Dinghy development: Foiling 18' skiff

“Basically we went out, on average, 18 inches a day” recalls Brownie. “We were at a wing width of 28', and then we had two-foot clip-ons that we called turbochargers. The widest we ever went was 32'; no-one else has been there.”

“The wider you went, the more sail area you could carry in more wind, so the loads on the boats went up dramatically. We were carrying our number 2 rig ( high ) in 22 knots of breeze, were you'd usually pull if off in around 15 or 17 knots.”

“So every time you went out, apart from the obvious things like lengthening the mainsheet, jibsheet, control lines, trap wires, and tiller extensions, you also had to put carbon on the mast and the spinnaker pole, 'cause the loads went right up.”

Height and pole of #1 rig

The massive width and power of the boats had a major effect on the style of racing. “The weight went up as the rigs got heavier, and your manoevrability was greatly reduced. Normally you'd just come off the start line and pick a side, go to a layline, come in, tack or gybe at the mark and go to another lay. So basically, you were just doing a square course, you minimized tacks and gybes and just went for the straight line speed.”

“The noticeable difference was when you came in and out of the tacks and onto the plane. You had more weight to get on the plane, so the transitional area before planing was extended by the extra weight, but that was compensated by the extra horsepower you were generating out of your sails.” Sudden breaking free.

“Because of the width of the wings, the timing of moving through the wings was so critical - if you were late getting across you'd capsize, and if you were too early you'd put the windward wing in. The boats were slower to turn, but the crew had to move faster to get across. So you were basically sprinting from one side to the other to have a good tack. You had to be very definite in turning the boat - if the guys started moving across the boat, you were committed to go.”

“When you came into the tack and off the plane the boat would stop, because you've got all this sail area up there with the same skinny hull. The drag of the rig was another thing you had to overcome, because it wasn't designed; all this stuff was just added on during the regatta.”

Spectacular as they were, Rob says that the “dinosaur” 18s were slower than the smaller, more efficient breed that evolved when rigs and wings were restricted.

“The mid '90s Grand Prix style 18 was, I think, the pinnacle of design. It was an unforgiving hull shape, with knife-edge sailing in light and fresh. The boats were marginal anything over 25 knots, and you had a lot of trouble keeping the bows out, but they were fantastic boats upwind and if you sailed them right downwind and had a good skill level on board, you'd be able to get round.”

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The amazing thing was, the GP hull was probably the ultimate hull shape for the era. When Emmett then got rid of weight in wings, poles, spars, by going carbon all the way through, the performacne increase he says was absolutely dramatic. Coming out of a tack or gybe, the boat would accelerate and you'd get thrown backwards."

'Scuse the long post.