FD K9

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Rupert
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Re: FD K9

Post by Rupert »

Great looking boat. Huge overlapping genoas really are the ultimate "look" of the cvrda, aren't they?
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neil
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Re: FD K9

Post by neil »

Very nice. I was offered K7 a few years ago, but had to decline.
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davidh
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Re: FD K9

Post by davidh »

Rupert...... well said! I think you hit the 'nail on the head' with your comment. K9 is a great reminder of what classic boat sailing could be - should be!

D
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Rupert
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Re: FD K9

Post by Rupert »

So long as some of us can just look at other people pulling the genoa in, whilst sailing our more modest boats/ironing boards, rather than doing it ourselves!
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JB9
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Re: FD K9

Post by JB9 »

I had read a lot of comments about the genoa and thought yes, but how hard can it be? The answer is very hard, the load is amazing! Whilst I do not plan to do a lot of updating some ratchet blocks would be sensible.
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davidh
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Re: FD K9

Post by davidh »

Rupert............ the problem with all these boats, the 'heavy metal' of sailing one could call them, is the demand for crews who have the physique and skill sets to make them 'go'. The other issue is that on the restricted inland waters where the majority of classic events take place, it is very hard to be competitive. I know of one of the very last 'Ghosts' - Greg Gregory's 15ft Cherub, complete with 9ft spinni pole. When I was a lad they raced the Ghosts in with the FDs at Hamble as they were seriously quick.

BUT... you'd need a quality crew, a fair budget and a selective approach to the events you did (keeping to Roadford and Bough Beech) and you'd still find that you were being beaten by a Firefly/Merlin on PY.

It is sad and a particular 'bête noir' for me that we'll go all gooey eyed over another proctor merlin, or a fairey whatever, even early GRP Finns but then other 'real' classics slip away en route to a Viking funeral. So well done for K9 and for all those who eschew the 'popular' classics (sounds like Radio 3) in favour of boats such as the Osprey, FD and others!

D
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Re: FD K9

Post by davidh »

Trevor..... I may have a pair of FD rachet blocks (I thought I might have needed them when I was looking at the Ghost - without them I imagined I'd need a bucket and sponge to rinse the remains of SuperCrewJon out from between the cheeks of the turning blocks!!

If you're interested, text or PM me!

Cheers

D
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Re: FD K9

Post by SoggyBadger »

Didn't the early FDs use a snubbing winch like the early Ospreys did?
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Rupert
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Re: FD K9

Post by Rupert »

The being beaten thing for the JB's, FD's etc is both a problem with the water most people want to sail on in old boats (sheltered) and with the way old boats work. Shorter, slower designs stay stiffer, on the whole, and any lack of rig tension makes less difference to overall speed than with a big, overcanvassed beastie. It is also far harder for an inexperienced helm/crew combo to get the most out of one.

Trouble is, we don't get enough of the big boats (for all the reasons you gave about crew skill and strength, as well as the huge commitment to running a large dinghy)to be able to get any meaningful idea of what the handicaps should be.

Pat may have some info we can use, and I know the JB no longer sails off her printed handicap.

Pat & I, and any other interested/informed parties, should take a look at this over a beer at an event, as PY debates on the forum don't really work very well, but I would certainly be happy with a change, if it meant more people would bring big boats along, and once that happened, people would be interested in larger expanses of water to sail on again. But I think an economic upturn might be needed too...
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Re: FD K9

Post by SoggyBadger »

Blithfield would be a good CVRDA meet for an FD.
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davidh
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Re: FD K9

Post by davidh »

The reasons that underlay all this are varied and complex........part lack of data on 'big boat' PY numbers, but also because there is a lack of big boats in the classic scene. There are strong classic fleets in 12, Merlins and 14s.... the GPs are working on sorting something out and at the Warming Pan recently, I had discussions that indicated that the Enterprises are wanting to create a classic scene.

Back in the early days of the cvrda, Neil had his Spearhead and Brooksey had the FD 'SuperD' but these are the exception, not the rule.

There has been some discussions over on the Y&Y site about PYs for Classic 505s but you'd have to be a very slick crew to be successful off 81 on a 'short course'. Thinking of the course size at Whitefriars and Bough Beech, you'd end up like one armed wall paper hangers (let's face it, SupercrewJon was kept busy enough in the Merlin, though he was also having to contend with having his wet suit chewed up by the mainsheet traveller at the time...)

D
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Re: FD K9

Post by FDGorilla »

If it's any help, I'll be at the Roadford Rally (Classic Finn Nationals) in June. Happy to go over some basic tuning and systems with you. Before we got all flashy with Maders etc our first FD was K310 so I can probably remember some of the tricks.

If you can, I'd avoid ratchet blocks on the genny - they tend to cause more issues than they solve. Better to work on technique and timing - again, happy to put on my coaching hat if that'd help. If you get this right, even a small crew can deal effectively with the genoa and you can start roll tacking the FD :D

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Brookesy
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Re: FD K9

Post by Brookesy »

I'll be at Roadford as well, and I know I have some bits of FD somewhere in the garage that you are welcome to, I even have a couple of sets of continuous trapeze fittings somewhere I'm sure, but as others have said for your hull the standard set up would be best.
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davidh
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Re: FD K9

Post by davidh »

Hi Brooksey,

sadly, although Roadford was high on my list of planned events for the year I can now no longer make it. But I will be at Brightlingsea soon....

Have a good weekend

D
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Brookesy
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Re: FD K9

Post by Brookesy »

Ah ha you have heard of my possible move to Brightlingsea David.

Unfortunately, although I have been offered a very good job over there, it has all been put on hold whilst their senior management team is sorted out, so still in the west country for the time being.

I must admit I was really impressed with the area, so still keeping fingers crossed.

Would be a nice place to have a Finn fleet.
GBR74 ex custodian of
GBR384 Mickey Finnale (Taylor,wood)
GBR455 Rubber Duck (Taylor, grp)
FD GBR350 Supercalifragalisticexpialidocious
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