Seen at the 2018 Sailboat Show: the Minicat Guppy

Given the millennial's desire to store things in their apartments (see this post, Whither the Millennials), the models of inflatable sailboats continues to expand. (I previously wrote about the Tiwal inflatable sailing dinghy from the 2016 Sailboat Show.) At this year's show it was the small Minicat Guppy catamaran, a 3 meter inflatable that continues to expand the market selection for knock-down small boats. I took two photos but didn't hang around to talk to the salesman so I didn't get an idea on U.S.A. pricing. (More info at the above link.)

I've dragged this comment from Nail Sadykov to the main post. Nail says the Russian and Ukraine sailors have been designing inflatable sailboats for a while and the technology is advanced.

"English language link, with several different models; From Boatdesign.net. And from a Russian forum. New Ukrainian boat. Possibly, next year in Everglades challenge or R2AK race. In ex-USSR existed a long tradition of inflatable, demountable boats, suitable for transportation by passenger train or other public transport."

This year I did come across a rather forlorn, inflatable SUP, somewhat deflated, on a car roof rack. My guess is this particular boat owner assembled the SUP early in the summer, strapped it on his car for the duration of the summer months, and hit it with some air pressure when he wanted to use it.

• Seen at the 2018 Sailboat Show: the UFO.
• Seen at the 2016 Sailboat Show: the X-Cat

Europe Dinghy: 2018 Europeans

Every once-in-a-while I throw some love out at our most popular Classic Moth, the Europe Dinghy. Not quite fifteen years after losing Olympic standing, the Europe Dinghy remains a popular singlehander in Europe. The following video is some good hi-speed action from Race 2 of the 2018 European Championship on Lake Garda.



And the Race 3 video has more slo-mo and close-in shots of competitors.



Although you won't see any at a major championship, there are some very beautiful wooden Europe Dinghies. And Classic Moth plans over here.

Seen at the 2018 Sailboat Show: the UFO

I've already posted about the UFO, the Clark design, short LWL catamaran entry into the foiling market. At this years Annapolis Sailboat Show, I was able to look at the UFO on the stand with the rig up and also watch it sail out of the harbor (they were giving demo rides at the show). Unfortunately, in my short time at the Sailboat Show, I only was able to see the UFO sailing in lowrider mode. According to Dave Clark they have now produced 200 UFO's and shipped all over the world.

Lowrider Mode. The bowsprit holds the wand which automatically controls ride height.

This is a big rig on a short hull, but, then again, the hull is not in the equation when foiling.

Modern fat-head, clear mylar mainsail.

A brilliant solution to constructing the wishbone boom. The front end is attached to the outboard end of the jumpers on the mast. You can use straight tubing and still get the wishbone away from the sail and the wishbone also adds leverage to get the mast to rotate in-line with the sail.

Another shot of the end of the wishbone attached to the jumpers.

Bertrand Warion's Swiss Moth: A Dunand Variant?

Moth Classique

The Classic Moth crowd here in the U.S is all abuzz about Swiss Moths, particularly the Swiss Dunand design of the early 1960's, as this design, in the hands of Joe Bousquet, just won the U.S. Nationals, breaking an almost 20 year string of wins by the Mistral design. This post isn't about Bosquet's Swiss Dunand design (more about that in a later post), but rather about the fiberglass Swiss Moth which Bertrand Warion sailed at the French Moth gathering this past September. It seems to be another design variant which is always intriguing to a Classic Moth design geek like me. But a variant on what?

When I first looked at a photo of this Moth taken from above I thought, looking at the decks (which Bertrand installed), early Europe Dinghy (Europa) but when Bertrand sent more photos it is obvious this design is from the deep-V family, i.e. the Duflos or Mistral. Bertrand clarified in a follow-up email that it is a round-bilged variant on the Swiss Dunand design. However Bertrand's Dunand looks very much smaller than the American one that Joe Bousquet has just refurbished; Bertrand's looks almost like it was squished to fit into a Europe Dinghy deck mold.

In this photo you can see in the reflections how the topsides fold up in a soft chine from the midships aft. The original Dunand design has a topside chine in approximately the same area.

Bertrand's Moth has the shallow-V transom of the Dunand.

The rocker line looks very similar to a Mistral.

Bertrand finished the shell with his own decking in wood. The side tanks look tiny which is the old-style look. This definitely makes a commodious cockpit at the expense of more water sloshing about in a seaway.

Had to add this shot of Bertand's Dunand with the Cruising Moth in the background. Looks like raising the anchor can be somewhat precarious on the Cruising Moth

Do you know your way to Pondicherry?

This is somewhat old news. I received an email back in May from Filio Shiavina that a group in Pondicherry (south-east corner of India) were building eight Y2K Mistral Classic Moths. We received a photo of the first one being spray painted. Lionel Mallard and son Nat, who own the Ultramarine boatyard are supporting the Moth building effort and I assume the following photo was from their shop. Since then no further news/pics have surfaced.

Update, October 26, 2018: Joe Bousquet, who is on Instagram, came across several photos of the launch of one of the Pondicherry Mistrals, sans rudder. Seems like 15 year old Siam Mallard couldn't wait to build a rudder and launched his Moth with just a paddle for steering. The last photo had him a fair distance from the launching site. Oh, the courage of youth.
 

Filio has been working on a 3D modeling of this mod Mistral. He noted one discrepancy in the offsets given in the post. We await some pretty 3D pictures of his work.

For those who like their geography, here is the Google Map for Pondicherry (officially Puducherry in India).

Header Photo: Three Moths from the Sucé-sur-Erdre Get-together

Moth Classique

The previous header photo featured three Classic Moths from the 2018 French get-together on the River Erdre, just above the city of Nantes. From the left, David Balkwill sailing a 1940's Nantais Moth, Jean-Yves, sailing his homebuilt Moth (built when he was 12; I'm guessing the 1960's), and on the right is Jean-Jacques Cadoret in the 1960's cruising Moth, Moth Béarnais de Camping.

Scow Moth Rendezvous: Albert Park Lake

A week ago, six Classic (non-wing) Aussie scow Moths made it out on the small lake in the Melbourne city park, Albert Park.



Details are sketchy but they raced in the first of the summer series racing. (It seems if it is fall in my neck of the woods in the Northern Hemisphere then it must be spring in Australia - but if they call it a summer series, then so be it.)

Rigging area. Not sure what the designs of these scow Moth they are but I imagine they are of the Imperium time-frame.

The original Len Morris Olive made it outside the museum. Next to her is the Len Morris Mk II.

The scow Moths started with a Europe dinghy and a Laser Radial. We see a Solo dinghy and Sabre dinghy in the background, waiting for their start.

Some racing pics:

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Phil Johnson in his painstakingly restored Peter Cole Mouldie design.

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Photos originally appeared in Scow Moth Club group on Facebook.

Header Photo: Classic Moths upwind; 2017 U.S.. Nationals

The previous header photo is an upwind leg of the 2017 Classic Moth Nationals at E-City. It was light wind that year and it appears to be light wind again this year. The 2018 Nationals are going on as I type this blogpost. They were postponed one month because of Hurricane Florence. I'm not attending because I've lost my racing motivation at the moment.

Les Moths Classique: Les Rendez-vous de l’Erdre

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Blog post on the original French Moth get together, the 2001 Moth design competition sponsored by the French magazine "Le Chasse Marée".

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To celebrate the 90th birthday of the Moth class, seven very different Classic Moths of the French section gathered at Sucé-sur-Erdre, mid September, for a congenial get-together. Though racing was not the central reason for this rendezvous, there was some racing in very light air. Sucé-sur-Erdre is about 15 km north of the city of Nantes. Nantes is considered the traditional center of Mothboating in France as it was there that 150 of the Nantais Moth were built during World War II. Bertrand Warion sent along a report and photos and I poached some photos from David Balkwill (who I think is an English expat living in France) that were posted on Facebook.

Bertrand Warion stumbled upon this Moth as a shell in Switzerland twelve years ago. She is a version of the Swiss Dunand design. The hull is glass and Bertrand got her back on the water with some new wooden decks and a Europe Dinghy rig.

Philippe Meunier

Calimero, owned by Jean-Jacques Cadoret, is a French cruising Moth from the 1960's; a "Moth Béarnais de Camping". George did this blogpost on the history of the French camping Moth. Lots of package in a small form, I can see this Moth being an ideal weekend gunkholer for river exploring.

Philippe Meunier

Crocodile is flat bottomed Moth, designed and built by Charentais Olivier about five years ago.

Philippe Meunier

You need some flat, wide sections to make the "Moth Béarnais de Camping" work. You can see the metal keelband up forward to protect the hull on beach landings and the use of a centerboard.

Bertrand Warion

The Moth owned by Jean-Yves. Named Felix, he built this Moth when he was 12 years old. It was designed by his father and from this shot shows some relationship to the British Moth.

Philippe Meunier

On the left is Julia, a Moth designed and built by Didier Leveille for the 2001 Moth design competition, sponsored by nautical magazine, "Le Chasse Marée". On the right is Calimero, the cruising Moth.

Bertrand Warion

Julia at speed (most likely the fastest she went during the mostly windless weekend). Didier designed Julia somewhat after the Laser with flat sections throughout. I do like the artistic sail logos. I'll have to find out what they mean. A photo of Julia's sections here.

Philippe Meunier

Launching. Jean-Yves in number 131. Bertrand Warion's red deep-V design is being remarkably docile. Usually these Moths flip right over when left unattended.

Bertrand Warion

Nola, the stunningly restored Nantais Moth of Jean-Jacques, sailed here by David Balkwill. David was none too impressed with this vintage Moth. (I dragged his opinion over from the comments.)

"My experience sailing the Nantais Nola was astonishing. I've sailed Moths, both British and International, since the seventies, but this one from 1941 was by far the most uncomfortable. We had very light winds, but after three days on the water I was covered in bruises from all the corners and edges I was squeezed up against; in conditions where you can't move or you stop the boat!

Philippe Meunier

Rigging and launching was from Didier Leveille's house on the river. On the left is Crocodile. On the right is a wooden Europe. Not sure of the builder of the Europe Dinghy but the skipper was Frédérique Larrarté,

Bertrand Warion

Let's close this blog post with the most popular Classic Moth, Frédérique Larrarté with her ubiquitous Europe dinghy.

Philippe Meunier