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The Flying Eleven History - When and Why
by Alan Foster of Mariner Craft
(An extract from the NSW F11 Association Newsletter of March, 1976)
Have you ever wondered when, why and how the F11 started? Unlike the VJ which has a history going back a few decades, the F11 only goes back as far as 1964. The main classes available for training young sailors were the VJ, MJ, Moth, Heron and it appeared there was an opening for a class with:
Hence the birth of the Fll. Sounds easy, but like all new classes there is a trial period before acceptance. Most clubs like to be sure a new class is not a flash in the pan before.
Mariner Craft launched the first 3 boats in 1964 - the lines were drawn by E. Maxwell Smith and the sail plan by John McKellar of Gladesville. The 3 boats were built with completely different interior layouts:
1. The Open Sailer - with fore and aft buoyancy tanks, dagger-type centreboard, timber gunwales and gussets. Venturis to take the water out of the boat. Our present class is based on this.
2. The Self Drainer - with foredeck, afterdeck, 2 bulk heads, pivoting centreboard was 2"-3" higher in sheerline. The hull had a false floor rolled into the sides approx 6" above the outer skin providing the extra buoyancy and allowing any water to drain through the bottom of the centreboard case. The problem was if you fell off or capsized, the extra buoyancy and higher sides made it near impossible to climb aboard.
3. The Side Decked Model - similar to the Heron with foredeck, side decking, fore and aft buoyancy tanks, pivoting centreboard and venturis.
The acceptance campaign then started and the 3 boats were taken to different clubs each weekend and sailed in all weathers. Jim Pegram sailed the Open Sailer, Max Smith the Self Drainer, and I sailed the Fully Decked Model. The side decked model did not appeal to the go-fast boys and, although the self drainer was popular, the VJ self drainer was well established therefore the emphasis was put on a boat which, firstly, had to be expertly sailed to stay afloat and, secondly, would serve as a trainer for the open skiff classes - so the open sailer it had to be.
During the 1965-66 season Sans Souci Club accepted the F11 as a class, other clubs slowly followed and the NSW Fl l Association was formed in 1967. After trying various types of additional buoyancy, such as side tanks, the lines were redrawn and a complete set of plans issued to the Association, covering hull, sails, centreboard and rudder.
The early F11s were not as attractive or sophisticated as today - the clew of the genoa was 16" above the gunwale - the mainsail hung from one full length top batten, with some short leech battens, all battens were made of cane, and the venturis, which were tube and box type with corks, would be regarded as museum pieces.
Possibly, because of the exclusive type of manufacture which was adopted at Mariner Craft, the popularity and growth of the class was retarded. The cost of installing and setting up a hot vacuum press to manufacture an unknown class was enough to deter the professional and amateur builders. The F11 was not the only class made at Mariner Craft, therefore the hot vacuum presses were easily adapted to make lls once the original plug had been made. The advantage of using the hot moulding process is that the hull of an F11 can be completed quickly with the curing of the glue taking only 5 minutes compared to a few hours with cold moulding. There are two other advantages - the time taken for completion keeps the overall cost and selling price of the boat down, and because of the even pressure applied to the timber the finished hull is very true and strong.
With the introduction and Association acceptance of fibreglass in 1970 other moulds were built and the class took on a new lease of life. Early glass boats had planing boards until Association restrictions outlawed them, thereby keeping all boats to one design. One of the early problems, and a problem which is still with us, is to hold the weight of glass boats down to minimum weight without sacrificing strength - new resins and glass are helping to overcome this problem. In 1974 the timber mould was completely rebuilt with the addition of a double skin floor area to add strength to the flat bottom of the boat.
During the past few years sails, rigging, fittings and hull materials have greatly improved. So many ask us which is the better and faster boat to buy, timber or glass? The answer is always the same - crew and gear.
The only advantage, if any, would go to the timber boat because of the weight factor. This has been proved many times at Association events, timber boats win one race, and glass boats win the next.
A Sailmakers View
by Robert Atkins of Tru Flo Sails
(Flying 11 Journal 96/97)
1996 saw the return of the Australian and State Titles to the Manly 16' Skiff Sailing Club. Below I will set out the main reasons behind this success.
I was asked two years ago to coach the young sailors at Manly, which I gratefully accepted. One of the first things I decided to do, was to go right back to the start. THE BOAT ITSELF. I felt that with the current boats, going to windward, unless they were sailed bolt upright, they stalled very easily in the fresher gusts. So I felt that the mast and centreboard case should go further aft, to help balance the boat on its waterlines.
I spoke to Julian O'Mahony of O'Mahony Boats and we went about positioning the mast approximately 80 mms further aft and the centreboard case approximately 30 mm. These boats certainly appear to travel through the water a lot easier without the tripping action of the current boats. On reaching legs, with the boat more evenly balanced and the spinnaker a bit further away from the rest of the rig, the boat gets up on the plane quicker and maintains its speed for longer periods.
The next step was the mast itself. After watching what was the norm, I felt that the tips of the mast were too stiff and not giving the boat the gust response I was looking for. With the tips being stiff, this was also creating overbend in the bottom section. Along with Julian Golding from Spunspar, we got together all the current masts that were being used. We set about doing all the relevant bend tests and although they had similar characteristics, I still felt we could do better.
Along came the S-8000 with the oval tip. This mast, when tested gave us a softer fore and aft bend in the tip, without placing unnecessary loads on the bottom section. The sideways bend in the tip was reduced, giving much better control of the mainsail leech twist. The next gain with the spar was the bottom section being straighter, the forestay tension could be controlled, minimising the amount of layoff in the jib luff itself.
Once we put the package together the next thing was the mast rake, rig tension and spreader lengths. During my first year at Manly, we worked on various spreader lengths, from 20 mm to 50 mm out of line and neutral to 20 mm of forward poke.
For the lighter crew weights, I settled on spreaders placed in a neutral fore and aft position and 25 mm out of line. For the heavier crews the fore and aft position was pushed forward 20 mm at the tip. Mast rake and rig tensions were recorded along the way, and particularly with the O'Mahony boats, we were able to crank the rig tension up a lot tighter without any fear of damage to the hull itself.
Peter Moor made the blades for Ben Bianco's boat - lighter and stiffer than usual, they are also very true in sectional shape with straighter trailing edges. The stiffer centreboard helps to gain maximum height to windward and reduces the amount of sideways slide that softer centreboards create.
The boat itself was set up with minimal adjustments. I feel that if the set up is simple, the chances of falling into the trap of 'adjust this, adjust that', that the crew end up forgetting about sailing the boat. The jib has one adjustment on the sheeting, which is the inboard and outboard positions, and the luff tension adjustments. The mainsail has luff tension and boom vang and obviously mainsheet tension. The biggest problem I've seen is that most of the guys tend to crank the vang on too hard, and spend the day fighting the boat, staggering around the course.
The sails themselves, were quite different. The headsails are quite full with the mid leech very tight, so that the sheet can be eased to open the slot without the leech bending out. Because of the way the mast is rigged, and also the mast itself, we were able to build a flatter mainsail, that doesn't stall in lighter air and also maintains the leech low down in fresher breeze, which is paramount to maintaining good height to windward and also maintains more even pressure in the boat through the breeze fluctuations.
I'd like to thank all those who assisted me over the last couple of years. Julian O'Mahony, Julian Golding, Peter Moor and Glenn Bianco for their tireless efforts in trying to improve the boats and a special mention to Mark Pryke for his assistance with the Manly kids on the sailing rules.
I trust that some of these ideas can help you all to improve your performances on the water.
Good luck and good sailing!