Editorial
Some Clarification - and One or Two Other Ideas
Forces, Facts and Moments
CAT - CHAT
Chairman Patrick Wentworth-Boyd
Secretary & Treasurer Vacancy
Editor Harry Faulkner
After a poor sailing season followed by the windiest September, the coldest October and the wettest November yet recorded, most owners, in Britain at least, will join me without regret in drawing the blinds on 1974 and looking forward hopefully to better things in 1975. I’ve just been looking again at the idyllic picture of sailing in Antigua painted by Captain Brown in last Autumn’s newsletter, and have decided that I’d emigrate there at once if it wasn’t for the prospect of a free scotch or two at the annual AGM.
All of which is a rather roundabout way of approaching two subjects, to wit emigration and the annual get-together.
First emigration. Many numbers will know already that Albert McCabe, coeditor of the Newsletter for some years and latterly secretary and treasurer and a pillar of strength to the Iroquois (and MOCRA.) fraternity, is emigrating to New Zealand. Indeed, even as this is being printed he and his family will be on board the good ship something-or-other bound for Las Palmas, Cape Town, etc. I’m sure all the very many owners who know him personally, and the many mote who know him only through correspondence and the Newsletter, will wish him the very best in his new life out there. Mike Butterfield organised a farewell party at his home in Chobham on Friday, 22nd November, and those who braved the floods and coped with the lack of signposts had a most enjoyable evening. A very nice gesture on Mike’s part. Now we can sit back and wait for an article for the Newsletter about sailing in New Zealand.
Secondly the annual get-together and AGM. As predicted in the Summer issue, this will be held, as usual, on the first Friday of the Earls Court Boat Show 3rd January 1975 at 8.30 p.m. The Venue will also, be the. same as last year, namely the Hotel Eden, 27 Harrington Gardens, London, SW7. This is to be found within a stone’s throw of Gloucester Road tube station and within five minutes walk (ten by taxi) of Earls Court. I look forward to meeting as many as possible of you there.
I’ve heard from both George Bone and Pat Boyd that the Autumn rally which George organised at Beaulieu on 21st September was a great success (for details see our Summer ‘74 issue). Some twenty five or so people were there and thoroughly enjoyed it, so we’ll hope that this will set a precedent and encourage the organisation of more such occasions to bring members together in future.
Now to turn to the business of the Newsletter. In an attempt to keep costs down, this issue is being sent out only to those owners we have heard from, apart from one or two we have just discovered - or who have discovered us. A reply slip is printed at the end of this issue for them to return with their £1 if they wish to continue to receive the Newsletter. Members who have already returned a slip from one of the last three issues please ignore this one.
Finally my thanks to those two stalwarts of the Newsletter Reg Crampton andJohn Peacock - again both have contributions in this issue. How would it survive without them? Otherwise our members in Germany, Sweden, the USA and Canada seam to be making all the running and how nice it is to get this news from all over the world. However, what about it UK owners? Remember that your articles and letters ARE the Newsletter - it can’t exist without them. Sit down and write now - you’ll forget if you leave it until manana. See you on 3rd January.
Harry Faulkner
TAQUAMENAW, #60
In my article in the Summer Newsletter I seemed to suggest raising centreboards in heavy weather. If one reduces sail considerably then centreboards are more necessary. In force 7 gusting 8 I can beat to windward making 125o between tacks with 130 sq. ft. jib but had to have both boards ¾ down and the jib sheet in reasonably hard. With boards ½ down we made little or no way to windward. Also in these conditions boards should be down when reaching or running to ease the load on the tiller.
Some figures I gave in the Summer issue need clarification. On page 10 the capsizing moment is:
27000 lbs.ft
(safe lbs/sq ft on sail)
= relative ft2 ft, and not lbs.ft, and:
ft2ft
(centre of effort above pivot point)
= ft2 or sail over
This centre of effort of sail will be reduced in height with decrease in sail area actually, varies from 17 ft. to 13 ft. Regarding the upward force of the mast head buoy ½ immersed should have been 225lbs (i.e. 450/2), not 320 lbs.
Like Dr Crampton I experienced leaks in the fresh water tank compartment area. Mine originated from holes I drilled in the transom for my morse cables. Small waves breaking around the outboard are thrown onto the transom and a continuous stream of water flows inside along the transom beam onto the double bunk and runs into the water compartment or onto the f1oor. Condensation water also spills over from the side window channels. My last source of water ingress was from the forward facing saloon windows and here leaks are occurring through the screws.
Some of the screws had worked loose, some wouldn’t fasten because they were too short. I have removed every one and filled each hole with Dow Corning (silicone rubber) before replacing. One window is completely dry now, the other window, port side, I have only just completed.
My main unsolved problem is my Johnson 40. It is a first class engine but I get fantastic radio interference from it. My marine log will not operate when I am above 3,000 revs and neither can I use the DF set. I have used suppression on the leads and suppressed plugs XJ6. My lifting rudders are stiff in their stocks and thus difficult to pull down. Especially if they lift slightly in very bad weather.
Has anyone evolved a good technique of hauling down, in a rough sea, at night?
Some time ago I was measuring my leeway angle by sighting from the front of the boat down the trailing log. It suddenly occurred to me to use a trailing drogue as a means of steering the boat. The pull cord could be split at some point into 2 arms similar to the cord on a picture. When the boat is in line the pull will be equal down each arm. When it moves off course, which it is constantly doing, a differential pull will be created and correct the boat's course. I calculated the amount of pull and found that even with a 2 lb. lead drogue a degree of amplification was necessary. The main object behind the idea was to make the device easy to make, easy to stow and cheap. Thus again I reverted to cord and after considerable thought came up with a ‘W’ form as per the diagram. At each join I used ‘sister clips’ so that the 1/8” dia. terylene cord could be wrapped up easily for storage. The technique restricts the movement of the rudder to about 4 degrees either way.
My rudder swings very freely so I damp it down with elastic running from the tiller forwards to the base of a stanchion. With this drogue system a variable mechanical advantage is produced which rapidly decreases as the course is corrected. I have calculated suitable angles to allow for maximum pull and freedom of movement. In fact the cord does stretch slightly but this is useful as it cushions the movement. The technique assists the steering of the boat. Any strong lee or weather helm must be balanced out either by adjustment of the sails or by using elastic on the tiller. This problem will be considerably simplified if the centreboards are left fully down. Sometimes I have obtained balance with a relatively loose length of elastic fastened to one end of the tiller and even then have found the degree of slackness critical. This is due to the elastic only being effective when the tillers are at the extreme of their movement. Use your compass to find your bias away from your course. Then apply corrections and note this effect.
I have found the method most useful in steady winds up to force 5 on virtually any point of sailing. It is possibly superior to a vane on running. While beating the sails will follow the changing wind direction and thus steering. The technique is also moderately useful as a steadying influence under power only.
John Peacock.
CHESHIRE CAT, 140
Having carefully worked through the calculations and comments in the last Newsletter by John Peacock I am left with considerable admiration for the great effort and thought which went into his paper. However there are a few comments which I hope will be taken as constructive rather than critical.
An offshore capsize will usually mean that a considerable sea is running. Under these conditions it is virtually impossible to:
At least I found it so.
With regard to an attempted righting by standing on the upper centreboard, this can be rather hazardous in gale conditions - though perhaps a few young 14 stone crew members could do it with ease.
On the question of bearing away when sailing on a close fetch (40o), surely the reason why the boat slows down is that the sails can no longer convert the wind energy to a driving force. Thus when the boat reaches 90o off the wind virtually all the wind energy becomes a capsizing force, assuming that the sails ate still in a close hauled position. This is the exact situation under which I capsized.
As John Peacock points out, it is difficult in any calculations to allow for the effect of waves. One can only allow a safety factor of 50% with regard to sail area and wind speed. Since adopting this, I have never come near to any thought that capsize was possible. And it is still possible to make passages at speeds which are the envy of monohulls.
Dr Reg Crampton
VAHINIE II, 74
From Ian Greer
Many thanks for the copies of the Iroquois Owner’s Association Newsletter which we have received for the last two years. As I have been remiss in forwarding you any money I herewith enclose two pounds to help defray the costs of producing the Newsletter.
Our boat’s name is ‘NISA’ and our sail number is 131. We are well on into the fourth season now with Nisa and are very pleased with her. We sail on Lake Ontario and belong to the Port Hope Yacht Club. Port Hope is sixty miles east of Toronto. My wife and I have three boys and the Iroquois suits us very well. We do quite a bit of cruising and some racing. We recently took part in the 107 mile round Prince Edward County Race and did reasonably well, for the first time in the particular race, finishing somewhere in the middle of 37 boats. We were the only multihull in the race. At one turn we were doing much better but were becalmed for two hours after getting a good lead on a 40 mile run followed by a 10 mile reach. The remainder of the race was a beat to windward and we have found that this is not her best sailing point. This is the only department in which we are disappointed having sailed monohulls for years before converting to a cat. If any of the other readers can offer any hints on how to get her pointing higher we would be very grateful. Generally speaking, we are only able to get 120 degrees between tacks.
We are in touch now and then with Jim and Edna Playfair in Midland, Ontario who are the owners of Errant (sail number 80) and Jim tells me that his new 860 S.F. spinnaker really works. With our generally lighter wind conditions we are usually interested in putting on more sail rather than reducing. We do however, concur With Mr. Dommer from Berlin when he says that the best way to avoid capsizing is to watch weather conditions carefully and to reduce sail accordingly. We have had quite a few good passages with an eight to nine knot average over sixty to seventy mi1es - with the wind on the beam.
Some year we hope to be able to attend the AGM.
Ian Greer, Ontario
NISA, 131
From Edward Drewery
As an Iroquois owner I would be interested to hear if any owner has successfully put wheel steering on his cat.
Edward Drewery, Brighton
SANTA MARGERITA, 72
(I know that a number of owners have fitted wheel. steering - would any of them like to contribute a note about it? - Ed.)
From Doug Mackay - Herewith the current state of progress on Mark 11 153 ‘Kawa’.
Work was entirely halted for 3 weekends this year when, thanks to the kindness and hospitality of two IOA members I was taken sailing. We didn’t win the Round the Island, nor did mine other host even go racing while I was there, but I did get a thorough taste of handling an Iroquois in windy weather in the Solent and will face my crew/wife with more confidence when Kawa is launched, currently planned for June 1975. With many thanks to two generous Iroquois families.
Other prospective home finishers may be interested to know that I have used no marine ply for the interior joinery. I am using pine - knotty variety - 3/8” x 3½” with V’d edges for all partitions and 1” x 6” tongued and grooved for seats and hull soles and table. Framing is in 2” x 2" or 2” x 1” where extra strength is needed. The finished effect with a top coat of malt varnish is light and warm, particularly in paraffin lamplight. It is also much cheaper to buy and easier to work particularly when trying to fit an intricate shape into an awkward corner. All fitting is done on the ‘offering up’ principle. Kawa will be here until June so anyone who would like to see her can give me a ring to check on dates and come.
Anyway, the heads were completed in April, the port forward bench by mid June and then work started from scratch in the starboard hull. Floors were already in (from the previous October - as the first job after completing all outside woodwork - in teak and oak) and Sailcraft had propped the sink in place, but the cabin sole had to go in, followed by the forward bench extension. I built the chart table / seat with my crew/wife’s patented folding leg to support the forward edge.
Now in late November, with the help of a very old and noisy room heater - and at enormous expense - I am varnishing the whole lot.
The mast I got for a song - no, two songs - from Andy Anderson of Aerosail fame. It will be stuffed top and tail with teak so that boom and masthead fittings can be screwed on. Incidentally I plan to use soft eyes for all masthead stays and loop them right over the plug - saves a lot of expensive stainless steel - but means I won’t have mast head buoyancy. The luff groove will be ABS tube glued on with Bonoprene and slit in situ.
The boom is to be spruce 2” x 4” with stiffeners glued and screwed to the 4” faces. Then will be shaped to fill the belly of the sail when roller reefing. The main will be loose footed using 2’ of mainsheet track and traveller block to adjust the outhaul tension and the curve of the foot.
I plan to use galvanised wire for the shrouds and back stays, stainless for the twin forestays, Marina Braidline for all running rigging and a Johnson 20 fitted to the outboard motor bracket/box.
Kawa will be blessed in time and launched a day or two later when I’m sober again. If I make this timing, it will have taken me 26 months - somewhat longer than a Pat Boyd or an Ian Bailey but fun all the way.
Although my business career has thrived on unacknowledged plagiarism it is only fair to give credit to:
Doug Mackay, Sevenoaks
KAWA, 153
From Edward Boyle
We were vary pleased to receive a copy of the IOA Newsletter, having heard about it but never before having seen a copy. Thank you for sending it.
We purchased sail number 75, formerly owned by Mr A Schaverien, and have it on the Chesapeake Bay, 10 miles north of Baltimore, Maryland. We understand that Mr Schaverien has purchased a Cherokee. There are several of the Iroquois on the Chesapeake, and we have often seen sail number 122, which is owned by the Heatons. The boat is fine in the Bay, although it could often use a little more sail, especially in midsummer, when the wind is often quite light. There have been times, however, when there was enough wind to require careful handling. The windward hull can come up out of the water pretty rapidly if you are not careful.
On page 7 of the Newsletter there is a reference to ‘B Schaverien nearly capsized in a Force 6’. We would be very interested to know if that experience was with the Lady Rachel. Incidentally we decided that we could not improve on that name, so the boat is still named Lady Rachel.
Have any Iroquois been capsized and then righted and continued to be used? The word ‘capsized’ in the listing of boats seems to be a terminal condition.
Please keep us on the mailing list for the Newsletter. $3 is enclosed to help defray the expense.
Edward Boyle, Maryland, USA
Lady Rachel, 75
(We printed a contribution about a year ago from Mr Schaverien about this episode. It took place during a race from Newton Ferrers, Devon round the Eddystone light, and presumably while sailing ‘Lady Rachel’. Unfortunately we have no copies. Re. penultimate paragraph, M Gilbert Lerouge of Cherbourg restored ‘Catchant' formerly owned - and capsised - byDr Reg Crampton. Any others? Ed.)
From James Playfair
We do enjoy the IOA Newsletter. It is almost our only contact with other Iroquois owners, as we are the only cat owners in our part of tile country. We have been doing a bit of racing now with our local club. They are using a Portsmouth type system of handicapping. Our problem is they think we are too fast, and rate us - we think - very badly, a rating of 78. Could you advise, what an Iroquois with a spinnaker would rate under Portsmouth. We came across a list some time ago which indicated it would be about 83.
I would appreciate any information very much, to help us know how our boat should be rated. Perhaps other Iroquois Owners are having similar problems, if they are in clubs with mixed fleets. Incidentally ours is the standard cruising rig.
James Playfair, Ontario, Canada
ERRANT, 80
(Could Sailcraft, or one of our racing experts, supply me with an authoritative list of ratings for Marks I and II with various sail plans, etc. I could then include this information in the next issue. Ed.)
From Terkel Kjellberg
I got your Newsletter of Autumn 1973 and found it very stimulating and interesting, So now I wonder if I can get all the previous letters and all the future ones. Since I don’t know how to pay for them I am sending a Swedish 10 crown bill which you might get changed in a bank, I hope. My introducer is Dr Lennart Hahn, Gothenburg, who sailed with me some weeks one summer, and the next he went to England and bought sail number 50. I bought my boat, sail number 24, secondhand in 1968. It was rigged expertly and sailed singlehanded to Sweden - by Bjorn Atterburg who has a good reputation as an alround and cunning sailor. Therefore I have waited and had a lot of thorough thinking before every change. I am myself utterly amateurish, I had to learn from the very beginning. Now I almost think that my little boat is beginning to get ‘ship shape’ and maybe I have found something of interest for other Iroquois owners. Here you are:
First of all I had to fix new sheeting points on the cabin top. Headsail II sheeted so and some rolls in the main and she points her very best to windward and is very easy to handle - hard weather of course.
The jib halyard is drawn back to a small winch on cabin top near cockpit and with a clam cleat it is very easy to hoist and ease away the head sail.
As you can see from the drawing I have rigged a bowsprit which can be made to point to starboard or port, even if the sail is up. I can haul it down tight to stretch the masthead stay. In moderate and light winds this light and big masthead genoa is my favourite sail, hoisted high so that I have good visibility all around, which in my opinion is very convenient.
The pulpits are new for this year. I can walk up on them and have now got a long wished for feeling of comfort and security.
The motor is connected with the rudders with two lines - taut when motor is down, slack when up. Thus the motor follows the rudder giving immensely increased manoeuvrability.
I do no racing, only family cruising. Nevertheless the log did point on 18 knots in a rough sea last year. I assure you that I was awake and I was impressed and we did impress (eskader sailing). Now at last I have got a hint that my boat is very tough! I always sail ‘safety first’.
Mr Noden of Myers Beach - did you tighten your stay and shrouds as hard as before?
You wilt have to excuse my bad english but I am a ‘foreigner’!!
Terkel Kjellberg, Laholm, Sweden
JEN-JEN, 24
From A J Zoutendijk
I purchased earlier this year, an Iroquois catamaran from Dr M Finn of 38 Kinross Avenue, Hurlingham, Johannesburg, but unfortunate1y he left for Europe soon afterwards and I have very little information about the yacht. She is, I understand, 9.50 meters LOA and there is something which indicates that she is 2,940 tons (T.M.) but this is in writing merely on a piece of paper and I cannot be sure. She was bought by Dr Finn from Sailcraft Limited in May 1970 and I am enclosing a photostat copy of the Lloyds Register of Shipping which gives other details.
Would you please be so kind as to send me all the necessary forms, if any, for membership of the Association and perhaps indicate where I can get more information regarding the vessel. At the moment she is moored in Lorenco Marques but I hope to sail her around Cape Town and possibly to the Mediterranean in the not too distant future. Many supposedly experts have told me that it would be sheer folly taking a catamaran on the high seas, but I find this difficult to accept.
I would also very much like to obtain the plans of the yacht and would appreciate it if you could assist me in this matter. No doubt you will have some back information regarding the Iroquois catamaran; perhaps an association magazine or any yachting journal which will give further information. Would you please be so kind as to post anything that you think relevant to me by airmail and I will most certainty let you have a cheque by return of post.
A J Zoutendijk, Johannesburg
SLE, 109
(I’m sure Sailcraft, Brightlingsea, Essex, would be pleased to answer any queries Mr Zoutendijk has about the construction of his Iroquois. Meanwhile if he completes the reply slip and sends his £1 we will continue to send him the Newsletter. Ed.)
From Robert H. Krentel
The last Newsletter received by me was the Autumn 1973 issue. Since I have a new address please accept my cheque of $5 to cover the cost of the 1974 issue plus any publication that might have gone astray since 1973. I am particularly interested in receiving the most current issue of Iroquois owners and addresses - especially those in the Chesapeake Bay area.
Since delivery of our Volante, class number 135, we have berthed her at Davis Creek on the Cherter River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore - Chesapeake Bay. The area is beautiful, primitive and uncrowded, and we have found Volante ideal for cruising the often shallower bays and inlets which abound in this part of the world. In order to compensate for the generally light air to be found in July and August we have added a 180% drifter (175 oz) as well as opening port lights in the fore cabins for added ventilation. The drifter is a great success on most points of sailing including a close reach, and we shall install opening ports for the aft cabins for improved ventilation in appropriate spaces.
We find that a 12.9 hp extra long shaft Chrysler electric start engine is adequate for average bay conditions and will provide about 5.2 knots at ¾ throttle unless we are weathering a heavy chop.
Almost all of our sailing friends are in monohulls so that our pleasures have centered around cruising rather than racing. We presently know two Iroquois owners in the area (John Holter and Ted Boyd) and look forward to meeting more, thus my interest in the owner listings.
Robert H. Krentel, Glenmoore, USA
VOLANTE, 135
From David Broad
I have recently become co-owner of the Iroquois Mark I, number 1 - the original cold moulded prototype. I would be very interested in hearing about the association, its benefits and what we can contribute towards it. I look forward to hearing from you with interest.
David Broad, Cheltenham.
From Paul Cheney
I recently learned of your association from Mr Warren Noden (Iroquois Sail number 58). Earlier this year I purchased Mr Quinton Whitmire’s Iroquois sail number 105, and am very anxious to join, if I may, your association.
In addition, another local Iroquois owner would also like to join, he is Mr John Armstrong also of Florida.
No doubt as with many other prospective new members, we are very anxious to learn more about our craft and the experiences of others, as well as to share our own comments with association members. I believe Mr Armstrong recently returned from a cruise to the Bahamas in his Iroquois. If you have not already been informed by Warren Noden or Ellis Schofield, at the August 31st and 1st September - our Labour Day holiday weekend - Summerset Regatta, which consists of two races, one from Fort Meyers Beach to Naples (31st), and the second from Naples to Marco Island (1st), of 71 starters 5 were multihulls, 3 of which Iroquois - a good showing we felt, so far from home!
If previous issues of your Newsletters are available from the association or its individual members, either for purchase or to borrow, both Mr Armstrong and myself are very interested in obtaining such copies.
In the one Newsletter I was fortunate enough to borrow from Mr Noden (Summer 1973), mention was made of subscription funds to offset publication and postal expenses. Enclosed herewith is a subscription contribution for both Mr. Armstrong and myself.
Paul Cheney, Florida, USA
From Bob Dick
Many thanks for sending me the summer newsletter. I am quite sure it will be of great interest to me although my chances of taking any part in your club activities are obviously limited.
As you will know there are very few 'catamariners' in Scotland - there is so much deep water available I suppose! It would always be of interest to be put in touch with anyone either intending to visit, or indeed resident in, this area.
Bob Dick, Fairlie
ROSE MARIE, 44
From G Foers
My cat is now at San Feliu on the Costa Brava, on the hard for the winter. Our usual sailing waters have been the Wash and the Humber, with holidays to Holland 1970, West Scotland 1971, and I have two 350 hp Pentas which, cut down my sailing speed a little, finding that getting over the hump speed of 8 knots requires a force 4, then anything goes!! My friends don‘t believe the economy of those motors - ¾ gallon per hour at 6 knots - which I find reliable too.
I have one or two ideas fitted to Geronimo which I could write about for the Newsletter if you get short of material.
G Foers, Rotherham
GERONIMO, 47
Lets have your ideas by all means - we’re always short of material. Ed.
From James Turner
I am still, a novice with cats. I took delivery of my Mk2a from Brightlinngsea last March, spent most of the summer on the South Coast with a couple of Channel crossings and then round to Dale in Milford Haven, a trip across to Ireland and I am now home for the winter day sailing out of Penarth.
James Turner, Penarth
TWFF, 161
From Georg Wolf - Iroquois in Germany
I am the owner of the high seas catamaran Iroquois Mark II number 143 since May 1972
I was extremely pleased to have received your information at the beginning of this year and again in July. I would be pleased if you would keep me posted with them. My English is not good enough to write, but you will certainly have an opportunity to have this translated.
My family, we have four children aged between 10 and 14, and friends are very frequently sailing in German and Dutch waters, but also we venture as far as the northern North Sea to Denmark and Sweden. We collecte the boat ourselves from the wharf in Brightlingsea and prior to crossing the Channel we first took it to London. We love sailing the catamaran and I can confirm that there is an increasing number of them to be seen in our area. They are chiefly from Sail Craft, but also from other makers, and when in harbour with other catamarans friendships are very quickly formed. Catamariners are a race on their own, and not the worst one!
We are intending to buy a larger type, since we find the external motor inadequate and would prefer an internal diesel. In our area a motor is indispensable, as we have strong currents here.
Kind regards, and perhaps I may be coming to the meeting of the Association during the Boat Show in London in 1975. Enclosed 10 SFrs. to cover expenses.
Georg Wolf
HOCHSEE, 143
From Jurgen Martin - Another trip to Germany
Thank you for sending me the Newsletter of Autumn 1973. I am surprised and pleased to hear about the existence of the society of Iroquois owners. Unfortunately my English is inadequate so that I have written in German. I assure you that I am very interested in the continued existence of the society and I shall endeavour to take an active part in the solution of the problems which present themselves to us as Iroquois owners.
I have sailed my Iroquois, Bally Mena II, #168, at the beginning of September 1973 from Brightlingsea via the North Sea to Kiel. Since I had previously owned a small keelboat, it was my first voyage with a catamaran and I was very impressed by its heavy weather qualities. For the voyage from Brightlingsea to Heligoland it took us - Rod, and Englishman, and Ditta, my fiance and myself - 56 hours. We sailed the whole time under a south-west windforce of between 8 and 9 and were forced to sail two hours "at the height of Terschelling with top and tackle" as the speed of the boat under stormjib became so fast that there was some danger of it getting out of control. However, at no time did we feel uncertain.
Unfortunately, I cannot tell you of any further experiences since on arrival in Kiel we moored the boat there and I am, in fact, living in Munich. For this year we are planning a journey to Sweden and Norway. The only disadvantages which I could ascertain so far on the catamaran are:
The badly cut mainsail from 'Seahorse'. Already after two days such a large 'belly' formed in the front third, so that the sail can hardly be used in high winds. The same problem - as I gather from your Newsletter - that was encountered by John Holter from Pennsylvania, USA. I too returned the sail and hope it will be recut. Furthermore I consider it important that it should be provided with two rows of reefing points so that the mainsail can be shortened with a tied reef as the roller reefing equipment did not function already at first trial.
My two swords* are making such a clatter in their sword cupboards that it is impossible to get any sleep. Perhaps someone can tell me what I can do about that?
After my summer journey I will send you a detailed report.
With kind regards
Jurgen Martin
BALLY MENA II, 168
* This is exactly as it was translated for me and I thought it was too good to change. I guess it means centreboards rattling in their cases.
Since I own a Mark I with non-rattling centreboards the only suggestion I can offer is sleeping pills. However, I do know that centreboards do rattle on some Mark IIs, so has anybody a more serious suggestion? Ed
