Monday, June 21, 2010
Ratcheting up the difficulty level
I'm not much of a gamer but I've seen enough to know that you can choose your difficulty level to make life harder for yourself. Why you would want to, or why you would want to play video games at all I am not exactly sure and I am not going to go there. Certainly when it comes to Moth sailing I want it to be as easy as possible unless there is a big payoff in speed and then I still think twice about making life hard for myself on the water.
Last week end I tried the ultimate in difficulty level. Small cut down rudder (Mach 2), small flap on main foil (Prowler) and very flat sail (Raptor) in 20+ knots and extremely nasty short chop (Weymouth Cubed) over a shallow bottomed lake with 10 miles of fetch. It was as if I had just drawn a "go back to the bottom of the learning curve" card from the pack. Some hours of practice with this set up might improve things substantially but I don't even have to ask myself if I really ever want to race with such a narrow groove that strategic options and ability to get my head out of the boat are severely restricted. Sailability and versatility (ability to pick high or low modes) are key. Any foil/sail package has to be optimised and that means looking at more than just speed. Give me something fast but sweet.
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I must admit to being really confused. I believe you have a Mach2? Why don't you just sail that tried and tested quick package instead of making things really hard for yourself?
ReplyDeleteI believe that the Mach2 mainfoil which features a large aerodynamic flap is one of the key reasons it gives so much control at speed. Yet no-one has copied it? Is it because it is so difficult to build? And a rudder foil that does not ventilate even in 3 degree C water temperature? Whats not to like?
Hi Graham, As you can see from the pic I also have a Prowler. I was just playing. The Mach 2 is certainly the best design out there at the moment - that doesn't mean it will not be improved upon - probably fairly soon. This is a development class and we will never stop learning. Playing is a good way to learn. Sometimes you learn what not to do as was clearly the case described in this post.
ReplyDeleteBy the way everyone has gone to bigger flaps. There seems to be a consensus there.
Ah yes but it is curved and I (and I think Amac) believe this is what is makes it so effective. Is it because it is so hard to copy?
ReplyDeleteYes, we had fun this weekend!
ReplyDeleteFor me it was just right. I love learning on the edge of control ;)
Well, the ninja has a smaller flap and a small rudder and seems to have just as much control as the m2... What are you missing?
ReplyDeleteAlso, if no one pioneered graham then the problems wouldn't get solved and no one would have solved the rudder ventilation for amac to copy...
Hard to copy ... no ... but copying is not developing now is it? :-)
ReplyDeleteAlso if you are working on something that is faster why would you show your hand before the worlds?