Kiwi Mini update

News from Craig Cuff's campaign for the 2005 Mini

Craig Cuff’s campaign to race in the single handed transatlantic race, Mini Transat 2005, in September 2005 from France to Brazil is progressing well.
The construction of Cuff’s boat, NZL501, has received a huge boost in the form of man power from Boat Building students at the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic based in Tauranga. Three students work with Cuff once a week on the construction of NZL 501 - lending valuable man hours and construction skills. Craig is certainly extremely grateful to boat building course lecturer, Geoff Hind, for organising the support.

The boat, an Open 6.50 of Auckland designer Bakewell-White, is being built at Innovation Lamination in Katikati from the boat moulds of past-Mini Transat competitor and local man, Chris Sayer. NZL501’s construction technique of resin infusion will make it considerably lighter and, therefore, (hopefully) faster than a boat built by conventional methods. Indeed, one small bunk top panel at the untrimmed stage alone has weighed in at 600gms lighter than the comparable panel on Sayers’boat.

While the female mould of NZL501 has now been released from the male mould and inverted so that foam can be shaped for the hull prior to infusion taking place, the boat panels are also being made. The flat panels, bulk heads, transom, internal structure and keel box have all been completed.

Despite innovative techniques, sheer man power cannot be avoided. The hull plug (male mould) alone required two months (four hundred hours) of sanding by Innovation Lamination staff Dion, Cynthia and Sheryl.

Cuff said “although we have been through a learning curve (starting from scratch and having to make templates) the infusion process is much quicker than conventional methods. Certainly production of another Open 6.50 by Innovation Lamination would be incredibly fast - especially with Open 6.50 lamination kit sets. I cannot thank Innovation Lamination enough for their kind sponsorship of NZL501’s construction”.

The Mini Transat race is so popular that there have been over one hundred Open 6.50 boats built in the last year; indeed, entries for the race have to be capped at seventy. Launch of NZL50 in the next few weeks will then see Cuff training hard to qualify for this esteemed race.