NS14 - Are they Good?

"I've yet to sail a Tasar ......"

At least that's simple enough to sort - the only way to assess any boat is to sail one first.  We can all have views about the Laser perhaps, but if you have not sailed a particular class, or perhaps even sailed against a good one, whether it be a Tasar, MR, N12 or whatever personal views can carry only limited weight.

A more reasonable question to pose is why are are many more recent boats so horribly slow with wider beam, a third sail, sometimes even a trapeze and the 'benefits' of a more recent SMOD manufacturer input ? It's not as if a Tasar is extreme in any real way or a handful for mere mortals to race.  Handicap on a gravel pit ? - depends on how much wind and how restricted the water - if its very small Firefly/Albacore are better handicap bandits (lower strightline speed and more rocker = relatively faster to tack and less cost) .  And another thing why exactly did the Firefly drop its rotating mast ?  And are they still legal ? 

Blaze 720

  

Originally posted by combat wombat I refuse to believe that the Tasar is really that fast....it is very unlikely to plane upwind without help from a trapeze or more extreme beam and will be pedestrian downwind due to it only having 2 sails, except in a stiff breeze.

It will plane upwind with a light crew in it's desing wind- a meagre 9 knts. It took me over 14 to achieve it and often I found pointing preferable.  Off wind , yes it is slow compared to a sub 950 boat but it is making good VMG-ddw. Also it will plane readily on the "Fetch" - there is even a little bump in it's Polar to show this.

Refer to 'high performance sailing' and you will even see a shot of the WOODEN pre-production 'tasar' - the super-nova NS14-  planing happily upwind.

I find it surptising negativity from a b14 sailor, which is a similar hull to the tasar. Having sailed and turtled both types the 14 is an obvious descendant built for blasting in the big sea breezes of Aus'. Not suitable for a novice crew in the least.

 

Originally posted by Chris 249 Well, the Tasar is not "average weight"; the hull with fittings is a genuine 68kg which is significantly lighter than even an International 14,...

Some boats are heavier but I believe current hulls are as you quote. I had an early one a while ago which was kevlar inner, closed cell foam and thin glass outer.

 These early boats had a habit of parting company with their Decks (from PS Ltd) Also they couldn't build it down to a cost and so asked frank bethwaite for something they could build - hence the laser 2 -which is reasonable enough as part of their range for 1980.

Incidentally, the 59er which is bigger allround, bare hull is I believe sub 60kg!

Originally posted by Chris 249 Re upwind planing. Planing of course is almost impossible to really define

i don't subsrcibe to this- planing can be defined it is just difficult ot model 'detahced flow' with current software and maths. hence big flat chine sections promote stable planing and bags of drag in light stuff.

Planing is visibly defined as overcoming a bump on a drag curve, climbing the bow wave and leaving the quarter wave behind you or rapidly accelerating away from predicted hull speed on a polar diagram.