G'day heres some photos of Peter in 20 to 30 knots making it look so easy, he eventually went in when he broke a rudder.

If that is 20 to 30 knots, he shouldn't have his foot that full. Irwin sails unlike some other Mossie sails I have used are very sensitive to foot depth, flattening foot is a major part of depowering them.

Jeff,

Is that a carbon fibre boom Peter is using ???

I don't know what boom he was using it was full on 20 gusts to 30 recorded at the clubhouse I've got other photos on my blog site which shows a sequence of a 5.7 going over and more excitement. I said to Peter he makes it all look pedestrian the way he calmly just sails along while I splash and yell at my crew. I ripped my main sail broad reaching to the start line when a wave hit the back of the sail it may have had a fish in it and also blew my PFD apart. One of the photos shows the rips
http://beachcatsaustralia.ning.com/photo/album/listForOwner?screenName=2x6sbetq65fle
regards

hi Peter,

Yes Peter Hallsworth has joined the carbon club and got a carbon boom on his boat.. Makes 3 of us with them now..

What section are you guys using and how is it holding up?

That one seems to be doing well given the reported conditions

Love to see a photo of the outhaul setup. I've been considering going carbon as the only old thing on my new girl is the rectangular section alloy boom.

Cheers

Hey Gary.

Foot? is that the downhaul? As I have been told that you require less downhaul the more wind and to pull it on when you encounter light winds. I realise that everyone will have a different version on this but is that the general idea :blush. I did have a 505 for a few years and was told to pull everythig tight in the big blows.

Foot is traditionally outhaul.

Unless mossies are different to every cat I've ever sailed, more wind= more downhaul.

Maybe a slight misunderstanding on what you have been told, definetly more downhaul the stronger the wind, on a Mossie it helps bend the mast which flattens the sail, as well as opening the leech.

By talking about flattening the foot of the sail, I was referring to the need for more outhaul. Generaly the outhaul is increased with increasing wind strength also.

It is all about control and speed, if you can control the power of the sail with where your settings are and you are sailing fast, they are ok for you. But if you are struggling to control the boat and feel overpowered, flattening the sail should help with control and increase speed.

Hi Guys,
To answer a few questions : Yes the boom on my boat is carbon fibre. I obtained it from New Zealand about 15 months ago, so it has already done a season without problems, though never before in winds as strong as those encountered at Milang. The outhaul is set up the same as on an A class. i.e. a simple 2:1 pulley attached to the clew, back through an exit block into the boom and exiting to a swivelling cleat on the underside of the boom and within east reach of the skipper.
Garry is right---I didn't have enough outhaul on on the day, but found the boat easy enough to control with full Cunningham tension, mast de-rotated to about 20 degrees and traveller out to the footstraps. Oh and it was going like a rocket too, though I must admit that height was a bit compromised. Damn good fun until the leeward rudder snapped that afternoon...

Regards Peter
Mosquito 1777

Hi Guys,
To answer a few questions : Yes the boom on my boat is carbon fibre. I obtained it from New Zealand about 15 months ago, so it has already done a season without problems, though never before in winds as strong as those encountered at Milang. The outhaul is set up the same as on an A class. i.e. a simple 2:1 pulley attached to the clew, back through an exit block into the boom and exiting to a swivelling cleat on the underside of the boom and within east reach of the skipper.
Garry is right---I didn't have enough outhaul on on the day, but found the boat easy enough to control with full Cunningham tension, mast de-rotated to about 20 degrees and traveller out to the footstraps. Oh and it was going like a rocket too, though I must admit that height was a bit compromised. Damn good fun until the leeward rudder snapped that afternoon...

Regards Peter
Mosquito 1777

Your wish is my command

Hi All,

Dad and I have been using Carbon booms for the past 4-5 seasons. Our sections were made By Composite Spars and Tubes (CST) in Sydney, (they make everything carbon, tillers/rudder cross bars etc) Dad worked with them to come up with a 50mm tube section that is doing an excellent job which we have never had any problems even in a few 30knt plus winds, will break alot more before break carbon.

Our outhaul system is pretty much the same as Peter Hallsworth decribed, the same as the A Class system with a loop on the mainsail clew and then 2:1 system internal in the boom, this works well.

If anyone wants any details on the section specs, Dad or myself will be happy to help you out.

Thanks for that (and the photos Jeff). Details would be great. I'm curios about the fit out as looking at the photo there seem to be some load points that are not recomended by CST.

Cheers

I didn't have enough outhaul on on the day, but found the boat easy enough to control with full Cunningham tension, mast de-rotated to about 20 degrees and traveller out to the footstraps. Oh and it was going like a rocket too, though I must admit that height was a bit compromised. Damn good fun until the leeward rudder snapped that afternoon...

Regards Peter
Mosquito 1777
[/quote]

Hi Peter,

settings sound familiar, Irwin Sails are awesome in these conditions, they just blade out so well and go sooooooooo fast . Glad to hear you are enjoying it. Sorry to hear about the rudder blade, where they ones you made yourself? Did you have centre boards up a bit when it broke? That allways puts a lot of extra load on rudders.