Cirrus Icon Development

Hi Mike,

That would be great, thanks very much.

Originally posted by blaze720 ..... Might still make Icon the fastest 2 sail production boat though   ... anywhere !    Next time then .... Mike L.

The Icon is longer than either a Merlin or a 400 I believe?
It ought therefore to have good performance against these boats upwind.
I think that's why in some conditions we find Albacores hard to shake off until the kite goes up.
Fastest production 2 sail boat is a bit of a claim.
Are we talking PY or peak speed?
When you say boat do you mean kiteless hiking monohull dinghy?
Or does it really see off Tornados, MPS's, Canoes (if there is such a thing as a 'production' gnu?) etc.
I'm sure I've missed out some faster classes.

In my view, you should consider class rules that stop people using self-destruct rudders, unless you want people to have the expense of needing both fixed and lifting ones to be competitive.
When people buy a racing dinghy, they are not just buying a boat, they are buying into a class and that means the rules, ethos and constitution of the class have to be taken into consideration.

Yeah i would think the Canoe might have a fair few things to say about that also doesn't the Musto, 700, Vortex have just two sails? I know it was a bit tongue in cheek

Good to meet you too Mike, it's a lovely little boat that you and Peaky have brought into the world

A big claim !!

Well ...er yes.   Partly said to be provocative but the word 'production' was buried in there and I could further qualify with the term 'hiker' and 'monohull' but we did not try to make it 'fast' Icon just ended up that way...  It does not have a particularly high top speed to my mind relative to some out there but it is quick, and very much so on some angles.  To answer Ian - probably more than quick enough.  The hull is a very efficient low drag shape as is the rig and that allows us to leave out the spinnaker some might want (and the associated weight of all that gear)....  and we don't do hauling round great lumps of lead either !   

The design brief was for a light 'easy to sail' modern '2-sail' hiker that would go as well in the light stuff as in a blow and was accesible to more people and usable at more locations (OK OK maybe not Peaky's at low water round Sheppey !!)  We wanted to get more people out there and really enjoying their racing .. oh and it had to have a modern light rig and be at a reasonable price.  We also wanted a wide weight carrying capability.

Anyway the best thing about it is simply the Icon sailing experience and handling - oh off I go ... no I'm not going to go on and on about Icon now  - only 'you' could really judge for yourself.   I'm far too biased. 

Lastly - Peaky was involved with pre-production testing and we welcomed him trying out alternative rudder systems on his boat in the immediate time period.    Production boats have a fairly standard pivoting rudder ... and funnily enough it looks exactly like a Blaze one  - so no surprises there ....  ;-)  

Mike L.