It would be nice to know how this fleet adjusts the scores (handicap) for the different rigs. Or maybe they don't.a new pic, showing all 3 sails.
Right to left:
#11 is Mk I
#1.62 is Mk. II
#888 is Mk. III
Behind 888 is a standard Sunfish sail
View attachment 44393
It would be nice to know how this fleet adjusts the scores (handicap) for the different rigs. Or maybe they don't.
Yes. No Jens possible, but also allegedly less of a need with the helm more balanced. They also don't move the gooseneck much, if at all. Also, I am the guy Lee is interviewing in the second half of the video, and it's my sail that he's borrowing for the day.the sleeve on the upper boom is interesting - doesn't that mean your halyard attachment point is limited to the couple inches of gap in the sleeve?
I have both the Rocket and a Sunfish. The stock sails are essentially the same. Both could use an upgrade. The Rocket showed great promise with its slightly larger sail and 40 lb less weight. Sounds great and those nice videos on the website! The Rocket has been a HUGE disappointment. The bailer really doesn’t work. The rudder does not stay down due to a lack of proper cleat for the line that holds it down. The front bow handle was made of very light polypropylene line that pulled through the holes in the edge of the hull and then broke. The junction between the boom and mast is a bad joke. Within 30 minutes of sailing this loose nylon line stretched out and the back of the boom was dragging in the water. The line to raise the sail is held by a jam cleat and constantly slips, lowering the sail. The outer edges of the boat are razor sharp and cut up my legs when launching. As a very experienced recreational sailor I was stunned. In two days of sailing on Long Island sound in 6-12 MPH winds, these are the workarounds I had to design just to sail the damn thing: 1) Reenforced boom/mast junction with 2 bungie cords pulled tight. 2) Made a knot in the mast line so it would not pull through the inadequate cleat 3) Hand tied the line that holds the rudder down to part of the rudder. 4) Used a cup to bail out the water. 5) Sanded the edges of the hull. I wrote a review somewhere else last summer. Essentially this boat has a slew of problems that are easy to fix but the designer seems to lack the motivation to fix them. Based on my experience I decided to not buy the boat and let my brother keep it. The Sunfish has none of these problems and is far more rugged. The Rocket’s only advantage is that is a little bit faster. What a shame of what could have been. My brother is an engineer and is working on some permanent fixes for the problems identified. For me the Rocket would just be a half assed Sunfish clone project boat.
Sorry to hear you haven’t had a great experience with your Rocket. We have a fleet of eight boats here in Sag Harbor, and we race every Sunday, rain, shine, sleet, snow, even on sunny days. We are a little more than 18 months into the Rocket, and everyone loves the boat. Our newest boats came in at about 85 pounds, and seem super solid. We race the boats hard, using the Interceptor rig, which is pretty much a contemporary Moth sail with a wide sleeve and full battens; it’s fantastic. As for the gooseneck, honestly, this is a stroke of genius. None of us have had an issue, so it may be you didn’t have it rigged correctly. The most recent boats we have have Allen bailers, which are essentially the Elvström bailer without the sharp edges; they work great. The original bailer . . . is an interesting idea. And yes, the plastic Ronstan cleats for the halyard were not very good, but all the new boats have aluminum Clamcleats. There’s tremendous interest here in the boat, and I’m certain our fleet will double in size by the end of the year. The design level that Dave Clark is playing on is years ahead of other builders, who haven’t had an original idea, ever. Look inside the Rocket, then look inside at the drips and oozing foam inside any Sunfish and draw your own conclusions. Trying to make a better boat is a valiant cause, and sometimes there is a learning curve, but the performance and pure joy when you sail the Rocket is worth the effort.