The 2000 Sailboat & Windsurf Show took place at Alexandra Palace, it's regular home for the past few years. For those who were not able to attend you will find here a brief article on some of the exhibits. The show is now a mixture of Class Association and commercial stands, both often showing boats. Few classes miss the opportunity to parade their wares, and this year was no exception. In this article you will see some of the new ideas on show, both from the new breed of one designs and some of the traditional classes as they fight to grow their market share.

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International Moth
Few would doubt that over the years the International Moth sailors have come up with some of the most crazy ideas, but many of these have translated into real advances in dinghy design and real increases in speed.
The boat here is a Hungry Tiger design by Mark Thorpe, but what will stand out most are those hydrofoils fitted to the wings. I understand that these were bought after the recent World Championship in Australia and shipped back to the UK. Used by an Australian they won 2 races at the Worlds and lifted the boat clear of the water in 10knts, the speed was blistering, but not surprisingly the boat was hard to handle and should a foil stall a wet landing was inevitable.

International Canoe
This is the latest development from the International Canoe, an asymetric kite.
The boat is GBR 167 Oh Fancy That, owned by George Gyngell. This is a converted boat originally built by Razorback, and is one of a number that will be converted this year. They have certainly done an excellent job and it would be difficult to tell the boat was not originally built this way. I am sure the class will now need another steep learning curve to come to terms with the additional sail area.

Kestrel 2000
Certainly a boat that has remained true to it's traditions the Kestrel was first seen in 1956, designed by Ian Proctor, this was the very first class to be built in GRP. Although going through a number of minor changes over the years the class decided in 1998 that while they could keep the hull design, the interior needed a complete rethink.
Phil Morrison was asked to work on the project, to produce someting that would update the boat to appeal to new owners while not alienating current sailors. The plans were approved later that year and in 1999 the first boat was produced, now, with a new builder this class has every chance of a strong future.
The interior is clean and roomy, but now as standard gives the racing crew the full opportunity to extract the maximum from the rig with adjustable controls properly laid out and built into the design.

Solo
The Solo is another class designed in 1956, but despite it's age continues to go from strength to strength with several active builders.
The class had 60 boats at the 1999 national and almost as many new boats built last year.

The boat in the photos is a new one built by Tony Thresher, and was built right way up, as opposed to the traditional upside down construction, you can see in the cut out the use of epoxy filler at the chines, together with some nice little inlays in the transom.
A very competitive class to sail, you can never the less do well at various crew weights in a Solo, probably as near as we get to an all round singlehander. Although a rare thing to see these days the boat even sports a wooden rudder stock, this certainly fits in well with such a lovely finish and made, as you would expect, with epoxy glues will probably prove more than strong enough for such a boat.
Boats are also available in FRP, the choice is yours, but given the money I would always go for the wooden option, it's so much easier to fall in love with a wooden boat and I understand there is little difference in performance.

Laser Vortex
Much has been said and written about this new design by Jo Richards from the Laser stable.
Is it a Cat? Is it a Dinghy? Is it a Tunnel Hull?
Well I'm not going to make your mind up for you, but the official answer is that yes; it is a tunnel hull dinghy.
Anyway, and far more important, is how will the boat sail and will it catch on. It certainly looks interesting, and I for one would like a go. Many International Moths in the 1970's had a tunnel at the bow, but were not allowed by class rules to carry the tunnel the full length of the boat. As I recall these were designed for heavy weather until at a light wind worlds it was discovered that by sitting to leward in front of the mast you could reduce the wetted surface area considerably and they were very fast. So the Vortex should go well in most conditions, I will watch the results with interest.

GP 14
Certainly as you wander around Sailboat you notice and pay more attention to the wooden boats, they are far fewer these days, but if anything their finish gets better.
This GP14 owned by Alan Atack has yet to see the water, but I am sure will be a delight to sail. The boat is built by Duffin Marine and is a change from previous boats in that the centreboard case now stops short of the mast, Alan tells me that this should make it easier to step the mast, particularly in a strong breeze.
The class are also looking at a change of sail plan, with an area removed from the genoa being added to the roach of the mainsail with an extra batten to help support this area. This is still under discussion and nothing is likely to happen until next year, so don't let it put you off buying sails now.

Further Details and Pictures from the Show on Pages II,III & IV

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