Mike's Micro Magic "B" Rig

Hi Mike,

attached you find a translation of the document you asked for, slightly updated with an additional note for the smallest sizes.

I do not know if you have get it from our german website via visiting the chapter “Bootsbau”, but if not you may take a look to it as there are some other infos downloadable:

http://www.mm-sailing.de/mm-hp/bau/bau-b.htm#f4

(This is the full chapter with all technical infos around boat building: http://www.mm-sailing.de/mm-hp/bau/bau-b.htm )

There you can get also some pdf files of the given sail dimensions for plotting in 1:1 size if you have access to a plotter / plot shop.

However I would like to point out, that these sizes were designed as first draft back in 2002 in an early stage of MM as “racing class boat” and published just for giving some info to our more or less newcomers about how to make MM “all weather sailing” . I designed them in respect of my formal knowledge with Marblehead and 1-Meter boats but without any comparisons / tests – so I am not sure, if and how good they are. For example you may well discuss about the very low height to width ratio of the smallest suits in opposite to theoretical terms of getting best possible upwind performance… However, as long as I get no other / newer / better proposals I hold on to present them. My own tests had been positive in general terms and at least I have also positive results with BLUE size in some few race events (all others were not used from me in race events due to mostly not enough wind conditions but just when having some free sailing…) I have got some positive comments from others also using sails of that proposals.

However, as time goes on I think there must be / are now much more experiences available about smaller sails for MM, specially in GBR and NED, where they sail much more in fresh conditions. There you can find also different sizes and shapes which seems to perform well and giving different behaviour to the boat.

You might take a look to following links for getting some very actual info about development of smaller sails in GBR which I think may be helpful:

some general comments on different sail shapes from Mike Pickles which I think are true:

http://magicmicro.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?6290.last

newest smaller fat head sails from John Tushingham in UK

http://magicmicro.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?6164.0

(scroll down a bit)

I am sorry not to have some more infos or own new proposals but since 2002/03 I have made no other smaller sail suits / testing, just a “head cut off standard main” (fat head made out of standard A main sail) last year, which I was not able to test out carefully up to now, just sailed in one heat at our german championsships last year. Reason for not only my stop in developments of smaller sails / rigs is the development here in Germany: With our own MM class rules we are allowed to use additional heavier keels and with that you get better, easier and at least also cheaper performing gains for moderate to fresh sailing conditions out of the boat in conditions up to 5 Bft still with simple A-suit. That stops german people to think about smaller rigs but take a set of three keels (370g (kit), 470g , 570g lead bulbs) and thats all to be satisfied.

However I still look with some basic interest on sail developments in other parts and be interested in what people do with MMs in general.

Much fun with MM.

Regards

Thomas

The "B" rig I made was based on dimensions extrapolated from John Tushingham's designs which are shown in the attached file "Graphite Black Label Sails. Of course his are panelled sails whereas what I made was a cut down single panel kit sail but it works quite well. I also have attached Thomas' file of sail designs for interest.

Mike

Graphite Black Label Sails.pdf

MM smaller sails.pdf