Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm,
I guess it would have been equally valid to have asked 'what's RIGHT with a Spearhead'?????????
Having had a look again at Ebay the Spearhead that's currently listed there is still to attract any bids, it would be a shame if this boat was 'lost'. The trouble is, it's a big boat, not a cheap job to refit, the question is always there "if you're going to do that why not do the job properly and go for a 5o5"!!!! Still, all Kevlar construction, space frame, acres of sail, for the weightier helms here on line it could be a fun option!
Going right back to the early 1980's - I was at the Cardiff Dinghy Show, one of the locations where the Spearhead was being officially launched. I took more interest in the Spearhead as at the time I was busy in 505's (manning the stand at the show) and therefore saw the new boat as a potential competitor. The Spearhead was certainly novel, maybe in the end 'too novel', it was hard to see what features worked and what didn't.
The 505 at the time was enjoying a golden period - 100 boat Nationals, intense competition just to get entry to the Europeans or World Championships, of all the market sectors to attack that must have been the hardest! The Spearhead appeared at some of the big handicap events at the time but didn't feature, maybe this was in part due to lack of rig development, the rest may have been down to some less that 'top line' sailing.
It could be a striking addition to someones fleet though, is anyone thinking of making the trip to Keighly to offer this a home?
How did the Spearhead perform when sailed in Association events?
Are there any others around?
Has anyone else got any interesting stories involving the Spearhead?
D
What' s wrong with a Spearhead
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riverlovejoy
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Wed Oct 26, 2005 6:59 pm
- Location: United Kingdom
I agree with you about the spearhead, when I saw it first I thought it was awesome and would beat a 505 hands down.It had the most innovative shape I had seen at the time with a really well engineered space frame.
Probably no one wants it because it is just too different.
I'd love to have it but can't do the trip or really aford it even at £100. Ah well. If anyone feels like bringing it down to South Devon I have the space.......and the time frame!
Regards
Riv.
Probably no one wants it because it is just too different.
I'd love to have it but can't do the trip or really aford it even at £100. Ah well. If anyone feels like bringing it down to South Devon I have the space.......and the time frame!
Regards
Riv.
Riv
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alan williams
- Posts: 1650
- Joined: Thu Sep 16, 2004 10:44 pm
- Location: Devon
I 've sailed a Spearhead alot at one time it was borrowed. I've also sailed a 505a fair bit and I have always thought that the Spearhead was a better boat. I still feel that a 505 to me is not very exciting as its very stable ( a bit like a Wayfarer with a wire. The Sperhead offered a far longer lasting competitive performance because of it's construction and the fact that the rigge loads were not taken directly by the hull. The reason it failed was that a fire destroyed the moulds, at the time it was being marketed the boat was priced cheaper than a Hornet.
Cheers Al
Cheers Al
An interesting perspective!!!!!! Until the 49er/RS800 came along I'd have said that the 5o5 still offered the best sail there is in breeze, all the more so as that brilliant hull shape (which does give a fair degree of stability) gives the crew a certain confidence that the boat can be driven harder, longer...and won't fall apart while doing so.
The 5o5 benefits of course of 50 years of front line rig development, as an all round boat they are still hard to beat. And with the newer, big spinnaker, it's almost like sailing an assymetric - offwind you sail deep, keeping the crew out on the wire and the rig all powered up.
At the time of the Spearhead I was lucky enough to be crewing in a 'top line' 5o5 so was able to look at the newcomer with some understanding of what was needed to make a large (compared with the Fireball/470/Hornet) dinghy 'go'. What was clear was that the early boats (maybe that applies to all of them) lacked that high level of sophistication on rig development and control - it just didn't seem to want to perform and for some reason (this was after all 25 years ago) just didn't 'look' right when out on the water.
At the time there was the Dutchman...505.....Osprey..... Javelin... all good boats and all (more or less) with us still.
So, back to my original comment - the toughest of the markets to crack. An interesting though, no one DID crack it with a new design, not at least until the larger skiffs came along.
Thoughts
D
The 5o5 benefits of course of 50 years of front line rig development, as an all round boat they are still hard to beat. And with the newer, big spinnaker, it's almost like sailing an assymetric - offwind you sail deep, keeping the crew out on the wire and the rig all powered up.
At the time of the Spearhead I was lucky enough to be crewing in a 'top line' 5o5 so was able to look at the newcomer with some understanding of what was needed to make a large (compared with the Fireball/470/Hornet) dinghy 'go'. What was clear was that the early boats (maybe that applies to all of them) lacked that high level of sophistication on rig development and control - it just didn't seem to want to perform and for some reason (this was after all 25 years ago) just didn't 'look' right when out on the water.
At the time there was the Dutchman...505.....Osprey..... Javelin... all good boats and all (more or less) with us still.
So, back to my original comment - the toughest of the markets to crack. An interesting though, no one DID crack it with a new design, not at least until the larger skiffs came along.
Thoughts
D
David H
damnit!!!!! Yet more 'senior moments'!!!! Not only did I miss several typo's in my last posting but I forgot to ask. Has Neil...or anyone else with Dinghy Year Books going back to 1979-1982 got the Spearheads vital statistics? I know they were long, about 18ft but how about hull weight.....fore&aft sail areas, spinnaker size, crew weight and so on.
Looking once again at the pictures on ebay the hull shape does look 'interesting' to say the least!
Cheers
D
Looking once again at the pictures on ebay the hull shape does look 'interesting' to say the least!
Cheers
D
David H
There should be some pic's of a spearhead being sailed , by Neil, at a roadford event a few years ago. Another friend of mine knew the designer of the spearhead, and said that he sailed it a few times and said it was cracking. There's another one sitting, rotting with original rotating mast, at Porthpean (sp?) sailing club in Cornwall.
The only canoe sailor in MY village too !
OK K1958
Mirror 34459
http://www.stuandliz.co.uk
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make bow waves not chat
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OK K1958 Mirror 34459http://www.stuandliz.co.uk
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make bow waves not chat
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Hmmmm, I've kept out of this thread so far as I'm not a fan of the "what's wrong with this class" type discussions. One of the reasons I avoid the Y&Y forum. To be honest there's nothing wrong with any boat - Beauty in the eye of the beholder etc.
There's some pics of my old Spearhead at http://www.pegasus18.com/spearhead.html I bought her for a couple of hundred pounds as a winter project a few years ago. I suppose the fact she came with a free drysuit that fitted me was also attractive.
I did a fair bit of work on her, I would imagine they all go the same way. The false floor is on foam frames which compress and break up. To replace the foam requires total removal of the floor which is put in between the hull and deck mouldings. It's a 3D jigsaw puzzle but is possible, it's a cheap fix but very time consuming.
The bow is very vunerable, the slight bulb needed reprofiling and the mouth of the spinnaker tube area is very lightly laid up. The hulls are solid being all Kevlar but the deck mouldings are very light and will star craze, but this is cosmetic.
The reason for the light construction is the rig being attached to a space frame and the mst foot is on a suspended plate. My boat came with 2 orginal rotating masts and a new M7 FD mast. The previous owner had put a larger fully battened main and a big genoa on her as well. I never had the guts to try these as the original sails were man enough for the boat.
I sold the boat to fund the purchase of Rannoch and Zenith, my two classic canoes. She went for £550 on ebay and was then sold for slightly more on ebay last year. Apart from some cosmetic work she was sorted and everything worked. She did have the benefit of 3 masts, 3 suits of good sails and a set of excellent M&W foils.
There's one in Canada I know of, and two in the UK whose owners have contacted me in recent years.
The death of the designer and the loss of the moulds in a fire are the reason that no more than 24 (I think this number is correct) were made. She's very 80's in design. I was racing IOR boats at the time of her design so the Retrousse stern is probably what attracted me to the boat.
There's some pics of my old Spearhead at http://www.pegasus18.com/spearhead.html I bought her for a couple of hundred pounds as a winter project a few years ago. I suppose the fact she came with a free drysuit that fitted me was also attractive.
I did a fair bit of work on her, I would imagine they all go the same way. The false floor is on foam frames which compress and break up. To replace the foam requires total removal of the floor which is put in between the hull and deck mouldings. It's a 3D jigsaw puzzle but is possible, it's a cheap fix but very time consuming.
The bow is very vunerable, the slight bulb needed reprofiling and the mouth of the spinnaker tube area is very lightly laid up. The hulls are solid being all Kevlar but the deck mouldings are very light and will star craze, but this is cosmetic.
The reason for the light construction is the rig being attached to a space frame and the mst foot is on a suspended plate. My boat came with 2 orginal rotating masts and a new M7 FD mast. The previous owner had put a larger fully battened main and a big genoa on her as well. I never had the guts to try these as the original sails were man enough for the boat.
I sold the boat to fund the purchase of Rannoch and Zenith, my two classic canoes. She went for £550 on ebay and was then sold for slightly more on ebay last year. Apart from some cosmetic work she was sorted and everything worked. She did have the benefit of 3 masts, 3 suits of good sails and a set of excellent M&W foils.
There's one in Canada I know of, and two in the UK whose owners have contacted me in recent years.
The death of the designer and the loss of the moulds in a fire are the reason that no more than 24 (I think this number is correct) were made. She's very 80's in design. I was racing IOR boats at the time of her design so the Retrousse stern is probably what attracted me to the boat.
Neil,
Believe me, the question "what's wrong with a Spearhead" was purely rhetorical: there's an 18' kevlar rocket ship, trailer, sails, gear, £100 could get you the lot yet there's no interest or bidders - hence my questioning 'why'. There are very few boats that I'd express any negative comments about as i think, like you, that there are horses for courses, one helms pride and joy is seen by another as a pile of poo. Even the Skipper 14, with a good push in a following wind could be forgiven (have I just said that...maybe that's an exaggeration too far!!) if you want to splash around with the kids and family.....
But back to the Spearhead! In the current situation with Ghosts and Typhoons scarcer that rocking horse sh** I started thinking about making a bid for it BUT..... the thoughts expressed in other strings weigh against it. I'd thought of a fully battened rig then making it twin trapeze - a bit like the 'JET' FD they modified for the ISAF trials (won by the 49er) as the space frame would help with the compression loading of twin wiring. Like that, you'd have bags of fun at a bargain basement price...... it's just that those #but's keep coming back to haunt me!
By the way - there is also at least one Spearhead down in SA - East London at last record so they did spread around somewhat.
I hope that this has clarified one thing though - the initial comment wasn't meant in a derogatory manner. After all, the boat did try to break into the tightest part of the market with a boat that was truely radical. It really would be a shame for this boat to dissapear for good
D
Believe me, the question "what's wrong with a Spearhead" was purely rhetorical: there's an 18' kevlar rocket ship, trailer, sails, gear, £100 could get you the lot yet there's no interest or bidders - hence my questioning 'why'. There are very few boats that I'd express any negative comments about as i think, like you, that there are horses for courses, one helms pride and joy is seen by another as a pile of poo. Even the Skipper 14, with a good push in a following wind could be forgiven (have I just said that...maybe that's an exaggeration too far!!) if you want to splash around with the kids and family.....
But back to the Spearhead! In the current situation with Ghosts and Typhoons scarcer that rocking horse sh** I started thinking about making a bid for it BUT..... the thoughts expressed in other strings weigh against it. I'd thought of a fully battened rig then making it twin trapeze - a bit like the 'JET' FD they modified for the ISAF trials (won by the 49er) as the space frame would help with the compression loading of twin wiring. Like that, you'd have bags of fun at a bargain basement price...... it's just that those #but's keep coming back to haunt me!
By the way - there is also at least one Spearhead down in SA - East London at last record so they did spread around somewhat.
I hope that this has clarified one thing though - the initial comment wasn't meant in a derogatory manner. After all, the boat did try to break into the tightest part of the market with a boat that was truely radical. It really would be a shame for this boat to dissapear for good
D
David H