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Hi Pete,

You don't say where you are based. If in the South, you could try calling Matt at Wenban Smith in Worthing as they can supply some good quality ply - not as good as Robbins but much cheaper! Alternatively you could try Meyer Timber from whom we've purchased some OK furniture quality birch ply. I would just avoid normal builders merchants/DIY stores though. Even their best quality marine ply is atrocious, full of gaps etc.

If the compound curvature is too much then it might be an idea to get some 1.5mm birch ply and laminate 3 together with a little epoxy.

It's not too late to decide that you want to head down to the Sussex coast for a couple of days of genuine sea sailing - pop out of the harbour and you are in the English Channel. Thankfully there is a wind farm to keep the bigger ships away but there will be some movements in and out of Shoreham Port - usually less of a problem than the hordes casting long lines off the harbour walls in the very unlikely chance of hooking a fish. At the moment the wind is forecast for a nice Westerly 12 knots on Saturday and 10 or 11 from the South-West on Sunday. We are scheduled to do 3 races on Saturday but we have a class choice of either doing another 3 back to back races round the inflatable buoys or taking on the challenge of the Black Rock Race to Brighton Marina and back on Sunday. Last year there was no wind and the Black Rock Race was mighty challenging (especially for those that took a flyer out to sea...) but this year it should be good with the tide changing in the middle of the day. If we all want an adventure (and long distance practise for the Burton Cup) then a trip taking in the sights of Brighton could be entertaining.

Entry details are on-line at https://members.shorehamsailing.org/event/fos-2024 but I think you could still join in on Saturday morning. If anyone wants any help, do let me know!

Hasn't been discussed here for 10 years or so but:

• To overlap (stick separate gasket mylar down both sides overlapped by 5mm in the middle) or not (ie just one strip cut down the middle)?
• To cut a "V" at the aft end (self-emptying is the theory) or don't bother ('cause it doesn't actually work)?
• Glue (ie CT1) or Double-sided tape (eg 3M VHB)?

My everyday job revolves around sustainability and the circular economy in transport and so I am continuously reminded about the impact that our choices of material make and will make to our environment and our climate. I believe that N12 owners, illustrated by their choice of boat, will be more interested in sustainable living than the average Brit. I am therefore hoping that we could take an environmental lead in sailing by controlling the use of materials through our class rules.

It doesn't take long using your favourite internet search engine to reveal the sort of impact that GRP and more fancy construction methods are having; when it is no longer possible to sell on that plastic boat, it gets abandoned close to shore and gradually decays leaving significant quantities of micro-plastics floating around to poison us and other creatures. Nearly all the studies into the environmental impact of small marine craft recommend that the best form of lightweight construction for the environment remains plywood with low impact epoxy.

We know that wooden boats remain desirable and have a much longer life than GRP. We do, afterall, have an active Vintage fleet but I can't imagine anyone wanting to keep afloat some of those early GRP boats that are now beyond competitive life and are languishing in the corner of our dinghy parks unused.

We have an interesting situation where, apparently, there are no moulds for composite construction as they have all been destroyed. Unless new moulds are made, the most cost effective means of construction would be to follow Simon Hipkin's lead and make using ply.

I would like to suggest that we look to restrict the materials that we build our hulls from in order to protect our environment. I'd like to suggest that hulls are made primarily from wood bonded together with bio-resin. We could allow glass fibre or, if they develop sufficiently, bio-fabric tapes to cover joints but could easily limit their use to within, say, 35mm of any joint. Bio-resin is an area that is fast evolving but I've used Entropy (a West Resin's brand) and GreenPoxy (a Sicomin brand) very successfully; we would have to have a moving minimum standard for what equates as "bio" epoxy as this area develops. Epoxy filler materials for fillets, fairing etc would still be needed.

I would not propose any restrictions on materials for centreboard, rudder and assembly or rig but I guess these could, in time, be looked into.

I would suggest grand-fathering any boat made or issued with a sail number before the introduction of such a change.

Would you greet the suggesting of an addition to rule 5, Hull Construction, with howls of anguish or would you give it your support?

Many of the wood merchants have good quality sycamore boards so it rather depends on how much you want... If you are in the south, try English Woodlands or Tyler Hardwoods. Both are very friendly but Geoff Tyler is interested in boats.

I think it is exactly the right decision but it is sad that we won't see Shoreham full to the gills with 12s. Hopefully we can get on the open meeting list and encourage you all back for some nice open water sailing in the Channel - perhaps some might choose to stay and keep us company so that they are ready for when Burton Week is next scheduled our way!

As a Shoreham member (and its only 12 that would regularly sail despite my continuous suggestions to get our leader to come back to the class) I would be sad to not have the chance to attend my first Burton "Week" at my home club even though I struggle to see how we could safely accommodate everyone given the current pandemic. If it doesn't happen perhaps we could have a one day event (thereby reducing the numbers to those in easy reach, reducing the requirement for close proximity camping in the boat park etc etc). Sadly it would still only be family/in-bubble boats but better than nothing. Then if we did such at Shoreham, perhaps other regional centres could also have a one day event. If all attempted 3 races on the day, all the scores at all the events could be pooled together to produce the day's winner. No, not champion, but just a winner.

Might be interesting to see what that other civilised class, the Solo, are doing: http://events.sailracer.info/events/user_files/Magic%20Marine%20&%20North%20Sails%20Solo%20National%20Club%20Race%20event%20-%2019th%20July%202020%20(1)-20200627-151840.pdf. They're doing it all via performance against GPS from home clubs.

As Kevan says, the originals were Alverbanks - I do have them but the main has big rip in the leech and the jib has clearly seen better days. Nevertheless, they will be useful as something to measure off.

I spent years helping develop sails that depended massively on the cunningham - anything from small dinghies to IACC yachts. In some cases we had cunninghams on the jibs as well as the mains so that we could play with luff tension on headsails without leaving the windward rail. I did a long distance race on a daft 20ft cat (that was 30ft wide and had a 40ft tall rig) where the only sail control I touched for daily runs up to 200 miles was the 32 to 1 cunningham (but the helm did play with the traveller a little). How come the cunningham has been deprecated to an also run and the kicker promoted so much?

I recently went through the results from last year and realised that when I swapped out the "old" suit of sails for the "new, never used" ones that came with the boat, our performance went from "just about OK for a newbie" to shockingly slow. I know that the boat isn't slow (at least it wasn't in Graham and Zoe's hands) so it could be me or it could be the sails - let's blame the sails for now because I used not to be quite that slow sailing other boats... Both of the sets of sails are from the same maker and I won't say who for obvious reasons. So I'm thinking of using this enforced no-sail period to get some new sails sorted. I'm based in Sussex and so someone relatively local might be of benefit. Has anyone had particularly good experiences with any sailmakers and would be prepared to make recommendations? If anyone has a really bad experiences then it might be best to contact me privately because we don't want anyone being sued for defamation! Does anyone know of any sailmaker wanting to develop sails for the class that might not be normally found? Does any sailmaker want to put themselves forward?

I just got my renewal notice from Newton Crum. Whilst I was pleased to see no increase in premium from last year, my eye was caught by a line:

"IMPORTANT REMINDER this insurance excludes craft fitted with HYDROFOILS or FOILING/WINGED RUDDERS"

Oh my, I think, so I give them a call. After a little discussion at their end, my having pointed out that a 12 with a winged rudder (even if retro-fitted) is indeed faster than one without but not that much faster, they confirmed that sailing with a winged rudder would invalidate any insurance that they provide.

I checked my insurance documentation from last year and there is no mention of this limitation.

I am now off to secure insurance elsewhere but it might be advisable for you to check your insurance in case there is any such limitation in the small print.

Perfect! Many thanks... Tube now on it's way.

With built in buoyancy tanks I need to do an air pressure test (hasn't been done for a while and I missed my opportunity at the Shoreham open). Before I go make up a kit with a spare hatch cover, some clear tubing and a pump, has anyone got any tips for success in building a testing kit? Any photo's that you'd share to show how it's done well?

3492 is already there! We've been sailing her from Shoreham since April - not been ideal weather for learning how to sail a 12, only last bank-holiday week-end we learnt that feathering too hard in 25 knots can result in going backwards and going backwards quickly results in a capsize. I can report that the new ramp is a huge improvement on the moving wooden sleepers and that the grass is growing nicely. Shoreham SC is as friendly as it has ever been - it's been a nice welcome back after 19 years away.