Home again... but not journey's end..

It's a couple of days since the last heat of the 2014 Moth Worlds - Nathan Outteridge was in another class and totally smashed the last day to win the title by a long way.  Awesome sailing.

I didn't win anything. I think I was last in every race I sailed in fact... But for me, the event was a great success - I would have liked to have figured more in the racing and been a bit further up the fleet of course, but I am a realist (sometimes) and just getting the boat to the start line was a massive achievement and one I am pretty proud of.  Every objective was reached.

In an ideal world the boat would have been launched in February and I'd have had all spring and early summer to get it up to speed, and equally importantly, my own sailing up to some sort of standard... But changing jobs, moving house twice, and life generally got in the way.... C'est la vie eh? I'm not even slightly bitter...

If anyone has built their own boat and sailed it in a World Championships then they will know how it feels to cross the finish line and get a result.  The Hayling Worlds were made especially difficult as there was a time limit to contend with too and I must admit my first race I didn't make it... But Just getting around the track felt amazing.

My goal was to get fit, build a moth, and get to the Worlds and sail. Even sailing one race would have equalled what I did last time. This time I sailed and completed three races.  I'm a stone lighter and a LOT fitter (thanks to a much improved diet as much as anything), I met up with a lot of old mates and made a load of new ones and yup, outside my house is the Blackbird.

The boat is low volume and that is the biggest issue with sailing it - but then in waves I watched Mach 2s and Rockets going down the mine on take off at times too.  After a few swims I figured out that I just had to sit a bit further back and move forward as the boat lifted off.  Then I looked around me and saw just about everyone was doing that anyway!  Difference? Not a lot really.

The great great thing about the moth class is the sailors. I had a long chat with Adam May and another with Andrew McDougall (Amac) about the boat and there are some strong features which if not perfect, are at least really quite good.  Talking to these guys and others that sail the boats a lot gives you a lot of ideas, but Adam and Amac are particularly well experienced in design and construction of moths - Amac's boats have won the last 7 World titles in a row... Yup... That good.  We chatted before I left Hayling on saturday morning and his design approach is fundamentally different to mine.  I don't mean in the physics of the boats, but in his overall concept -  and just in that one conversation I figured something out and it has changed the way I will develop the Blackbird...  Adam is always great to talk to and we went through the boat from stern to bow, picking out stuff that need to change and stuff that can be developed in the same direction.  Note books full!

So what's next?

Well like I said, the boat's out front. I've just stripped it down and double checked everything after a tough week or two of being crashed and rigged in sand and sailed hard.  Nothing critical to fix - apart from the gantry mounts after the pin failure on the last day I sailed, and I need to build a new wand mech. I'm really pleased as there is very little to do to get back on the water. A splice here, a new way to rig a system there. That sort of thing. But as for the future....? Well the plan has always been to develop the boat and straight off the bat I have a list things that I think will improve the boat in key areas to prioritise and work on...

And finally... On the day the picture above was taken (Monday 21st July - Day 3 of the worlds) I sailed all day, foiling around and nothing broke, nothing went wrong and I realised that I bloody LOVE sailing moths!! I'm going to sail this thing whenever I can... I have new targets and they are not just about finishing races, they're about RACING in races!!

So stick with me - the build up to the 2014 Worlds was the intro.  Here's comes the adventure and you never know - I might be looking at flights!

D

Day 209
Days remaining 24

Launched!!

Under leaden Suffolk skies, the Blackbird first took flight

25 June 2014

Well we're down inside a month and the last month has been hectic as you can imagine.

I managed to get some time to finish the boat and launch it... A few teething problems but nothing major major to sort.  A nice lesson in [re]learning to fly by the new boat, in that I'd wound in too much rudder foil and it went from light on the helm to very light, to tiller extension snatched from the hand and windward capsized.... It's the relationship between the gantry and the rudder angle of course, and pretty easy to get wrong for a first time out (and pretty easy to fix in time for the next hop)

I felt a little beaten up by the boat, but I think that was the stress of the day and the driving to and from Suffolk and just using muscles I haven't used in a while, but now it's time to shut up and drive - after I fix the rudder issue and the tiny crack I found in the starboard wing on inspection.  Other than that, all good.

D

Day 179
Days remaining 54


Wings on

Just a quick update from sunny Hamble Lane. I got the tramps from Tom at Sailmedic at the weekend and they fit pretty well for a first go... Just a few mods to get them spot on, so hopefully they'll get back to Suffolk and back to me pretty sharpish cos we're nearly ready for a topcoat of paint and put all the fittings and string on and then I guess it's going to be time to see if it floats again!

Laters!

D

Day 171
Day remaining 62

I'm ALIVE!!!!!

(Tail fin envy? Just you wait!!!)

Well the new job is just great - Everything I do all day is focussed on making the Youth and Junior programmes of the British Sailing Team work better and maximise the training we can give the youngsters coming up through those programmes - but man is it a busy job!!!!? and well, the transition and move back to Hamble has meant not only finding somewhere to live, but finding somewhere to finish the boat and then moving it and all of my tools and kit to that spot, so it's only really in the last 2 weeks I've got my act back together. It's 50 days since my last entry on here, and those 50 days have all been about work and not about building a new bus. Dust has settled, it's time to crack on.

My first sailing club as a kid had nothing to do with the RYA and I feel like I missed out on some opportunities as a result, so to be given the chance to be in it up to my eyeballs and ultimately deliver better prepared athletes for the road to Olympic glory is a real honour for me. Ultimately of course, I got to march in the opening ceremony (Sydney) and be a part of Team GB in my own way, but I will always wonder 'what if' I had been coached from 12 to 20 (by which time I was about 9 and a half stone and perfect 470 helm size by the way!) instead of having to learn quite literally my own way for everything... But hey, I'm really not even slightly bitter and I have a huge number of racing miles under me to help me understand the process of developing good young sailors into truly great sailors of the future....

OK, the boat... I'm getting towards the last few jobs - I have everything built or a long way into build apart from the spreader unit and the gantry while the fittings, wand/flap linkage, rudder screw etc and suchlike are all in boxes and ready for assembly. The trampolines are made and will be with me next week - They look fabulous and hopefully will fit just as well - Thanks to Tom at Sail Medic.  Thanks also to Luke for bringing the boom to work so I could just put it in the car and get on with my day. Cheers mate.

Sure, I am disappointed that the boat will now be a bit late from even my revised plans - but I will have a solid 6 weeks or so sailing in it before I arrive in HISC on the 12th for a week of venue sailing before Race 1... and if in January, you had offered me:
 "A brilliant job with the RYA + a new moth a month before the Worlds + 2 weeks leave to sail at the venue and enjoy the event"
verses
"A new moth in March, but you have to stay in Suffolk and carry on doing the same job indefinitely and you might only just have the week at the event in the end because of work"
I'd have taken the former to the bank in a blink of an eye. Have in fact.

I have realistic goals for my training and my racing (more on that next time - but I reckon I'll have my gybe back after a few days and then a month to work on tacking!) and there are some outstanding features on the new boat which I are sure will make a difference but I might need a month to get some numbers for comparing them, but generally I am happy.  Plus as any home builder will tell you, it's actually a fun thing to do, and rushing it isn't as much fun.

Finally in this catch up, a couple of weeks back,  Mr May came over for a visit from SF so I got a chance to 'show the workings' of my maths and ideas and go over some V1.2 ideas and just feel really comfortable about how I've got to where I am with the Blackbird, particularly on controls, aero and foil shapes (not a lot else to it really!).  So many brilliant ideas came out of the few hours we poured over the boat... But then he's a walking sketchbook of brilliant ideas and we talk the same language  - Thanks mate :-)
Adam sometimes sends me some cool stuff that he finds on the 'net and here's my favourite... It's a bit like when you're in the sailing club and you overhear someone saying that they got double figures out of their cruiser, then someone kind of bragging with 'is that all!? I got 15knots this afternoon in my ..............." (fill in dinghy class you don't like that much) ......and then you casually drop your max speed of the day into the conversation.

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/favorite-sr-71-story-1079127041/+TylerRogoway

Blackbirds and Moths are very similar you see ;-)

Won't be long now.

D

Day 120
Days remaining. 114

Worth the weight?

Final panel, the working deck (not sure you can really call it a cockpit floor!) just being glued on.  You need lots of squashing down onto the glue power - and just about anything will do!
Heaps of work in the control area forward of this is already done - including fitting the large ringbolts that a lot of the controls will need as an anchor point (you can see them in the pic, shining away!). It all takes time, but it's done now and the primer is going on... I've decided not to send it away to paint. I really like the uber flat paint finish on Rob's boat so I'm using Durepox and a roller and am happy to spend some time flatting and cutting back over the next few weeks as time permits.

In other news, my life is about to change radically as I have decided to leave carbonology, where I have been for over nearly 11yrs and leave Suffolk, where I've lived since coming back from the Sydney Olympics.  I'm moving back to Hamble full time and taking a job in the RYA as Youth Racing Operations Manager - where effectively I'll be running the logistics and devising/implementing the programme for the British Youth Sailing Team.  I start pretty soon actually because they want me in post before he season kicks off properly. Carbonology will carry on and will be in excellent hands so please continue to support the firm.  Exciting times. Expect to see another RYA Volvo with a moth on the roof... If it's a white and black one with tail fins, it's the Blackbird!!

97 days to go... Crikey!! - Anyone got a rudder I can borrow?! (yes seriously!)

D

Day 114
Days remaining. 120

Measure twice, measure again. Make some tea. Ring a mate for a chat, ask him how he measured it, measure again.... Cut once...

Sometimes you have to quit measuring and let

your eye be the guide... 

Slightly chastised by an old mate who reads these ramblings, here's a post for anyone who is contemplating or currently home building a moth, to maybe give some good ideas, or maybe to make you feel comfortable that your way is miles better than mine.

Before I start however I need to be plain about a rumour I have heard on the grapevine.  This boat has NOT been made out of a redundant A Class catamaran mould.  Where that rumour began I am not sure, but anyway - just to make sure we are all clear.  When you see it you will see that it could never have been an A... It has some rocker for a start off!! 

Anyway... back to the plot... In no logical order:

1. Dry fit the thing 'til you are blue in the face, but at some point you are going to have to stick it together, so get on with it. 

2. Plan ahead.  Have a really good think about systems on the way through the build. Drilling the hole in the kicker tang and sticking it on the mast post or whatever you're using to take the mast loads is SO much easier on a pillar drill than putting it off and drilling the hole in situ using a 90* drill ;-).

3. Consider getting the thing professionally painted. It will come back looking like a million dollars and in the week it's gone you can get a straight go at making wings, gantry's, foils even.

4. The old adage is the best ever.. But if you are not sure: Measure twice, measure again. Make some tea. Ring a mate for a chat, ask him how he measured it, measure again.... Cut once...  You'll still be out maybe, but at least you'll be in the right ballpark.

5. Sometimes you measure the thing over and over and then dry fit it and it looks wrong.. Well guess what... It's probably wrong.  The human eye can see an error in simple measurement (sadly not International 14 Measurers, but the least said about that the better!) and in particular in measuring angles. If the deck is square to the centreline of the c/b case for example, then a straight carbon or metal rod down through the case, snug up against the leading or trailing edge, will be in line with the mast post and with a similar rod through the rudder pin... Now try and find a way to measure it you'd be happy with!

6. Start early and take your time and enjoy it. It's as much fun building a new boat as it is sailing one in many ways. I got snowed under with real work with this build, but it'll still be built 3 months before the Worlds start.

7. Don't scrimp on trampolines or toe straps or ropes or fittings.  Moths are ferocious on fittings and sailing a boat with poor quality trampolines or toe straps is a total fun-sponge.

8. Register it with the IMCA early so that a sail number on a nice official ISAF sticker turns up when you least expect it. It gives the boat an identity and is a really great boost to morale.

9. Be radical! Break some boundaries (not rules!) And so what if your ideas don't work. Anyone can build a carbon copy (see what I did there!) of a Mach 2 or whatever.... Be different. Try stuff that no-one else has tried out.. You might not make it work first time, but the class is about innovation and right now we're only 10 years into foiling. Milliseconds in history... You might be onto something that when you are old and grey (older and greyer in my world) you can say, I did that first and now it's on all of the America's Cup boats.... 

10. You are awesome!!! You are building one of the fastest sailing dinghies EVER. Your home built creation might even one day be the Fastest Sailing Dinghy ever clocked... Try and remember that when you come down in the night for a glass of water and smack yourself on the wing bars you left in position to work out the height of the mast stump!

D

Day 113
Days remaining. 121

Float Test.
(flōt tĕst)
v
(1) A mechanical test to confirm the buoyancy of an assembly or construction.
(2) Naval Slang. To discard an unwanted item overboard. 'Ill give it a float test after sunset'

The municipal Model Yacht Pond at Woodbridge

The perfect spot for the Blackbird to first touch the water.

It might be an odd thing to do a static floatation test on a moth - I mean it's bound to float right?! But It's the sort of thing that keeps you awake at night.  The Blackbird has very low volume and hardly any of that is at the bow.  So finding a static waterline and giving yourself the assurance that before an expensive paint job and screwing on a load of fittings, and doing a load of splicing, that the thing is going to have enough freeboard to actually be able to sail has got to be a good idea... After all, we all start with them on the surface in pre take off and at times need to sail them in LR mode.

I had done heaps of maths to prove the total volume, integrating the section over and over and in the end I came up with almost exactly 222 litres, but an actual confirmation of that would be nice too!

The total sailing weight of the boat will be around 30kg and wetsuited up I'll be around 77.  So that makes a total of 107kg - using just about half of the available volume (and staying well inside the class rule on buoyancy of course)

So today's test was an important one as although it gave me a fairly meaningless waterline at 9kg, once I stepped aboard - ably assisted by Si Cox from Synergy Marine holding the wing bars to steady the beast, it gave me a very useful waterline at 84kg (9 + 75).  From here I can do some very simple extraction and get a waterline at 107  (current waterline x 127%). Which I am happy to say looks about half of the freeboard, which means everything is just about according to plan and maybe now I can get some sleep.

In other news, I am sort of sorry to say that I missed marking the exact halfway point in this project - which would have been 4 days ago. Ah well. What did I do 4 days ago? Errm well on Saturday I was in the kitchen building a moth!!

Gotta go - Tickets for Franz Ferdinand in So'ton tonight.. All work and no play, and it's not every day you put a new boat in the water - even if it was in the local model yacht pond!

D