SKUDS in Miami
Posted on January 23rd. Please look for next post on February 5th.
I am down in
Scott and Julia rounding a windward mark at the 2007 Miami OCR.
Scott and Julia have their eyes set on a medal, and towards that end, they will campaign straight through the 2012 games. It is very common for sailors to stop their campaigns if they do not win the selection trials, and spend a period of time away from sailing. Scott and Julia have been wise to continue on though. They made great strides leading up to the trials in October, and they can improve even more while they help Team Scandone/Tucker prepare for the 2008 games.
About the SKUD 18
I went sailing in the SKUD for the very first time last week. Scott was not feeling well, so Julia and I went out for the day together. It really is a sensible design that is very fun to sail.
The class rules are written in a manner that allows sailors of various ability levels to compete on an even playing field. For example, helmsman and crew are both required to sit in seats mounted on the centerline of the boat, and the competitors are not allowed to leave their seats during racing. This allows sailors with very limited mobility to compete evenly with those who are more able. The SKUD 18 does have a lead keel, which contributes most of the boat’s righting moment. In addition to that though, the sailors are allowed to fit their seats with motorized levers which tilt them towards one side of the boat or the other. This allows the sailors to shift their weight to the windward side of the boat. I learned early in my first sail that one wants to start shifting his seat from one side to the other before the tack begins, otherwise you end up leaning over the leeward side of the boat, with your face almost in the water.
Almost every SKUD is set up with all the control lines leading to the crew, because many of the helmsmen have limited use of their arms, or they are unable to grip lines very well. This makes it very busy for the crew, especially at the leeward mark, as the spinnaker must be doused, then the mainsail, jib and other control lines such as the vang and cunningham need to be trimmed.
The standard steering system is comprised of two levers, one on each side of the seat, and the helmsman can head up or down by pushing and pulling on the levers. It took me a few minutes to get used to this system, and I even steered us in the wrong direction twice as we were leaving the harbor (this may have shaken Julia’s confidence in coach!). It is a similar sensation to that of steering with a wheel for the first time, after learning how to sail by using a tiller. You are used to motion in a given direction producing a given result, and it can be surprising when the exact opposite happens.
The SKUD steering system - notice the levers in each of Scott’s hands.
The jib is a non-overlapping self-tacking sail, which makes things a little easier for the crews who trim both the mainsail and the jib. But the sail trimmer is still pretty busy, as the boats become overpowered in about 8 knots of wind, so vang, cunningham, and mainsheet are always need adjusting. Upwind the boat is quite lively, and it drives really nice. Downwind, the boat smokes right along once the asymmetric spinnaker is raised. The boat is capable of planning in about 11 or 12 knots of wind, so it is a really fun ride off the breeze.
The Miami OCR will begin next Monday, January 27th, and it will run through Friday, February 1st. Please follow Scott and Julia at that event, and throughout their campaign to win Gold at the 2012 Games!
Good Luck Scotty!!
C-Class Catamaran - The Cogito Project
Steve Clark and Duncan MacLane sailing Cogito in 2004.
Posted on Thursday, January 10th. Look for next posting on Wednesday, January 23rd.
In March of 2004 I was fortunate enough to start working for Steve Clark in preparation for the International C-Class Catamaran Championship. The event was scheduled for the following September. I wrote a posting several weeks ago where I described my first sail on a Tornado as feeling like I was on a spaceship. I had that feeling again the first time I sailed on a C-Class, except that, the feeling of sailing on a spaceship did not really go away the more time I spent on the boat. Modern C-Class cats, such as
Length – 25 feet
Beam – 14 feet
Sail Area – 300 square feet
Crew – 2
Trapeze – 2
Lars Guck and I racing Patient Lady VI.
For a quick comparison, a C-Class is 5 feet longer than a Tornado and 4 feet wider. A Tornado has only 34 square feet more upwind sail area, and the boats are raced with about the same sized crew. Note that there is NO minimum C-Class weight. Cogito weighs in at about 375 pounds; this is only 35 heavier pounds than the Tornado class minimum.
The result is an unbelievable sailing machine. A C-Class can fly a hull in just about 4 knots, which is unheard of. But more amazing than that is the boat’s ability to sail through lulls. The boat is so light, and its sail plan and blades are so efficient that once Cogito is flying a hull, it can sail through patches of almost no wind at all.
Steve and Duncan demonstrating the speed of the C-Class in extremely light air.
However, the first thing I noticed when I got on board was not how light the boat was, but how the sail did not luff. It made these loud, creaking noises in stead. As you probably know, modern C-Class cats have a hard sail, also known as a wing sail. Cogito’s wing has three distinct ‘elements’ which rotate on a series of hinges in a manner similar to that in which the aft flaps of an airplane wing move. The manipulation of these elements allows the sailors to induce shape into the wing, or, trim the sails. When the boat is stopped, rather than hearing a sail luff, one hears creaking, and an occasional bang, as each of the elements swings back and forth. I can try and explain further about how a C-Class wing is trimmed, but I think I would be unsuccessful. Almost every C-Class wing is different, and my explanation would be useless without several drawings which I do not have (I can try and draw for you myself, but you would probably just laugh at me).
The upwind VMG of the C-Class is almost unmatchable, it sails higher and faster than almost anything you have ever seen. But more surprising is how smooth and quiet the ride is. The boat is almost noiseless, just one narrow hull knifing through the water, with two crew, 14 feet away from that point, flying high above the water.
Lars and I, sailing Patient Lady VI with experimental lifting foils
Brief History of the C-Class
The first C-Class race took place in 1961. In 1962, Van Alan Clark (Steve’s father), had an entry in the competition. That year the victor was Hellcat I, sporting an innovative idea – cross beams. Previously, most catamarans had a solid deck connecting the hulls. Hellcat’s cross beams allowed for a much lighter platform, and brought home the C-Class crown as a result.
It is unfortunate that C-Class events have not received more attention over the years, as the sailing and design talent involved in the projects is usually top-notch. Prior to designing the Olympic Tornado, Reg White designed several C-Class Cats. Van Alan Clark, whose contributions to the sport both on and off the water are too numerous to mention here, built the World’s first boat with a canting keel, the Red Herring. The 6 person team Steve put together to build Cogito included David Hubbard and Duncan MacLane. Both David and Duncan were on the design team for the catamaran which defended the
Of course, the C-Class is now most widely known because of the wing sails which all boats use. The first wing sail appeared at a C-Class championship in 1974 on Miss Nylex, and it was made of spruce and balsa. Miss Nylex won the title that year, but was defeated by a soft sail boat (Aquarius V) the following year, mostly because Aquarius V was lighter. However, the future was clear, and C-Class engineers have been trying to find ways to make both their wings, and platforms lighter and more efficient ever since.
Most C-Class participants have been either American, British, or Australian, but challenges have also come from
Steve and Duncan, sailing upwind in Cogito.
After Cogito won the C-Class title handily in 1996, there were no challenges until 2004. Cogito won handily again, with Patient Lady VI finishing second, an Australian entry finishing 3rd, and a British entry finishing 4th. Just after the 2004 regatta, a Canadian named Fred Eaton purchased Patient Lady VI to use as a model for his own project. Fred built Alpha and raced against