The Super Taipan

Any news on the Super Taipan? Guess you Macca is the one to answer this one.

The last thing I heard was that the boat was going to Europe. If so, has it participated in any regattas, and how has it compared to other cats of similar size (M20, Eagle 20, Tornado etz)?

Well it raced in Sydney on the weekend past, so still there.

Yes, out the front of the other half owners house in Sydney.

We were keen to send it to Euroland but I just got too busy to make it worthwhile.

We have been sailing it a bit while I have been home, awesome boat <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> never beaten in line honours in over 3 years sailing.

I will be making a new set of sails for it in my spare time this year in Europe, so that will help it along a bit.

Otherwise the boat is great, no reliability issues apart from a few small problems with the M20 rudders being built a bit light. (these were a special lighter set than the std ones)

As we spend more time on the boat we are working out how to sail it in bigger breeze and it seems that now we have it sorted there is no problem racing it up to 25kts.

any pics/history anywhere for us newbies?

I'm taking the liberty to posts some links to pics here Macca, hope you don't mind.

http://www.cstcomposites.com/images/Super%20Taipan%20Pic%205.jpg

http://www.cstcomposites.com/images/Super%20Taipan%20Pic3.jpg

To this day, the best looking cat around in my opinion.

So just to get things straight here, what exactly has been modified on the boat apart from wider beam, carbon mast (sooooo sweet), carbon rudders (also sweet) and new, customized sails? Has the sail area been increased in any way? What about the mast height, has it been increased? Are the hulls canted?

I remember you said you had some issues with the rudders early in the update progress, has that been sorted out? Sailing that thing in winds up to 25 knots must be a blast! Any high speeds logged to brag about at the after-regatta party?:)

You mentioned you will be making a new set of sails, my dad and I own a standard Taipan 5,7 and are planning on buying a new main from AHPC. Apart from a bigger roach, what would you change on a new main compared to the old stock? We also want to make a new pair of rudders for the boat, rudders with t-foils. What's your opinion on t-foils for the T5,7?


Thanks for the info!

Jimi,

Mainsail is the same size as a standard 5.7 (different measurements but total area is essentially the same)

Jib is a bit larger as it extends below the bridle intersection and goes to the Spi pole.

Kite is a bit larger but only 1m sq, luff is a bit longer than std as the pole is lower.

As for the mods to the boat:

Wider beams
carbon mast (same as std length)
carbon boom
carbon spi pole
carbon tiller bar
wider tampoline
Marstrom M20 rudders
hulls are canted as per std 5.7

Rudder system is now sorted, it was just a little bit too light. So we have done a bit of work and its now good.

Interestingly we broke the rudder gudgeon bolts on the port side and lost the fitting, so Greg (my crew) made a new one out of Carbon! it looks so neat that nobody has even noticed it!

I would run with the std sail for your boat, maybe a bigger head measurement but nothing radical.

My boat should need T foils more than a std boat due to its width, but I havn't had a problem so far. I would suggest finding a set of Marstrom Tornado rudders second hand. They will improve the feel a lot compared to the std AHPC foils.

First of all, it must be great to have a crew that can handle carbon repairing as well as yours. Guess you don't need to worry about things breaking!

Have you calculated the all up weight of your Super Taipan? Should be quite a bit under the 142 kilos that the standard weighs shouldn't it?

I guess our main will be a crossover between the T5,7 stock and the Capricorn. Which is more or less what you just recommended I guess.

How is the weight of the Tornado rudders compared to the AHPC ones? We thought that the shape of the AHPC foils were more or less the same as those on Tornados? But the AHPC ones are quite heavy, hence the wish to make new ones in carbon. Plus the excitement of experimenting with new things of course.

Now that the T is no longer an Olympic class, maybe the price on second hand gear will go down?

For a while, then the secondhand market will dry up. After a while even Marstrøm will stop making parts for the boat or new boats as the market dries out. That is the way I think the Tornado market will go unless the class either get olympic status again or the amateurs take over the class with more affordable niche builders. There is a third scenario with a professionally run class with its own circuit, but I dont think it will succeed.

Macca,

Nice!

What is your opinion on PBO (or Dyneema SK78) forestay and shrouds? Or diamonds?
Should remove ca 2 kg from the rig.

Are the Marström M20 and Tornado rudders identical?

Stein

For the last several years, I have been wanting a tiger, but now I a not so sure.

That is one very nice looking boat!!!!
Sam

PBO rigging would be better than the Dyform we run at the moment, but its really expensive. I think it would cost about 800Euro to change the boat over. Just not worth it for a fun boat.

The boat weighs 145kg. Its hard to reduce weight when you make the platform bigger... all the gain we made with carbon bits are taken up with the bigger, wider beams.

The M20 and T rudders are different but you have more chance of finding a set of T rudders than a set of M20 rudders... and if you bought the M20 rudders new they would cost as much as the boat!!

I'm not trying to show my stupidity here, but,

Is this a 6.0 meter Taipan?

And, just how wide is the overall beam?, cause from the pics, it doesn't look much wider if any than 8ft6in. ( the max beam a boat can trailer in the US)

And yea, tha boat looks nice, similar to the Nacra 6.0na.

Whats the max you can trailor over the road in Aus?

I widened my HT to 8'6", I was going to go to 9', but decided that having to take it apart each time wasnt worth the extra 4"

The boat is an upgraded Taipan 5,7, so the boat is 5,7 meters long. The beams are 10 ft.

As for comparing it to a Nacra 6.0, I don't know.. For me it's like comparing a sports car to a bus.. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Hey, I wasn't calling your boat a bus!!

LOL, really, the N6.0na is no bus.
I meant the hulls look similar shaped, that's all.

Haha, no worries! And I do know that the Nacra 6.0 is no bus! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

From what I've seen of the Nacra 6.0 on pictures and short movies (there's some great ones on youtube), I think the Taipan 5,7 has more volume in its hulls. No wonder, the Taipan was originally designed to carry heavy crew weight. It also seems to me that the volume distribution is somewhat different, as there seems to be less volume near the bows of the Nacra hulls. It also seems me from the movies I have seen that the Nacra creates quite a bit of wave and spray drag, the boat seems alot wetter than the Taipan. This of course is difficult to observe just from a short video on youtube, but that's my conseption anyway. Not that anyone cares <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Taipan 5.7 on trailor.
Width 2.60 m, European regulations max = 5.55 m

http://www.catsailor.com/bb_files/135339-PA100032.JPG

Stein

Boy that sure is a beautiful boat!

Can i ask what the green stuff you are using to protect the hulls around the cradles? I am always concerned about damaging my hulls with my tie down straps.

Yes the Taipan 5.7 is a beautiful boat.
And very fast.

The green protective stuff is insulation mats for outdoor sleeping on the ground. Thickness ca 6 mm.
Cheapest foam type, ca $ 12 pr mat. Can be cut and does not absorb water.
I use it for all kinds of impact protection.
I buy it in a general "very-low-price-store" (Biltema; the equivalent of K-mart, Walmart, etc maybe).

Stein

cool. thanks for the info. I will have to try that.

Truth is it is only a standard 5.7 with dwarfs sailing on it

Haha, lol! Apart from the jib the sail are is the same, so I guess we all look like dwarfs next to the Taipan rig. It sure is powerful, I' ll tell you that! It's the carbon rig and the increased beam that gives me goosebumps <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Oh, and those rudders are pretty cool as well!

If I'm not mistaken, haven't you Tornado_ALive/Stephen sailed the Super Taipan a couple of times? How would you compare it to the other boats you have sailed?

Raced it a few times now and did a bit of training on it before the T Worlds.

Very quick espesially upwind. When in the groove it sails as quick as a Tornado with the hight of an A Class. Very good VMG upwind. Downwind it loves to be sailed deep and has superiour VMG downwind to anything I have ever sailed. Ideal breeze would have to be between 12 to 15 knots where nothing comes close. In a breeze, the Tornado is right there with it though.

How much money do you have invested into that thing anyway? <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Not sure really, We got the hulls and mast cheap so we were well in front from the start.

Really the only change was a pair of alloy beams and tramp to suit the new width.

Then a set of sails and associated spi pole gear etc.

For me its just a bit of fun, not to be taken too seriously. Not like its an F16 now is it <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />