One thing that has struck me is the high level of breakage and failure in the Moth class. The number one failure seems to be kickers. Why is this? The main reasons for failure seems to be as follows:
- Inappropriate rope choice - in my experience standard dyneema wears far better than Vectran or some of the more exotic ropes out there.
- Poor splicing - with all splices they either need to be locked off or stitched.
- Blocks failing - either they explode, bend or stop turning causing excessive rope wear quickly. I am looking for some replacements for the Harken blocks as many people have had problems with them. If you have any suggestions let me know.
I am now paranoid about checking all of these bits of rope + blocks for wear and have now decided to go through a cycle of replacing all of the strops every 2-3 months. I am getting better at it now and can do the lot in a couple of hours. I have learnt to make the strops slightly shorter to allow for the splices to "settle" under load.
In England I feel we are getting a poor reputation amongst clubs who are now realising that recovering a broken Moth from a race course is extremely difficult and can tie up a rescue boat for a considerable period. Most rescue crews do not have the first idea about how to help you so you need to have a clear plan in your head. I now carry a knife on board so I can cut the forestay tie down and drop the rig ready for derigging. Once this is done, it is possible to "slot" the boat down the side of the RIB with the foils resting outwards on the side tube. This worked extremely well for me recently and the boat suffered no damage whilst being recovered.
Next stop is Weymouth Regatta in two weekends time. The Regatta entry list is closed but twelve Moths are already signed up. We are sailing out of Castle Cove SC and are racing in the bay apparently. I hope the Weather Gods play ball!
Hi Graham,
ReplyDeleteFunny how perspectives change from person to person... I thought that the boats held up incredibly well.. In fact I was thinking that I would do really well because most of the boats would blow up in the strong winds but I didn't see any broken carbon anywhere!
I think you may be on to something with the moth recovery thing... In kitesurfing we used to teach ourselves to self rescue in the event of any difficulties. Maybe we need to think about a similar thing with the moths? ie. a set of instructions on how best to de rig in preparation for a rib rescue.
I wouldn't worry about the poor reputation at the clubs.. they are just insanely jealous!
Cheers,
Phil
PS. Awsome event at Parkstone and can't wait until the nationals..
Two boats retired with kicker problems + 1 with a broken rudder foil + a cracked boom at Parkstone on the first day. We had endless kickers break at Mar Menor as well.
ReplyDeletenew kicker every 2-3 months? I haven't replaced any part of mine since before Garda 2007 and most of it was on the boat for Denmark 2006. I Discovered this new material it's ultra reliable. I think it's called stainless steel!
ReplyDeleteInteresting post especially as I just broke my vang this weekend. Not sure what the line is it came with, Vectran? Anyway it just failed mid way down the cascade. So spent yesterday taking all the green / black line out of the vang and re rigging with Dyneema. The line that goes around the mast base was also looking pretty worn. Like you it also made me think of re rigging with more purchase.
ReplyDeleteYes its Vectran. It would be a good idea to replace the strop round the mast as it WILL break. I used 5mm dyneema and stitched the splices once I had done them. Had no problems since. Yes I have put more purchase on as I am just a soft southern Englishman!
ReplyDeleteThanks, I've just done that with the fattest piece of Dynema I could get in, I think 6mm if I remember what I bought. I'm alos tryingout a Precourt thimble block as the purchase at teh base of cascade, we'll see how it goes tshi weekend. The one that arrived is a little heavy duty but if it works will swap out to a lighter version. Will try and get pics up on the blog once I have it working.
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