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Thread: Cool stuff

  1. #1
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    Default Cool stuff

    During the week I was talking to my brother who lives in New Plymouth NZ and we were discussing his prospects for sailing on the w/e. He races a Paper Tiger every Saturday off the coast, and so far this season he has had one howling gale after another, or to be more exact, 25-30knots, which has been somewhat testing. A few weekends ago, they had one gust of 90km/hr recorded!

    Anyway, I digress. he mentioned that their Windwand had been taken down for maintenance, so he couldn't tell from his office what the wind was doing. Windwand? I asked....what the heck is a windwand?

    It's the coolest thing...I just had to share this with you all. Check this out!

    Welcome to www.windwand.co.nz - Be Seduced By Taranaki

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  3. #2
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    [QUOTE=woodeneye;1064583]During the week I was talking to my brother who lives in New Plymouth NZ and we were discussing his prospects for sailing on the w/e. He races a Paper Tiger every Saturday off the coast, and so far this season he has had one howling gale after another, or to be more exact, 25-30knots, which has been somewhat testing.


    My first boat build was a Paper Tiger! Ah, back in 1974? We had a fleet of 3 in our neighborhood. The "new" Paper Tigers are light years ahead of what I built.

    I love kinetic art like the Windwand.

  6. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by john goodman View Post
    The "new" Paper Tigers are light years ahead of what I built.
    Having recently spent Easter in Melbourne at the PT "International", I was interested in how they are developing as a class. The rocker seems to be flattening out and bit more volume is appearing in the bow. They are built extremely lightly in order to achieve the minimum hull weight of 50kg which includes the beams, dolphin striker and trampoline. Most of the 50 boats I saw are at the limit, but are also very stiff. Carbon tillers and stocks are quite commonplace, but these are mostly home fabricated. There are lots of other bespoke carbon bits and pieces so the guys seem to be pretty handy at making their stuff. A few had Cuban Fibre sails, which are quite expensive, but not necessarily faster. In fact, some of the top boats are quite lo-tech, so boat speed in the class is more about the rig set-up and technique rather than technology.

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    Default Bermuda Fitted Dinghies

    Very historical, fun and sailing to ancient, quirky rules, the 14' Bermuda Fitted Dinghies qualify for the Cool Stuff thread I think. Watch the videos and prepare to be amazed...

    One of the old rules: If two boats on opposite tacks are converging on a collision course, both must tack....

    Attachment 207907

    Bermuda Fitted Dinghy Extract 1.mov - YouTube

    Elizabeth II - Bermuda Fitted Dinghy - YouTube

    Fitted Dinghy Racing - Teaser on Vimeo

  8. #7
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    Howdy ...

    Very much worthwhile!

    One thing struck me about the previous post about the Paper Tigers .... something I realised from Moth designs in the mid '80s.

    People tend to think that nose diving is a problem with not enough volume in the bows ... the moths and the skiff classes found that narrowing the stern was more powerful than making the bow more full. Also pushing the rocker further back in the hull so there is more upsweep to the transom in terms of rocker.

    Best wishes
    Michael.

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    Just out of curiosity - When racing in the US, you yell "starboard", or "room at the mark" to enforce your right of way at the appropriate moment. What do you yell in Australia, the same, or some sort of witty Australian variation?

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    Quote Originally Posted by warm beer View Post
    Just out of curiosity - When racing in the US, you yell "starboard", or "room at the mark" to enforce your right of way at the appropriate moment. What do you yell in Australia, the same, or some sort of witty Australian variation?
    Most of the time your call will depend on how well you know the other skipper!

    At a recent international event, because of the possible language barriers I quickly realised the importance of making very loud and clear calls and not complicating calls with unnecessary language. English is the accepted language on the water, and the standard calls like Starboard and Mark Room etc are well understood by all sailors. Once upon a time, the call for mark room used to be something like WATER!, or WATER AT THE MARK PLEASE, but nowadays you might get a blank look from people who don't understand your language if they are used to MARK ROOM as the call.

    I am reminded of a funny incident at that regatta (Laser Masters Worlds). In 25kts I had rounded the weather mark, gybed onto PORT and was screaming down the run. I found myself on a collision course with a female sailor working her way up the beat on starboard. I was riding a massive gust at the time and desperately trying to avoid the bow digging into the big steep waves that were rearing up in front of me. Every sailor knows that feeling you get when things are not quite under control. I was in that space at the time, so I yelled STARBOARD! No sooner had I yelled than I felt silly. Why had I yelled STARBOARD when I was clearly on port? It was pure panic.

    Her eyes were as wide as mine and she tacked! She must have thought "Who is that idiot?!" Her decision was definitely the correct one in the circumstances as I had a lot of speed up and not much control of the boat at that moment! Anyway, about four other guys heard my call and nearly fell off their boats laughing. After the race we all joked about it and I went over to the lass and apologised. Instead of giving me a piece of her mind, she also laughed and actually thanked me because when she tacked to avoid me she got this massive lift that carried her to the mark and she had made up places because of it. In that instance, the call I had made was irrelevant. The expression on my face and attitude of my boat conveyed the appropriate message!

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    Default Osprey

    Watch this Osprey convert between various modes, for example speed and power, plus every mode in between without even thinking about it. In sailing, we call this "keeping your head outside of the boat", which is concentrating on the wind, tides, current, waves and what your competitors are doing rather than all your boat's controls which should be just automatic functions.


    Osprey -- the ultimate fisher - YouTube

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    Default New wind indicator

    One of the problems with wind indicators is that they don't last very well on the race track. Close quarter racing and an errant mainsheet can wipe out your indicator so easily. I usually go through at least 3 of them a season. Looks like this one has potential to survive a mainsheet hookup, so they could be worth considering.

    Wind Indicator | Wind Direction Indicator | Wind Indicators

    Attachment 213686

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    Every boat needs one. Might be interesting as the fleet converges at the mark though. Reminiscent of knitting!

    MIK

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    Default Aero II

    Mik sent me this via email which I'd like to share. What a radical boat for its time!



    Curry's AERO II wins Ammersee tradition Regatta | Classic-Finn





    I just found this ... I know the exact boat (from a distance). Currey was way ahead of his time. I think the boat dates from about 1922. It used to have brakes on the rudder. Pull a highfield lever and two big flaps drop down into the water. Found a PIC!!!



    Now wouldn't that startle someone screaming down the face of a wave behind you!!!

    Another nice pic of a simlar class boat. Very mean and efficient ... It's a J-Jolle



    MIK

  15. #14
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    Here's a "cool" book to help us Yanks learn a bit more about Mik and Woods country:
    Bill Bryson "In a Sunburned Country"

    I'm enjoying it immensely - towards the end where he is visiting the Northern Territory. Is it true that the NorthernTerritory folks vote, but their votes don't count, and send representatives to the central government who have no say in the workings of the country? Odd.

  16. #15
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    The very best part of that book is the description of listening to cricket on the radio while on a long car ride. My wife and kids and I listened to the audio version of the book while we were on a long car ride of our own. That bit had us all laughing so hard we were reduced to tears. When it was over, we had to back up the tape and listen again.

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