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Cirrus Icon Development

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Jon711 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Jon711 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Cirrus Icon Development
    Posted: 26 Jan 11 at 1:24am
Looking good Mike, when can i get a test sail??

IMO, this is a niche in the dinghy market that has been vacant for some time.  Basically a modern Enterprise,  that will be sure to prove popular on the puddles...

Jon 
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JimC View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote JimC Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jan 11 at 7:15am
> rig adjustment
To my mind all that stuff is best avoided. You get a tiny increase in performance for a huge increase in cost and complexity. With a moderate sized rig it should't be needed. I find that 99% of necessary gear changing can be done with kicker, downhaul and jib slot.

Edited by JimC - 26 Jan 11 at 7:17am
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Post Options Post Options   Quote ifoxwell Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jan 11 at 8:11am
I dont disagree however after owning a Merlin and now a 12 one of the things I've found I enjoy most is the fiddling. It does add complexity but it is also fun in its own right.

That said if your targeting a modern Ent then simple is good.

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Post Options Post Options   Quote alstorer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jan 11 at 9:45am
Originally posted by JimC

> rig adjustment
To my mind all that stuff is best avoided. You get a tiny increase in performance for a huge increase in cost and complexity. With a moderate sized rig it should't be needed. I find that 99% of necessary gear changing can be done with kicker, downhaul and jib slot.
 
Which is why it's vital to have kicker and downhaul easily accesible whilst on the side- and ideally continuous.
 
Having said that- how mmuch playing with them is likely to be needed when screaming on the sort of reach where the nose might go down? Is there perhaps scope for having the controls at the front, accesible only by the crew? Would make running a tidy continuous system easier, but takes control away from helm when sailing with a relative beginner.
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Post Options Post Options   Quote cad99uk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jan 11 at 9:57am
Definately agree with
 
"it's vital to have kicker and downhaul easily accessible whilst on the side"
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Medway Maniac Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jan 11 at 11:24am
Originally posted by Jon711


IMO, this is a niche in the dinghy market that has been vacant for some time.  Basically a modern Enterprise,  that will be sure to prove popular on the puddles...

Jon 
Not to pour cold water on the Icon - indeed, i'm guessing it's likely a nicer boat than a Tasar - but doesn't the Tasar sit squarely in that niche? What's the quantum leap with the Icon that will make it popular where the Tasar wasn't?
 
The only problem with the Tasar that I can see - and it's a problem faced by all fast hikers - is that on PY they get beaten by trapeze boats in trapezing/planing winds, and by lardy old tubs like Wayfarers in lighter winds (whose PY is improved by the stats of the days when they exhibit their poor planing performance).
 
So far as I've observed, where helms of equal talents are sailing in all boats, non-extreme, fast hikers (excluding PY bandit development classes) are confined to the bridesmaid's role in most conditions on PY. Of course, in a world of no discards, a string of consistent performances just off the top slot would be OK, but not in the usual club situation when the more extreme boats can discard their 50% of poor races.
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Post Options Post Options   Quote JimC Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jan 11 at 12:45pm
Yeah, looking at things I do worry about the lack of jib slot control. This is an area where a bit of setup complexity may actually simplify sailing. The worst example is the "Club 420" sailed in the US, where a key crewing technique is that the crew has to hold *both* jib sheets and continually adjust the tension on them...
I fear that if you don't have slot adjustment the jib sheet might become millimetre critical to get into the groove upwind. I make an exception to my normal simplicity to have full 3D control with a lateral track and a barber hauler...

Here's the final setup on my old Cherub: I use almost exactly the same system on the IC. I liked this one because having the fairlead and cleat on the back of the foredeck was really good for roll tacking and also keeping a really clear cockpit.

Settings wise I just have L, M and H written on the deck by the track, for track position (on this one just using the lock on the slider) and another LMH line on the deck for where the barber hauler block should reach.



Edited by JimC - 26 Jan 11 at 12:53pm
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Rupert Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jan 11 at 12:52pm
The Tasar, apart from being optimized for stronger winds and open water compared to the Icon, suffered from the way it was launched (as far as I can remember - I was young at the time!), as a 2 handed Laser, and was very badly marketed in the UK. It was quickly dropped and replaced on the books by the Laser 2, which then was pushed very hard. In some ways, it is amazing that the Tasar is still in the UK at all, given its birth here.
The Icon appears to be designed for UK waters, to do the kind of sailing many of us actually do. Whether it can find a big enough niche to succeed, I don't know, but it certainly stands more chance than a couple of boats I remember from 1980's dinghy shows which tried to fill this gap before the assy revolution. Proton, anyone?
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Post Options Post Options   Quote tickler Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jan 11 at 12:56pm
I dare say this as a Tasar owner and fan. The Tasar hull with its high forward freeboard is looking dated. This Icon looks jolly modern and I like that.
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jan 11 at 1:03pm
Not sure I follow Jim. The fairleads are on transverse tracks, the luff tension is adjustable from the cockpit and there is a dangly pole. Between them I think that gives a pretty good control on jib shape and slot. Simple, light, heads up - even it's spiritual ancestor, the NS, doesn't usually have longitudinal or vertical fairlead adjustment.
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