CVRDA

I think Dave's right, as Rudy Choy once said "in a cat, if you ain't got speed, you ain't got nothing". Since cat sailors are mainly into speed, it makes sense to keep buying the newest and fastest boat. Down here, our cat fleets have dropped from hundreds at regattas to normally 30 or few...

Great stuff, Brian.

Down here, skiff clubs will sometimes offer free skiffs (12s, 16s, 18s....take your pick) yet they can't always get takers. These clubs breed kids in individually-built or development classes like Cherubs and VJs, yet only a few of them move into skiffs. So it can't just be that kids are turned off ...

The Fisher/White book says the Tornado won easily. The Cunningham Quest B was second I think, from the Manta and Roton Pointer which as a wing master would have been unsuitable IMHO (like Tornado II). The other press reports I have had more detail, but indicated that Tornado was clearly the best ove...

Could anyone who has the N12 or MR books scan some plans for me if they are in there? I'm trying to get any of the Morrison boats, and the Canterbury Tales. I got a few pages of Tales info from Ian Holt, but he doesn't have the plans to hand. I'm also looking for Baggy Trousers, Bouncer, Punkarella,...

Thanks for the info, everyone

I've got a copy of Uffa Fox's 1959 book "Sailing Boats". It's a small format, not one of his classics. In the N12 section on pages 24 and 25 are plans of a N12. Does anyone know what it type it is? I'm think it's a Smuggler but I'm not sure; certainly not an Uffa King. By the way, when I s...

Anyone have any idea when the first spinnaker chute was created? I've gt a 1966 (?) article by David Thomas which implies it's a new idea he'd just created. Where they around earlier? I don't know of any earlier ones.

Cobber was a joint venture with South Australian boatbuilder David Binks. I have the plans and article somewhere but it may be up the coast in storage. Strange boat, with Canoe-type freeboard and a hiking device that looked "like a tractor seat" (Craig W) on a gun-mount! She had a double-l...

My double-deck trailer got funny looks with a scow Moth on top and a Canoe on the bottom; one boat with too many bows, one boat with too many sterns!

Hi all; and yes I will get around to scanning this afternoon! Before that, a few ravings in no order, structure, or sense (apart from non). "Despite the media hoopla, the Aussie skiff concept has not percolated internationally much beyond the high powered Olympic 49'er and the remade Int 14.&qu...

By the way, back on topic (and that's rare for me :-( ), about why there have been no major UK successes in 30 years, I went to see Julian B the other day. One of the things he's been into at least since 1989 is the need to design for a wider audience. His boats are almost always designed in collabo...

Sorry, I meant to say it was Carl at La Baule and Craig at Medemblik. From reports he made the boat look pretty stable, but he commented to me “It was very hard to sail on a three-quarter or square, but you had to try to look casual when you were sailing in front of the committee; hair neatly part...

David, Carl Ryves sailed Contender II at La Baule, because Whitworth and Lexcen were busy with 505s and FDs. Carl (lovely bloke) was a great mate of Bens and a many-time FD champ. He tells stories of a basically homeless Ben arriving in Sydney and staying in his parent's garage, washing his clothes ...

It has to be said, though, that Snubby Moor and Andrew Crisp(who sailed Moor's "Wedge" Australian 14s to first and second in the Open 14 worlds in San Fran in '89, racing against the Internationals) were very impressed with the heavy-air downwind handling of the Howlett 1b. It had about 10...