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Readers of The Daily Sail provide their thoughts on Graham Dalton's dismasting, the Little AC and Roto Moulded 3DL sails

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Regarding the dismasting and subsequent retirement of Graham Dalton in Around Alone

From Andrew Banks:

There had been doubts about Graham Dalton’s campaign from early on; the seemingly poor preparation of the boat, the loss of the boat’s rig (the first time), and the whole debacle about his qualification passage etc. The boat also under performed for the first two legs of the race (for which it was purpose-built), so perhaps it isn’t all that surprising that the wheels should come off the Hexagon campaign. However, it must be a terrible blow for Graham Dalton personally, especially after his bold assertion in Tauranga that Hexagon would go the distance, and it was likely that neither Stamm or Dubois would make it to the finish.

Regarding the Little America’s Cup trustees abandoning the C Class , veteran journalist and former competitor Bob Fisher writes:

I was shocked to the roots. I couldn't believe that the Trustees of the ICCT had made such a stupid move and taken the principal trophy for catamaran racing and given it to yet another beach cat regatta, particularly when there was a valid C-class challenge in the offing. The souls of John Fisk, Rod Macalpine-Downie and Van Allan Clark (Steve's dad who was the first American challenger in 1962 with Beverly at Thorpe Bay) will be collectively turning in their graves.

I still cannot believe what has happened but Sea Cliff cannot claim the title 'Little America's Cup'. It was not attached to the trophy but to the event in C-class cats from the time that John Fisk challenged the Eastern Multihull Sailing Association to a match in the biggest class of catamarans available with the concept that it should be like its much elder brother, saying, in words like these, 'You know, a little America's Cup." If anyone owns that title it should be either the Chapman Sands SC, through whom John (then the Commodore) challenged, or the Eastern Multihull Sailing Association.

If Steve accepts the challenge from the Australians, he should bill the event as the Little America's Cup, since that was the original concept, not some second rate beach cat jamboree.

Maiden 2 crewman Paul Larsen is equally dumbfounded:

I could write a lot about this recent turn of events for the Little America's Cup but there isn't much to write. What a joke. Without C-class cats there is no Little America's Cup. Call it something else. I love F-18s and sail a Hobie Tiger at every opportunity but compared to a C-class cat.... well they just don't compare.

I was only a budding sailor when I first saw Victoria 150 off McCrae yacht club in Victoria. Imagine being a kid on a hill in the Second World War watching Lancasters and Spitfires roaring over head. Then a Tornado jet goes by full pelt and disappears over the horizon. You continue to enjoy the current technology but that memory sticks and you know that that performance exists and that it is special.

The biggest shame of C-class cats is that so few people have had a chance to experience them or witness their capabilities. Everyone who speaks of them are in awe. The fact is that they will absolutely cane (and most likely lap) any course racing boat now in existence. Granted 60ft tris would have to pull out as the wind and waves increase. Rules should be put in place to limit budgets without compromising the true qualities and intent of the class...... hang on, this was meant to be few words.

England is on the brink of putting forward a challenge to race Oz and therefore the U.S. for the next Cup in these truly inspired boats. After a long period of inactivity things were just starting to hot up. With catamaran and multihull racing in general now being bigger than ever this class must be preserved. The Little America's Cup is for C-class cats and that is that.

Regarding North's new Roto-Moulded 3DL sails Jesse Falsone provides us with this informed viewpoint:

I was involved in some early testing of 3DL sails on the 505 with Ethan Bixby (North Sails Gulf Coast, USA / former 505 World Champion). The earliest 3DL 505 sails came out back in 1993, but they were built on the larger machine and they couldn't get the correct curvature in the mould for a smaller sail. In 2000 we started off with some extremely light test sails that used mainly Pentex if I recall correctly (Pentex was available, and they had extra in stock from running machine tests).

This first test sail was so light that it quickly started losing its shape in heavy air, and the scrim was easily damaged. However, this was not intended as a racing sail, but more of a "proof of concept" for the RM machine. At the 2000 505 Worlds in Durban, we used a heavier sail with kevlar yarns and beefier scrim, but it was still extremely light - probably less than half the weight of a dacron main. This sail was fantastic in light to moderate air. It even withstood a 3 mile beat back to shore in survival conditions - literally gusts into the mid 40s with the main basically flogging the whole way. Many sails shredded on that beat. By the end of the regatta, the sail was showing some wear by the batten pockets (they were sagging off a bit from all the flogging), but the sail was still very smooth in overall shape. We easily sailed at the top of the fleet in light/moderate air at that regatta.

By 2002, we had a mature design, with more yarns especially down low where the pole can smack into the tack area when retracting. We also started using a 3DL jib, and I think this sail is an excellent development over the dacron jib, although wear near the clew where it hits the mast may be an issue. Both sails are still ultra-light, and I have pushed for more yarns to further increase the competitive life. I think the 3DL product is fantastic, with a similar competitive life (on the highest level) to that of standard seamed construction. However, the ultimate life (point at which they explode) of 3DL dinghy sails will be a bit shorter, especially to that of dacron, but people buying 3DL are looking for ultimate performance and will sacrifice lifespan to get it. Ultimate life of 3DL seams to be similar to seamed kevlar/mylar sails, and we have 3DL mains with lots of miles on them at this point. These sails still retain decent shape.

The sails are very sensitive to rig controls, and we have altered our ram setting slightly to account for this. The 3DLs are also very sensitive to vang tension (kicker for you guys in the UK). Having said all that, 3DL 505 sails have not dominated the 505 scene, but are making steady strides. Only a few of us, mainly on the US east coast, are using them. The top teams are still using sails with standard construction, but with Technora or Aramid fabric. They are very refined because the sailors using them have been developing the shape and tuning matrix for over a decade. The bottom line is that 3DL sails provide a very smooth sail (this fact was noticed by many of our competitors), but refinements in shaping and tuning still must be examined as with any other sail product. 3DL dinghy sails will only get better and faster at a rate proportional to the time we invest in their development.

One of the major downsides in 3DL construction for dinghies was building in a suitable window. In large fleets of fast moving boats, you need to be able to see under you. We didn't integrate a window into our sails until this year. This is an RM post-production process done by your sailmaker, and they need to use a suitable fabric that will preserve the strength of the sail (a heavier scrim impregnated with some hi-tech fabric). Placing this window in the sail means that yarns will be cut, but this compromise is really no different than with any panelled sail. I'm not sure if they account for this in the construction/yarn layout of the sails yet, but I think they should. I also believe more needs to be done to improve the durability of the batten pocket ends, because this is where the sail shows its first signs of wear. But again, this situation is no different that with any laminate sail - it's a battle between fabric yield and localised shrinking. Of course, boats with full-length battens need not worry about this.

I'm told that changes have been made to the RM machine to allow higher yarn densities. That's another good thing for 3DL dinghy sails.

If you have any comments to make about any of these issues, send us an email - click here to open Outlook or here to contact us through a direct message box.