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ePaper created 2014-06-11, 13:05:34 | version 1.30.01
27 accepted by Association members to be one bottle of rum. New measuring rules were drafted by the Class which were simple to understand and easy to apply. Some sailmakers did not approve of the new rules, claiming they were contrary to good sailmaking practices. While this may be arguable, the rules are clear and unambiguous and as such have been left virtually unchanged since 1975. On numerous occasions since then, while measuring a sail on the floor of the sail loft, a sail has been determined to be oversize. The sailmaker, at his own expense, has been required to re-cut the sail and then ask for a re-measure. Recidivist infractions are now unheard of. Not all the issues that have arisen were a result of sails being made too large. In the early 1970’s a few owners ordered new mainsails that were full length on the hoist, but approximately 4 feet short on the foot. Calling them“storm tri sails,” they were meant to be used when cruising or racing in winds of 30-40 knots. Any reasonably knowledgeable sailor would know that a proper storm tri sail is usually less than half the height of the regular mainsail on the hoist. In practice, these sails performed significantly better in heavy air than any single-reefed mainsail. These owners promptly started using them in races when the winds freshened to above 28-knots. They became winning sails, giving an unfair advantage to a few boats. Princess once beat the near-invincible 37-foot Jim Young-designed Namu in a race to Ponui when winds piped up to 30 knots. In a true example of“less is more,” Princess’ smaller main enabled her to remain well-balanced while an overpowered Namu struggled against her helm and continually rounded up. Once again, a few boats having an unfair advantage caused consternation within the Association members. In order to remain competitive, a boat would now need two main sails, adding to the cost of racing. Lloyd Macky as Secretary calmly came to the rescue. He canvassed the group of owners supporting the use of the smaller mainsails, as well as those opposing, to ascertain the reasons for their relative positions. Before holding an Association meeting to discuss the issue, he circulated, in writing, everyone’s opinions on the matter for preview. At the meeting, everyone was clear on the issue at hand. The group made their decision based upon Rule 1 of the Class Rules,“Intent.” The rule to avoid “unnecessary expense” was upheld and the small mainsails were banned from use in Class racing from that point forward. Thirty-five years down the track, some owners still use these small main sails for cruising, and claim that to this day, hardly anyone passes them when they’re sailing in a blow. Paprika’s spinnaker fiasco illuminated the fact that it was time to tidy up the Stewart Class as it related to equalising the fleet’s sail inventories. On June 8,1974,Lloyd Macky organised what would turn out to be a sail“measure-a-thon.” On this Saturday, he managed to borrow the entire Hood Sailmakers loft, which was at the time the largest in Auckland. He tacked leech cord to the floor, outlining the correct dimensions for each of the regulation Stewart sails. He then organised a group of measurers to meticulously measure each and every sail in the racing fleet’s inventory, and record the results of those measurements. All owners wishing to comply with the Class Rules, in other words, continue racing, had to come to the party. Nearly one hundred sails were measured on that day, and 75% of the owners who showed up were required to remedy one or more of the sails in their inventory. This was probably the largest keelboat sail measuring event in New Zealand history. With the 1980’s came the advent of Kevlar/Mylar laminated sails. These sails clearly would have improved the Stewart’s sailing performance. Unfortunately, there was a significant increase in cost as well as a decrease in useful life. Other one design class boats began sporting Kevlar/Mylar sails, and naturally some of the Stewart owners suggested that they should be allowed to be used for racing on the Stewarts. Once again there was a long discussion about one design principles,and the cost and durability issues. Once again the StewartAssociation decided to continue using Dacron sails based upon proven longevity and economics. Chris Bouzaid from Hood Sailmakers sent a letter to theAssociation,dated 27 October of 1980 suggesting that theAssociation had made a bad decision and that Dacron sails would have a significantly shorter useful life. To date, the Association has yet to see any evidence backing this claim. In fact, some Stewarts racing are using Dacron sails that are up to 20 years old, and still competing quite nicely on the race course against other designer’s boats with Kevlar/Mylar sails that cost three times as much to build and last one third as long. After some 30 years of improvement in sail cloth technology, the Stewarts remain competitive with their entire sail inventory other than spinnakers built with tried and true Dacron sail cloth. In the spring of 1984,the Stewart Class was on a roll. Coming up were the Citizen International Match Racing Series as well as