Classic Moth Plans: Zippy Sections in PDF format

Plans de voiliers classiques Moth, Plans de dériveur classique Moth

I published the Zippy Classic Moth offsets back in August of this year. Here are the sections in PDF format, 1/7 scale (for comparison the WL are spaced at 60 mm and the buttocks are spaced at 150 mm. If you print the page out it should be suitable to build a model out of cardboard (or if you are really ambitious, balsa). Print the page out in landscape to get the proper scale. (To print or download, move your mouse over to the right top app bar, click on the upward facing arrow icon to open the PDF in another tab. You can print or download from there.)

Arabian Dhows and the Leech-Tacker

A very interesting video of Arabian dhows racing off a Kenyan resort. They sport a lateen rig, boomless and attached to a bowsprit. In watching these craft tack there are one or two crew whose job I designate as the leech-tackers. Their job is to hang onto to the leech to help the sail get around in front of the fore-gaff, a fair distance since the sail is tacked to a bowsprit. Not only do they hang on to get the sail around, they hang on until they are well outboard on the leeward side. Picking the opportune moment, the leech-tacker drops into the water, hopefully close enough to the side to haul himself onboard before the dhow gets going.

These are not planing boats. Offwind they merrily plow along with a fair number of the crew camping out at the bow. Watching the crew scamper up and down the smallish round trunk planks is also entertaining.

(At the 2:31 mark a bowman just barely saves himself from pitching off the bowsprit while going downwind.)



Boat Excursions Around Lamu Archipelago from The Majlis Resort Lamu, Kenya on Vimeo.

Beer: Happy Boxing Day with the "Merry Maker"

Nothing says the holiday more than a couple of large cubes of fruitcake washed down with the Sam Adams Gingerbread Stout, the Merry Maker. (Sorry my Classic Moth friends, my only bottle will be devoured tonight. None left for our holiday gathering tomorrow - it's all about me!)

The Transoms of E-City

Nothing gives the flavor of the Classic Moth class more than to wander around Pugh's lawn at Elizabeth City taking pictures of transoms. There cannot be a more diversified racing dinghy class going anywhere in the world. Here are some (not all) of the various sterns at the 2013 event.


The Skip Etchells designed Connecticut Moth (designed 1948).

The flattish transom from the Olympic Europe.

The early 1950's Mint design (boxy, slightly rounded).

The circular transom of the stock Mistral. Builder/skipper is Mike Parsons.

The flattish transom of the one-off Lane Reeves modified Savannah Mistral.

The modern looking transom of the 1960's John Shelly design (definitely one of the innovators during the 1960's). I have been told that he tried to patent the distinctive inward curve to the topside panel at the stern.

For further study, George A. has on-the-water photos of Classic Moth transoms over at his Mid-Atlantic Musings blog.

Music Whenever: "Life's a Long Song", Cover by Andrea Vercesi

I'm back. Therefore I must have purchased a new computer. Indeed, and this new piece of hardware is a whizbang at loading YouTube videos at a rapid clip, eclipsing my former machine that was stuttering and sputtering on handling a video feed. With this greater speed I spent a glorious two hour nostalgia trip (blogger George calls this "slob setimentality"), browsing YouTube videos of some of my favorite music artists from my college days. (I had a sparse LP collection back then; not possessing a record player and relying on friends to play my albums.) In this manner of net-mind-wasting, jumping from link-to-link, I came across this great home grown cover of one of my favorite Ian Anderson songs (Jethro Tull).

Header Photo: The Ladies, Back in the Sea Snark

The previous header photo was of the two intrepid sisters racing the Sea Snark in the Archipelago Rally in New England. They were back again in the Sea Snark for the 2013 Rally. This is my kind of goofy regatta with all kinds of small sailing craft, dinks, canoes, catboats, some odd Frankenboats, some just useful (i.e - maybe not racing) smallboats. I covered the 2012 Rally in this post, including the stellar video the sisters put together. They put together another great video this year.



One of the founders of this sailing Woodstock, Chris Museler, has a report on the 2013 Rally over here. One of these days I'd like to put this on my fall calender.

Blog on Hiatus

My desktop died last week. Not unexpected as it was getting long in the tooth in PC years. I am left at present with an even more ancient laptop that goes into paroxysms of unexplained disk thrashing when accessing the Internet. Seems like a good juncture to take a break from feeding this beast and work on some other projects.

Will be back....just not sure when. Tweezerman