Day 3
Days remaining: 231

That's... 33 weeks today that I'll be launching at HISC with Race 1 of the championships just hours away... Hopefully.....  I mean it's not unknown for racing at Moth Championships to be a bit delayed because of the weather!

Work is pretty hectic at the moment- and in amongst a busy month has been the build of the new boat... Mothies generally like techie stuff, so here's a few words on what the new ship will be like and where the name comes from...

The Lockheed SR71 'Blackbird' 

I have always been so inspired by this remarkable aircraft... Indeed I have been the last person to leave the American Exhibition at Duxford Air Museum a couple of times, and just about all I do when I go is walk around the Blackbird. I saw one flying when I was a kid too - Not surprising as there were 2 SR71s based at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk

Lockheed began developing the A-11 as a replacement for the U2 Spyplane, in 1958...  The Lockheed special projects team 'Skunk Works' then took on the development of the aircraft and developed the A-11 to the A-12 and eventually the SR-71.  The aim was simple - an aircraft way faster than Mach 2 and able to out run any missile system.
Not the reason I did it, but Mothies might see a couple of reasons I like the name more already! ;-)
There are so many amazing developments in the aircraft - The engines are a work of art on their own. The Pratt and Witney turbo jet engines actually become ram jets once the aircraft reaches about Mach 2 Those 'trade mark' cones in the front of the engines move for and aft to ensure that the shock wave generated after Mach 1 does not obliterate the turbo fans, while ensuring the maximum air pressure is directed into through the outer gallery, bypassing the combustion chamber and going straight into the after burners - where at above 1600mph, all the power comes from.

The fuselage was made from materials which seem commonplace now but which had never been used in aviation before. Almost 80% of the fuselage was titanium alloy and the remainder is described as 'advanced polymer composite' (still classified, but most likely carbon fibre in Phenolic Epoxy)... Compared to all other aircraft of the same era, it's like the engineering for the Blackbird was sent back to 1962 in a wormhole from the future. Or from a planet far far away.

Bearing in mind it took the Joint European Fighter Agency 11 years just to get the Eurofighter Typhoon airborne from the first design meeting, the A-11 precursor to the SR-71 flew just 4 years after its design project began and the 'full race' version actually entered service with the USAF just 6 years from the get go, in 1964. Interestingly the Typhoon claims to be the most advanced fighter ever... It may well be - but the Blackbird is still the Fastest and Highest flying aircraft ever built.  

Mach 3 is 1 mile in 2 seconds... Yup.. Get your head around that!!

If you want to know more about this incredible beast, I found this programme on youtube. It's an hour long but very good quality - and completely brilliant.  The SR71 on Discovery 

Just think how far ahead of the game the Skunk Works guys were....
Nothing has ever been faster than an aircraft designed in 1958-62. That is 55 years ago.

Utterly mind boggling.

So...  from bow to stern... I give you, 'Blackbird'

The shape is very simple - round bilged, and like it's namesake it has a chine - a very subtle one though.  It's about the same depth and beam as the most competitive designs out there with not a lot of rocker, and although it has a foredeck, it is quite small. There's another idea designed into the shape so a little more on that in a moment.

• Dreadnought? Yes it has a dreadnought bow - quite a pronounced one, but the forefoot is pretty bulbous, a fair bit more so than anything else around at present... Making the entry fairly full and then straighter in the first third. Pretty straight all the way to the back really.
• Foredeck. Very low and extends past the mast post and returns onto the cockpit floor - More for reducing aero drag than anything. All the control systems are under the foredeck extension.
• Wave piercing? I doubt it - Whenever I've hit a wave hard in a moth, I've spent 30 seconds swimming back to the boat with a bruise from the shroud like a railway line has been bent over my thigh!
• Mast Stump - Maximum Aero section we can use and of course, removable - with the wing struts locking in to a moulded joining piece. 
• Round wing bars with fairings. Tramps connected to hull with sail track. 
• Side elevation. A little rocker - more towards the back than the front.
• Waterline Beam Max 330mm
• Deck Beam Max 350mm
• Materials - Carbon UD on Nomex (70kg foam in potential crush areas)

Foils. 

Main foil section, very similar to everyone else. Starting point for span 1060.
Rudder Span and section under development.

Controls.

Same as everyone else with a couple of extra strings that I want to try.
Wand Mech - machined stainless mech with carbon push rod. There is one particular feature of this system which I am confident will make a big difference to the way the boat sails in waves, but until i've tried it, I'm not letting anything go!

Next development...? Well I have an idea for a full on version - the Black Project of the Blackbird if you like.... There's some crazy stuff in my notebook!

Right - that's enough for now.... Off for a trot around the peninsular - Go and stand by the water and visualise launching on the first day of the Worlds.......

D

Day 2.
Days remaining: 232

There's a moth in me kitchen what am I gonna do?!

(and a bike....... and Raspberries)

So here's where I am up to on Day 2. The hull of the new boat is taking shape - quite literally, with both sides are ready to glue together. The wing tubes are here now and I'll be sticking them together next.

I promised the overall plan of action so here is the first 3 months (as much for my benefit as anyone else's!) Each month has targets for Technical, Sailing, Diet and Exercise. Loose and in outline (I mean you don't really want to read my actual diary do you!!??)

November.

• Tech. Full on boat build. I've made the mouldings already (It's a prototype for a new boat.. I've been working on the tooling and setting up for production for a while by the way). Build the hull and start to assemble the wings. Draw up all the arrangements and start the CAD of the critical wand mech and rudder controls and get them somewhere near sending off for machining.
• Diet. Cut down on the wine and virtually no more beer* - not that I drink that much any more, but it's time to make a stand. Farewell favourite pubs!
  No more white bread* Cake* Choc Chip Cookies*
  No more cheese or other dairy/saturated fats*.
  Insert into diet, lots more fruit and veg and avoid processed meat
  - and I don't drink enough water so I need to work on that..
• Exercise. Light jogging/cycling to get these old joints moving again.  Lots of gentle stretching. Like a month long warm up.

*Christ, I sound like a right lard arse! I'm 74kg and 5' 7" I think that's an ok weight for mothing but I need power, flexibility and endurance, not belly fat. Not that I ever really needed that, I was, I admit, being lazy and kidding myself it was ok...

December.

• Tech. Ideally by the end of December, I'd like the boat, foils and rig all ready to go together, with maybe just the fitting out and control systems to put together...
• Diet. Christmas and New Year will be tough - but I should be able to keep the deadly sins to a minimum if I focus.
• Exercise. OK, so I'm going to try and jog 2 miles and cycle 4 miles every other day all month... Sure i'll miss a day here and there with work, but on average, that's my target.

January.

• Tech.  Boat launch target is 15 Jan 2014. 
• Sailing. (and what a great time I picked to start!) Once the boat is tested and reliable, the first month will just be getting into sailing moths again, getting comfortable in the boat, rigging, de-rigging, figuring it out again... and yup, knowing that the weather will usually delete half of the training days I want to put in out here in the East so I might need to head for Datchet or QMSC.
• Diet. By now i'll be pretty much where I want to be. Sat-Fats a thing of the past, and lots of fresh veg in my fridge.  I'll figure out a plan to maintain whatever feels like the right weight when I get there!
• Exercise. Tempted to put 'Join a Gym' but will leave that as TBC. Should be running and cycling about 30 miles a week and able to crank out the sit ups by now - It'll be the flexibility I need to work on - as the Navy Field Gun Trainer used to say - 'as supple as an arthritic Kit-Kat' ... so I might join a yoga class or something?! Should really get in the pool too... But I think my first month back in the boat will give me enough practice at my front crawl!

So that is the rough plan for the first 3 months, although we're already quite a way into the first one.... and I am pleased to say (as I put down a bowl of granola and pick up a notebook marked Top Secret..!) it's going to plan so far...

Daunted.  A bit.

D.

Welcome to Day One of my Moth Diary.  The 2014 International Moth WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS are to be held at Hayling Island Sailing Club from the 18th to the 25th of July 2014...
There's a notice up already here so it must be true!  That's just 233 days away.

Lets just put in a nut shell what an International Moth is, and how high the level of the World fleet is.

This isn't meant to be a history lesson - The International Moth has a wiki page if you want to look it up - but to put the next 233 days into perspective for my non sailing readers, the Moth is the fastest single handed sailing dinghy ever, and has been an International class for ninety odd years...  How come? Well, the boat is an open class, so that means you can design and build your own - and many do this.  The rules are very very simple. The boat will be no longer than 3355mm (11ft), the boat will be no wider than 2135mm (7ft) and the maximum sail area is 8 sq metres... and that is just about it.. There's a few bits in there about it not being a catamaran, and the maximum mast height and things like that, but basically it is a container rule except as there is no minimum weight, the boats have always been very light. Carbon Fibre is the norm, not the exception. They have always been quick - but 11ft is short for a boat and drag is exponential with speed, if that is you stay on the surface of the water!
People toyed with hydrofoils for years, but in 2004 Australian John Ilett made some work properly in all conditions and the class grabbed hold of the idea.

By 2008 John Ilett's 'Fastacraft Prowler' was in full production.

Nowadays, International Moths are all on hydrofoils just about and routinely sail at twice the wind speed. Sailing them is just addictive as they take off onto foils at about 6knots and can get up to just over 30knots... That's 35mph, wind powered, a metre off of the surface... As a result they smash anything they get in a drag race with, and are pretty easy to handle ashore to boot.  Indeed, when disassembled, most designs pack away into a small space - so they can be taken on board commercial aircraft (albeit as oversized luggage) meaning the World Championships can be in the USA one year, the UK the next, then Australia, UAE, Europe, you name it.  Fleet sizes have built rapildy and in 2011 for example, the Worlds in Belmont AUS, had 115 entries... Racing on the same course. At over 20 knots.
Yup - pretty much the pinnacle of small boat sailing right now.

Moth racing is tight, and tough at the top! (So they tell me!)

So who sails Moths?... Bit of a who's who really...  America's Cup sailors, Volvo Ocean Race winners, too many Olympic medallists to name, World Champions from many other classes, European Champions, National Champions, and then of course a lot of time served Mothies that have been in the class since the year dot.  Oh... And.... errm, me.

Now, I have always loved BIG regattas - I've done a lot of them in many classes,  I've won a few races in my time too, and the odd event here and there along the way.  But at the Moth Worlds in 2008, I had a rubbish time. It howled for a start, so I struggled with the boat, and generally just didn't focus on anything other than getting ashore safely.. I don't think the results even went down to where I ended up. Thankfully in sailing you're only as good as you next regatta...  everything up to now, I will learn from and let go...

SO, in 233 days,  or a little over 33 weeks for those of you in metric, I am going to be on the start line of the 2014 Moth Worlds in Hayling Bay and I'm going to give it my very best shot....

There's just a few things in the way that need to be sorted...
1. I don't have a boat yet.

2. I haven't sailed a moth in 5 years

3. I am pretty unfit for a moth sailor - at 47 I am a bit old too, but that I can do less about!

Well what I DO have is a blog! SO that counts for something right....  and that means you can follow the journey, dear reader... Share the trials of building a new boat from scratch (yes in my kitchen!). Share the pain of a 47 yr old trying to find his running shoes and subsequently find some of his fitness and, share in a load of training work - by the time the boat is built I'll have 6 months or so to get some moves together... 

Tomorrow, I'll do an update on 'The Plan' and we'll go from there...  As for now, I have a boat to build!

D.