Hull choices The thing is, do you buy a nice FRP boat or do you try and find a composite or wooden boat in good condition? Classic solos are really cheap at the moment. So you could put a new rig on it polish the hull and foils find a good sail . At club level should this work really well. Some folks will say “if you want to go to a championships”, you need an FRP boat from Winder boats. Of course this is the right thing to do . Choices are Mark one, Mark one a,Mark two, there’s probably a mark three on its way . Winder Solo delivers a fantastic new SOLO .However those new to Solos have the option of wide choice of boats available in a strong second hand market. How can we improve the Solo in the future? Hull shape - definitely no change Deck— less buoyancy? Open transom (so us old folk can crawl back in after a capsize). Do we need after noon tea ie the toe rail, Mast hole measurements worth a review given so much mast rake seems to be the fashion. Rig— Carbon boom (yes), Carbon mast (No) gooseneck change (makes sense) Sail(No change needed) worth consulting with sail makers again .Investigate smaller sail options though. Fittings. Optional trends work well Try to lower the cost of a new boat. Investigate wooden boat kit options Trends in Sails and mast choices Lets assume you have the hull sorted so now what about that rig.There are lots to choose from and being 100 kg strictly speaking I should have a very sti ff mast. Now what comes first the mast or the sail shape? Could it be that if you have a sti ff mast then you need a flat cut sail and lots of rake to ease the pressure and brake e ff ect of the leech upwind. Undoubtably fast in waves and when you are in the groove.ie somewhere between lu ffi ng and a close reach. This approach has an e ff ect on downwind sailing of course. The sail guides promote rake options and mast foot positions quite clearly so start there if you like. I quite like the bendy mast option. With a fuller sail I may use the traveller and kicker to bend the mast and flatten the sail upwind easing o ff wind promoting a fuller sail on the reach/run automatically easing the leech. Using the kicker / Cunningham balance option seems to work for me. There is however a trend towards having lots of mast rake which means that the boom comes down towards the side deck and when you tack the boom has the potential of getting in the way a bit. My suggestion is to look regularly at the sail makers tuning guides. There are all sorts of options advising the baseline for setting up your Solo. Fast Solo sails for me have been recently North and in the past McNamara,Mountfield and Batt. Boat set up sails etc is always a topic for Solo sailors in every boat to park and bar after the race. New ideas and advice can always be found on the stand at the Dinghy Show in February. I will be there Saturday. Dinghy Show 2026
Best place talk will be on the Solo stand at the dinghy show in February I’ll be there I’m sure many others will be there too to help. Subjects for the next issue
• Fittings and layout • From tune to trim. • What is the wind doing • Start line observations • That first beat
Ed: Thanks Steve.
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