Fireball Questions

Under the bow would be far too low- it would be a pain to seal, and if it wasn't sealed it would gulp water (especially upwind)

Originally posted by GybeFunny What about getting some smaller sails for the Alto made? Or is that too simple an idea? You may even find that a mainsail from another boat will fit.

So to continue:-

The capsize you referred to was when close hauled. Additional crew weight/ leaverage, and /or smaller sails might not have prevented it. It sounds more like slow reaction and cleats not released. Do you have the original main sheet cleat. Does it need replacing. Until recently you have always used the prototype large mainsail at about 12M2, though you were using the standard 11m2 on this occasion. I recall you saying the class mainsail was too small, and thus used the non class big one.
You have recently purchased the class kite which is 17m2. Why not revert to your old on which is 16m2, though I guess it needs replacing after 5 years.

The PY you use at your club for the large mainsail I recall is 915. For the standard main, 925 is used. What are you using?.

Yes, you are on the light side, and shortish. I'm not much taller than you and no doubt the same weigh at about 67Kg, oh and 9 years older and don't sit out. Geoff my crew is tallish at 6ft 2in and 75 kg, but a youngster at about mid fifties. How does this compare with you?

What sort of wind strength gives you problems? Obviously you also can have roughish seas at Hythe so a couple more stones can be useful in these condition.. About a quarter of AltOs have female crews and mostly sail in estuaries. There is also one all female boat in which the crew is eight stone, about 5ft 3in and dare I say middle aged!I

To continue

Originally posted by tick Punch through the foredeck further back for the chute. Lots of engineering

I'd better not say this is what I'd do, because the chances of that approximate to zero. But given this dubious requirement I suggest you consider taking the foredeck off and putting in a "false floor" so that there's a low bow tank under all the gubbins. Might be possible to juggle things so that the pole comes through the deck alongside or just in front of the forestay to reduce water ingress. I believe some of the US scows play that game. Maybe remove everything in front of the forestay to make room for the crazy gubbins and put a cloth cover over to reduce water ingress,and just replace the deck aft of the forestay.

Come to think of it, if you're going to rip the foredeck off anyway it might be worth raising the centreline considerably to make room for the gear, terminating the centrebeam in some *very* serious structure that lifts the jib tack up about three inches. With some juggling of the cross section of the deck you could probably raise the jib quite a bit without losing and end plate effect or changing the gunwhales. The extreme would be a flat topped deck with "chines" - as below so above!

Early Meatballs, BTW, had the jib on a short strop, they only brought them down to deck level to gain the end plate effect later.

Edited by JimC - 23 May 13 at 3:04pm

My old fashioned definition of 'roach' is anything outside a straight line from head to clew, so includes the bit high up on a long top batten.

Originally posted by getafix GRF, don't poke holes in a nice boat or faff about with an assy kite on a FB, use the one the good lord intended and thousands of others have tried to, or actually mastered.. it's fun and bl**dy quick when you get it right and it's honking......  ......crosses fingers and hopes GRF gets frightened off on behalf of all other FB sailors

With many thanks from a furball sailor :-)