Spy photos

It's the new 29erxx, square top main, rudder on gantry and longer kite pole. According to the test sailors they were pacing a 18ft skiff upwind, I think they lie about that bit though.

I think its a Laser/Laser Radial deal: two rigs on the same hull, so no intention to lose the 29er. You can argue that there's a place for a smaller rig boat than the 49er internationally for adult mixed and lightweight crews, and it seems unlikely that the RS800 will ever sell worldwide.

I think Julian should design a new boat for the job: maybe six inches more on the bow and epoxy. It looks as if there's been a bit of "convergent evolution" with the more advanced boats at the ISAF trials... I can see why he'd want to avoid the T foil for mass production, hence why I'd suggest some extra bow if it can be done without compromising on weight. Go finer and it can bury further and still recover.

I'm quite sure its possible for that boat to pace *an* 18ft skiff upwind - indeed I'd expect it to beat the Historical 18s easily. Whether it can pace a fully set up state of the art 18 with equal ability crews is another matter entirely...


Edited by JimC

Originally posted by JimC I think its a Laser/Laser Radial deal: two rigs on the same hull,

But the hull was designed for the standard rig and the radial was downsized and re-cut to suit the hull. I think the problem with the 29erxx is that the boat was originally designed for a smaller rig and the hull can't take the bigger rig without some changes to it.

I think there is a market for the boat. Flawed as the XX is I still prefer sailing them to an 800. That’s not to say that its a better boat, far from it, just that at our weight you have to have the racks right out on an 800 which makes them awkward to sail and scares my crew... who once had a bad experience being trapped under the racks of a 4000.

It would be nice to see the boat designed from the ground up though rather than just tweak a standard 29er and then having to accept all the resultant compromise.

Ian

 

Originally posted by JimC I think Julian should design a new boat for the job: maybe six inches more on the bow and ....

But six inches on the bow would make the 29er soooo much better upwind.