carbonicboats

Congratulations to Michael Hickman

2012-02-08T08:15:00.000+11:00

For a well earned third place at the Australian Championships sailing an Ajax by Carbonicboats.
Great to see that the M Class is alive and well, with a very high standard of sailors and equipment.
The Event Site can be found here

Image Source: risdonbrookradioyachtclub

Not What it Said on the Packaging

2012-02-07T09:47:00.001+11:00

I thought the following interesting enough to post and comment on:

It is an open letter to the America’s Cup Event Authority by somebody who was associated with a credible prospective competitor. Given my experiences as part of an official competitor that found the ever changing new format unteneble, I would be inclined to broadly concur with the principal views expressed in the letter.

Focusing so much on the point person is perhaps to the detriment of a broader look at an organisation that has great resources available, an admirable stated vision but appears to be working without defined milestones and hence with no accountability for quantifying success with reference to its stated aims.

The old saying of 'shoot first and call whatever you hit the target' comes to mind.

Analysing the shifting philosophies, such as the decoupling of the ACWS from the AC 'proper', the stringent controls being piled up by the Defender, the inconsistent treatment of different competitors by event organisers and the ongoing redefinition of identified profit centres, one cannot help but speculate that at least some of the actions of the many branches of the organisation are governed by a different and conflicting agenda.

Add to the mix massive commercial interests without the checks and balances of a strong united voice from the challengers and you have an event that resembles more the choreographed WWF wrestling show than a friendly competition between nations.

If these were isolated outbursts of individual criticism, they could be dismissed as 'sour grapes' and we could all get on with the show. But the mounting evidence is pervasive and compelling. The credibility of the critics is growing and the objective results are indicative of a deeply flawed approach if the stated goals are taken as a measure of success.

In my opinion the single best thing to come out of this low point in the cyclical nature of the AC is the rediscovery, popularisation and acceleration in development of the modern racing multihull.

For this unwitting byproduct I am grateful, despite the mess.

"An Open Letter to America’s Cup Event Authority Chairman Richard WorthThe purpose of this letter is to bring to your attention the concern that many of us share in the direction that you are taking the marketing aspects of the America’s Cup, and to offer suggestions for improvement.
I speak not as an individual; however I do have experience with ACEA as an individual through my association with Paul Henderson and Kevin Reed of Red Maple Racing, a life long association with the sport, and an experienced background in entertainment marketing, including sailing. Rather, I speak as someone who gets constantly asked by friends within the sailing community about what is up with the Cup. They want to place blame on Golden Gate YC for not reaching out to the sailing community and not telling the story of what’s up with the Cup. The blame is not GGYC’s, the blame is yours.
As much as you and the rest of the staff at ACEA might want to spin things, in addition to your failure to reach the sailing community, of those few people you have reached, you have alienated far too many, for no good reason. “Out with the Flintstones and in with the Facebook” was just the start. Many of us grew up with the Flintstones, and have a Facebook page. Announcing ACWS dates, but no venues, and then never fulfilling those dates, as recently as this January. Why have announced dates with no venues too often not materialized? Is it because you had completely unrealistic venue fee pricing expectations based your completely unrealistic and unsustainable event production budget? A checkered flag at the finish line? Seriously? In a day and age when “authentic” is a big buzz word, what is authentic about taking something that is a signature within motorsports and using it in sailing?
Obviously, the front page story in the San Francisco Chronicle Saturday morning said all that needed to be said about the overhype that ACEA has had about projected attendance figures for Cup events. Those of us in the game a year ago knew that ACEA was spouting utter nonsense with those attendance projections. No wonder the City is now giving ACEA very justifiable pushback.
But those are small problems in the scheme of things. Currently, Grant Dalton is screaming that the Cup is not any less expensive than in the past, and is in fact 20% more expensive. Grant is also citing the fact there are only three billionaires and his team currently entered in the 2013 America’s Cup. As a part of one of the teams who a year ago took a very hard look at entering the ACWS and the America’s Cup, I have a decent idea what the costs are, and while we can debate Grant’s statements, the bigger issue than costs is the abject lack of definable media expose for potential sponsors. A year ago ACEA had no real set schedule for ACWS events, and no real media schedule. During the last year, nothing much has changed, including your assumption that broadcasters are going to line up in a bidding war for TV rights. That is not going to happen, especially in the US. If you had signed major TV broadcast partners, you’d be talking about them. Instead, we got press releases about the chef in Cascais. If you had signed major broadcast partners, it is highly likely we’d have more than the current three challengers entered.
Many people think more teams aren’t announcing their entry into the ACWS or Cup because they can’t find sponsorship money. I don’t know about other teams, but I do know about Red Maple. A year ago the issue was not finding interested and willing sponsors, the issue was being able to assure those sponsors that ACEA, meaning YOU, would come through with ACWS venues and a major media schedule. Red Maple elected to not go forward because there was no evidence you were going to perform as would have been necessary to satisfy those sponsors. Those teams who did not go forward are probably relieved they did not. Those teams that are still in the game and are hanging on by their fingernails are still waiting with bated breath for the announcement of your ACWS venues and dates, and for the TV package to be announced.
Simply put, the teams who rely on sponsorship to make it to the starting line in 2013 will not be there unless you announce ACWS venues and dates and your TV distribution package within a couple of weeks. The sooner the better. It almost does not matter what the package is, it just matters that there is something concrete to point to. For the prospective teams to obtain sponsorship there MUST be a media schedule that is actually in place. The most bizarre part about all this is that you cited ESPN2 in the ACEA Media Footprint document which was circulated last year, yet you had not made a deal with ESPN. The single thing that you could do immediately to start to reverse the trend of negative publicity that is currently besieging the America’s Cup is to make a deal with ESPN, and announce it. YouTube is amusing and all, but ESPN brings to the table the credibility that you lack, and which the America’s Cup needs, right now. The group of people who are most likely to come to San Francisco in the greatest numbers for the Louis Vuitton Cup and America’s Cup are people from the US, particularly those who are lifelong fans of the America’s Cup. Why you have essentially ignored the US market is beyond our comprehension.
Sure, there will be an America’s Cup in 2013 in San Francisco. But instead of a grand spectacle, it will be a whimper if no more than three challengers show up. Three challengers is a race, but it is not a regatta, and it is certainly not much of a show.
Right now, because of ACEA’s abject failings Golden Gate YC and the America’s Cup have a very serious credibility problem, largely because you as the Chairman of ACEA, the marketing arm for the Cup, completely over hyped and constantly under delivered on virtually every single thing you set out to do. So, the question is now: Are you just like ‘Captain Coward’ Francesco Schettino of the sunken Italian luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia, seeking refuge in a life raft that is just another ACEA spin city press release? Or, are you man enough to step up to the helm in the storm that you have driven the America’s Cup into as a result of your poor tactics, do the right thing for the Cup and the sport, and finally make some media and venue deals that sponsors can rely on so that they can agree to support teams who want to enter the 2013 America’s Cup? - Peter Huston."

Carbonicboats Partners with Kedo

2012-02-06T12:56:00.002+11:00

Here are some preview images of the Kedo range of carbon fibre houseware and furniture made using a proprietary technique that gives the best features of glassware with the unique aesthetics of carbon fibre.

You can buy Kedo products now in Australia and New Zealand only from Carbonicboats.

Choose from the standard range or ask about custom items.

2012 John Cootes A Division Catamaran National Championships

2012-01-10T14:20:00.000+11:00

A lot has been written about the recently concluded A Cat Australian Champs.

Not much to add here except to agree that it was a fantastic regatta and a great way to learn about these elegant and sophisticated boats.

The hosts were generous and hospitable, the race management was smooth and efficient, the competitors represented a broad cross-section of our sport, from professionals to passionate enthusiasts, the weather ranged through the whole spectrum and the atmosphere was exciting, welcoming and family friendly.

Below is a selection of links to reports, pictures and videos.

We are looking forward to developing equipment for this market in 2012!

Reports on MySailing.com.au:
http://www.mysailing.com.au/news/sailing-s-rockstars-get-their-instruments-and-will-come-out-to-play-on-lake-macquarie
http://www.mysailing.com.au/news/business-as-usual-ashby-dominates-a-class-cats-invitation-race
http://www.mysailing.com.au/news/ashby-bundock-on-top-at-a-class-catamaran-nationals
http://www.mysailing.com.au/news/big-names-at-the-top-of-the-a-class-cat-leaderboard
http://www.mysailing.com.au/news/nathan-outteridge-takes-to-a-class-like-a-duck-to-water
http://www.mysailing.com.au/news/ashby-in-a-class-of-his-own-on-lake-macquarie
http://www.mysailing.com.au/news/ashby-secures-a-class-cats-with-a-day-to-spare

Pictures:
http://www.a-cat.org.au/2012-nationals/sail-world-photo-gallery-for-the-2012-nationals/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73409289@N05

Official host club website:
http://www.wangirslasc.yachting.org.au/

Some videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT_m8S7WfnU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hovL91SoN6Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa24YlmEP0k

This shot from 'Bad Dog' http://www.flickr.com/photos/73409289@N05

Rigging

2011-12-28T11:18:00.003+11:00

A few days of boat preparation are an interesting opportunity to come up with solutions to some design problems common to many boat types. As always the factors to consider are weight, reliability, durability, cost and repeat-ability, usually in that order. Here are some images of what we came up with...

Trapeze lines: starting from the top, the 3mm Dyneema is spliced over a closed thimble. Both thimbles bear on a single shackle that connects them to the hounds plate.
There is a 200mm length of core as a chafe guard where the line may touch the stays and sail/batten.
Since the 'hounds' on a rotating A Cat mast are rather crowded and occasionally the thimbles will interfere with each-other before lining up as load is applied, some sticky back aramid cloth is applied to the exposed line where it lies in the thimble.
Moving down, machined round aluminium thimbles are used at the bottom end as for the splice and as stoppers for the T-handles. They also act as turning blocks for the trapeze eye strop that has a stopper ball at the bungee end...

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T09:32:00.002+11:00

All one wants for Christmas: new beach wheels and other accessories

Best wishes and thanks to our followers, customers, partners, suppliers and fellow sailors.
May 2012 bring fair winds, health and prosperity.

Carbonicboats at Sail Sydney

2011-12-23T16:03:00.003+11:00

First outing for the new test platform after only a very light race out of Kurnell the previous Sunday.
Having a designer at the helm meant expectations were low: The goal was to get around the course cleanly and begin gathering data for baselines on tuning before the mods begin.

The atmosphere at the regatta was excellent. A well run, well supported event in a friendly setting with many sailors of all ages enjoying the sport at its best. As always many thanks to the organisers for making it all possible.

On the first day the breeze came in late but did eventually allow four races to be sailed in building conditions that reached 15 knots by the end of proceedings. The second day piped in touching 20 knots with some chop so the decision was made not to push things just yet.

It certainly seems that the small boat scene and the beach cat fleet in particular are alive and well. Fantastic news for the future of our sport and for the industry.

Photo courtesy Andrew Hawkins, www.mainsheetmedia.com

2011 Retrospective Part 4 of 4

2011-12-22T17:48:00.001+11:00

During thisyear dominated by AC preparations Carbonicboats simmered along with a couple ofarchitectural projects, assorted mods and optimisation jobs for clients, RCyacht development and limited work on our A Cat test platform.

PersonallyI took every opportunity to get out on the water on multihulls big and small andhad the chance to communicate my views by writing some articles for AustralianSailing on topics such as impressions of sailing the AC45, analysis oftechnical developments in the AC and a designer’s look at the A Cat Nationals.

Part of my journey to discover and understand multihulls was learning to sailan A Class Catamaran (my thanks to coach Adam South for his patience) that wasalso used as a test platform for ideas that helped us get to grips with whatmakes a catamaran go.

We have recently acquired a second test boat that will beseen regularly at Australian A Cat events but more on that later…

Among theturbulence, RC Yacht production slowed as our Australian suppliers were affectedby the floods in Queensland and our European supplier closed up shop due to theloss of other clients that he had come to rely upon. There is therefore aconsiderable waiting list on our RC yachts. Something we are working onremedying with new in-house tooling that is already underway.

Next yearour focus will be firmly on production, returning to our roots but includingaccessories, parts and fittings for RC yachts, beach catamarans and more.

Photo courtesy Gilles Martin-Raget

2011 retrospective Part 3 of 4

2011-12-19T12:19:00.001+11:00

Needless tosay this turn of events was surprising and extremely disappointing because theathletic and technical side of the team had grown to be truly formidable. Therecord shows the caliber of the names involved. Perhaps more importantly insuch a collaborative undertaking, promising constructive relationships were growingwithin the group. The sailing and shore teams had already fitted out andassembled their first race boat at the regatta venue after completing atraining camp in home waters. The design team had put in place the test matrixand was already well into the calibration work necessary to hone in on theoptimum parameters for the bigger boat. Once again a lot was learned but thistime we had gone much further down the path. We began functioning as a team andfelt confident we were headed for great things.

Reflectingon the commercial proposition of the 34^th AC, one cannot help butnotice that a radical transformation happened by degrees in a way that was notimmediately apparent at each incremental step but which added up to a formatvery much at odds with the initial premise.

As thingsstand one cannot argue convincingly in favour of the commercial viability ofthe format.
The balance of power has also shifted away from the interests of commercialteams in favour of the two large privately funded entities that effectivelyhold the keys to the field of play. In this framework it is easy to imaginethat ‘some animals in the farm are more equal than others’. It is tempting tosay ‘it was ever thus’, but this incarnation of the Cup has reached beyond thereasonable expectation of politics, lobbying, intrigue and power-plays that arepart of AC folklore. A confluence of years of litigation stopping play, theeconomic times, a ‘non-establishment' vehicle and a Challenger of Record thatwas ‘friendly’, possibly dependent on the Defender and has in any case left thepicture, point to an interesting moral hazard in relation to the funding ofboth the event and prospective teams.

The unprecedented combination of aparticipating team also supplying (through entities that purport to beingindependent but share a common funding source) the equipment and havingmechanisms in place to unilaterally penalise other parties, makes for anextremely uncertain situation for someone who is considering investing in orderto gain a return.
I want to be clear that this is not a naïve idealistic realisation:politics and dealmaking have always been a part of professional sport. But inthis case the picture is extremely unbalanced.
As a small aside, let us remember that we aretalking about professional sport.Professional does not mean ‘ful time’, it means that the people involved do itfor a living. Meaning they get paid. In turn this should mean that thoseproviding the money should expect some value in return that is commensuratewith the investment. This requires arrangements to be dependable and transparent with knowable costs that should be subordinate to the value being added.

In a commercialreality where value for money is at a premium since the need to spend on taxdeductible advertising is negated by slim or nonexistent margins, a boldnew proposition should offer as many certainties as possible to entice genuineinvestment.

And thereis no question that the new AC format is bold and different if not new. Itbrings to the forefront the spectacle, excitement and technology that were oncehiding in a niche of our sport. In my opinion this fulfills the spirit ofthe AC as a pinnacle of international competition and a crucible for thedevelopment of performance under sail.
Yet these premises are contradicted bymandating a conservative one-manufacturer/one-design for a period much longer than theanticipated ‘hit the ground running’ introductory bracket (leaving aside the dubious implications this revenue stream has on the fiduciary duties of the Trustee/Defender).
Along the way therehave been radical policy changes in the declared profit centres of the businessmodel, particularly with regard to TV and venues.

The calendar still hasgaping holes in it and the eventual big race boat rule does not address theoriginal promise of containing costs where they do not lead to outrightperformance or where they are absorbed by minute gains. Specifically the AC72 rule started out admirably by restricting the key speed producing factors and imposing equipment limitations. But subsequent changes have driven up initial and ongoing / logistical costs beyond recognition whilst simultaneously the value available through exposure has dwindled.
Again, the AC has never been 'cheap', nor should it be. The issue is not the size of the investment but the relationship between investment and return.

Thegraphics and television coverage are remarkable and technically brilliant. But aswith any project lacking pre-defined benchmarking, it is impossible to judgehow much better the results could have been or what would constitute anunremarkable result or a failure.

The commercial considerationsthat should come first and foremost if viability and sustainability are thegoal seem to be forgotten: the true measure should be efficiency - the ratio of valuefor money to a stakeholder represented by what is being produced against the cost of producing it.

In this context I am surprised at the apparent willingness of commentators tomarvel about technical excellence without reference to the resources available.Given enough money to hire enough talent, technical excellence should beexpected, not marveled at.

Technical achievements are of course admirable butthey are even more so when they dwarf the available resources. That is why TNZbeating the Americans on a shoestring budget and with wooden wings on the bulbis more remarkable than America^3 winning in ’92 with a virtually unlimitedbudget… One would do well to examine the quality of the Extreme 40 coveragethat uses radio controlled UAV’s and other ideas that save money to increasethe value on the bottom line.

But onemust not dwell… The experience was fulfilling and worthwhile. For sure similarchances will arise again in better times. Right now the lessons learned arevaluable and I intend to apply them to our other work whilst sharpening thefocus for 2012.

2011 Retrospective Part 2 of 4

2011-12-16T08:53:00.003+11:00

Fortunatelythe chance arose to apply these lessons when Carbonicboats was hired almostimmediately by the then Official Challenger from Italy. Having carefully done myhomework on their funding, management and philosophy, I was impressed by thecommercial approach they advocated and comfortable that the backing was inplace to implement the strategies they had formulated.

Specifically they showedproof of having in place the underwriting necessary to get through the campaignand they presented some innovative plans to independently increase the valueoffered to partners through initiatives taking advantage of social media tools.

As withany business, these are the two key components: capital to get a product tomarket and a coherent strategy to recover the investment.

Armed withthis knowledge I was enthusiastic about bringing on board some of the keyplayers I had already worked with as well as some outstanding new talent bothin the technical realm and in the sailing team.

As the keydeadlines passed for qualification and entry (deadlines that had already beenpostponed and whose associated barriers had been considerably lowered) itbecame clear that the commercial viability of the proposed format was beingquestioned by many with good reason. The uncertainties that persistedexacerbated the lack of confidence in an already bear market. Question marksstill existed on venues, dates, budget capping mechanisms, balance of power,competitiveness of the existing players, commercial arrangements, allocations atthe race villages and broadcast deals…

In afurther change to an already moving target, the ACWS was effectively de-coupledform the CSS and the AC ‘proper’, altering the nature of the commercialproposition that teams were presenting to prospective partners. This radicalchange was a revelation that the new ‘democracy’ could easily be ‘tweaked’. Forthose who had already paid up and done the necessary work to be in a positionto take on the original calendar, the change had significant implications. The statedmotivation for the change was that as things stood there were only threeChallengers. But that is still the case when one looks at the AC today, asdistinct from the ACWS.

Acombination of accumulating uncertainties surrounding an event that had beentotally reinvented after shedding all momentum due to several years ofunglamorous litigation, an incredibly volatile economy and a difficultrelationship between team owners and event organizers led to the last minute(days before the first race) exit of what was the only Italian team in theevent.

2011 Retrospective Part 1 of 4

2011-12-15T08:43:00.000+11:00

It is that time of the year again: summer (Southern Hemisphere) and fast approaching festivities to welcome 2012… I thought it timely to reflect on 2011 and update the blog that has been somewhat neglected among the hectic activities during this very interesting year.

It has certainly been a rollercoaster ride of highs and lows. Very interesting times. Great satisfactions, some disappointments, many challenges and constant growth and adjustment.

As well as the usual ‘bread and butter’ consulting gigs, Carbonicboats was involved at the start of 2011 in what was then the Australian Official Chellenger for the 34^th America’s Cup. As always our role was a technical one: in this case co-coordinating the preliminary work on assembling the design and shore team, planning timelines, design strategy, budget projections, cash flow scenarios, logistics, advising on the technical feasibility of offerings made by the marketing team and setting the foundations for what was to become the team culture on the design and build side of the operation.

Great flexibility was called for as the rules of the game were still very fluid. They were being refined as time went by and feedback materialised. A hugely rewarding part of the process was taking part in the Competitor Forums, where talented and very experienced brains came together to flesh out the vision of a spectacular, modern, fast and commercially viable reincarnation of the Phoenix that is the America’s Cup. Hopefully some worthwhile contributions were made to discussions on the Protocol, the Class Rules, the RRS AC Edition and overarching strategic considerations.

Adam South, Dario Valenza and Nev Whitty (front to back)

on the prototype AC45 in Auckland. Image credit: Unknown

History will show that the Australian Team was one of the many that did not make it to the start line in these unique and changing times. Much was learned and clearly there was a genuine passion driving the initiative. Perhaps in a bull market the outcome would have been different. However an honest analysis does reveal certain shortcomings which should serve as case study lessons. From my point of view the principal error was a failure to engage those outside the team - the sailing community first and the greater public as well.
A dedicated group was working hard on the project and achieving significant traction in some key areas but this was not being communicated to the outside world. The excitement of the new format was not being conveyed. The talents, passion and qualifications of the key players were not being made known.
I believe that such communication would have been crucial to overcome public skepticism and to repair the damage done to the image of this event in the public mind by the loss in 1987, poor showings thereafter and a sinking in 1995. Only those directly responsible will ever know the thinking behind the decisions that led to the lack of outreach and engagement. In my estimation there was a need for a concerted effort to communicate, to engage, to involve and to excite. Perhaps part of the reason for the silence was the rivalry between different would-be leaders of competing syndicates within Australia, but that seems like a poor reason for what borders on secrecy in a venture that relies on visibility and fan base to justify investment. The silence left open speculation about troubling lack of unity within the syndicate leadership and conceivable conflicts of interest that may have played a role, but this brings us into the realm of conjecture so I shall not probe any deeper in this context.

The work carried out on the technical side was well structured, promising and very satisfying. Analysing the outcomes I am confident that the structure, programme and persons involved in the design effort were easily up to the challenge of producing a competitive boat and the connected ‘machinery’ to maintain, repair and develop it in a campaign under the conditions that were posited at the time and within the constraints imposed in the initial brief. In an honest and self critical internal appraisal aimed at improving future performance, very little emerged that our tech team would have done differently if given another chance.
The lessons learned and the relationships forged, beyond making the exercise worthwhile, became valuable tools for the next project.

A Class Catamaran Trailer

2011-11-22T22:28:00.000+11:00

An economical, quick and practical conversion from an existing 'generic' flat frame trailer to a specialised A Cat transport...

Before:

And after:

The parallel side rails support the cross beams just inboard of the hulls.

At the rear they curve downward and can accept 'extensions' that plug in the back to act as 'ramps' so the boat can be slid on/off by one person. Side splashes aft are retained to catch the bows as the boat transfers to the launching wheels.

For loading and unloading the aft mast post is removed by sliding it up off its lower telescopic element which is welded to the trailer frame.

Once the boat is loaded the aft post prevents it sliding back whilst the mast splash holds the aft beam down.

Two clamps over the front beam at the side rails and both mast posts are secured with screws that have 'T' handles and tap into nuts welded on the adjustable elements.

The biggest challenge seemed to be finding a suitable storage box readily available and at a reasonable price.

Not much to choose from on the market!

Even fabricating a custom box requires considerable materials and much labour.

A lockable roof top box off Ebay provided a ready solution.

It can easily take two sails, the boards, rudders, booms, wires, assorted spares and a tool box.

It is also streamlined (for what that is worth in fuel consumption savings given that it is in the wake of the towing vehicle), looks sleek and, in extremis, can be quickly commandeered for the occasional skiing trip...

Next to the box is a readily available length of plumbing pipe with screw cap ends to take tiller extension, cross bar, rail extensions and a can of tire foam.

Towed the trailer 400Km to pick up the boat and 400Km back with the boat.

It handled nicely and fuel consumption was noticeably lower than with the old trailer with conventional square metal box.

Metal fabrication by Marcus and Rose MFG P/L, Carringbah NSW

Octave Jib Booms

2011-09-08T18:53:00.000+10:00

Ray Joyce continues to develop the Octave prototype. Notice that all adjustments use 'finite' steps located by means of pins/holes or notches to guarantee accuracy, replicability and prevent movement under varying loads.
The design envelope of Octave is being mapped with a view to optimising the production boat with an emphasis on upwind/downwind rig crossovers.

BlackIce First Sail

2011-04-23T11:44:00.000+10:00

The pics are from a phone camera so low res but the boat is sailing!

Maxi Yacht Forward Foil Design

2011-02-09T18:25:00.000+11:00

New forward foil retrofitted to existing boat. Design work was carried out by Simonis-Voogd. Design co-ordination by Carbonicboats...

Production BlackIce

2011-02-09T17:06:00.000+11:00

More on IOM BlackIce Prototype

2011-02-09T17:02:00.000+11:00

BlackIce IOM Progress

2010-12-20T13:50:00.000+11:00

Octave Marblehead First Sail

2010-10-03T17:38:00.000+11:00

Octave Marblehead Prototype Rigs: Bunjees

2010-08-30T08:33:00.000+10:00

A beautiful precision job and a snazzy detail by Ray Joyce.
The idea is to incorporate a bunjee into the Dyneema 'limiter' strop for the moding adjustment on the swing rigs.
A lesser mortal would have tied the bunjee separately but this would have left an untidy loop of Dyneema when the limiter was slack.
Here is Ray's description of the procedure:

I did a few trails and decided not to include 
tying the elastic within the fixing knots because of it being too 
bulky. I found that with a piece of elastic captive within the 
spectra it did not need much encouragement to stay where it was, so 
came up with a solution which seems ok. The pics show. You'll see 
that at each end I passed the the elastic in/out/in then through the 
spectra for 50mm then out/in/out. I then whipped each end over the 
end 4mm sections.

Octave Marblehead Prototype Rigs Progress

2010-08-11T09:28:00.000+10:00

BlackIce IOM: First Hull and Deck Laminated

2010-08-08T16:54:00.000+10:00

Octave Marblehead Prototype Rigs: Sail Controls

2010-07-31T11:09:00.000+10:00

Octave Marblehead Prototype Rigs: Progress on Spars

2010-07-31T11:06:00.000+10:00

BlackIce IOM Tooling Progress

2010-07-12T18:27:00.000+10:00

A Class Cat Carbon Boom: Mid Boom Sheeting

2010-07-02T21:15:00.000+10:00

Octave Marblehead Prototype Progress

2010-06-28T22:22:00.000+10:00

Cat Studies

2010-06-22T13:15:00.000+10:00

UAV Tunnel Model

2010-06-22T13:13:00.000+10:00

UAV Fitout

2010-06-22T13:10:00.000+10:00

A Class Cat Carbon Boom: Sheave Box

2010-06-12T10:48:00.000+10:00

A Class Cat Carbon Boom: Outhaul

2010-06-12T09:09:00.000+10:00

Small Mods: Composite Tubes and Fibre Traps

2010-06-12T09:00:00.000+10:00

Though the boat was already at minimum weight, we went through the exercise of 'updating' the basic systems and details to prove the concepts we will use on the new boat.

In reality the weight saving imperative still exists for three reasons:

1) Weight concentration. Saving weight in the ends, above the lowest point in the boat and in the moving components allows the optimum positioning of corrector weights and hence gives the option of optimising trim, balance and pitching frequency.

2) Saving parasitic weight frees up material that can be spent elsewhere in the weight budget, for instance in stiffening the platform.

3) There are voices afoot that the class minimum weight may be reduced as technological advances translate into most boats in the fleet carrying corrector weights around the racecourse.

So the 'low hanging fruits' were immediately identified and picked.

Here is a brief description of the changes.

They are all 'bolt-on' changes that can be easily retrofitted to your existing boat.

Get in touch with us if your boat is in need of similar improvements.

- The mainsheet system was updated. We modified the standard Harken set-up by replacing the single block mounted to the cleat plate with a 'Tie Light' block. This gets rid of the steel shackle, steel strap and steel spring. We also drilled holes in the steel components of the triple becket ratchet block and the quadruple top block.

- This is quite a straightforward swap for an easy 372g weight saving up in the rig and similar windage.

We are trialling a ball and socket trap 'hook'. The advantage is the safety of not having a protruding hook on your harness. The jury is still out on the practicality of the system.

With this solution there is no adjustment in hook height but the bungee does keep the system tensioned when coming in onto the trampoline.

- Finally the cross bar (drag link?) and tiller extension were swapped for carbon ones.

This made a PERCEPTIBLE difference to the 'feel' of the boat by taking inertia out of the steering system.

The tiller extension is wrapped in aramid to add a bit of toughness.

More pictures coming soon with details of the ends and universal joint installations...

A carbon boom is underway.

Test Platform: AUS 794

2010-06-12T08:54:00.000+10:00

Just took delivery of this Boyer MkIV. Though not at the cutting edge, this boat represents a known platform and a practical test bed for our development ideas.

The plan is to gradually modify the boat replacing discrete components with our prototype parts. Once we are happy with the detailing we can transfer the successful ideas and components onto our new prototype.

This is part of a broader programme to gather data on the class as a starting point for the carbonicboats A Cat project.

Those of you familiar with the Victorian scene might recognise the boat as Obsession.

Octave Marblehead Prototype Rigs: Swing Rig Junctions

2010-06-11T14:58:00.000+10:00

The lower panel of the mast tube is 14mm outside diametre high modulus tube.

A section of 16mm tube forms the basis of the horizontal element of the joint.

It is glued in place together with pieces of 14mm sleeve that form the first taper element of the boom and yard.

The joint is reinforced by simply wrapping carbon 'tow' around it as a way to prevent the tube fibres from splitting and to provide a tensile link between the tube skins.

The boom and yard are 12mm tube and they need not be glued into the 16mm and 14mm joint body.

This solution also requires no fittings and is arguably simpler to create than a joint with box section or foam sandwich booms.

Octave Marblehead Prototype Rigs: Boom Elbows

2010-06-11T14:55:00.000+10:00

This is one solution for M class booms. A bit labour intensive but light and stiff.

The balsa core in the elbow could be replaced with foam though using balsa does offer added toughness.

There is an arguable windage advantage in round booms and our experience shows this to outweigh the downwind projected area and end-plate effect of flat-sided booms. Using round tubes allows a family of rigging solutions not possible with foam sandwich or box shaped booms. The geometry is dictated by the foot round, following the deck as far aft as possible then kicking up to meet the mainsail clew. The booms step down in diametre at the joint. The joint is reinforced with carbon sock wetted out in place.

Octave Marblehead Prototype Rigs: Cranes

2010-06-11T14:52:00.000+10:00

Ray is making progress with the rigs for the Octave prototype.The design uses a simple method for cantilevering the cranes from the upper mast tubes.

After drilling, fitting and glueing, carbon tow is used to prevent splitting.

The mastheads are filled with low density filler mainly to keep water out.

This system negates eliminates all fittings from this area where weight is extremely critical.

Octave Marblehead CAD Files

2010-06-11T14:40:00.000+10:00

Screen shots by Composite Components

BlackIce IOM Plug

2010-06-11T14:36:00.000+10:00

BlackIce IOM Plug Milling

2010-06-11T14:33:00.000+10:00

Chris Lawrence has had the first plug milled for BlackIce.

Moulds, a prototype and production boats will follow.

UAV Assembled Airframe

2010-06-11T14:10:00.000+10:00

UAV Construction

2010-06-11T14:06:00.000+10:00

UAV CAD Work

2010-06-11T13:57:00.000+10:00

CAD drafting and optimisation

40' Day Racer

2010-06-11T13:07:00.001+10:00

A study commissioned by a Sydney owner for a harbour racer/day boat.

The concept is for a very clean, simple boat easily handled by a small crew.

Cockpit size is prioritised over internal volume and accommodation.

A deep fixed keel can be retracted to reduce draught.

The hull form is of moderate beam to provide adequate form stability and cockpit space whilst maintaining balance when heeled.

Soft chines characterise the run aft but they are carefully placed in order to have minimum impact when sailing upwind.

Twin rudders are housed in 'drums' so that they can be partially or fully retracted as well as easily removed, serviced and repaired.

Consistent with the elegant, uncluttered character of the boat is the choice of rig configuration:

A cantilevered tube exits the deck and transitions to a wing profile.

Given the state of the art in composite spars, a semi-free-standing wing is an attractive solution with a favourable trade-off between aerodynamic drag and weight.

Relatively small non-overlapping headsails are hoisted on integral composite fibre stays.

Provision is made for simple aft runners to optimise forestay tension and provide additional support when hard running.

The elimination of a permanent forestay greatly simplifies downwind sail handling.

Octave Marblehead Prototype: Sheeting Run

2010-06-11T13:02:00.000+10:00

The prototype boat has as an RC tray a simple horizontal shelf spanning the hull and capturing the fin trunk.

The mainsheet enters the boat through a fairlead immediately below the boom at the sheeting point.

A simple sheeting circuit goes to a block anchored inside the hull near the transom.

The turning block is offset in order to clear the rudder tube.

Ray has been measuring out and installing the sheeting system.

The hull/deck joiner serves to reinforce the anchor point for the turning block loop.

All in-keeping with the philosophy of the design: keep the deck clean and minimise the fittings/components...

First Post

2010-05-08T17:03:00.000+10:00

Hello and welcome to the carbonicboats blog.

We are 'getting with the times' and hope to post developments and news here on a regular basis.
Feedback is welcome, as always.

It is an exciting time with the America's Cup entering a new cycle and several cool projects underway during the Australian winter.

We have selected Composite Components from Perth to create the production tooling for Octave, our International M class RC yacht.

The prototype Octave is being rigged by Ray Joyce in Tasmania. All pictures featured of this boat are provided by Ray.

The IOM Black Ice is also being readied for production.

The Patriot UAV prototype is undergoing flight testing, we have a 45' yacht concept underway and work continues on our A division catamaran development...