I'm soooo exited!!!!!

I'm waiting for my new Inter 17R. It'll sure be a big improvement from my Prindle 16 (I've posted as SOLO MAN before...). Everyone here in the club is excited too, because in the same shipment will be two brand new Nacra F18. We sail on the St-Lawrence river in Quebec City, Province of Quebec, and we get all kind of weid wind and tides\waves conditions. It'll be interesting to see how fares the 17 sailed solo with 250lbs on the wire against the nacra 18's, the Twister and Tiger. I'll keep you informed about it's performance.

And by the way, my Prindle will be for sale here in Quebec.



Philippe Mascolo

Prindel 16

Inter 17R

FF,



Congratulations.



Do as Rick White suggested,..use the SEARCH feature in the FORUM,...you will call up any post dealing with your boat.



As a suggestion, search for I17R and I17,..this will get you more info



In going from a boat w/ jib,..to one without one,...get ready to learn new tacking skills!



Have fun!



Bruce



St. Croix

USVI

Last weekend I clocked some 15 hours on the FX-one in both light to very strong conditions.



I've tried the 30 % thingy on that cats and I now have a feel of the difference it must have made on your boat. Also the FX becomes much more controllable and rather drives than lifts with less boards.



On a side note I've also sailed the "new" FX-two which is the FX-one with a jib and spi.



Clearly the jibbed FX feels more powerfull and in a bigger magnitude than I expected myself. The is very nice does indeed make downwind sailing alot better in light winds.



Funny thing is that I think that the FX-one is a better double hander than a singlehander.



The also let me readjust a few things on the FX-s, I really hated the setup they had and so I reraked the masts, They had set them up like hobie 16 's That much rake.



The boat felt much more reponsive after that.



Anyways,



I still have another week of all day sailing to go. Nice weather here in Greece and alot of new boats.



Just did the Laser Vortex today and will be doing the RS 800 and 49-er again the coming days.



With kind regards,



Wouter

Philippe,



Congratulations on your I17R! You are going to love the boat! We had three out at Panama City's Shell Island Race yesterday and we had a blast!



I'm still hoping a few more folks in the area will get the "bug" and get one so we can start "one-design" racing at all of our Gulf Coast regattas.



Enjoy!



Mark MacNeil

Inter17R - USA 110

I've just sailed my Prindle 16 today for maybe the last time. The winds were about 20knots with gusts over 25knots. Told you the St-Lawrence River was mean !



I usually do not go sailing when I feel like I can't handle the Jib, but I got that itching and tingling feeling that took over my mind and made me say 'heh, what the heck...' so there goes a P16 with mainsail only.



And the problems began. The bows were not so much into going submarine, but the boat did not wanted to point upwind either.



Tacking was a real pain in the a... so I'm asking you if anyone got some ' tested and true' advice on tacking a UNI rig???

If I wasn't stalled in irons, I was going backwards with no control at all, and the boat simply did not tack...



So let's hear some advice from the pro's



p.s: ...air temp was 5 C to 7C, call us VIKINGS from now on...



Philippe Mascolo

Your P-16 will perform VERY differently than your new uni I-17.



I can only speak for the P-16 in big air. The P-16 works great solo in huge air with a reefed main and jib. Use the reef points in your main to shorten sail because you MUST have the jib to tack solo over 25. I sailed mine in the fringe of Hurricane Irene at 35++ and the only problem was the cross line linking the jib blocks parted in a huge gust. Then tacking was impossible. The next lesson is to let the speed run up if you MUST gibe. If not, the mast tip will out accelerate the hulls and you will do a spectacular flat-boat pitchpole. You will learn to fly! They'll call you "Prindle bird"!



OK, I-17 guys, what do you do to tack in 30+ with no jib?

Wouter,



See,..all those stats you quote makes sense 'on the water' too!



We know the I-20/18/17 boards are all the same,.......I wonder what the story is with the FX-1...



Well, the new FX-1 is supposed to arrived here in St. Croix after July 4th,..I think I will hold back this info for a little while,......Harper. are you reading this????



Wouter, was the FX-1 w/ spin? If not, the diamond wires ( I am told by a uni sailmaker) should run real loose

(..I run mine loose now),...as compared to a spin model diamond wires( 450lbs,..wow)



Have fun!



Bruce



St. Croix

Phillipe and David,



Depends if you are dealing with big waves. If you have waves,.then you really have to pick a spot, and as you both know, there is little regularity in large wind driven waves. you have to get the boat 51% thru the tack BEFORE the next wave hits the bows,......sounds like fun,..eh?



As for tacking in big air,..the modern designed Uni's can do it well,...you need speed ( head off a little),..your traveller is already down 8-12 inches ( in 25+),....as you are beginning your tack let out the mainsheet ( as she wants to go)...tack FURTHER than you would normally,...as she settles on the new tack,.....slowly the UNI will power herself up,...you pull in SLOWLY a armfull of mainsheet,...spot your course,...hook up and get out,.....pull in the final armfull of main SLOWLY .....and go man go!



I draw the line at 25 mph. There is nothing to prove above that speed except breaking things. If the wind picks up during a race,..well, you are out there,..so, I find that sailing sanely usually pays off for me,..while everyone flips,..I just cross the finish line nice and easy. Depower and safe is definately the name of the game at that wind speed.



For example, in a Saturday race 3 weeks ago,..we knewthe wind was increasing,...the boat begins to act funny in 30+,...well I noticed in the middle of the race,..after so BLASTS came thru,..that the traveller assembly,..the metal plate that holds the camcleat which feeds the trav line to the trav car,..bent 30 degrees UP! this is a 2000 I-17! The wind was so strong,..that the weakest part deformed, which was a plate of stainlees steel!



So, have fun,..but be smart too!



Bruce



St. Croix

I-17 normal

It is actually a nice solo boat without the jib.



The short story is :



Without the jib the main centre of effort is to fat back so rake your mast forward by some two holes. MAINLY till you don't have excess helm.



No when tacking in strong wind and or big wave do the following :



prepare the tack properly :



- sheet out a little

- make speed but keep pointing

- centre the traveller

- look for the next wave you want to turn trhough the wind on while you're on the wave crest.



- rotate your rudders smoothly to 30 degrees while you sheet in the main

- remain still on the side your on, only go to the other side when you have tacked.



when straight head to wind uncleat the main and sheet out, at least some 5 to 10 inches maybe even more.



when you feel the power coming on quickly go to the other side and pull your rudders straight.



sheet back in when you\'re ready.





Learn this the right way and you'll outtack anyone especially on boarded cats. Very few sailors practice on this



Once donw you will tack the P1`6 without jib like a boarded cat.



Mast rake is still important though, a unbalanced boat will be just that unbalanced and hard to tack.



wouter