Looks good in the fog, anyway...

So, do the reds match?

Rudder stock

This is the biggest change to the boat - no idea if it will work yet. Rather than the plates to and bottom, I have fitted a Super Snark (look it up!) plastic gudgeon thing, which happens to be the same pin hole size. Pictures tell it most easily. Neede to put spacers in as the tiller hit the deck. Will alter the stock one day...

Rigging

Time to screw stuff back on. Here, we saw the only other real changes (after the gunwales and colour change) to the boat. Having landed on the central support blocks for the toe straps, they had to go. So, before and after:

Then, time for a bailer. Lets face it, those old Holt bailers aren't the best. So, onto ebay to find an alternative for less than the boat is worth...

Got lucky - a Holt Delta bailer, designed to work at slow speed (well, this is a Minisail) and even better, as old as the boat, but unused! Cutting the hole (a triangle with curved corners) was fun, as it couldn't quite fit right over the old hole, so some filling needed too.

Got there in the end, though:

Bit too much sealant, maybe, but better than a leaking bailer. Had enough of that with the old one!

Then control lines. The cvrda forum proved a great place to find a 3rd cleat to match the 2 for the kicker and even some wedges(thank you Obscured by Clouds!). I was then able to refit the kicker pretty much as before, and then ad a 4:1 Cunningham to replace the old, useless 2:1. The sail doesn't seem to need much cunningham, but it will be nice to be able to adjust it if needed. A picture speaks a thousand words:

Varnish

So, gunwales are on, so then it is time to smarten her up, sand her back and bung some varnish on. Only, of course, being a Minisail, 8 coats of high quality Epiphanes, with perfect, glass like finish taking weeks, didn't seem quite right. That, and I was in a hurry!

So, back to tried and tested G4 sealant. 3 coats in one day. Then wait a couple of days and sand it back, ready for a top coat. This time, however, I thought I'd try the Boanaseal glass version of G4, to see what happened.

Answer, really good. Goes on like G4, but shinyer afterwards. If I was a more patient varnisher, I'm sure it would have looked as good as "real" varnish. As it was, it has given me a smart a 10 paces hard as nails finish - exactly what was needed! Shiny enough on a sunny day, anyway...

Back the right way up

Once the hull was done, it was time to do the top. First up, the gunwales. The ones I'd taken off were, frankly, horrible. Fixed with a brass pin every couple of inches, they pinged off nice and easily, which explained why the edge of the ply was damaged. The glue must have failed decades ago.

Now, in theory, I should have gone and bought a nice long piece of mahogany to replace them with, but this being a Minisail, I thought I'd try something different. So, a quick visit to B&Q and Hombase molding racks (each had one part of what I wanted), I had 18mm quadrant for me to sit out over, and 6mm capping pieces for bow and stern. Front and back glued, the quadrant held with screws.

Sounds like a quick decision putting it like that, but I went through 1/2 a dozen different ideas before settling on that one. Then, make use of epoxy for where they join, and bob's your uncle!

Old gunwales on the floor, new ones on the boat. Not as smart as I was aiming for - too many years not doing carpentry.

Summer been and gone...

... and somehow slowly, slowly Minim got done.

I'll start the photo process again now:

Hull printed, undercoated and painted bright red, using Precision marine paints from Pacer Marine.

Nice paint. Didn't know what to expect. She was then left for a month while we were busy doing other things, which gave it plenty of time to harden. All but the top coat done with rollers, top coat brushed. Not the best finish, but that is down to my limited skills than a problem with the paint.

Stripped!

Out with the hot air blower and triangular scraper, off with the paint. In 15 minute bursts, the back didn't give out, and the boat was stripped within a few days, then sanded.

The gunwales were simply pinned on and the glue had failed long before, so a blunt chisel down the gap soon had them prised off - they are certainly not going back on.

However, it turned out that the deck wasn't damaged where the gunwales were, so rather than ripping the decks off, it was out with the hot air gun again and varnish removal. A few hours sanding, and they look rather good. The cockpit was sound, so I have simply sanded that.

That still leaves me with several hundred nails to punch back down into the deck, but I shall worry about that once I've painted the bottom. Just waiting for the primer to arrive, then it will be paint, fill, sand, paint fill, sand etc till she looks smooth enough .

Minim gets a make-over

Fresh from her Nationals winning performance, I decided it was time for Minim to get some long overdue TLC. First off, all the paint needs stripping. I'm tired just thinking about it. Then she will need sanding, filling and priming.

Then she'll be flipped over and the decks are coming off! All the little pins are lifting, and the gulwale has split away from the deck edge. And I can lose some weight from her.

Weighed her last night - 54 KG on our bathroom scales. The aim is to get her below the 50 KG when weighed more accurately - I suspect she is more than 54kg in reality.

The major question is, should I paint her black again, or something different?

Nationals Report

Minisail National Championships 2014

Whitefriars Sailing Club in the Cotswold Water Park hosted a very international Minisail Nationals over the weekend of 5/6 July. With visitors from Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, not to mention Cornwall and England, the 15 sailors who gathered together were a fine example of European unity!

Many of the travellers arrived on Friday, and by early evening, that very English drink, Pimms, was being consumed in unwise quantities by most of the assorted gathering.

Saturday’s sunshine was punctuated in the morning by heavy, squally showers, usually just as we were venturing outside to look at some finer point of Minisail tuning during our coaching sessions. Luckily, the afternoon brightened up and the wind steadied while we got loads of starting practice and mini races under our belts as the coaching continued.

Once the official coaching had finished, it was time to try out each other’s boats. Unlike most “one design” classes, the Minisail consists of 3 different basic designs, with then more variants on deck layout and whether sliding seats are used. Too complex to go into here, the full story can be found on the Minisail website at minisail.org.uk. This variety means a great time can be had seeing what other people are sailing. Jumping into a boat with a sliding seat after sailing a standard one can involve a steep learning curve, especially when it comes to turning corners.

Sunday dawned sunny and warm, and once the effects of another night on the Pimms wore off, people prepared to race. For some this was simply a case of stepping the mast, for others, drills and screwdrivers were out. However, just as the sailing standard of the competitors had clearly improved from previous years it was noticeable that the old boats were in far better condition than at the last Nationals. A couple of sailors had decided not to take part in the racing, due to lack of experience, back troubles or needing to ring church bells for the bishop, so Sylvia Croft from Liverpool, Clive Berry from Avon SC and local Charlie Whelan were missing from the fray.

The first race got under way, and soon Jonathan Bomford from Mylor, Cornwall and Rupert Whelan from the home club had pull out a small lead, with Jonathan just ahead. However, disaster befell him at the first mark, as he rounded the wrong way. While he unwound himself, Rupert build a small lead. With Jonathan’s sliding seat Monaco faster on the beats than Rupert’s Sprite design, there was no rest until the final gun, especially with the wind coming and going in fits and starts. Frans Stoop, our Dutch visitor, showed fantastic boat speed towards the end of the race to close up right behind Jonathan for 3^rd. Chris Gilchrist started her first ever race, as did Julian Niedermaier, and for him the previous day’s coaching had obviously paid off, as he got a cracking start.

The second race saw Rupert take an early lead, and but with Jonathan close on his tail yet again. These 2 boats dominated the race, with an incredibly tight race for 3^rd a little further back. Frans Stoop, Ronny De Gruyter (from Belgium) David Argles (Southampton), Julian Niedermaier (Germany), Sandwell Valley SC trio Paul Rogers, Gill Dyer and Rob Baker (sailing an Aquabat, a class so similar, the Minisails have welcomed them into the fold) had a great race, with positions for most undecided until the final beat to the finish line. Frans came out on top to take another 3^rd place.

Autumn hit for the third race. Shortly after the start, a huge squall blew through. The first casualty was the race leader Jonathan, whose rudder, unused in many a year, decided to snap off at the stock. Most of the rest of the fleet was blown flat, leaving local Rupert to pick his way through the carnage to take the win and therefore defend his title. The only other boat to recover and cross the finish line was a gutsy Tom Moore from Southampton, the lightest and oldest sailor in the fleet.

A depleted fleet of 6 boats started the final race. It soon became apparent that the storm had caused another problem – it had broken huge patches of weed free from the bottom of the lake and left them floating all over the race course. Just yards from the start line, all the boats ground to a halt, desperately lifting centreboards and reaching over the back to clear rudders, only to be engulfed again. Using his Whitefriars weed clearing knowledge, it was again Rupert who managed to break free first, catching a gust of wind at the same time as hitting a weed-free patch of water. The rest of the race was spent scanning the water ahead and planning a route around the foliage. Again, the pack were tight together, with leading boats suddenly stopping in a weed patch and helplessly watching others pass on by. Frans came out ahead to take 2^nd from David, Jonathan (sporting a borrowed rudder), Tom and Ronny.

Special mention must go to Dean Martin, who had come all the way from Belgium, who decided, for reasons of sport, to rig his boat with an RS600 sail for the day. He sailed the 1^st 3 races, but had structural and control issues and could do no better than mid fleet, though his results couldn’t really count in the final reckoning.  However, while the squall was on, he could be seen standing on the edge of his sliding seat, planing back and forth between the inevitable capsizes. Nobody could work out (least of all Dean) why the mast pot wasn’t ripped out of the boat! At other times over the weekend, he had also been seen doing handstands on the end of the sliding seat.

The Prize giving involved much cake. Stars of the show were the race team. Kathryn Whelan not only prepared lunch and tea (with masses of help from Katherine Lewis on Sunday) but also handled all the finances of the weekend and entertained the non-sailing visitors. Saturday’s galley crew, Alan Martin and Sue Jarvis did a great keeping us fed and watered. Simon Clark put on 4 interesting races in tricky, shifty, gusty conditions and kept a smile on his face for us all day whatever daft things we ended up doing. Gareth Lewis, his assistant, kept track of the changing fortunes of the fleet as the day went on. Saturday’s boat driver Rod Farnden kept us safe while Sunday’s Safety boat team Al Steel and Chris Mills were kept very busy for a while, pulling tired Minisail sailors out of the water and rescuing their boats. Thank you to you all.

Results

1                     Rupert Whelan

2                     Jonathan Bomford

3                     Frans Stoop

4                     David Argles

5                     Tom Moore

6                     Ronny De Guyter

7                     Julian Niedermaier

8                     Rob Baker

9                     Paul Rogers

10                 Gill Dyer

11                 Chris Gilchrist

12                 Dean Martin

Minisail Nationals

What a wonderful weekend!

A record 14 Minisails together, plus an Aquabat, and 13 went racing together.

Write up to come soon, meanwhile a few pictures taken by Kathryn.

Minisprint Max sail Sold!

Now sold.

This is a hardly used battened sail for a Minisail or (more likely) a Minisprint. At some point it belonged to Sprint 10016, but is now a free agent!

It has a few creases from where it has been folded for a long time, but it is otherwise looking much like it must have when made.

£70.

And sailing!

The next stage is to take her racing, and to compare speed to the Minisail and the Lightning!

Lnisail, part 2

Well, I got her rigged and on the water. Amazingly, not only does she work, but actually seems to be better balanced than the original rig.

Was only sailing for a few minutes, so can't comment too much on speed, but handling was sweet.

The mast concersion involved taking the old sleeve off and putting a thinner (2 mm wall 60mm tube) one on. This jammed on very tight.

Once rigged, she looks like it was meant to be!

Putting a Lightning 368 rig on a Minisail, part 1

Spring is here - time to start playing again!

Thinking about putting a Lightning 368 rig on the Minisail. I have a spare mast and sail, so why not?

First question - how to the sails compare?

So, the Minisail sail is a tiny bit longer, which is a surprise, but otherwise has a longer foot but lacks the roach at the top. Not much in it, but the MS sail is bigger.

Then I thought to compare the R&J sail I used above with the Morgan sail:

Looking at them, the Morgan sail and the Lightning sail are about the same length in the luff - a few inches shorter than the R&J, which was extended by the maker after trials when new. The sail areas must be very similar. Not clear in the pic, but the R&J has more luff curve, making it a fuller shape. Explains why the Morgan sail needs no cunningham compared to the R&J.

So, next stage will be to make the Lightning 368 mast fit the MS mast pot. That will be a project for after Easter.

Converted Mirror rudder

Spent some time over the last couple of days turning a Mirror rudder and stock into one that fits a Minisail...

Time will tell if  it works, and isn't dead slow. I had to sand the edges much further up the blade, but left the shape as I didn't want to lose area, and the stock needed completely re-modelling. The tiller is new. Black to match the hull, of course!

Minisail Max

A huge thanks to Phillipe for sending me thse photos of his new, larger Minisail Max sail, made by Morgan sails in Southampton. He had this to say about it:

Last weekend I finaly had the chance to take my revived minisail out on the water again.

A nice temperature and a bit of wind. I do say 'a bit' :(

They predicted windspeeds of 6knots and gusts of 8.

I was gently breezed across the pond and only had to sit ou 4 times in a small gust.

 

But on the up-side I could give the new "MAX" sail its first outing and it looks great.

There is a significant difference in power and even in soft wind I could take a friend out on the water and get the sailing feeling.

 

Coming weekend the predictions are 12 knots with gusts blowing to 20 knots.

I guess I will then appreciate a second person sitting out.

 

The lack of wind, and possibly some inexperience in setting the sail means it doesn't look as good as I think it can, but at least we can get an idea of the shape.

 

 

Minim, 3446, withdrawn from sale

 Edit: A Change of plans - she sounded so good when I re-read this ad, I have decided to keep her and sell the GRP boat instead!

Minisail 3446, twice winner (2011 & 2012) of the Classic and Vintage Racing Dinghy Association Nationals is for sale.

A wooden Sprite variant, she is in very sound condition, and is ready to sail or race, though there are a couple of touch-ups that could be done on the hull, and the varnish on the deck, whilst complete and not needing doing, has a change of colour where the edges have lifted in the past and been sanded back and re-done.

There is a nice varnished centreboard, and a rudder that works well but maybe hasn't got the prettiest tiller attached.

She comes with a stiff boom, all controls working well, and an excellent 2 year old R&J sail, which produces loads of power, but flattens off nicely for upwind work.

Also comes with a trolley, but without a trailer.

There is an almost new breathable cover, made to measure by Sail Register, which keeps the boat absolutely dry.

Selling as I have 2 Minisails, and I have decided I have too many other wooden boats to look after, so I'm keeping the GRP version.

Price £450, ready to sail.

Spring Training

Spring Training 23/24 March 2013

Below are a few more thoughts and details on what I hope will be happening on the cvrda, Minisail and British Moth Spring Training.

Some people have further to travel than others, and some will be arriving on Friday, so the start time is the first obstacle we have to overcome.

My suggestion is that will be expecting people from about 9.00am on Saturday, but I’ll get there for about 8.30 to catch the early birds! If you are arriving on Friday, then let me know what time, and if possible I’ll pop up to the club to meet you. If not possible, then I’ll make sure you can get through the gates to deposit boats.

We will then have a boat rigging session, where we can ensure that all the boats are rigged the best way they can be on the day, and maybe make suggestions as to how things can be improved for the future. We can also explain how your controls change the sails on your boat.

Once we are rigged and changed, which I hope will be by about 10.30, we will meet for a briefing and split into groups.

Depending on numbers, we may split the group into British Moths , other singlehanders  and doublehanders, but even if we stay together, we will have dedicated coaches for each, to look at what needs doing.

We will start with some race start theory, working from “where is the line” through to “where is the best place to start on it”, and “How do I know there is a start going to happen” to “How do I make sure I’m on the line at the start”. We will then go out and do some startline exercises. Obviously, with a mixed ability group, different people will be looking for different things from the exercises. I hope we can work with you all be improve the starts of both beginners and experts.

Once we have the starts down pat, it will probably be time to stop for lunch, at about 12.30. There will be hot and cold snack lunches available. Also, tea, coffee, soup and beer.  I need to double check how we go about ensuring the kitchen has enough food. Certainly a posting on the cvrda, Minisail or British Moth forum to say you are coming will be good to get the numbers. If I need you to specify what food you require, I’ll let you know.

After lunch, we will look at how to get from the startline to the windward mark and back in the shortest time. We will try and get the theory done whilst eating, so we can get on the water and maximise sailing time. We shall look at getting to the mark, doing a good rounding and then running back down to the start again. For the upwind bit, the boats will all need to do things in a similar way, though having a jib obviously changes things a little. For the run back down, we shall need to concentrate on different things for the shroudless boats, spinnakered boats etc, so the coaches will be kept busy!

Once we have mastered all that, we shall come in for a break and a snack at about 3.00, and have a talk about reaching and gybing. We shall then go out again and get sailing round a triangular course, with a beat, a reach, a gybe and another reach.  At this point, rather than running mini races, sailing round the course in a non-racing fashion will make things easier for both the practice and for coaches to give advice.

I hope we will be able to come off the water by about 4.30, get the boats packed for the night, get changed and disappear off to the pub for tea. If I can have numbers for those who will be staying to eat at the pub, I will let them know how many will be coming. I hope we can be there by 6, before it gets too busy.

Saturday night, some are staying at the Premier Inn at Swindon North, others in B&B’s scattered around. Let me know if you need advice on finding somewhere.

Sunday will dawn bright and sunny, of course!

We shall be getting rigged for 10.30am, and getting out on the water after a briefing. There may  well be more British Moths on Sunday, so in the morning, we shall probably split into 2 groups, joining up, again in the afternoon

The morning format will be more mini races, to sharpen up everything we did on the Saturday.  I hope we can get seven or eight 5-10 minute races in before lunch. Following another 12.30 lunch, we will run some slightly longer races, putting all we have learned into practice on the race course. The races will still only be about 15 minutes long, but that is enough time to see whether  the cracking start can be backed up with some serious boat speed!

The aim will be to be off the water by 3.00, with a de-brief to follow, to allow people to get changed and pack away without being horribly late on the road. If people would like to stay and sail for longer, they will be very welcome.

Useful things to bring:

A watch with a countdown setting

A notebook and pen

Warm sailing clothes (it is March, after all!)

Your buoyancy aid (compulsory at Whitefriars)

Beer money