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Weighty Issue

Started by MarkT (Guest), 01 Aug 2006, 04:06

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MarkT (Guest)

I have been looking at your discussions about crew  weight.  I am looking at N12s at the moment as they seem to be great fun boats to sail but our all up wieght is going to be about 25/26 stone.  I have heard that Final Chapters are good for the 'heavier crew' but will we still remain competitive against the slimmer sailor? I am a little concerned that we may be a bit sluggish against other 12s, perhaps it is time to diet me thinks!

Your input will be much appreciated

Thanks :)

icecreamman

Chapters are good weight carriers, but the nut on the end of the tiller is a good indicator of how fast they will go. I am sure if someone were to put Tom in an old boat there would be quite few of us who would be hard pressed to beat him. Don't let that depress you, as when it started to honk at Hunstanton on Saturday when the tornado and watersput came through the Pukka Pie Boys romped to the front of the queue only to find that the race had been abandoned. It was on the way home we stuck the bows in to a wave and the rig kept on going which put paid to the rest of that weekend. We just had to resort to sailors tales of what could have happened that evening over a couple of bottles of wine.....
Yes you will not be as quick as the teeny weenys in a flat calm, but you can still enjoy yourself and then wait for a blow next week.

John Meadowcroft

Ice cream man is right.

To beat the light people all the time you really cannot be more than 21 stones.  up to 23 stones and you will races against the best but will at times be susceptible to the lightweights, typically downwind.
25-26 stones is at the heavy end.  Your choice about 'being competitive' depends upon whether you genuinely believe you're weight slows you down more than your skill levels, or your choice of boat.

If you really want to win in the 12s, i would suggest aim for 20 stone, have a double bottomed hull (i dont think design or age is too important) with either a Superspar or Angell carbon mast and newish sails from Alverbank, P&B or Rowsell.  Then practice a lot so that you are good enough - this is the basic package that you need.  if you cannot either get your weight down to the target weight or have the latest generation of kit then you will struggle to win.  However, this goes for all classes not just the 12.

As you can see lots of heavier people enjoy sailing 12s.  I am one of them, although aiming to be sailing at less than 21 stone this year for the first time in over 10 years.  The boats are wonderful, you would not regret a purchase.




Jimbo42


markT (Guest)

Thank you all for your input and I look forward to seeing you soon out on the circuits :)

Mark

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