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Ellie View Drop Down
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    Posted: 12 May 06 at 10:07am

Originally posted by JimC


Makes old timers spit in their beer (1) - ditch the Merlin Rocket Gaff rigged mainsail and just measure total area with the rest free.

Makes old timers spit in their beer (2) - ditch the Merlin Rocket clinker hull to make the boats cheaper.



oi! what are you saying!  the clinker hull makes a merlin what it is!  have u seen the MRX? its a completely different boat! yuk yuk yuk (compared to a merlin, but alright just to knock around wembely...very hard work tho, bit of a brute).

anyway my change would be to take the 21Kg of lead out of our boat see if we can get her planning upwind .  and maybe make a new merlin more within my price range...free would be nice!

ps sorry for getting defensive, i cant help it

pps sorry for dragging up an old comment....i had to defend the MRs



Edited by Ellie
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Bruce Starbuck View Drop Down
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Posts: 124 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Bruce Starbuck Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 May 06 at 10:22am

The Fireballs have a rule banning the use of carbon fibre in almost anything.

Trouble with this is that a standard alloy spinnaker pole isn't stiff enough so they wrap kevlar around an alloy pole to beef it up and charge nearly £150 for a really heavy, terrible bit of engineering. A carbon one would be the same price but much better. It's one of those rules which is intended to save you money but actually doesn't, and has a detrimental effect on the boat.

Come to think of it, they build parts of the hull from kevlar too. Before I rant too much, does anyone know the comparative price of kevlar vs. carbon, and specifically what the price difference would be to replace the kevlar cloth in a Fireball hull with carbon, and what the difference in performance would be?

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combat wombat View Drop Down
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Posts: 345 		Post Options Post Options   Quote combat wombat Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 May 06 at 10:44am
Don't even let you have carbon tiller extensions apparently... now thats harsh.
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Bruce Starbuck View Drop Down
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Posts: 124 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Bruce Starbuck Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 May 06 at 11:01am

Yeah, but at least an alloy extension is cheaper than a carbon one, so the rule serves its purpose. The alloy/kevlar poles are so heavy they can cause damage to people's decks when they are dropped, so they cost more in foredeck repairs!

 
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Chris Noble View Drop Down
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Posts: 710 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Chris Noble Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 May 06 at 12:35pm
the cost of a sq m of carbon to a sq m of kevlar at my outlet is exactly the same, they just have rather different properties which vary on the lay up
Competitive Boat Insurance From Noble Marine

FOR SALE:

I14 2 Masts 2 poles 3 Booms, Foils Kites/Mains/Jibs too many to list.
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tack'ho View Drop Down
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Posts: 1100 		Post Options Post Options   Quote tack'ho Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 May 06 at 1:10pm
Originally posted by phantom871

 

 

1   Remove the corners from the back of a laser to stop the the main sheet catching!

 

 

To bleedin right. It has to be the biggest design flaw ever in a boat, i mean did they actually ever test sail it?  What made me really laugh is when an esteemed yachting mag that rymes with pots and potting reviewed the XD version they sort of nochanlantly glossed over it with its a bit of a pain, but hey ho.  Had this been a boat straight out of the box i'm sure it would have fared a lot worse.  As for it being a bit of a pain take a look at the face of a laser sailor whose just in front of the fleet on the last lap and does this on a gybe at the last bottom mark  the swearing usually carries a long way!



Edited by tack'ho
I might be sailing it, but it's still sh**e!
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combat wombat View Drop Down
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Posts: 345 		Post Options Post Options   Quote combat wombat Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 May 06 at 1:34pm
Originally posted by Bruce Starbuck

Yeah, but at least an alloy extension is cheaper than a carbon one, so the rule serves its purpose. The alloy/kevlar poles are so heavy they can cause damage to people's decks when they are dropped, so they cost more in foredeck repairs!

 



Yeah, but its funny that you aren't allowed one, its not as if they increase performance!  The fireball extension isn't very long so no significant weight decrease... I don't see what the problem is if people want to spend more on their boats if it doesn't affect performance at all.  Carbon tillers don't bend either (or break if you get a good one). 
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Isis View Drop Down
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Posts: 2753 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Isis Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 May 06 at 1:59pm

Originally posted by Chris Noble

the cost of a sq m of carbon to a sq m of kevlar at my outlet is exactly the same, they just have rather different properties which vary on the lay up

Last I checked kevlar 200g plain is at somewhere near £20/sqm but theres a bit of a shortage of carbon at the mo so the equivelant carbon cloth has gone up in most places and seems to be around £30/sqm...

Edit: just had a bit of a glance around and found somewhere selling 200g plain carbon cloth at about £45/sqm!!!



Edited by Isis
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Chris Noble View Drop Down
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Posts: 710 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Chris Noble Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 May 06 at 2:01pm
mines £15 for both at 200g/m2
Competitive Boat Insurance From Noble Marine

FOR SALE:

I14 2 Masts 2 poles 3 Booms, Foils Kites/Mains/Jibs too many to list.
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Isis View Drop Down
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Posts: 2753 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Isis Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 May 06 at 2:03pm

Bloody hell!!!

Wheres that??

 

Think I need to make a trip..
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