I have been meaning to finish this off for a while but there is now a new feature on the IMCA site that allows you to "Sell a Boat".
You have to login to the site. Then in the IMCA toolbar you can click "Sell a Boat". You search (by name, number and sail number) and select your boat to sell. If it is really not there please add it to the database. You can not add new designs or builders at the moment so send me an email if yours is missing. You can edit the boat data and enter advertisement text. The Contact details come from your Contact data which you can also edit with the toolbar link "Edit your contact details".
Boat for Sale can be found here: http://www.moth-sailing.org/imca/faces/BoatsForSale.jsp and on the National pages filtered to Boats in that country. Adverts run for 2 months then expire. To reactivate open and "Save" them and they will be active for another 2 months. Your adverts and their status is listed on your Home page.
The reason for doing the above is to use the Boat Data from Boats for Sale to feed the Boats database on the IMCA site. It is hoped this harvested data can then be used to provide data for gear tables at events, track boats and produce statistics. You can Search the boat database with the now open to logged in users "Boats Search." toolbar feature. Also the harvested contact data can be searched and viewed by Members and National Committee members.
As I blogged earlier I want to increase the content on the Side without having to do too much work and this initiative I hope will be a step in that direction.
Please continue to use the Moth Market and test out this feature as well. Feedback and bug reports are very welcome.
Friday, 14 January 2011
Saturday, 8 January 2011
Ticks in all the important points boxes
I am really really really impressed with this video and how it ticks all the important points boxes of the wing issues.
I have nothing to add. I totally agree with everyone in this video. Unfortunately that leaves the wing issue unclear in my mind.
Great work guys.
I have nothing to add. I totally agree with everyone in this video. Unfortunately that leaves the wing issue unclear in my mind.
Great work guys.
Thursday, 6 January 2011
Back in the workshop.
All the moth news from the worlds has got me all keen to get Flashheart ready for next season. So I have spent some hours in my workshop.
The picture above is the making of a trophy for an Austrian Moth event. It is a bit of an experiment so I am not sure how it will turn out but that can be said for everything that goes on in my workshop.
It is great that the Moth sailors take time to blog and tweet at the Worlds because when I go to an event I find it very hard to turn on a computer in my holidays. So thanks guys.
The picture above is the making of a trophy for an Austrian Moth event. It is a bit of an experiment so I am not sure how it will turn out but that can be said for everything that goes on in my workshop.
It is great that the Moth sailors take time to blog and tweet at the Worlds because when I go to an event I find it very hard to turn on a computer in my holidays. So thanks guys.
Thursday, 30 December 2010
Bullshit is the best fertiliser.
I am fed up with the blatant stupidity and manipulative "journalism" on the SA (Stupid Americans) website. So after wasting too much time on trying to repair negative and destructive initiatives from out site the Moth class I decided to put effort into trying to build something positive from within it.
I have tidied up the IMCA website a bit. I hope it looks a bit better and the forum should now work better (I hope). You should be able to "edit your profile" and upload your avatar which has not worked since moving to Nige's server because I forgot to reconfigure it.
Stepping back from the site it strikes me that it is totally content-less. There may well be lots of content, but due to the dynamic nature of the Moth class and all the blogs and RSS feeds I have concentrated on the mothbook aspects so far. This is mainly because it is interesting but there is some great projects out there that are lost. If we just consider my Ego the diamond foil project, Flashheart and my Moth Paper are all now off line. I worry about the other Moth papers that are of more value. I think we need to preserve and make available this content. I have old Moth year books and news letters going back to 1987 and also a brand new one from the German IMCA which is really great. One of the most statistically requested pages on the Moth website is for the Home Build page which is a shame because half it links do not work anymore. There is interest out there for good technical content but I feel somehow it is not getting delivered. Somehow physical information in paper yearbooks is worth so much more than the transient dynamic information and I think we should deal with this issue.
How can we do this? I say we because I mean you as well as me. A Moth Wiki seems to be the best idea and we have one but Bruce's initiative nearly got turned off recently due to lack of activity. Do I build a Wiki into the IMCA site to replace/incorporate the Moth Wiki or does that (like the IMCA forum) dilute the information more and add to the problem rather than solving it?
I have tidied up the IMCA website a bit. I hope it looks a bit better and the forum should now work better (I hope). You should be able to "edit your profile" and upload your avatar which has not worked since moving to Nige's server because I forgot to reconfigure it.
Stepping back from the site it strikes me that it is totally content-less. There may well be lots of content, but due to the dynamic nature of the Moth class and all the blogs and RSS feeds I have concentrated on the mothbook aspects so far. This is mainly because it is interesting but there is some great projects out there that are lost. If we just consider my Ego the diamond foil project, Flashheart and my Moth Paper are all now off line. I worry about the other Moth papers that are of more value. I think we need to preserve and make available this content. I have old Moth year books and news letters going back to 1987 and also a brand new one from the German IMCA which is really great. One of the most statistically requested pages on the Moth website is for the Home Build page which is a shame because half it links do not work anymore. There is interest out there for good technical content but I feel somehow it is not getting delivered. Somehow physical information in paper yearbooks is worth so much more than the transient dynamic information and I think we should deal with this issue.
How can we do this? I say we because I mean you as well as me. A Moth Wiki seems to be the best idea and we have one but Bruce's initiative nearly got turned off recently due to lack of activity. Do I build a Wiki into the IMCA site to replace/incorporate the Moth Wiki or does that (like the IMCA forum) dilute the information more and add to the problem rather than solving it?
Tuesday, 21 December 2010
My personal view.
The views here are my personal views only. They are based on the experiences I have as a Moth sailor that has never seen a wing sail other than on the Internet. Therefore I do not pretend to know the right answer to the wing issues but I do pretend to understand the issues a bit. Therefore I am not trying to influence the debate (too much) but I hope the following will add to it and give food for thought. I think that if the AGM is to be productive a lot of pre-thought needs to go into the issue of where next. The current questionnaire relates to the future of the Moth class only. Therefore this post has nothing to do with the rules as they now stand.
The questionnaire for National Presidents to complete is available on the IMCA website. Each Nation get votes related to number of members allocated as per the IMCA constitution. So your President has to collect views on your behalf so that you are represented. However I did set up a doodle to get a quick unqualified response to the issues and so far most seam to agree that wings are here to stay. So what form should those wings take?
As I see it there are 3 routes. Ban then, restrict them or allow unrestricted development. Banning seams unpopular and I do not think it will happen. So do we restrict them how much and why?
Traditionally the Moth is a one sail one hull one man boat. There are a few rules that try to preserve this but these now seam redundant. Phil Stephenson and some others are in favor of going to a box rule to allow windsurfers kite surfers and catamarans to compete against us as it is clear that we would beat them most of the time if they are restricted to 8sqm sail. Having a box rule is easy to control and measure and allows all sorts of innovation. Going to a box rule means all current equipment is potentially obsolete so the box rule strategy would have to be a gradual one if it is to maintain popular support. This would be my personal preferred strategy, but so that there is not a too disruptive sudden change what are the parameters that relate to wing sails that will kill the soft sails overnight (if they are not already dead).
Extra area.
Wings get more areas but that is a current rule clean up problem it does not really relate to future. What I think is important is that we measure all sail area and restrict it to a fixed number and 8 is a nice one. Current soft sails have a 8.2 meter limit at the moment due to an obsolete historical rule so maybe 8.2 is the right total or we need to clean up the rules and grandfather current equipment.
High aspect ratio.
If you build a high aspect ratio rig then there will be a definite efficiency advantage. However if will make the rigs longer and potentially harder to transport. It will also make the design closely related the build quality. Therefore the better build spec = stronger = taller = faster = more expensive. This I feel will result in a cash for speed race that home builders will find very hard to compete with. OK this is my self interest coming out here but the rigs we have seen so far look practical-ish and robust but I am but sure that will be the case with higher aspect ratios. However to keep the boat in a box the best suggestion I have heard is from Phil that there is a top to bottom limit on the equipment (mast/sail tip to main hydrofoil flap in down position). The luff length may not be that easy to define.
Multiple elements.
The more elements = more complexity = more weight and cost and less reliability. However they will be more dismantleable so I think if this is unrestricted then a happy good design compromise will be found eventually.
Slots / Gaps.
This is a hard one to talk about at this stage and my opinions on the subject are not very popular in some parts. However do we allow wings to take advantage of the slot effect by having gaps between elements? I think that wings will work really well if they are allowed and not so well if they are not. I think for wings to really show their potential and be a sexy as the current rigs then yes we should allow gaps / slots. However this I fell is a step away from the one sail concept but it is definitely a step in the box rule direction. So yes I am for it, but I understand others that are apprehensive about it because it could be the overnight soft rig killer. However I have no data to back this up other than every time I get on a plane it uses flaps, multiple elements and the slot effect to to land at safe slow speeds with wings that are designed to be as small as possible for minimum drag and fuel cost. Therefore I a convinced it is of value. So this is a Yes to slots for me but a hesitant one.
Travel Box.
This is a clever idea and I think a welcome attempt to force the design of the wing rig products to be transportable. However I do not think it is workable and I do not want to have to cut my 4 year old one piece mast in half. Therefore for I think is would lead to more historic redundant rules not less so it is a bad strategy.
So let the debate rage... what do you think?
BTW: after lisstening to the latest Mothcast does anyone know how Joe Turner is getting on with writing the 50 pages of rules he suggests. If he is going to propose that at the AGM then he must be at the first draft stage already. I would be happy to read through then and add comments Joe so please send me your work so far... Catch ;-)
The questionnaire for National Presidents to complete is available on the IMCA website. Each Nation get votes related to number of members allocated as per the IMCA constitution. So your President has to collect views on your behalf so that you are represented. However I did set up a doodle to get a quick unqualified response to the issues and so far most seam to agree that wings are here to stay. So what form should those wings take?
As I see it there are 3 routes. Ban then, restrict them or allow unrestricted development. Banning seams unpopular and I do not think it will happen. So do we restrict them how much and why?
Traditionally the Moth is a one sail one hull one man boat. There are a few rules that try to preserve this but these now seam redundant. Phil Stephenson and some others are in favor of going to a box rule to allow windsurfers kite surfers and catamarans to compete against us as it is clear that we would beat them most of the time if they are restricted to 8sqm sail. Having a box rule is easy to control and measure and allows all sorts of innovation. Going to a box rule means all current equipment is potentially obsolete so the box rule strategy would have to be a gradual one if it is to maintain popular support. This would be my personal preferred strategy, but so that there is not a too disruptive sudden change what are the parameters that relate to wing sails that will kill the soft sails overnight (if they are not already dead).
Extra area.
Wings get more areas but that is a current rule clean up problem it does not really relate to future. What I think is important is that we measure all sail area and restrict it to a fixed number and 8 is a nice one. Current soft sails have a 8.2 meter limit at the moment due to an obsolete historical rule so maybe 8.2 is the right total or we need to clean up the rules and grandfather current equipment.
High aspect ratio.
If you build a high aspect ratio rig then there will be a definite efficiency advantage. However if will make the rigs longer and potentially harder to transport. It will also make the design closely related the build quality. Therefore the better build spec = stronger = taller = faster = more expensive. This I feel will result in a cash for speed race that home builders will find very hard to compete with. OK this is my self interest coming out here but the rigs we have seen so far look practical-ish and robust but I am but sure that will be the case with higher aspect ratios. However to keep the boat in a box the best suggestion I have heard is from Phil that there is a top to bottom limit on the equipment (mast/sail tip to main hydrofoil flap in down position). The luff length may not be that easy to define.
Multiple elements.
The more elements = more complexity = more weight and cost and less reliability. However they will be more dismantleable so I think if this is unrestricted then a happy good design compromise will be found eventually.
Slots / Gaps.
This is a hard one to talk about at this stage and my opinions on the subject are not very popular in some parts. However do we allow wings to take advantage of the slot effect by having gaps between elements? I think that wings will work really well if they are allowed and not so well if they are not. I think for wings to really show their potential and be a sexy as the current rigs then yes we should allow gaps / slots. However this I fell is a step away from the one sail concept but it is definitely a step in the box rule direction. So yes I am for it, but I understand others that are apprehensive about it because it could be the overnight soft rig killer. However I have no data to back this up other than every time I get on a plane it uses flaps, multiple elements and the slot effect to to land at safe slow speeds with wings that are designed to be as small as possible for minimum drag and fuel cost. Therefore I a convinced it is of value. So this is a Yes to slots for me but a hesitant one.
Travel Box.
This is a clever idea and I think a welcome attempt to force the design of the wing rig products to be transportable. However I do not think it is workable and I do not want to have to cut my 4 year old one piece mast in half. Therefore for I think is would lead to more historic redundant rules not less so it is a bad strategy.
So let the debate rage... what do you think?
BTW: after lisstening to the latest Mothcast does anyone know how Joe Turner is getting on with writing the 50 pages of rules he suggests. If he is going to propose that at the AGM then he must be at the first draft stage already. I would be happy to read through then and add comments Joe so please send me your work so far... Catch ;-)
Do the Wing doodle.
Just for FUN. There is absolutely nothing official about this but if you want to post your answers to the questionnaire for your opinions to be ignored please do the doodle:
http://doodle.com/e2nzrfa43eia6tqf
To get your opinions taken seriously you need to be a member of the IMCA and should contact your president. See your national committee here.
http://doodle.com/e2nzrfa43eia6tqf
To get your opinions taken seriously you need to be a member of the IMCA and should contact your president. See your national committee here.
Wednesday, 15 December 2010
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