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Who was out this weekend?.....

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Merlinboy View Drop Down
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    Posted: 10 Aug 09 at 3:22pm

So is there no stengthening at the mast foot or on the forstay attachment then? If not i would think there should be!  I'm not suprised a tight reach is fast in the blaze, i just said that at Abersoch it went really well on a very broad amost running leg in big wind.  It was faster then me in the 300 becuase i couldnt get the power down, on the fetchs though i was faster.

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jeffers View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote jeffers Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Aug 09 at 2:44pm

Originally posted by Merlinboy

I cant see how drilling holes in the boat would harm it, they can always been filled in!  I think the kite system should be fairly cheap to add!  I would just bolt on a 200 pole and kite as a Mk1 system, the parts are cheap and easy to get hold of the kite may be a little small but it would be good as a starter!

You cant really do this on the Blaze due to the way the strenghtening has been done under the foredeck. The one that has been done already (by a guy called Pete Barlow if memory serves) was done (almost) professionally and involved a lot of work being done to ensure it did not rip apart when it was used. It certainly was no home build!

Oh and I found the fastest point of sail when I had a Blaze was actually a tight reach because you can keep the power on when all around are having to dump like mad.....

Paul
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Merlinboy View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Merlinboy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Aug 09 at 11:34am
I cant see how drilling holes in the boat would harm it, they can always been filled in!  I think the kite system should be fairly cheap to add!  I would just bolt on a 200 pole and kite as a Mk1 system, the parts are cheap and easy to get hold of the kite may be a little small but it would be good as a starter!
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G.R.F. View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote G.R.F. Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Aug 09 at 11:24am
MB, I imagine in strongish wind it will be, it certainly is faster than our
470 offwind in a force 4.

In our 'fast' handicap fleet, the better sailors are in a mixed bunch of a
505, 470's, Contenders, MPS and occasionally V3000 or as was the case
this go round the L3000 single handed or the RS600 or whatever else
survives the ministrations of messrs Dumb & Dumberer who have now
been joined by Lucy, who appears to be becoming their near equal in
boat breaking as she wades her way through B14's..

Either way, I'm going to have to do something about the Blaze to stay in
touch with the front of the fleet, other than learn to sail it properly that
is.

It's certainly worth working on, it's a lovely boat, really well balanced and
everyone who's tried it likes it, so it's either try and convince others to get
one, or b**tardise it, hopefully in a way that I can return it to 'normality'
and not ruin its fine balance. At the moment the only thing stopping me
was obviously getting to know it better and the fact it's not in bad nick so
I didn't want to go drilling holes in it.

But now the dislike of other peoples dirty air is overwhelming.
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Post Options Post Options   Quote alstorer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Aug 09 at 11:12am
Went up to Rutland on Saturday with Phil to provide help, advice and moral support to a couple who had just bought a B14 and were taking it out for the first time. Wind was rather lacking on arrival, but after a sarnie for an early lunch there was enough to get moving, so we headed out. Couple of hiccups on launching, but soon the newbies were cruising out. We took them through tacking the beast, then got them to put the kite up. Windward hoist from the foredeck is possibly the trickiest of the configurations for hoisting, so fairplay they managed it pretty well first time!

Cruised up and down the reservoir for a couple of hours, with me getting some helpful practice and the other boat steadily improving. Wind gently increased as the session went on, which was good and helpful, though it never really came to much (barring one brief gust when we were going way too high with the kite, resulting in actually both being on the wing).

Good fun, and a very enthusiastic pair who were well pleased with their purchase (having come from a 200!).

Sunday- wandered out the house, and found a housemate waiting at the end of the street with a friend, waiting for other friends. I joined the group, and headed off for a little light punting through town- knowing people who are graduates of Cambridge really helps when it comes to cheap punt hire. River was something of a zoo, but it was entertaining, though no-one fell in.
-_
Al
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Merlinboy View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Merlinboy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Aug 09 at 9:35am
GRF i would think that a vary broad reach would suit the blaze, it certainly seemed to at Abersoch a few weeks ago.  It was insanely windy then however and i was unable to put the power down in the 300!
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G.R.F. View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote G.R.F. Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Aug 09 at 9:02am
Steady Force two from the East, bright and sunny on a rising tide.

Blinded the start (thought I might have been over pushing to the transit
which was above the odm)but got away clean and clear, no second signal.

Then slowly and inexorably got overwhelmed, 1st by a bloody Raceboard,
damn I should have been able to stuff a Raceboard off the line and force
him to tack off, then by a 470, then a five oh which I fully expected. Held
off the Container until the second mark where a slow handicap boat that
had started 4mins earlier fumbled its mark rounding then blanketed me
as he shot his chute, whilst the Container and Dumberer single handing a
laser 3000 got the inside track and upped his chute. From then on it was
a boring procession around a typical crap club course of beat fetch run.
Finally got clipped into 7th place by a fraction of a second by a laser on
handicap. This Blaze is pathetic upwind and definitely needs a bigger
centreboard as I thought it would, it also needs that spinnaker.. Can't
believe it doesn't point as high as a Raceboard, I'd fully expect the board
to cream it offwind, but not upwind and I'm surprised just how much
quicker the Container is offwind, I'd have thought I could have held in
touch, might be better on a tighter reach, it was just a very broad deep a
few degrees right of a dead run.

Edited by G.R.F.
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redback View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote redback Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Aug 09 at 10:16pm

Morning on the Medway was light and the tide strong so we gave up and my crew went home.  No boat made it to the first mark in the time limit so the race was void.

After lunch not light at all - full wiring up-wind and sitting on the side down-wind and beautifully sunny and steady.  I had a scratch crew so no input from my crew and so started poorly but pulled our way up to 4th with the beat down river.  Thrashed the Osprey up-wind and got nicely ahead of the 59er.  Overstood the next mark and let the 59er through, then sailed the wrong course and had to double back to make a correction and then capsised on a gybe, so we didn't get a good result but we still beat most of the boats back to the line - just not by enough.  Nice to get back well before the Osprey though, even with all our troubles.  It used to be that the Osprey was better than us upwind - not anymore.

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tack'ho View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote tack'ho Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Aug 09 at 5:58pm

Weekend was the nationals at Mumbles.  Lack of time of the water was showing, couldn't really put it all together in a race, lots of little errors and I couldn't point for toffee..arrrhhh well, had some great reaches.

Big thanks to Mumbles Yacht Club for being great hosts

I might be sailing it, but it's still sh**e!
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Post Options Post Options   Quote redback Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Aug 09 at 10:51pm

Great racing on the Medway on Sunday.  Such a relief to be sailing in a medium wind where we could have an honest race and not be a) surving, or b) drifting.  No Ospreys and the other 4000 was doing a duty but the 59er was out and there's often a few 29ers and a Votex or two and I mustn't forget a well sailed 400.  So we were setup for some good racing and we got it.  Fortunately I got good starts in both races and although we can't match the 59er downwind if we have to go deep, we can basically thrash it upwind which we did in a particularly nice fashion in the afternoon.

We've difinitely got the boat going well upwind now and I merely have to stay with the our competitors downwind and then sail over them upwind.  Actually it needn't be over, it can be under.  Its glorious to have the choice.

I'm a bit concerned about the 59er - he is now getting disheartened - I'm going to start another thread on 59er tune in the hope there is somebody who knows how to do it.

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