Sailing the boat

Update 2005-01-21:
I lightened the boat this autumn, 400 grams was removed from the bulb. Floats i little lighter and no significant loss of stability has been noted.

When i write this i have competed two times with the boat. In the Swedish National Championships (SM) and in the Nordic Championships (NM). I have learned a few lessons about how the monarch handles and have some modifications and additions coming up.

The first race was SM in Landskrona just days after i (thought) i was finished with the boat and had all the fittings in place. Wich i did not. I forgot the eyebolt for the jibsheet. I did test the boat a few days before SM with the A-rig. The first race at SM was with the c-rig. The eyebolt problem was solved, and after getting the balance right i won the first race quite easily

As the wind calmed down the c-rig was replaced with b- or a-rig. And i didn't have the same speed with those rigs. Especially the b-rig was tricky to get right. Maybe just me not being used to it, but i am planning to replace it with a conventional rig instead of the swing-rig. I finished fourth at SM.

This could be the first picture of my Monarch.
Taken at SM by Erland Holmström.
Behind me is the, otherwise, nice guy Patrik Forsgren
who stole my bronce-medal ;-)

Then it was time for a summerbreak and getting up to speed with decorating the upper floor again. I didn't touch the boat for two months and then it was time for the Nordic Championships (NM).

Since i was the main organizer of the Nordics i had no time to do anything, i just charged the batteries and put the boat in the water and sailed. I should have done something about the less than smooth bulb and the rudder wich wasnt perfectly aligned with the fin (rushed it a bit when mounting the stock to the rudder).
It was a-rig the whole weekend in less than perfect sailing conditions with the winds coming from the land. Rarely from the same direction for more than a few seconds.

I finished, a bit surprised, a clear second at the Nordics. Mainly because i kept myself in the middle of the a-heat with a few firsts (and two b-heats wich could be discarded in the total points) and the rest of the field went up and down between a and b heats like they didnt really want to challenge Torvald who won clearly. Maybe sailing at my old homewater helped me understand the strange winds of lake Mälaren. The way the winds where i had no way of getting useful experince of the boats relative speed.
Maybe it felt a little heavy sometimes. I am planning to make a new longer bulb, a few hundred grams lighter than the current one that weighs (with fin) 4000 grams.

Future plans for the rigs is to replace the b-rig with a Walicki or Sails Etc conventional rig and to make a C3 "storm" rig.
A new bulb will be made during the winter and a new rudder too. The one i'm using right no is as mentioned earlier, not perfect. I could buy the bulb from Sails Etc, its only 26 pounds, but i have to check the postage and packing fee for 3,6 kilos of lead...

What have i learned form making the Monarch? It's a damn good boat well worth making. Just make someonelse make the plug..
My inexperience in that filed made that part the hardest. If i would make another plug i would probably do it in a similar way, maybe with better precision when cutting the sections and replacing the plastic foam with a similar material made for industrial modelmaking.

B-rig in choppy waters.
One of the biggest improvements compared to the old Wafer is the way it copes with waves.

If anyone is interested in making a Monarch from my plug i am willing to assist and guide you, but the plug is not for sale and i will not give it away. Contact me and buy a drawing from Sails Etc so we have the license fee covered and i will be pleased to see that we have another fast Marblehead in the Swedish waters in a couple of months.

Thats it folks..se you on the water!