The New Zealand scow Moth is a one-design adaptation of the Len Morris Mk II Moth design though the rules were loose enough that they pushed the original Mk II lines around a bit. (An astute observer could also say that the Bethwaite design, Northbridge Junior, is also another adaptation of the Mk II scow.) Cockpit design on the New Zealand Moth is wide open and I came across these recent photos of the fleet of New Zealand Moths at Stewarts Gully, NZ. Some very inventive hiking arrangements here.
Three New Zealand Moths bow-on. It looks like 958 has shortened the luff of his sail to get a fat-head top.
A concave cockpit with stand-up rounded decks for hiking. The New Zealand Mothies do seem enamored with sticking wind indicators on the foredeck.
Another concave cockpit with semicircular hiking bumps. A nice long lever vang.
This one has narrow side decks just barely raised from the cockpit floor.
A conventional cockpit design with a repair just aft or where the skipper sits. A second layer of ply reinforcing (lightened with circular cut-outs) was supposed to be strong enough but doesn't look like it was up to the task.
Another shallow side-deck. I like the contrasting colors.
A more severe concave deck with shallow raised bumps for hiking.
You really, really have to work hard on the plywood to get this kind of double curve.
John Hanson and son are building a New Zealand Moth in Maine.
Nice pics. I used to own number 962 way back in the early 80's, sadly not shown in your pics. Even back then all the rigs had the square topped sails, and a lot of time was spend putting the battens in before each race. And the reason for the windex on the foredeck was twofold. first we sailed in shallow waters and capsizing would get your mast stuck in the mud, which would wipe out the windex. And second, you wanted to keep your eyes forward to avoid burying the bow. A bad move in the scow design!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the explanation on the foredeck Windex. Makes sense now. Since I'm further into my dotage, and not into bashing around in big waves, big courses; a weekend regatta in a NZ Moth at Stewarts Gully SC would be really appealing - as one of the items on a bucket list.
ReplyDeleteThe Dish type cockpit is always the easiest to build but lack security for demanding tacking duels and violent gybes. It is also prone to knee damage whereas the conventional design will cope with knee impact better. The damaged conventional cockpit was the aftermath of a collision with an 8-man+cox rowing skiff, which wrote the skiff off! 64K worth of damage to the skiff, whilst the moth cost $20 bucks to repair!
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