After 16 years of being a loyal Castle Cove member, I finally got a chance to sit at a Committee meeting as your new Class Captain!!… Shock horror I hear some of you say. Don’t despair. I have a lot ideas both racing and cruising related!
Since the Club’s move I fear the Scorpion has been left behind. Our faces are not known and our boats are rarely seen. This is such a shame for a class that has helped to lay the foundations enabling the Club to reach its’ current thriving position and is enjoying such National accolades.
As I looked through the Handbook I saw we had 15 boats registered, but when I read the names of the owners I realised that I don’t know whom a lot of you are!! Then at the X Class AGM it became apparent that not many Scorpions had actually been sailing (myself included!).
So I asked myself why is this so? We’ve had a good summer, so it wasn’t the weather. There’s plenty of racing to choose from, and lots of friendly people to chat to at the Club. Then it came to me. If I don’t know who you are, you probably don’t know who I am. In fact I wonder just how many of us Scorpion sailors have actually met! From what I know, there are about 6 boats that travel the county competing on the open meeting circuit, a few who enjoy Club racing, and others who just like a relaxing sail.
So how do we move forward as a Class? This is where I need your help. Please contact me to let me know your sailing aspirations for next summer. Or just to let me know which boat you own. Then hopefully with this information I can compile a Scorpion program that is suited to all our needs.
Finally I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year, and I look forward to meeting everyone in 2004.
Go Faster tips
(Cheaper than an Asymmetric and cooler than a sports car)
I have asked some of our more experienced sailors for non-expensive pre-season tips to make your Scorpion go faster - so here goes:
Ensure that all your control lines are running freely, especially those that run up the mast or through the boom. If you are not careful lines cross and cause friction - when feeding new lines ensure that all the other lines are tight so that the new line does not loop around them.
Another tip to improve under water performance is to look at your slot gasket; it’s no good buying new sails, fitting new foils when your slot gasket looks like corrugated iron. A new slot gasket is the cheapest piece of 'go fast gear' you can buy. To improve performance even more, visit your sail maker and purchase a piece of insignia cloth (the stuff numbers are made from) which is the length of the centre board slot and about 5 inches in width, cut the cloth length ways and fix it so that it covers most of the slot gasket with about an inch and a half fixed to the bare hull on each side. Then smooth with a cloth. The idea of this is to cover the stitching and fixing screws of the gasket which can cause turbulence. Oh! I forgot! - never ever pull your boat onto its launching trolley - always lift it on to save that slot gasket.
Wash all the cleats and blocks with hot soapy water, using a toothbrush and a very small bottlebrush. It’s very important to wash the blocks in the mast as these soon corrode. Never leave lines in a cleat after sailing; the springs will soon go if you do.
Use 1200 wet and dry (wet) on the centreboard and rudder to clean off the gunge and to give the foils a smooth finish then buff with car polish. Any play can be eliminated by using 'jap tape', either on the centreboard case or the rudder stock. If you have failed to paint the hull then a 'wet and dry' with a polish will also give some improvement. At least it will make you look under the boat!
If everything works well then you can concentrate on the sailing and keeping out of the way of 'out of control asymm……!'
Egg sucking lesson - over now to the gossip - Paul Barford has the mother of 'Dolly,' which he aims to fit out and be sailing by the start of the season, at present it’s in four parts ready to glue together, but apart from a little cosmetic surgery, looks the business. He's waiting for high tides so he can walk the beach looking for gear to fit it out. Chris Turner is also busy making new Scorpions from this stuff called epoxy and already has orders. Chris will always welcome sailors to his workshop in Coombe Street, Lyme Regis, at the bottom of the hill. Wonderful place if you need advice about something Scorpion or want to see one being built. The same applies to Kevin Gosling at his workshop, if you can find it down the country lanes of Devon.
If you like the lifting rudder on 'Dolly' then watch this space as I am reliably informed that a mould will soon be available and production of a much cheaper blade and stock will soon start. We will be the first to know.
I'm working on getting our 'racing coaches' to do at least two early season coaching days on the water, after they have given each of our boats a look over and pointed out all the things which have slowed our progress to the front of the fleet - like corrugated slot gaskets! Crossed control lines and badly set up rig etc.
In the last Scorpion News top RYA Coach, Alan Olive, stated that the Scorpion was an 'easy boat to sail but a difficult one to sail well'. So let’s have some coaching and ensure that we get the best from the boat and we actually know what is going on when we pull those 'bits of coloured string' we love so much.
All but three of the asymmetric boats listed in the Cadet News are not 'preferred classes' but we are - so we should be explaining to the parents, who foot the bills, that our class can offer much cheaper second hand boats, certainly better 'open and national' events and the best social scene available. 'Easy to sail but hard to sail well' - as Alan Olive said - so tell everyone that if you can sail a Scorpion well then you can sail anything and understand the dynamics of the sport. We also know that our boats are made for individuals not for a market!
Bob Green