CLASS HISTORY
THE PROTOTYPE BOAT
What Happened To The Prototype Boat....
Every class starts with a prototype – these usually end up on a bonfire or abandoned in a dinghy park to rot away. However, Frederick Feulner has put a fantastic effort into putting boat number 000 back on the water.
Same-same but different…
GER-000 "Kleiner Hai“ - The prototype boat
By Frederick Feulner
Living in Kiel near the water, sailing since 1998, I was in dire need for a new boat. Helping out in Joachim “Schappi“ Harpprecht’s boat storage on one foggy winter day, I found the dusty hull of the MUSTO Skiff prototype. As I am a big friend of a sustainable “choose to reuse“ policy, I was interested in starting a new project: Getting the prototype back on the water within the next season.
I always wanted to have a wooden boat and exactly this is the main difference. The prototype was made of plywood covered with some layers of fiberglass. However, after the initial negative form was made, the process left some very nasty marks on the wooden prototype. Holes, scratches, bumbs and dents that needed removal. So an elongated procedure started…
At first, all the dents had to be filled out with epoxy resin and patches of fibre glass, then a large sanding block was prepared and used over the whole length of the boat. Starting with coarse 40 grit sandpaper I made my way through 80, 150, 240 and 320 grit paper in order to get a smooth surface. Yes, a very lengthy procedure.
Next, the massive hardwood gunwhale of the prototype had to be planed down from about 3 by 5 cms to just the about the half of that.
The next step was painting the boat. Did you notice the pain in the word “pain-ting“? A total of three layers of white PU paint was applied by a broad brush and after a thorough drying, I carefully sanded it down again after each step to ensure a smooth finish. Especially 600, 800, 1200 and 2000 grit sandpaper was used in that procedure, which resulted in a very shiny surface. Finally, with using a polishing machine a real “as new“ look was established, that also extended over the hardwood gunwhale.
The bracket on the bow was shortened as Schappi also used this part for his smaller Lightskiff prototype (www.lightskiff.de). A cut left and right and some place for extensions were created and finally screwed back into place. It looks a bit odd, but actually works fine. The cockpit was decorated with cosy pro-grip foam rubber, which gives a nice anti-slip-grip, but also adds to the comfort and the longevity of your sailing kit.
The foils also needed attention. The original rudder was shortend by about 25 cms as the same rudder was also used in the Lightskiff. We had to rebuild the rudder with PU foam and a number of carbon fibre layers and sanding to have a snug fit in the carbon rudder head.
Betraying its origin in the Contender class, a shortend carbon fibre Contender centreboard was used, which is conical in comparison with the standard MUSTO Skiff centreboard. Although the centeboard will come up, if not arrested during sailing, this is of great use during the launching or landing of the boat.
Speaking again of Lightskiff, reusing and rebuilding, the boom also needed extension by about 40 cms. We got a bit of surplus carbon tubing from CTM and brought the boom back again to the original size. The aluminium mast again comes from Goldspars – but this time with a small carbon fibre top from a surfboard.
Next thing: The racks. Schappi initially built the short parts from aluminium tubing covered with black plastic fake-carbon film on. The glue on this worked so well that I gave up removing this cover from after trying aceton, brake-cleaner fluid, gasoline and a heat gun and opted for a a set of carbon (at least they are black) surf masts of more or less the same diameter donated by www.Westwind-Kiel.de.
All of the racks were painted in gloss black and are attached to clamps on the boat by eight screws. Therefore, it takes a bit longer to remove and attach the racks for transportation.
The rudder head also originates in the Contender class . The tiller extension is made of renewable raw materials – bamboo. This is a lightweight, flexible, lasting and cheap material with pre-grown anti-slip patterns. Unfortunately, it is not available in natural carbon-black.
A big difference to the ordinary boats is the transom made of wood, where the stock boats have a metal support frame for the rudder. Also, the prototype boat has much less volume astern, which might cause the boat to dip deeply into the water if crewed by two in the back of the cockpit.
The main sail was made by www.schultz-segel.de of white dacron sheets, which are quite nice but as an experimental sail for a prototype boat has no transparent window. So flying the gennaker and trapezing you almost have absolutely no bloody idea of where you are going and if there are any other boats in your way. So planning the course ahead is safety rule #1.
The main sail seems to be quite bulgy compared to standard sails. I am still trying to use different sets of battens in the sail.
Named „GER-000 Kleiner Hai“, this splendid piece of technology took about half a year to complete, and about 45 30 km-journeys on bike to the famous Harpprecht Shipyards. In 2012 and 2013 it accumulated over 70 sailing trips on Kiel bay waters and checked in at the “Letze Helden” boat race in December 2013 on the Elbe river at Hamburg-Blankenese.
Please check www.facebook.com/GER000MUSTOPerformanceSkiff for updates.
