The Tasar v the Icon

Mike,
I was lucky in that I knew already that there was a reasonable degree of freedom in the layout and set up. Actually, with the exception of the sheeting set up for the main and the provision of a thwart for the crew, the boat (as already said) was well presented. I'm keen to try it at Netley in the estuarial 'slop' that we get.... maybe do some 2 boat working up with the one at Warsash!

All joking aside now, iGRF's feedback will be interesting as he is at the other end of the weight range. If.... (again, a big if) but if the sums add up, then we should both be happy!

But well done all the same,

D

As the other part of the 110yrs in the Icon today, I would say that I was seriously impressed with it's performance, simplicity and functionality. My personal preference of mainsheet arrangement would have been different, but that did not detract from positive first impression I had.  The option of a thwart I think is a plus. Do they come with disposable ones for when the wind picks up?

Do they come with disposable ones for when the wind picks up?

Not quite ..... We did consider 'industrial grade' velcro but opted in the end for polysulhide mastic.  Anyway - no holes in hull / deck mounding are required and it can be removed with a bit of time and care.  The standard advise Cirus  gives prospective owners is try it 'without' for a few weeks knowing that you can easily fit one later if you feel the need.

We emulated the way most modern NS14s were run in some of the early prototype work - and decided, at least for us, that their approach (without) offered advantages once you got to understand the boat.   It all depends on what you have sailed previously or prefer.   I think maybe 50% will opt for a conventional thwart in the boat but 2/3rds plus will learn and adapt to 'off the boom sheeting' .... All this really is your choice.

Mike L.

PS - I forgot about the Graduate - Oops !    Perhaps the Firefly and Tasar could usefully run experiments / trials with the dangly - not much to lose and quite lot to gain imo.  Might be a bit more of challenge with a rotating mast though on the Tasar.   Dangle poles can be very inexpensive and retrofitted easily enough.

Well we had a right battle royale tonight, now bear In mind I'm in a new boat with a new guy I'd never sailed with, a new member down from Chipstead. I'm going to start with all the bad things and there are loads of them. For starters what is it with that zip jib system that's knaff, I couldn't get anywhere near enough jib entry tension, not happy with that, in fact the whole jib is the boats weak point imv but more of that later.
Then there's the 'slippy' factor, I'm sliding around like a bar of soap on an ice rink, I swear to God wing wang's tipped her suntan lotion all over everything, or there's still release agent, my splitties are in their super grippy phase but even they were skating about the floor and the none slip - it aint.
Then putting it together, the muppets have left a frayed end on the main sheet that had to be sorted, and I wasn't quite sure how to rig that sheeting system, but cobbled something together, it's rear sheeted, but with just one block on the boom and another on the floor, nowhere to cleat it which made tacking for someone who's used to dropping the sheet in the cleat to change hands, very difficult without the spinning about doing a triple salko on the ice rink as you go through.
We managed to cope with the crew taking the sheet to ensure we got sheeted in quick enough, but fumbled about at the start and ended up second rank, after the b**tards tried to luff us over and we had to duck down under them. I hate the kicker being where it is and having to operate it left handed on Port, this off boom crap, I'm not loving it at all.

Now having said all that and in tricky North Easterly gusty sh*tty wind with a bit of a tide racing, we managed to hold off the Merlin, they got by us a couple of times on the down wind leg, with their kite, but we managed to hunt a couple of better shifts upwind and clawed the lead back to finish a few boat lengths ahead after a very enjoyable and very knackering battle, I'm having to have a bit of a lie down whilst writing this.

It's a surprisingly lively boat, something compared to the Alto you feel on the Edge with, if it's not the fear of death rolling on the down wind leg running the dangly pole by the lee, or the rolling up on a tight reach in the gusts. (We're collectively 142 kgs a tad on the light side).

The course was two broad reach/runs and a tight 2nd reach on the triangle, so they had the off wind advantage with their kite and reeled us in when the wind lulled. We had a couple of moments when the acceleration kicked in, she does go when she gets her tail up, I was probably stood too far back most of the time, sailing a bit defensively, new boat and all that, but once over the hump of a wave, that slicey nose cuts deep and stops you dead, so some running up and down is needed, but not until the slippery surface is dealt with.

She's very sensitive to balance that jib, it's very easy to get wrong and we were playing with it a lot, but it's easy to feel when you're starving it by over sheeting, I didn't mess with the barbara things, i think maybe we should have them back a bit if you're crewing in gusty stuff you do tend to hang on to the sheet and naturally over sheet and being light stuffing it is a defensive move in the gusts, but if you keep an eye on the main which does get backed by the jib, you get the power on and it doesn't seem to me to be a boat that likes to be stuffed and heeled, it works better when it's flat. having said that a couple of times we heeled it and got the tide on the lee bow and took ten boat lengths out of the Merlin riding the inside of a lift and the right side of the tide, so I'm not totally certain, one race aint enough to call it, but I got in it, with a new crew and finished first over the water, so it can't be all that bad can it?
Imagine what someone good and heavier could have done, if the Merlin truly is 990 then we sailed it to 989.

Not enough to take the Laser of course and at 969 we finished third once the spreadsheet had cut in.

I'm looking forward to another go.

After I've waxed it of course.

Edited by iGRF - 24 Jul 14 at 11:09pm

"Ice rink"