Not much sailing going on for me over the weekend, but Martin finally got a good sail in the Axeman. With all the previous weekends of no wind or monster wind it was the first on in consistent foiling conditions and he was loving it!
Chris Bishop was out and about giving joyrides in his Lowrider Axeman too - nice to see the freezing weather isn't too off putting for the Bristol Mothies!
Monday, 17 December 2007
Saturday, 8 December 2007
Saturday sailing
Alan, Martin and myself took to the water again today, despite the dire forecast and pouring rain. It was a very variable 15-20 knots, with occasional squals!
With the weather doing mental things over here at the moment, we decided to take what we could and get on with it, giving us about 40 minutes of sailing time before the wind went nuts again.
The new boat is foiling very well and very stable height wise, just lacking a little in take off capabilities, which I will be fixing with a bit more down flap as it comes up a little short.
Martin took a brief video clip with his phone...
Just need to do a few small tweaks and She'll be ready for the Bloody Mary!
With the weather doing mental things over here at the moment, we decided to take what we could and get on with it, giving us about 40 minutes of sailing time before the wind went nuts again.
The new boat is foiling very well and very stable height wise, just lacking a little in take off capabilities, which I will be fixing with a bit more down flap as it comes up a little short.
Martin took a brief video clip with his phone...
Just need to do a few small tweaks and She'll be ready for the Bloody Mary!
Thursday, 6 December 2007
Daily Sail feature
I've made the front page of the Daily Sail! Quality read, worth subscribing if you don't already...
Link here...
Link here...
Sunday, 2 December 2007
Saturday, 1 December 2007
Saturday sailing
Well, the forecast for the weekend had Saturday down as the lesser of two evils... When I got down the club it actually looked pretty good with a peaky 15 knot breeze. I started getting rigged, but with new boat stuff this took a pretty long time.
Adam turned up and it had gotten pretty windy so we went for a nice cuppa (seemed like the civilised thing to do). The wind abated a bit and coaxed me back onto the water and with a solid 20 knot breeze, Edwards first outing began.
Problem number one. I'd already ran out of cunningham - my funky dogbones to attach said item to the mainsail had taken up a bit too much space and the cascade had run into the boom!
Problem number two. I pulled a lot of kicker on quickly from a dubious angle and wrenched part of the cleat flipper off the kingpost. Nothing some new bolts wouldn't sort anyway...
Anyway, the boat foiled nicely and smoothly - its always hard to tell on flat water how well everything is working for you with the controls but so far so good. After a few blasts back and forth, then up and down I'd hit 20.5 knots and decided to call it quits for the day as there were some nasty looking clouds sneaking up.
Pics by Angie Cooke, more to follow from Adam...
Adam turned up and it had gotten pretty windy so we went for a nice cuppa (seemed like the civilised thing to do). The wind abated a bit and coaxed me back onto the water and with a solid 20 knot breeze, Edwards first outing began.
Problem number one. I'd already ran out of cunningham - my funky dogbones to attach said item to the mainsail had taken up a bit too much space and the cascade had run into the boom!
Problem number two. I pulled a lot of kicker on quickly from a dubious angle and wrenched part of the cleat flipper off the kingpost. Nothing some new bolts wouldn't sort anyway...
Anyway, the boat foiled nicely and smoothly - its always hard to tell on flat water how well everything is working for you with the controls but so far so good. After a few blasts back and forth, then up and down I'd hit 20.5 knots and decided to call it quits for the day as there were some nasty looking clouds sneaking up.
Pics by Angie Cooke, more to follow from Adam...
Wednesday, 28 November 2007
GBR 3191 Jamming with Edward
The first of the v.4 Axioms is now pretty much done. Just barring a coat of gloss on the new foils and my sail to turn up I should be back on the water on Saturday.
The new shape is flatter and fatter at the back for improved bouncing and shift the buoyancy aft from the v.3 shape. The tramps all lace to the hull in the classic style and a first for me is removable wing bars. All the usual Harken gear and a Hyde sail. Spars are Aardvark and foils are new shape Aardvark ones, with some interesting stuff going on with the rudder and a hopefully improved flap hinge system.
The general plan is to sail Edward in anger at Cheddar for a few weeks before heading off and taking part in a few winter handicap events.
The new shape is flatter and fatter at the back for improved bouncing and shift the buoyancy aft from the v.3 shape. The tramps all lace to the hull in the classic style and a first for me is removable wing bars. All the usual Harken gear and a Hyde sail. Spars are Aardvark and foils are new shape Aardvark ones, with some interesting stuff going on with the rudder and a hopefully improved flap hinge system.
The general plan is to sail Edward in anger at Cheddar for a few weeks before heading off and taking part in a few winter handicap events.
Monday, 12 November 2007
New sail numbers
After a weekend down in Weymouth mulling over various ideas with Mr May I now have my new sail number!
I've decided to go with my new ISAF plaque number early to save messing around with numbers further down the line meaning I have the rather wacky number of 3191 and Mr Whicher has 3192...
Undercoat went on the hull today, hopefully the boat will be pretty much there by the end of the week, with just sail and foils to be done.
I've decided to go with my new ISAF plaque number early to save messing around with numbers further down the line meaning I have the rather wacky number of 3191 and Mr Whicher has 3192...
Undercoat went on the hull today, hopefully the boat will be pretty much there by the end of the week, with just sail and foils to be done.
Wednesday, 7 November 2007
Mad pimpin' pt 2
This evening saw all the carbon going on the joins and getting the tramps marked up for chopping... All good fun, Martin will be back out on the water in a weeks time. Just wish my new boat was done now!
Mad Pimpin' -pt1
Well, it was discussed by most of the GBR team in Italy that we really should sort out Tom Whichers' boat. It had a bit of a tidy up and sort out on its return to England, but its only now that the (very high) wing bars have been sorted out...
Martin Fear (boats new owner) and myself spent an evening cutting and shutting the wing bar tubes into their new geometry. The results actually look pretty cool, with a bit of a Stuka effect going on...
Martin Fear (boats new owner) and myself spent an evening cutting and shutting the wing bar tubes into their new geometry. The results actually look pretty cool, with a bit of a Stuka effect going on...
Friday, 2 November 2007
Axiom 4 pictures
My new hull has hit the painting and decorating stage, so heres some shots for your perusal...
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