make the same mistakes. This year was on LA turf, Cabrillo - AKA Hurricane Gulch.. Small turnout but big talent. We also took home the President's trophy for the second year in a row. This is a 15 mile long distance race and this time we won it by an incredible 18 minutes!

Big thanks to our sponsor, Newport Adhesives and Composites. For all your specialty epoxies and pre-preg go here:

http://www.newportad.com/index.html

Special shout out to Dan Morris and David Liebenberg for the training, boat preparation and awesome crew work. Jay Glaser on Spinnaker development, and Yvonne Galvez for all the support.

We learned a lot from this regatta and would like to thank all the competitors and RC for making this a great event.

Delays Delays...

No updates for some time. Apologies. Some good stuff coming shortly.

29er Carbon Dolly Cradles

Been doing some side projects lately. One of the cooler projects was this 29er dolly. The challenge was to modify an existing Seitech dolly by removing the belt and gunwale pads and adding a contoured, form fitting cradle. This adds an enormous amount of stability on the dolly and keeps the gunwales from getting crushed as is typical on these dollies. The outcome is a far superior dolly that is both stronger and gentler to the boat, especially when the sails are up, rigged and ready to launch on those breezy days. I can make more of these kits if anybody wants one. It's a direct bolt-on for quick and easy installation. I've also designed and build a trick system for mounting on top of a trailer and locking everything in place. Contact me direct for more info.

Velocitek Mount - SELF TACKING

Cool Project.

The Challenge: The display on this unit is difficult to see, especially from the trapeze. On a skiff, it needs to be angled upward and toward the crew facing outboard.

The Solution: Carbon articulating bracket. Mounted on the main bulkhead, the bracket connects to the trapeze system and when tensioned, articulates for the perfect viewing angle. Genius! This is the only self tacking bracket I know of. Custom made from 6oz Carbon and my own design. Mounts with 3M Duraloc and weighs nothing. I'm making some more if anyone else wants one.

Intenational 14 World Championship - SYDNEY Report for USA 1168

This marks the 11th anniversary since my last visit to the beautiful country of Australia. We went to Melbourne last time around and we never got the opportunity to get to Sydney which has always been on our list of places to go. When we heard the 2010 World Championship was being held in Sydney Harbor, we jumped at the chance.

As advertised, Sydney is spectacular. A sailors paradise with 300 miles of dramatic coastline within the harbor alone. The wind changes direction almost every day and the harbor traffic can test anyone's seamanship skills, specifically the Manly ferry which ran through our race course both directions every half hour. This is the main mode of commuter transport between downtown Sydney and the Northern beaches. We've heard some eye opening stories about this particular ferry including the mowing down of a few skiffs and dinghies in fairly recent times. Keeping clear of commercial traffic is obvious, but when the race course is on the main artery of the ferry line, it makes it interesting.

We were the first US team to arrive and since our boat transport was running late, we took advantage of our downtime to do some serious sight seeing by doing the Sydney Bridge walk, along with visits to the Nautical Museum, the Opera House and various harbor ferry tours. We then had an intense all day hike at the Blue Mountains during

Christmas, and then watched the start of the Sydney Hobart the following day. To cap it all off, we celebrated a wild New Years downtown complete with fireworks.

My regular crew couldn't make this event since he was having his first child so I teamed up with my buddy Simon Marks. We've done a few regattas together including the 2007 POW where we first made our international presence known. I hadn't sailed with him since but I knew we'd gel together pretty quickly. Once he got in and the boat cleared customs, it was all business. We sailed everyday for about a week.

We were fortunate to be able to line up and pace against some of the top teams and we quickly confirmed we had excellent boat-speed and what seemed to be even better pace once we reached the wind velocity in the teens. We took a gamble and selected our older set of slightly flatter sails for this event and it seemed to pay off. When compared to our brand new set, we felt we could reach top gear much more easily and consistently. All combined with better pointing.

During qualifying rounds for the Gold and Silver fleets, we used this opportunity to practice our starting technique. Being front row was crucial and anything else was not an option. Through some trial and error including an OCS, we got comfortable, picking our place on the line and protecting it. With a fleet of 65 boats in Gold fleet, an excellent start was priority. Not getting run down by the Manly ferry was an even bigger priority. The racing strategy could be summed up by nailing a good start at the correct end of the line, don't crash, and don't get run down by the ferry. We found we were underpowered in sub 12 knot breezes, competitive in the teens, and rocket fast in bigger breeze. Our best race was also the windiest. The most challenging aspects of the regatta for us were the wide range of variable conditions relative to shifts, and land contour. The boat itself was great with very few issues besides the normal wear and tear. By the end, we fried a set of spin sheets, mainsheet, spin block, two set of gloves, and a pair of booties. My muscles were also pretty worked. I was happy with our performance (12th overall - 106 boats) considering the caliber of talent at this particular event. I'd say the talent ran deeper here than in Germany or LA and the number of fast Teams/Boats has grown substantially. In regards to development, it seems the trend at the moment is still focused on further refinement of foils and lighter/stiffer High Modulus mast sections. We found our complete kit even though virtually untouched the last few years was just as competitive as the the top boats. I'd also say our boat-handling while excellent, was not up to par as the top teams which tacked and jibed a bit quicker ultimately adding time and distance around the course.

In all, a well run regatta at one of the most beautiful places on earth.