2008 thomas Bergner marketed a composite Solo, Gerard Post showing good speed for the Dutch while Steve Boon filled his stable with super jockeys, Jim Hunt, Dave McGregor and Charlie Cumbley cleaning up across the year. The Boon incorporated the innovative continuous control system as used on the Finn dinghy. Now, almost all Solos have it! The Pre-Champs were held at the 2012 Olympic venue of Weymouth and it was won by Jim Hunt in the Boon/Purple Sail (Dacron). Among the popular sail trends, Speed Sails were cutting their Dacron sail in 3.8oz Ripstop, Purple Marine opting for Contender RS3 or ODL4 while Wavelength also used Dacron in combination with their Wavelength (Needlespar) mast which found favour with the lightweights. North marketed their Technora T75 (the SM8 their previous design) as part of the Boon package and Cumbley’s National Championship win at Royal Torbay (Davis and Goldhawk completing the podium) certainly shifted the sailor mindset towards laminate sails as the standard choice. Edge Sails provided a compromise, the front panel cut in a light Dacron while the leach was cut in ODL4. Within 3 years Dacron would become a rare sighting, silver shards of technora shining bright like diamonds in the sunlight. The irony was that McWilliams had created the first laminate panelled sails way back in the eighties but these did not gain any traction at the time. The three Solos displayed at the Dinghy Show were a composite Winder hull/JJ Boats deck, a Bergner composite and a Boon FRP while Speed Sails displayed their hull suspended in mid air. Clamcleats also displayed a Speed hull which was skilfully balanced on it’s transom! Rooster Sailing were displaying their composite hull, I believe this was from the Butler mould. The inaugural Spring Championship was won by Cumbley in a 50 boat fleet, Dave McGregor and Richard Pye completing the podium. Cumbley had earlier won the Winters, 59 competitors freezing their fingers off at Grafham Water. Daver McGregor won the Nation’s Cup in Braassememeer, the Boon FRP proving itself while Dave opted for a Rooster sail to power it. The Inlands again topped 100 entries (107) and Neil Wilkinson captured the title in some testing conditions. This was Ron and Mavis Green’s final season of scrutinising at a Championship, their efforts in ensuring rule observance adding real gravitas to the measurement process. Mike Ball took on the role of class President from Steve Ede. Who was elected as an honorary member. A rule change to allow timepieces to be fitted to any fitting or spar was accepted while a rule proposal to ban carbon battens was defeated. It was reported that 128 New Solos were built, certainly a record in this century, all thanks to the off-the-shelf packages available and tuning guides that promised to get the owner up to speed instantly.
Made with FlippingBook Digital Proposal Creator