Originally Posted by slotracer577

What conditions do you want optimal performance? What boats do you compete against? I have 3 and they have different conditions in which they excel.

I think you'll find that he knows a great-deal about the M and he was just spinning the gears back in the right direction.

Hi Gents.

Good to see a vibrant thread on Marbleheads again.
I have just stepped into the role as the Australian Marblehead class coordinator.
So all you Aussies fell free to PM me.
As far as the current designs being sailed here we have a fair mix and the Scalpel isn't the dominating boat.
We have some local designs such as the Fuzzy Logic by Lincoln McDowell which excels in all conditions, it is a typical narrow design with U shaped sections.

In relation to cost, I agree that getting into a competitive M these days is not the pocket draining exercise it used to be. There much more fun than an IOM and its often the simply set up boats that do well.

The Vintage/Classic subject is very close to my heart, there is definatley got to be a way of creating a simple ranking/handicap system to get boats of all eras racing again. Nearly 1400 Marbleheads have been registered here in Aus, where are they all???

Dust off that M and get it wet again, the more who do others will follow.

Cheers
MP68

the marbleheads are resurging here in new zealand. we have the nationals end september. a mixture of designs both old and new. id better get practicing. only new to class.
good to see our aussie mates are surging. i just entered aussie nationals for both marblehead and iom.

Now we're talking!
Great to hear from NZ and AUS...
We have had some fantastic contributions to the thread from the UK, good to hear from another corner of the M universe.


Welcome in. We're all under the same umbrella.
Like Mopar68 mentions, there are over ONE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED Ms registered in AUS...

Where are they?
Well, we started this with 2 boats. Then there were 4.... Then 8.
How many are we up to now?

My last AMYA number is 3749. So I assume that there are at least that many registered at one time.

Originally Posted by slotracer577

My last AMYA number is 3749. So I assume that there are at least that many registered at one time.

My last AMYA number is 3741.. Only an eight boat difference.

What design is your 3749?
3741 is a Sterne Viper

Originally Posted by breakwater

My last AMYA number is 3741.. Only an eight boat difference.

What design is your 3749?
3741 is a Sterne Viper

3749 is a JT designed Pixel, 3718 is a Sterne Viper, 3652 is a DV Ajax. I have 3 of them even though we no longer sail them locally.

Originally Posted by slotracer577

3749 is a JT designed Pixel, 3718 is a Sterne Viper, 3652 is a DV Ajax. I have 3 of them even though we no longer sail them locally.

Wouldn't it be cool to see a database, with the registration numbers throughout the class, listing the design names.
The EC-12 Class was well ahead of its time in doing this...

Obviously it would be a patchwork, with was I assume is a lot of lost information, but it would be cool to see what develops.

It wouldn't be a lineage thing either, as some of the most recently constructed boats, with new sail numbers have been built to Vintage specifications...

Hi,
new to this board. Would like to say that yes M sailing is very much alive and kicking in New Zealand. I'm from the Hamilton club and we have 25 sailing members. Not unusual to see a fleet of 12 Ms on the water

Originally Posted by breakwater

Well, we started this with 2 boats. Then there were 4.... Then 8.
How many are we up to now?

Originally Posted by NZL756

Hi,
new to this board. Would like to say that yes M sailing is very much alive and kicking in New Zealand. I'm from the Hamilton club and we have 25 sailing members. Not unusual to see a fleet of 12 Ms on the water

There's My answer.....
12 Boats!

All sounding good.

Our club is now having M racing every second week along with the IOM's.
Some of our IOM only skippers are on the lookout for secondhand M's, my they finally see the light and come away from the dark side

Has anyone got a handicap or "era" type system that could be applied to encourage older boats back to racing.
I recall on another forum somewhere a system based on about 4 categories defining the eras boats can compete in. Example 40-50-60's with fuller keels, 70's post Stollerys Bloodaxe, an 80's era up to 93 when the Scalpel arrived.
Each could be given a burgee to fly noting which category they are in red,blue green etc and ranked accordingly. Trophy could also be offered to the home builder as well.
If each club introduced a system like this people will be scrounging around looking for old boats or building new ones.

MP68

Someone mentioned the Tippecanoe T50 in an earlier post.
I built hull No.49. Great kit and Will Lesh is a great guy.

I used a carbon fin & rudder, IOM bulb and stayless carbon rigs, kept everything as light as possible.

My T50 is now going through its 3rd incarnation. Fundamentally the boat is too light, its a rocket downwind and behaves well generally till the wind gets up, I am adding some belly to the hull to hopefully get the ballast up to the 3kg mark also raised freeboard at the bow.
I like the fact that a wooden boat can give the carbon rockets a scare sometimes.

MP68

Originally Posted by mopar68

Has anyone got a handicap or "era" type system that could be applied to encourage older boats back to racing.
I recall on another forum somewhere a system based on about 4 categories defining the eras boats can compete in. Example 40-50-60's with fuller keels, 70's post Stollerys Bloodaxe, an 80's era up to 93 when the Scalpel arrived.
Each could be given a burgee to fly noting which category they are in red,blue green etc and ranked accordingly. Trophy could also be offered to the home builder as well.
If each club introduced a system like this people will be scrounging around looking for old boats or building new ones.

MP68

\

See This Post:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showp...&postcount=241

Originally Posted by mopar68

I like the fact that a wooden boat can give the carbon rockets a scare sometimes.

MP68

Hah!
I've had some 1930s design Ms sail right past my 1980s design.
The right wind, the right course, the right skipper.... away it goes. And my boat that's 10lbs lighter is left to wonder what just happened.

Other days, I never even see them on the course.

Breakwater
Do you find the older boats better when it blows? or is it in the ghosting conditions?

MP68