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INT14 WORLD CHAMPS with BEN MCGRANE
This was my third go at the I14 Worlds, while there is no question that the UK has the toughest domestic racing available I still love the additional aspect of coming up against guys who I haven’t raced in 2-3 years especially in a development class where the potential gains through new equipment can throw up a number of surprises.
For the 2015 worlds I think the majority of the fleet knew the British contingent was once again going to be strong with Glen Truswell on a high as the current POW and European Champion, his commitment over the past year with crew Sam Pascoe was always going to make him the clear favourite, Archie Massey can’t ever be ruled out with 4 world titles to his name and while he was sailing with a new crew, anyone who knows Harvey’s background going back to 49ers and crewing for likes of Ian Barker will tell you everything you needed to know about his ability. Then there was myself and James, POW winners in 2012 and POW week winners in 2012 & 2013 with a heavily upgraded boat. All 3 teams were on for a podium and the only question was could anyone de-rail Glen and Sam’s momentum?
The Australian fleet have plenty of good sailors, well sorted boats and from what I had seen previously, big guys who could really get the hammer down and with a 1.6nm beat at Geelong they could be dangerous.
I would definitely list this as a Championship I really enjoyed, the racing was excellent and given our time on the water last year being so limited, we couldn’t have expected more than to take the second spot on the podium. As it went the British form was still a lot stronger than the AUS teams although Brad Devine was gaining speed all week and took the final spot on the podium. The positive for me was we were fast, I have written plenty of times about Poppet in the past 2 years as she has been upgraded and a large proportion of the outcome of our worlds came as a result of the work carried out at P&B South and the refinements made to the sail package from the sail loft in Northampton.
There are a number of ways to go about 14 sailing but I think no matter how good a sailor you are, development classes are different and you have to do your apprenticeship to really understand firstly, how to make the boat go fast and then also to develop a winning boat. New boats and certainly new designs generally take 2-3 years to fulfil their true potential, I’ve been very lucky that when I was sailing with Roger and then also with James, I’ve been able to use the knowledge of past sailors in the class like Ian Pinnell to expand my understand and I’ve also had access to designers and builders who have been able to help me make calculated sensible decisions of how to improve the overall boat package.
KIT FOR 2015
SAILS
Alan Bax and Steve Graham went back to the drawing board in 2014, taking what was learnt from our well proven cross cut sails and created a new design in a radial construction to give better stability with reduced weight. The head was flattened and base depth increased, this was combined with a new batten configuration to draw the sail draft forwards creating a more powerful rig. We continued to use our Selden S3 rig which is softer than others but works well across the wind range, importantly I feel the package is easy to use, requiring nothing more than changes in kicker and cunningham across a wind range from 10-20 knots to manage power, only small alternations are made at the lower and upper end of the scale to increase or decrease mainsail depth. Our jibs were also converted to radial cuts to create a fairer sail and reduce weight. We currently run a flat jib which is the re-modelled version of our cross cut and a full which has a more powerful base and is shaped to set with more twist, it can be set tracked further inboard and in anything up to 10 knots definitely gives us more power and height. The plan for 2015 with more time on the water will be to further develop the full cut sail. We created a development large spinnaker last year which is well suited to heavier teams and is great for us on windward/leeward courses, for the worlds where triangles are still sailed I struggle to fault the standard P&B as a good reaching spinnaker and still the fastest on the run.
All the I14 sail designs we use are available to purchase. We go through an extremely detailed measurement process to make sure our sails are the best possible fit for your boat and mast. We can supply custom Selden and Paragon spars to your individual requirements and we will work with you both on and off the water to help you maximise your potential results. For more information contact Ben McGrane via email
FOILS
With Richard Pemberton creating the designs we produced our own moulds in 2014 for a rudder and daggerboard. The rudder is shorter than we had previously but a more forgiving section and effort was also made to remove drag from the t-foil. Our daggerboard had a reduced chord compared with what has become the standard in the fleet and increased length to gain the area back, the chord thickness was reduced but isn’t as extreme as that used by some in the fleet. We have only had limited time with the foils but two things were evident, the rudder is a massive improvement tacking and pre-start compared with any other design I have used, has less stall and gives great response, the daggerboard gives us better height to windward and the reduction in drag between the combined sections was massively evident on the run where I felt we were significantly quicker than we had been in previous years.
P&B I14 t-foil rudders and high aspect daggerboards are available to purchase. We can design custom foils for any class to suit all individual requirements. For a quotation contact Ben McGrane via ben@pinbax.com .
HULL AND FIT OUT
We did a lot of work last winter to reduce weight in the bow, increase foredeck stiffness and reduce aero drag, all of this work was carried out in house at P&B South. We simplified the deck fit out to a fixed rig with turnbuckles for the shrouds, caps and lowers Leaving the forestay as the only adjustable string for the purpose of applying rig tension, this is a good weight saving to keep the boat down to weight, with fixed rigging we always know our settings are right and most importantly for me I think this is a huge reduction in the chances of breaking anything. It was of no great surprise to me that 4 of the top 5 boats at the worlds were fitted out in a very basic format, I’m still staggered by the loads that can go through an I14 with excess of 600kg spike loads through the forestay under normal sailing conditions!
Poppet is a great example of the custom work that is continually completely by P&B South in Fareham. If you have an I14 you are looking to upgrade or require boat repairs of any size in any material our team of experts can finish the work the highest standard. We are registered with all major insurance companies. For a quote contact us via enquires@pinbax.com.
WHAT'S NEXT?
There is only 18 months to the next worlds in Carnac, not a lot of time when you think about it! Given the choice I still believe the B5 to be an excellent all round shape and that given the timescale it would be hard to create a new boat to a better performance, with limited time on the water I think there is still a lot to come from the current P&B package through setting refinement so that would be the plan.
*International 14 Photo - Tristan Beckett Photography |
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