Repairs well underway....

Greetings to all,

Well we are ripping into the repairs... literally. The more I look, the more I see.

I counted over 70 seperate breakages the other day. Some small and some big.

All the ribs of the wing have been repaired. That was easy. The beam is putting up a good fight. We have pretty much done all we can with the materials we have. We are awaiting a shipment from Sth. Africa. This is holding us up a little. Apparently the couriers don't like flying the epoxy hardner around!

So we move on to other areas.

Malcolm and Chris are now working on the way of implementing the solution. We think we know the sizing of the skeg and how it will affect the handling. Now we have to work out where we are going to mount it and what other features would be desirable i.e. adjustability.

We are also looking at the feasibility of making the wing more manageable by making it feather. It is not an easy one as it may involve either a tail plane or a means of bending the flaps to a negative angle of up to 15 degrees.

There is plenty to be done but progress is steady.

On the up side we haven't seen many great sailing days since the breakage. Things seemed to have calmed down a little.

The fitness regime is back in action. It's only fair. Add a kilo to the boat... lose a kilo from the pilot!

The beam is being worked on inside the container and takes up alot of space. I think it will be in there for at least another week.

We need those materials.

Meanwhile we have been recieving alot of support and encouragement from all over the world. The Walvis Bay locals have also been extremely supportive. This is all very motivating for us. I think that people understand what we are trying to do and the setbacks that are inherent for such an endeavour.

Now that we know what we do, I have to laugh at that wild Run 4 (video in gallery). We were lucky to get away with that... but in the end I guess we didn't!

Sailing at those speeds in an uncontrollable prototype boat that close to the shore...I get a shot of adrenalin each time a recount the experience.

I've always said that we will only be fast if we have control. What we have learnt now makes sense of everything that has happened right back to the days when we trialled the model.

I am looking forward to the next outings.

Cheers, Paul.

 

Paul Larsen
Mobile: + 44 (0) 794 684 1929
E-mail: paularsen1@aol.com
www.sailrocket.com