Case 8, p class foils The Mighty p class

Recommend a method to build P class Foils Where do I start? How are the competitive foils made What is their design how do I know what shape to make them Look up The Tauranga Yacht Club, they administer the P class Rules and Forms under, How to’s We need to study the drawing and find out how the good foils are made

Study what foils other p class are using How could I do that? Murrays Bay Sailing Club Kohimaramara Yacht Club Trade me I suggest you do try to find P Class foils to look at, however in the meantime I can confirm that their foils are able to be made from any material including carbon fibre What is important in the design of the foil? Carbon foils will be stiff, is that a good thing?

Lets set about making the foils We need to plan the profile shape, make a pattern. We need to decide on a foil section We need to finalise our construction method, how strong do they need to be? What will the rudder and centreboard look like? What core would we be best to use?

The Construction Once the foil section is chosen female pattern shapes are made One off foils for racing dinghies will normally be made by shaping a cedar or foam core The cedar must be held true while the shaping takes place The shaping can be done by hand Thickness is important Choose a laminate, carbon fibre cloth?

Construction (cont) The laminate is used to hold the foil in line one side at a time The cloth is hand laminated, the cedar should be sealed Cradle shapes hold the foil when it is turned over The trailing edge is backfilled The leading edge has an overlap

Construction (cont) The shaping must be completed carefully The leading edge could be strengthened by using a solid fill, cutting the core back square Final surface before paint should be filler What thickness would the cloth, resin and filler be? What paint could be used How could we produce a competitive finish What areas of a foil may need strengthening What controls the depth of the centre board

The Finished Foils They need to be well protected even the slightest marks have to be avoided to maximise the effect of efficient water flow on to the foil surfaces Paint them white Did we monitor the weight as we built the foils, how could we monitor the weight? What could they cost the client, how do we cost them? The End