Are weight equalisaiton systems safe?

"I always thought the Blase looked right but was put off because the original rig was criticised so much - it just needs to lose a few kilos and I might be tempted to try one"

Matt - You are right about the rig - And the current Blaze weights about 74kg with centreboard in the hull and with wings and all lines and fittings.  Rule minimum is 72kg (The hulls come out of the mould at around 56kg).  Without wings it could be 7-10 kg lighter possibly but we reckon they are worth every gram when the wind gets up !  This is far from being as light as it could be built but its also far from being a heavyweight.  The 'new' rig is also relatively light, a by-product of being 'semi soft' now - ie less battens and a switch to carbon booms about 3-4 years ago. ---- Now remind me, cos I have forgotten,  how much exactly does a Contender weigh ?  Seriously though just try a Blaze out - as I've said before we're biased so make your own mind.

 Cheers - Mike Lyons

PS - Chris - I'm glad you love your 400 and I'm more than happy to borrow one from time to time ....

"The Moths are a different case in that its sail is relatively smaller and was always higher aspect plus the mast is softer so can get away with a hard sail more easily - and they tend to sacrifice everything for more power !" 

Not quite - actually you don't need that much power to drive the narrow hull, but what you do need from a moth rig is low drag. This gives higher top speed. Most moths now have camber induced, fully battened sails (like a windsurfer rig with shrouds). These give a flatter, low drag sail shape and are significantly quicker upwind than a standard mast track/bolt rope arrangement in F3 or above. Also much easier to control in strong winds than a standard fully battened sail (as mentioned in a previous post). Takes longer to rig, but worth the effort!

As Matt says previously - the Blaze is slower than a Contender upwind when the winds up and/but relatively faster offwind.  We are often faster than Contenders upwind in lighter airs but once the trapeze helps its the Contender that pulls away of course.  In fact we've shared quite a few meetings with Contenders in recent years - no conscious intention of ignoring the comparison !  We have not dis-similar rigs now and also both have centreboards which is another 'traditional' feature of the 'modern' Blaze.  Daggers are arguably more efficient to the purist - BUT it's so nice to round the windward mark, fully extended on the wing and raise by control line !  It also makes downwind sailing by the lee (a la Cockerill) much easier with a clear cockpit and lateral resistance moved back down the boat.  I'm sure the Contender benefits as well, especially when its windy, from its centreboard but maybe not as much as they seldom seem to attempt sailing by the lee.   I also think that the reason they do so well against the RS600 in higher winds is by virtue of their 'soft' sail and centreboard which makes their handling arguably easier.   

As for shroads preventing efficient running - we still have plenty of roach in our sail and simply let the kicker off.  The sail is high aspect as well and goes as far forward as you would want.  The other point about using the kicker Matt alludes to - Yes a powerful kicker and highly adjustable stayed mast certainly extends the upper wind range considerably as you really can make the sail 'blade off' at the top. Lastly - Blaze relative to the Laser - certainly faster in most conditions, sometimes much faster, but the Laser has its moments against all the classes mentioned and we've all sailed them at one time or another. 

Cheers - Mike Lyons

PS - Contenders etc - Do you want to share any Opens in 2005 ?

Re: Blaze - We tried softer and tapered battens with the old sail  but it was just tinkering and did not make much difference.  Unlike a Tasar main where the rig is still fairly 'soft' the 10.4 sail on the Blaze was quite 'hard' and we could not get it right hence the switch.  The M7 we use is fairly stiff at the top but being stayed we have a great range of setups possible to suit all.  The Moths are a different case in that its sail is relatively smaller and was always higher aspect plus the mast is softer so can get away with a hard sail more easily - and they tend to sacrifice everything for more power !.  The fully battened approach is likely to be theoretically and in practice very efficient - in certain wind strengths possibly.  However when it blows you do not need 'maximum' power anyway and the key is depowering upwind in particular.  With a fair bit more sail the Blaze was never short of power but it was very hard to apply in F4+  ,now, even when slightly reduced in size, the drive can be controlled more effectively.    

We would judge the Blaze to be very competitive on handicap with 300's and Phantoms in more than 9kn of wind, and absolutely faster than Phantoms though slower than 300's.  When it blows over 15kn+ its very much faster than Phantoms and close to a 300, partly because most club sailors find the 300 'challenging'  especially in the sort of waves 15kn will produce on open water.  In winds less than 6kn I'd put my money on a well sailed Phantom or 300 against a Blaze much of the time - but most of us prefer it when there's some wind surely !! 

I'm sure some don't like the Blaze - but ask them to tell you if/when they last tried one -  Draw your own conclusions if you get a 'vague' answer !  Most of us in the Blaze have come from Lasers, 300's, Phantom's or whatever.  They are all great boats for some people and revel in some conditions.  Make your mind up what your preferred style of sailing is and simply sail the boat that best suits it. 'My' boat may not be for you ... so ? 

Cheers - Mike Lyons