Symmetric v Assymmeric Spinnakers

Hi iTick

Simple answer to your question - No Icon is not like that... light 50mm carbon non-rotating mast compared to (amazingly) heavy 2 piece rotating alloy mast (ie that must have low rig tension to rotate in the first place)  ... and Icons hull is built accordingly.

Mike L.

 


Edited by blaze720 - 13 Aug 13 at 10:54pm

The weight addition to put a chute in an Icon hull would be nominal....  it would be light enough in either mode to be interesting.  All up weight would still be plenty light enough.  Commercially we are not about to launch a spinnaker version unless we had a very good reason (we think it is unique in what it offers already) but if GRF wants to try it for kicks we do not have any real  problem and would follow his development with (neutral) interest.   The reason we do not to want to currently develop a 3 sail version is that we believe there are a multitude of goodish hiking spinnaker offerings out there already..

Now a derivative with a modest asymetric and a single trapeze ...... well that might be a bit more interesting !   well one day maybe  ;-)     ... but it would not be an Icon of course.  

Mike L.

PS ... '400' you seem interested in suggesting every possible way BUT trying  out an Icon hull... why ? and why not try one out first ?   Have you even seen one on the water ?  It is very very efficient indeed, does not require a lot of sail to go rather fast and is dead 'easy' with brilliant handling.  We looked at developing a MR inspired derivative when the project started ourselves but the NS had/has offered a much 'cleaner' hull as a starting point .. in our opinion at least.   There has been design convergence across both these classes, half a world apart, as you would expect but the 'free' NS 'box rule' arguably permitted a lot more design freedom for just about 50 years of experimentation and development.    


Edited by blaze720 - 13 Aug 13 at 10:47pm

Hull weight on an i14 is about 75kg, old ones a bit more. They probably have some lead you can remove though.
Don't stick a Tasar rig on it, I have a hardly used NS14 rig sitting in my garage if you really want a wing masted rig.

Also, in the Uk a lot of sailing is done inland and often in shifty, lightish winds.    A square running boat and deep by the lee Laser type boat will dispatch the run in sub planing conditions pretty efficiently.    Trying to soak low in any asymmetric - fast or slow - is painful.

The boats that I see suffer on the dead runs are the stayed rig single handers.   Canoes and Contenders and to some extent Solos ( but they have very floppy rigs).  They can't get the boom out and don't have the extra sail area of a whopping great symmetric kite.

So, the perfect boat for the UK with it's shifty, lightish summer winds is a single hander with a symmetric kite !  

Joking aside, in around 8 knots + a quick asymm skiff will hammer any square running boat to the bottom mark.   Even a Vortex can be quick.

Oh, don't chop holes in it, we could stick a Tasar rig on it.................