NS14 News & Articles
2009 - 2012 Strategic Plan
NS14 Boat Register
20 Years of NS14 Hull Design
(Article modified from SkiffStuff Website)
That Special Kind of Keen
by Steve Donovan, 2002
More news and articles will be added here soon. If you wish
to submit an article for publication then send it to a NS14
Committee member or contact
us directly from this website.
The NS14 Bulletins
are published regularly with reports and results from NSW, Queensland,
Tasmania, South Australia and Victoria. News, pictures and interviews
covering the major NS14 events plus more ...
2009 - 2012 Strategic Plan
Vision: To be the pre-eminent development class of
sailing dinghy in Australia providing competitive racing and
a relaxed, friendly atmosphere.
Mission: To control and promote a development
class dinghy which will yield close racing with acceptably high
performance, without demanding athletic or acrobatic ability
and be safe, reasonably comfortable, inexpensive and durable.
NS14 2009
- 2012 Strategic Plan (PDF)
NS14 Boat Register
The NS14 Boat Register is designed to track where boats are
sailing now and by whom. It can also provide useful information
for people looking to trade a boat and can identify where a
boat they are interested in is located and whether it is being
used.
Please help us keep this Register up to date. Contact
us if you buy or sell a boat or let us know if you stop
or start sailing.
NS14 Boat Register
(PDF)
NS14 Boat Register
in Hull Order (PDF)
NS14 Boat Register
in State Order (PDF)
NS14 Boat Register
in Club Order (PDF)
NS14 Club Legend
(PDF)
20 Years of NS14 Hull Design (Article
modified from SkiffStuff Website)
Rohan Nosworthy was kind enough to contribute the following
list and several pictures as a starting point for compiling
the history of design innovations in this very innovative class.
The comments made regarding the performance of the various hulls
are comments made by sailors who have rated the hulls on the
NS14 hull poll page. They do not necessarily reflect my opinions,
but those of a variety of sailors of varying preferences.
Brief History of recent (20+ years) key design innovations...
Aero - 1221 6/10/79
Flight 17 - 1222 06/11/79 (first
boat with 'measurement bumps')
Gift Horse - 1240 09/12/79 (David
Stabback)
Flight 18 - 1247 10/03/80 (initially
only given 6 week provisional rego, passed by sub-committee
meeting 27/12/79)
Gift Horsersorous - 1313 18/11/80
(Tubular hiking racks - David Stabback)
Aero 3 - 1365 5/10/81
"This boat romps along providing there are no waves. It
hates waves! Aggressive colour scheme is pretty menacing. Quick
in a drifter with light crew, quick in above 15 knots with moderate
weight. Lacks a little light air finesse."
Fresh Zuchini - 1382 3/12/81 (Michael
Bochner)
Aero 4 - 1447 20/11/82
"Flies in heavy weather with two lumps on the rail"
Smouldering Ferrets (Aero 5?) - 1474
18/9/83 (Gavin Jones)
Fast Bazoomies - 1486 13/11/83 (Michael
Bochner)
Aero 6 - 1548 21/03/85
"Goes like a train in survival conditions.This is the most
stable ns14 hull in heavy weather. No reinforcing at the back
of the boardcase can be a problem. Massive conecaves in the
bow sections running a long way back make for a narrow waterline
and extrememly fast in the right conditions ie short chop. Loves
waves & light wind, Loves light crew. Quick all round the
course. Matches 7s & 8s upwind in all conditions. Have a
feeling the 8s are quicker downwind at times. Sixes suited more
the extreme conditions either end of the scale. More stable
is the definitive factor. In Heavy runs, crash jybes, windward
work a well set up 6 will match any 7 and 8 around the bouys"
"Nice easy boat to sail. Was tailored to a lighter crew
weight than most new designs. A small boat, performed well in
most conditions."
Aero 7 - 1653 21/11/87
"One of the most stable NS hulls around. Carried weight
well. Easy to sail, still performs well in planing conditions.
High wetted area is the only drawback in light airs and for
top speed."
Aero 8 - 1725 17/10/91
"Feels really similar to the Aero 7, but planes slightly
higher out of the water due to more buoyancy along the flattened
center of the hull."
Outlaw - 1756 10/09/92 (Barry Drurey)
First Carbon Tipped mast 12/12/93
(Peter Goss)
Out to Lunch - 1772 Sep 94 (Phil
Stevenson)
Take 5 - 1785 March 95 (Stuart Friezer)
Aero 9 - 1787 03/04/95
"First of the 'new generation' of hulls, with the buoyancy
very centralised and narrower water lines. Very efficient, fantastic
light air boat, still capable of winning races. Can perform
well in any conditions in the right hands, but likes a skipper
with 'finesse' on the tiller. Carries weight well."
Max 5 - 1819 15/03/96 (Peter Goss)
Flight 24 - 1824 March 96
"Very stable, great performing hull. Planes easily, is
very forgiving and carries weight the best out of any of the
new hulls. The Cadillac of NS14s."
Tequila 1 - 1834 20/07/96 (Mamo)
Tequila 96 - 1836 27/08/96 (Stuart
Friezer)
"Performance potential equal to any of the designs. But
it needs very careful trimming and an agile crew (preferably
lighter end of weight range) to extract the best. In stronger
winds and flat water, arguably one of the quickest hulls. Acceleration
is fantastic. Can be a bit gripey in very choppy conditions
as it tends to want to steer itself! Tame this quality and you
are rewarded with one of the best rides around."
WOW Cuba Libre (Force 5) - 1855 15/03/97
(Alan Cawardine; Julian Plante sailed this to win the Mooloolaba
Nationals 97/98 season)
Battlestar (Force 5 mk2 ?) - 1885
30/11/97
"Excellent for heavy crews."
Fireworks (Force 5 mk2 ?) - 1891
30/11/97 (Alan Cawardine; Dished deck.)
Aero 10 - 1893 22/03/98
"Similar forward lines to the Aero 9, but with straighter
lines aft and flattened under the centrecase and maststep. Personally,
I believe it to be the best allround, easiest to sail NS14 ever
designed, with performance to match any hull.Can carry a very
wide range of weight from 114kg up to 150+kg. Anyone moving
from an older hull into the Aero 10 improves."
Tequila 99 - 1912 10/08/98
"Solved the 'gripeyness' and improved on the weight carrying
ability of the Tequila 96 by the fattening up of the center
sections of the hull. When sailed well, can compete with any
of the designs, but must be kept properly trimmed at all times,
particularly to get onto the plane in marginal conditions. Planes
very quickly with the bow right out to the centrecase and the
crew stacked on the back corner. Upwind in strong breezes, arguably
still the quickest hull around."
"As for someone who jumped out of a earlier design into
one, a very nice all round boat only one down point very hard
to lift with no real gunnals to lift near stern."
Skyrocket (Force 5 mk?) - 1930 27/04/99
(Force 5 with hollow below chine)
Aero 11a - 1937 22/11/99, Time Rocker
"Very narrow on the waterline but with a slightly fuller
entry than the Tequila 99. Has good acceleration and great speed
in flat water. In marginal planing conditions, it will plane
earlier than most of the other designs making it very good on
broad reaches."
"The fastest current hull - the fastest for ever more?"
Space Invader (Force 5; Peter Goss)
- 1885 13/12/99 Complies with 2000 rules. Great looking hull.
Aero 11b - 1942 8/4/00, Luci
"Obviously, there were a heap of Flight designs in there,
but many were only minor changes.There were also amongst other
custom one-offs the Jaymac, Eggins designs, McConaghy boats
and the earlier Bethwaite hulls."
That Special Kind of Keen by
Steve Donovan, 2002
There can come a time when the pursuit of sailing excellence
tends to cloud a person's sense of better judgment. In the short
term it's seen as nothing more than being 'keen as', but in
the long term, things such as sanity come into question when
amazingly odd decisions are continually made in the name of
sailing.
The die-hard dinghy sailor takes enthusiasm to a whole new
level, to the untrained eye their attention to detail is often
seen as mere random acts of stupidity.
It seems the condition is most prevalent in second-generation
dinghy sailors. The kids of the Eighties whose Christmas holidays
read like an NS14 National Titles Venue Retrospective. Those
kids that when asked the significance of Good Friday, replied
"it's when heats 1 and 2 of the State Titles are held,
Miss". The very same kids that passed endless hours in
North Coast traffic-jams skateboarding up and down the Freeway
whistling Uncanny X-men songs, while Dad sat in the car stressing
about making the 12:30 briefing. It was never a matter of 'if'
they took up the sport, but 'when'.
For them, a standard wardrobe consists of a collection of ill
fitting National Titles T-shirts spanning the last couple of
decades. An accurate dietary profile for any given regatta can
be gained through a series of sauce and beetroot stain analysis
- the dropped pie never lies. The range of wetsuits, from short-john
to steamer, far exceeds that of the collared shirt; and as for
the 'good boardies' - they're only for special occasions.
Furniture, in most circles, is seen as a fairly integral part
of any household. Yet when a choice has to be made between the
purchase of - say - a lounge, as opposed to the purchase of
a new sail, the decision is really quite clear. Sure, beanbags
aren't exactly endorsed by the Chiropractors Association, but
they do compliment the Besser-brick and milk-crate entertainment
unit superbly. As a rule, the best bath towels are reserved
for the making of fin covers, and it's no coincidence mum's
sewing machine started making funny noises the day a new set
of hiking straps appeared on the boat.
The garage is home to the current 'racing machine' and the
surrounding walls resemble something of a shrine to boats past.
You'll find no car here, just boxes of old fittings entangled
in frayed bits of stainless steel wire. A collection of useless
lengths of rope, that if laid end to end would circle the globe,
hang in old shopping bags on the slim chance that one day a
5cm piece of spectra will come in handy. It's a magical place,
where screwdrivers double as chisels, chisels double as screwdrivers,
and everything doubles as a paint stirrer. More chin scratching
has gone on here, than actual work.
The car, which is merely seen as a boat-towing device, exudes
an odour not dissimilar to a wet dog. This is where old battens
go to die. Over-spray from the act of boat hosing, is the closest
thing this jalopy has come to a wash in years. The boot contains
enough hardware to rival that of most ship chandlers and during
tight cornering it's often difficult to hear the radio over
the shifting load. The Royal Australian Mint probably still
wonders what happened to all those 1 and 2 cent pieces that
now fill the glovebox, and old sets of sailing instructions
provide a simple, yet effective, passenger seat floor mat. The
only thing standing between the car and a wreckers yard is a
pink slip.
So as you can see, the die-hard dinghy sailor is a breed unto
itself. Every club has at least several textbook cases; they're
easily identified, tend to gather in small groups, speak in
tongues, and as a rule pretty harmless. Are they of sound mind?
Who knows? Should they be trading in their buoyancy jacket for
a straight jacket? - Maybe. But come to think of it, when did
you last spend New Year's Eve without a killer dose of gunwale
bum?
Steve Donovan, 2002
|
