Cirrus Icon Development

Originally posted by tickler If the boat was lighter than its designed all up weight with crew would that not effect its performance adversely? Surely weight would not be everything?

Well everything affects everything else. But if you think about the amount that crew weight varies on everything but Olympic classes where they body build/diet to the required weight it can't be that critical...

In my limited experience it is usually NOT the resin choice that is selected, though it is obviously quite possible to get that wrong, it is the way it is used.  The Tasar was the first production foamed boat anywhere and did and still does use polyester - it is light and has stood the test of time very well indeed.  But it is well designed and uses the materials involved well.   The NS's we started with have another 35 years of development, not just in terms of shape, but in respect to build materials and use.  The structure, weight and performanceof any hull is only partly down to resin ... the other key is the build materials employed (foam/glass etc) and the way they are used.  In addition resins vary enormously and the division is more than just simply polyester/vinylester/epoxy - there are many less obvious variations. 

The rig is light and we don't carry all the complexity and weight of a spinnaker system.... and the hull design and build has learnt a lot from the NS14 pre-curser which was excellent in every respect.  I personally don't think we need to be this light frankly as the hull is easily driven and we have a very efficient rig.   Put it in context however - MR's often carry 25kg of correctors these days, Phantoms are not much smaller than Icon and can even be lighter than their minimum weight rule of I think 62kg for hull.   We might want the boat to be a tad heavier yet .... but only in the right places and where it is needed.

We will assess actual performance and durability and then make informed decisions on the general build 'weight' for the production boats.   Icon will be relatively light whatever - we are out to offer good performance, in a simple 2-sail package.

Weight is always useful .... only where neeeded also in crew or perhaps as has been said in the past ....in steamrollers.

Mike L.

     

Originally posted by blaze720 The Tasar was the first production foamed boat anywhere and did and still does use polyester - it is light and has stood the test of time very well indeed.

I think the Icon idea is great, i would be interested to see how it goes on restricted sailing areas such as small puddles and rivers where fast roll tacking is key.  A modern take on the enterprise/Albacore, i think is great.  Any idea how much they are going to be yet?  I am not in the market at present but it looks like a great boat to buy when my wife has decided to start sailing again in a few years.

A balancing vote for the gunwale corners - function over form every time, or at least when it gives a nice functional look!