International 14 Mailing List
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From: Guillaume Vernieres (gvernier@coas.oregonstate.edu)
Date: Thu 18 Jul 2002 - 00:03:22 BST
Ok .. My turn now. Here it is, in plain Frenglish:
First, I agree 100% with what Kimball /Alan wrote on their last mail.
For the last year I sailed exclusively at 7'2''/6'' back on a Cuddihy III
with
crews ranging from 100lbs to 200lbs. There is no doubt that the boat is a
bit faster but that is not the most striking thing.
The Good:
---------
1)People who tryed a wider boat will tell you that it is significantly
easier to sail.
2)We proved this year with Reiko that:
a)Well we are still freaking slow ... but that is a different problem.
b)We seldom capsize. The last time I remember capsizing was a
few weeks ago in the gorge when our trapezes broke.
Pretty cool performance for 2 lousy 14 sailors.
I now sail at 6ft and can feel the great swimming years
coming back. Not that I dislike swimming ...
3)Away from the waves. You can build your racks even higher and still use
a rack angle that will allow you to use the gunwale as a step.
I built my racks so I would have a comfortable sitting position, my skinny
bot on the windward rack and my foot on the gunwale. That's the position I
take after a jibe/tack or while waiting ... I keep this position until my
crew shouts at me to go out.
Last week end, sailing at 6 ft I felt the urge to jump on the wire
after each tacks ... No more dreaming on the racks.
In short: Easier to build a comfortable wider 14.
4)Less nose dive ... But still some, just enough to make you laugh once in
a while.
...
read Kimball/Alan/Paul/... for more good things.
The bad:
--------
1)It does take a bit of time to modify the boat.
2)Well some money too ... ~$300 if you're cheap like me. Surely less if
you already have racks on your boat. Really, it's worth the money.
My Conclusion:
It was worth trying and I which I could extend the racks of my new boat.
A cheap and reasonable way to improve the performance/handling of your 14.
Guillaume Vernieres US1114
<p>>
> Seattle, WA, USA
>
> That so many people have participated in the vigorous and healthy
> debate of the various proposed rule changes speaks volumes for the
> continuing strength of the I-14 class. There is no substitute for a
> fleet of owners who care deeply about the future of the class.
>
> In the Northern Hemisphere, a steady pace of development has existed
> for the past 15 years including asymmetrical spinnakers, taller masts,
> and reduced weight. As a result, the North American fleets now enjoy
> sailing the sort of modern, high-performance skiff which has been
> available in the Southern Hemisphere for years. Reminiscing on a very
> tricked out Cross III from the late 80's, which everyone thought was
> an amazing machine at the time, one of our local fleet members
> commented recently to the effect that, "Developing beyond that was a
> good thing!"
>
> In this spirit, the US fleet conducted a one year trial of sailing at
> an increased beam. There have been a lot of theoretical arguments put
> forward on both sides of this issue, but a shortage anecdotal reports
> and experimental data. As part of a small group who have sailed boats
> with a 7'2" beam (on Bieker II and Bieker III hulls), we would like to
> offer some of our observations and thoughts in support of the US
> proposal to increase the beam and extend the racks further aft.
>
> Although there is no disagreement that the increased available
> righting moment makes the boat faster, what is particularly striking
> to each of us is the qualitatively improved performance of the boat
> upwind. The added power seems to allow a hull with enough volume
> forward to be fast in light air to punch through the waves much more
> easily. A common reaction that we had to the wider boat could be
> summarized as, "Wow... this thing is actually fun to sail upwind!"
> Our experience was that the modest, linear increase in power gave a
> non-linear increase in fun.
>
> The boat is also easier to sail at the wider beam. Two of us (SG/AD)
> sailed at 7'2" during the "speed-trial" in Bermuda in conditions that
> could only be described as horrific with 25 kts. of wind blowing
> randomly through the buildings of downtown Hamilton causing 120 degree
> wind-shifts and 20 kt. changes in wind-speed within a few boat
> lengths, capsizing nearly all the participating boats at least once.
> Rather than making the boat tricker to handle in tacks and
> maneuvering, the added leverage seemed to make it a bit easier to keep
> upright even for a relatively small forward crew.
>
> One of the most exhilarating experiences in at 14 is ripping downwind
> in heavy air. Here again, we found that the increased beam
> significantly improved the feel of the boat, making it substantially
> easier to drive hard through waves. Allowing the crew to step 12" aft
> obviously gets the bow a bit higher, significantly reducing need to
> choke the chute to prevent nose-diving.
>
> In a development class, the specter of purpose built boats for
> particular venues will always exist, but increasing the beam will not
> make this scenario any more likely. Four days before the 2000 worlds
> in Beer, we had a fantastic practice sail in ~18 kts of breeze
> followed by two days of too much wind to make it off the beach.
> Anyone who took the risk of showing up with a boat optimized for fresh
> breeze and chop would have been sorely disappointed in the light-air
> regatta which followed.
>
> The 7'2" beam was not chosen arbitrarily but rather to achieve an
> increase in performance while making the overall balance of the boat
> similar to the pre-1996 designs and accommodating the post-1996 mast
> height and sail area. We believe that this modest increase will not
> lead to the obsolescence of current hulls just as rig development
> since 1996 has had a negligible impact hull design.
>
> In short, 14's are fantastic boats and none of the undersigned have
> any intention to stop sailing them should the increased beam and rack
> extension fail to pass, but having tasted how much fun it is to sail a
> wider boat, we feel compelled to communicate our enthusiastic support
> for this idea to other 14 sailors. If you haven't tried it, you owe
> it to yourself to find a wide boat and go for a sail. Our boats are
> always available in Seattle (and at the Gorge, Aug 8-11) for anyone
> interested in getting a taste.
>
>
> Steve Goodson, Alan Diercks (USA 1129)
> Kris Bundy, Jamie Hanseler (USA1127)
> Paul Bieker (USA 11XX, under construction)
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Alan Diercks
> Research Scientist diercks@systemsbiology.org
> Institute for Systems Biology Phone: (206) 732-1388
> 1441 North 34th Street FAX: (206) 732-1253
> Seattle, WA 98103-8904
>
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