Old Half tonner performance

[ridgy]

Half tonners around now for 6-10k and many re-rigged with swept back spreaders so no runner antics required.
For some cheap and cheerful offshore racing is there anything not to like? I'm thinking the later ones from 80s onwards so avoiding the worst of IOR. e.g. MG HS30

I'm interested in how they perform...there seems to be a resurgence, particularly in Ireland for getting these and then tarting them up for the half ton classics, and some have had very substantial amounts of money invested in them.

This for instance:
http://www.corby-yachts.com/checkmate.html

Yay or nay?

 

[Ferris]

Friend has a Half Tonner which I am non-regular crew and they compete with the Checkmates (there are two of these modified HT's). As an example the top boats all run North 3DL's which are ~'north' of eur25k for a set I believe so they are not a cheap boat to run, good craic however.

 

[Seajet]

Good boat, better sails, don't worry about highly polished furniture, have fun; sounds like the ideal formula to me, but have a photographer standing by in a rib and harnesses on when you fly the kite in fresh winds.

 

[lpdsn]

There is a bit of a resurgence over the last decade or so. There can be good competitive racing and a good atmosphere.

https://halftonclassicscup.com/

And getting rid of the checks & runners helps the IRC rating too.

 

[flaming]

How they go seems to be a bit hit and miss... The Quokka guys have gone down the half ton route (actually returned to, as he bought his old half tonner back!) But despite that crew's undoubted talent and the fact that they're sailing a boat he had built in the first place and has spent a fair amount optimising recently, the results so far are not really what we've come to expect of the Quokka name.

 

[ridgy]

What about a Limbo 9.9 as an alternative...rating seems very high though, I wonder if it can sail to it.

 

[Seajet]

Rather lightly built, I wouldn't fancy it as a man and wife weekender - though entirely feasible, I just don't think it ideal - as a lads' and ladesses' fun racing machine with the chance of crashing out on a bunk I'd think it rather hard to beat.

 

[lpdsn]

How they go seems to be a bit hit and miss... The Quokka guys have gone down the half ton route (actually returned to, as he bought his old half tonner back!) But despite that crew's undoubted talent and the fact that they're sailing a boat he had built in the first place and has spent a fair amount optimising recently, the results so far are not really what we've come to expect of the Quokka name.

We found it useful to have someone on board who had raced IOR the first time around. Sometimes you have to get out of the IRC way of thinking. Sailing dead downwind under the kite for example.

 

[flaming]

We found it useful to have someone on board who had raced IOR the first time around. Sometimes you have to get out of the IRC way of thinking. Sailing dead downwind under the kite for example.

Well I think the Quokka guys qualify, it was them that had the boat built originally! Bought it back many years later and refurbed it for IRC.

 

[Ferris]

They need to be sailed by the numbers (by someone who knows what they're doing - not me) so you're chasing 6-7kts upwind in moderate conditions, bearing away slightly to get it if necessary so that you have enough way to deal with any chop.

There were 5 modified HT's in HYC in Dublin for the season. Checkmate XV, Checkmate XVIII, The Big Picture, Harmony and recently Trastada. The first 3 are MG30's but now all have new keels, rudders and deck layouts (also they look like new). Harmony is a lovely cedar Humphreys 33 with a new rudder and deck. Not sure about Trastada. All have masthead rigs with sweptback spreaders. In the past we had Blue Berret Pi and Superhero here too. If you want to see what can be done with no cost limit have a look at Swazzlebubble.

Not sure about the comments about weekending on a mod HT'er. I hate even going down to get sails on them, best that can be said is that they have good deck space for swimming. Unmodified HT's like a shamrock 30 would be fine obviously but these rate much lower.

 

[Aja]

Trastada was on the Clyde for a couple of seasons recently but I'm sure the last I saw her she was struggling in IRC.

Donald

 

[Ferris]

Trastada was on the Clyde for a couple of seasons recently but I'm sure the last I saw her she was struggling in IRC.

Donald

V. quick in the light stuff but needs new sails and some work to go well in some breeze. Will get the investment with the new owners I’d imagine.

HT’s rate we’ll in IRC hereabouts, they pretty much dominate class 2 in club and open events. The only competition seems to be well sailed corby 26’s or a particularly quick local J97.

 

[Dino]

HT’s are grand for inshore round the cans type racing but I’m not sure if I’d be a fan of going offshore in one. The structural integrity of a lot of old HT’s would probably be questionable in any windier races.
For inshore they are good fun and are probably more enjoyable to race because they are properly set up for racing and they usually have proper racing cockpits with plenty of room to work.
If I was going offshore I would be looking for something more robust and that’s a bit fun.
Here’s two cheaper options
A DB1 converted to swept back spreaders
https://yachts.apolloduck.ie/boat/dehler-db-1/190430
Or this could be great fun...
https://yachts.apolloduck.co.uk/boat/whitbread-30/590115

 

[Ferris]

I’d be if the same opinion re offshore racing, they’d be very uncomfortable. In the HT cup they do a shore race and that’s about as much as I’d do. They’re brilliant at windward leewards, less so around the cans where modern stuff with long waterlines have an advantage. Build wise the boats mentioned have been extensively worked on to stiffen them up but in the heavier stuff they can slam badly where heavier boats like x302’s do brilliantly. We raced that db1 a few years back and beat her, she was well sailed but she’s a 3/4 tonner I believe, even bigger bills. A db2 would be better still but rare.

 

[Lightwave395]

My good sailing friend and myself found this old Humphreys half tonner based on the Trapper 950 languishing in a shed at the back of Deacons old boatyard back around 1991/2. We bought her, completely stripped and rebuilt her and did countless JOG, Solent inshore and RORC races thereafter. She was sold to the West Country in about 1995, again in 2005 and is still sailing, out of Weymouth I believe. She was quite civilised below with loo, cooker, engine under the fixed table and close to unbeatable in light airs but a bit of a handful in a blow.
She had the classic twin spreader rig with runners and we managed to keep the rig in the boat all bar one cross channel race when we lost it due to a forestay failure... Hooligan was our name, she was originally Zephyros

http://www.histoiredeshalfs.com/E62 Hooligan.htm

 

[Ferris]

http://www.histoiredeshalfs.com/E62 Hooligan.htm

Great site, I was wrong about Checkmate XVIII, she's a Berret-Finot, not an MG30

 

[Neil_Y]

There do seem to be some bargains, I sailed an MGHS30 Heart of Gold when it was new. It's now for sale at £6950
We did the 85 world cup in her in Italy, shes was actually quite heavily built compared to some of the French, Italian boats at the time and she was OK in some breeze.
https://www.apolloduck.com/boat/mg-yachts-mg30/569034 I preferred the colour scheme when we sailed her.

Lots of boat for the money and a lot has been spent on her, in a blow you just need a man on the kicker and nerves of steel.

 

[ridgy]

It was that boat that prompted the original question, though I'm not sure it's had any money spent on it apart from a new rig nearly 20 years ago.
Seems it would be cheapish fun for buggering about in local races but comments on offshore are noted. By the time you've bought new sails and renewed the rigging you might as well get the DB1 mentioned above.

 

[Daydream believer]

If you want a half tonner that goes in light airs then get Tumblehome. Years old but I saw her a few years ago in Ostend. She was clearly still being sailed & looked fit to race. I raced against her when new & she had excellent light airs performance.
If I recall correctly, she had the wrong rating & it was not realised that a mistake had been made for some years. Hence, she did not win any cups at first. When it was realised, she was re rated to half ton & began to win.
A Stephen Jones design from the late 70's or early 80's . Had a bulbous bow.

Does not his first Hustled 32's meet half ton ratings when properly trimmed etc?
I think that Xaviera did ( sorry cannot recall spelling) They were fairly big boats. His 36's were 3/4 ton or thereabouts.

 

[Neil_Y]

I must have confused it with anther one I'd looked at. One had new sails and a recent keel. But she was a quick boat back in the day. Ace was our main competition on the solent.