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I'm certainly game for some of those. I think that the list of venues has something to offer everyone, some of us have good sea boats which struggle on the rivers! And the spread across the country means that there are some in reach of most people, as travelling to venues always seems to be more of a problem esspecially for those who need taxi-ing. Good effort Sam293, once the calander is finalised i ll certainly be pencilling in some dates, probably the ones further south (being on the south coast largs is a long way!)
 
Tony

Just looking into putting the baggy indoors for a month early next year to address some of its other issues (frayed kness etc!) and one thing I would like to do is remove the space frame to try and tidy it up since it has seen better days. It looks to be straight forward but are there any pitfalls to doing so? I would think the boat isnt just going to fold up on me when it is out but first times for things like this are always good at catching you out!
 
cheers
 
Tony  

Some further history provided by a previous owner, David Croft...
David purchased the boat from a person in Stoke-on-Trent who worked for laser and had built the boat by borrowing the moulds from Cheshire Dinghy and Dive. The same mould was used for some quick boats at the time, including "twice shy" which won the champs. When David bought her she had the proctor "c" mast she still sports today but the lowers David himself fitted. David also confirmed she did indeed have an aft tank once.
Thanks for the info Dave and the valuable advice that came with it!

speaking as a person who works for a youth organisation and is passionate about sailing its good to see the youth itself in the class stepping up to the plate, so to speak, and sort things out themselves. Incidentally I am in the same boat as GregPitt, not making 25 till the end of next year i would love to participate but as a youth series under 21 sounds more appropriate (??), and good point on the drinking thing moonshallow, however I'm sure if it is in a sailing club environment which is commonly shared by those of legal age and those who aren't it would be pretty cool anyway. Good luck with it all  and hope to see some of you sailing next year (does anyone know when the opens calander is being released by the way? prospective crews are attacking me for info already :S)
 
tony

David,
good to hear about some history! She currently resides in weymouth, the chap i bought her off didnt have the time and she was in a sorry state from sitting. Apparently some one before him had put in these huge bags and only tied them to the gunwale .
I'm hoping to get her sorted for some opens next year as the dinghy sailing at WSC is a bit tame when it does show its face, where did u sail her? If there are any old pictures I would be really interested. Currently have a length of carbon for a boom and am considering some options for sails as Im still using the '86 alverbanks which came with her, but for now trying to bring some cosmetics into things as she really has had it hard recently .
Thanks for the advice on the transom, shame about the tank - I thought alot of the other baggy's look really nice with them in.
 
tony

Thanks for the great feedback chaps.
Think I ll investigate an extra buoyancy bag for now, and see where time and money take me concerning rebuilding the tank. Come to mention it I did see a merlin rocket with a small bow bag wedged between the usual buoyancy below the tiller once, but they struggled to drain after capsize i think!  A small narrow bag or the kayak bags phil mentioned either side sound just the job.
I am reassured ian that i am not the only one with an occasional sinking feeling!!
 
Tony

I checked today and the bags are 100lbs each, thats 45 kgs. This is what was in the old cheshire cat if i remember rightly, and that was wood not foam sandwich - which should provide some additional bouyancy?? Not sure i want to go to the extreme of rebuilding the tanks back in right now, a lack of indoor faculities at the mo is really making working on her awkward! she seemed to float ok, with me in her but point taken about bag positioning, think I ll make them a little lower when i can. I also got out the bags that came with it and they were 200lbs, and when i inflated them before there really was no room!
If I did eventually go down the route of modifying back to a rear tank would it be as easy just to put a double floor in? as a curiosity point?
tony

Having just got my baggy going I took her for a quick test sail but also did a bit of a swamp test recently (not the cert. one - not many bodies about, any suggestions on alternatives there by the way?!!?) for piece of mind etc etc.
I know that they should sit low in the water when swamped, and the transom is under etc, but I wonder about the CB casing allowing water in whilst swamped, as it is below the water, and how will that affect the drainage of the boat once righted? Is it a problem? I found an excellent thread from 06 which gave a good account of the method for AC boats but some extra pearls of wisdom would be appreciated!
Also the Boat I have, 3255, looks to have once had an aft tank like many baggy trousers, but was removed in favour of bags. The ones that came with the boat were so big i would have had to join the crew in the front! So I have a pair now which match what I had in my last 12. The way I have fitted the bags means they sit quite high towards the gunwale, is this a problem? Or because they sit so low when swamped anyway it makes little difference?
Many thanks!
 
Tony

Took jeans for her first sail in a long time today. Just a quick bimble into Weymouth Bay and back

A backbone of the fleet i work with @ work is the bosun dinghy, which has a hank system on the jib attaching it to the forestay. The methods of applying the rig tension have changed from the mk 1 to the mk2 and new style masts, but the format up the jib juff has not, and when rigged to sail the forestay is often lose. Genreally on these types of boat the forestay is ther as a fail safe and/or there to simply hold the mast up when sat in the dinghy park, other boats, ie the rs800 seemt o apply rig tension in the forestay itself, then run the jib up a track, so there are many variants of how a boat can be setup. I would suggest the merlin mentioned might be like the bosun - which has very little other method like a mast gate to hold up the stick! 
Tony   

The string in question was Dyneema core so plenty strong enough with an outer to reduce the effect of wear that wire I admit is less inclined to do. Also the lack of forestay was how i received the boat, and as icecreamman says, the surrounding deck reduces its need. I wouldnt say that U have to replace it but I personally would do whatever will give you peace of mind whilst sailing, since it is meant to be an enjoyable escape from worries!! My latest bucket, 3255 is all wire and again no forestay (but a monsterous aluminium space frame!), but i will probably go with the dyneema route again, assuming i dont in the mean time find any snag points that it wouldnt survive. I hope Jeremy you are getting as much enjoyment out of Grimalkin as you wanted!
 
Tony

I just recently changed my rover 25 for a ford fiesta, not the new style but the one before. 1.25 duratec petrol and tows a 12 or a laser 2000 really well for a little car!
 
Tony

Phil, thanks. The transom is actually marine ply, I replaced like for like, it was a true budget job! Plus the sailing club were keen for me to vacate the shed (keelboaters... :-/) so i had to do it in a hurry after work over a couple of weeks. As yet I havent sailed her, waiting on new bouyancy bags (the ones that came with it were huge!) and then its all go! She has so far had some new bits of string, and the plan is to look into a carbon space frame for the future, but first a re-spray this winter, then see how finances are going for a new set of rags and a carbon boom (she still has her 1986 sails  - pretty good nick for there age mind..). Would love to know some more history about her though. Its one of the great things about the class, you can find out loads!
 
Tony 

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hope to get there with 3255, work and crew dependant!!