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So why'd I pick the BR?

Posted 1 year, 2 months ago

So why'd I pick the BR?
I think it is a step forward in terms of current designs ideas. Whether it is faster will be proved on the race track. Clearly designs on paper are simply just pipedream till proven on the water. Whether it is as strong as the prowler will be a question of time. I think it will be. The moths that have been built to date have been one man builders on a relatively small scale, whereas the BR has far more personnel involved. This should speed up development.The hull is fairly standard to the untrained eye. Hopefully it will be strong enough and light enough which is clearly a balancing act. Frankly I think it will be. They seem to have learnt lots since the first prototype and by all accounts the latest boat that Rohan has seems to have received excellent reports, even from people who are not BR fans.The no-flap rudder has less drag, and so long as the control through the twist grip is efficient then I see no reason why this is not better. Sailing the M3 I was always concerned about the exact angle of the rudder flap, and I definitely could feel the difference when it was wrong. Fixing the flap will free the mind!The “bull-bus” bow on the foils will hopefully reduce drag around the joint for the two foils. It is probably what looks most different to other foils.I wasn’t that keen on the gantry at first. Clearly it holds water on take-off but it has an advantage when foiling and touching down into the water (such as when the transom skims). Overall I don’t see it as anything major, plus’ on one side and negatives on the other.The racks are without doubt better than current wings. The taper on the front wing bar is less drag and looks cool.I also like the little touches, like the airbag built into the tramps.The Prowler is strong and unlikely to break, which will also be an advantage, but I question if the foils are as well suited to Garda as Lintons or the BR [yet unproven]? Without doubt the Fastacraft foils produce more lift than the smaller Fullforce foils that I had, but more lift is more drag in the breeze. The Fullforce foils are very fast in a straight line. However despite this, there is a marked difference between flat out speed and actual speed around the race course. Although the smaller foils can produce a higher potential top speed, I think it is a balance, with bigger foils being an advantage out of tacks… off the line… upwind... and so on.Of course it is a gamble to switch, but I think it is a worthy gamble. We’ll know at Garda! People are already speculating over who will win the worlds this year. I’m not going to get drawn into that, but I think the winner will be a Prowler or a BR sailor. Hopefully BR!!! Full Story »

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