Hadron

   Unboubtedly the big manufacturers do push to get a PY higher for their new designs so that they make an impact by winning races. Not sure it happens so much these days, as there are not so many new racing designs. Back in the 90's it really was an issue, anybody rember the laser 4000 winning the Grafahm Grand Prix with an Olympic 470 jockey, Max width wings, no correctors, and a handicap number suggested by the Laser Centre (alledgedly).

Hats off to the Bloody Mary by using realistic handicaps, not the published ones, so that people sailing most of the boats think they have a chance, instead of a Moth 1,2,3 if there is 8-14 knots of breeze.

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Nipper Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Groupie Joined: 17 Oct 13 Location: Hants Online Status: Offline Posts: 40	Post Options Post Reply Quote Nipper Report Post Quote Reply Topic: Hadron Posted: 18 Oct 13 at 10:50am
	Unboubtedly the big manufacturers do push to get a PY higher for their new designs so that they make an impact by winning races. Not sure it happens so much these days, as there are not so many new racing designs. Back in the 90's it really was an issue, anybody rember the laser 4000 winning the Grafahm Grand Prix with an Olympic 470 jockey, Max width wings, no correctors, and a handicap number suggested by the Laser Centre (alledgedly). Hats off to the Bloody Mary by using realistic handicaps, not the published ones, so that people sailing most of the boats think they have a chance, instead of a Moth 1,2,3 if there is 8-14 knots of breeze.
	39 years of dinghy racing and still waiting to peak.

Miles J Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Newbie Joined: 08 Oct 13 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 2	Post Options Post Reply Quote Miles J Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 09 Oct 13 at 12:36pm
	As the builder and owner of the 2nd UK Hadron, perhaps I can add some qualified comments. First I would echo Tom Gruitt's comment that 2 pages is not enough to fully state the case for the Hadron. Somebody asked what crew weight, I am about 12st (80kg) and no problems in a Force 5, just sheer enjoyment, and yes I've hit the 50yrs mark hence no mention of a force 6 (wisdom comes with age) Why did I want one? Well, maybe I am biased, I normally sail a Merlin but a lack of crew and summer sailing time meant I needed a single hander. I tried Blazes etc. but I needed the thrill of a Merlin. That is exactly what you get with the Hadron. Which is what you would expect with it coming from the the stables of Mr Callaghan. The boat looks right and to me is right for what I want. It's horses for courses. The boat is easy and quick to rig even with a tin mast (carbon may be the Xmas present to self) You can sail it hard single-handed, or you can just sail with two up. My 7 year old just loves being in it, it's stable and forgiving (a non merlin characteristic). The layout is such that teaching her to sail means that I can be in the boat with her and not in the way. I've already had 3 people test sail mine and they are now convincing their wives that Mr Callaghan should be contacted. Finally, the Hadron is not necessarily a home build, you can of course have one built for you. If you have the time and inclination as I do then building your own boat is an ideal solution. see: www.littlejoesolutions.co.uk/hadron
	Hadron Merlin Rocket

Keith_Callaghan Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Groupie Joined: 16 Apr 09 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 80	Post Options Post Reply Quote Keith_Callaghan Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 08 Oct 13 at 7:45pm
	Jack, you are right to question the plans/build ratio. My experience over a range of boat designs suggests that perhaps 25% ever get built. I guess that for the others we are purveyors of dreams (but there's nothing wrong in that). In the case of the Hadron, I know of 3 boats completed in the UK, 5 in the USA, and one in South Korea. Others I believe have been started, so that's not a bad ratio for the first 20 boats.

Jack Sparrow Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 08 Feb 05 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 2965	Post Options Post Reply Quote Jack Sparrow Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 08 Oct 13 at 6:23pm
	Keith... I hope your 20 sets of plans translates into 20 boats. We have ( Farr 3.7 ) have had quite a few sets of plans go out in the UK, but are still waiting for the majority to get the boats out of the garage and onto the water. Maybe your boats design profile / end of the weight scale provides more time rich sailors!
	Farr 3.7 Class Website Farr 3.7 Building - Facebook Group

Keith_Callaghan Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Groupie Joined: 16 Apr 09 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 80	Post Options Post Reply Quote Keith_Callaghan Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 08 Oct 13 at 5:24pm
	Hello chaps, good to see this forum thread about my Hadron. What a lot of rubbish some of you prattle away with. And what a lot of thoughtful and constructive comments and suggestions there are too! I am on holiday abroad at the moment (hence the delay in picking up the chatter) but will give each post the consideration it deserves and come up with a reply to all those constructive ideas. 20 sets of plans have been sold so far, but the design is not set in concrete (only wood), and until the boat goes into series production there is still some scope for implementing improvements.

yellowwelly Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 24 May 13 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2003	Post Options Post Reply Quote yellowwelly Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 07 Oct 13 at 9:08pm
	new thread when you want to start talking about it Mike... one to try for sure!

blaze720 Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 28 Sep 05 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 1635	Post Options Post Reply Quote blaze720 Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 07 Oct 13 at 8:54pm
	Hi Dougaldog ... We are doing final design snagging with North on H.2 at present - in fact Charlie C. is coming up tomorrow for another look. As soon as we 'sign it off' in the next week or three I'll make direct contact about a loan sail or come up here again and have a go at BSC - I'd like you to try Icon sometime as well ... I'll take a couple of photos tomorrow for posting here anyway ....... It looks more 'D1' than previous North version but a bit like the initial Hyde one and is designed to blade off semi-automatically of course. You will plane up-wind for sure if you have the weight ! Mike L.

Dougaldog Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Far too distracted from work Joined: 05 Nov 10 Location: hamble Online Status: Offline Posts: 356	Post Options Post Reply Quote Dougaldog Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 07 Oct 13 at 7:38pm
	HI Mike...I'm now a 'comfortable 95 kgs so the Halo would fit in well with my requirements. If there is a chance of 'borrowing' one of the sails I'll ask Reg at Netley if I can use his boat for an afternoon and give it a go - I can then do a useful comparison with the initial HALO concept! But the idea of the 'big rig' was and still is attractive - the North sail I tried when the lake was still half frozen was a very nice sail - in fact, the whole rig just looked 'right'! D
	Dougal H

blaze720 Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 28 Sep 05 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 1635	Post Options Post Reply Quote blaze720 Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 07 Oct 13 at 6:28pm
	Halo is useful for broad comparisons only but is very different .... it is different as it was specifically developed for larger guys. You NEED to be 95+kg to get on with this version of the Blaze across the full wind range and there is little compromise in it for 'lightweights' much below that weight. (Dougaldog - this one is still not really for the likes of you and me - only for smiles on lighter days and for demos !) Most rigs were brought initially by larger Blaze regulars as an occasional option rig - making those light wind days a tad more challenging. The limiting factor was not base demand at all but that it required second (longer) mast - and obviously a much greater 'entry' price of course. This limited 'take up' in the first year to just a few dozen rigs and a trickle thereafter. Anyway we listened to the hard core Halo enthusiasts and 'would-be' future Halo owners and have very recently come up with a revised version we think might just get Halo to 'critical mass' now. (Photos ? I'll post some soon) This HALO rig is visually very similar to the original one and the sail is also around 11.5m - the critical difference is it now sits on a STANDARD Blaze mast.... but the mast is set much more vertically than for the Blaze sail and the sail has a slightly more pronounced 'Square head'. This cuts the cost of getting into Halo sailing for those interested by nearly 60% and means there is no need to have to store the 'other' mast - an annoying problem for some I am told. The supply of the original version is maintained for as long as is wanted and both can race together.... I think some on the forum get a bit bogged down with the idea of alternative rigs ... it is an alien concept to some perhaps. If there is demand though and more people get more out of their sailing, or it turns out a significant group need a smaller (or larger) rig, then I see no problem myself. If the demand from those sailing 100's for example is for a couple of rig options then I think RS would be crazy not to look at it and support a degree of choice. .... but then again I 'defected' for nearly 16 years years from the dinghy 'bubble' to the anti-matter world of boards (and GRF !) a couple of decades back where choice was wide. In summary I don't think these things (and sail areas) have to be mutually exclusive.. Mike L.

RS400atC Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 04 Dec 08 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3011	Post Options Post Reply Quote RS400atC Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 07 Oct 13 at 6:12pm
	I'm surprised we can get a thread discussing reefing on dinghies for over a page without mentioning the RS600. That seemed to work well, but who uses it? Most people seem to let the stump seize into the mast. I suppose ideally you'd have a system where you could shrink the mast without dropping it. I did a season or two sailing in a small keelboat where the helm was keen to try reefing up wind in F5 as we were often lighter than the others. Even with a really slick system for getting the reef out at the windward mark it rarely paid. These days sails flatten so much so easily it really is less of an issue. Skiffs may be the exception, but I suspect their heavy weather rig probably gives a sail area to righting power figure that is not small anyway? i.e. they just carry extra sail in light air compared to anything else.