I have just acquired Blade 005 - and i noticed boats in the 700's..
Is the sequence broken up at all or are there that many produced?
I know of a few here on east coast Oz, but there must be a lot more..

Chris
Blade 005
Newcastle
Australia

The 700 series boats were created by VectorWorks Marine in Florida, USA. I think the first production boat from there was 702.

How do you define "Blade"? Are we talking about some of the boats built from plans, out of wood, or just out of glass, and if glass, from which manufacturers? I'm pretty sure there is (or was) a "Blade" builder in Australia, and there's Vectorworks in the USA...so...? Which Blades are we talking about?

They are all based on the same original design from Australia - Phil Brander. I know that much.
That makes sense that the sequence started again at 700 when they shifted a production base overseas later on.
I think mine was one of the very first built and is now going through a rebuild.
Anyone got any shots of their blade mainsail clew attatchment. My boom looks a little short for the outhaul to work correctly.. Any help be great cheers,
Chris

Most US F16's have gone to a direct attachment to the boom. Notch a groove in the end of the boom use line tied to the clew with a couple of knots in it for tension in various wind conditions. Secure knot in groove.

Not a bad idea. Simple. So does the mainsheet attach to the boom directly or the clew also? Soft shackle? Cheers

good idea, I keep getting my outhaul line caught on my head. I guess i do like the option of adjusting it though.

My main is attached to the mainsheet via a loop of spectra that stays attached to the main clew all the time. When the main is put on the boat, the loop is put around the boom by lifting up the boom a bit. the mainsheet is then clipped to that loop

PTP,

With 2/3 different knots you can still adjust it.

On the new Falcon main adjusting that is not even necessary, by pulling more downhaul automatically the foot gets tighter too.

Gill

I guess my concern is in really light air when you should let out the draft on the main some when heading downwind. Not sure it makes a huge difference, but it likely helps some. I agree though, that 90% of the time it is a "set and forget" control

Main draft was critical downwind before spis came into wide use.
With the spi up, dont care about the foot of the main.

With the newer "set and forget" outhaul designed mains, you are releasing the downhaul going downwind anyway which also automatically eases the foot tension.