Canterbury boat revitalises local skiff fleet

by Sutter Schumacher on 31 Jan 2006 Lifelong sailor Sean Milner of Lyttelton and yacht designer Dan Leech of Diamond Harbour have teamed up to campaign a new R Class skiff this season, and the result is turning heads around Lyttelton Harbour.

The newest version of 3.9 metre boat – called an L3 because it is Leech's third design to the R Class specifications – is the result of a rule change approved by members of this developmental class over the winter.

The R Class has historically placed few restrictions on the design of its boats, thereby enabling lots of experimentation about how to make boats sail fast. With the most recent change, ‘the class has removed virtually all limitations on the shape of the boat's hull.
The primary limit now is length,’ Milner explained.

Within months of the rule change, Milner and Leech commenced design and construction of the new boat, which is sponsored by Nuplex Industries and Davie Norris Boatbuilders. Now on the water, the boat – sailing under the name Nuplex Davie Norris – is receiving considerable attention from competitors and spectators alike.

‘This boat is a lightweight rocket,’ Leech said. Proving the point, Milner and Leech have won 5 of the 6 races they've sailed. Two of those wins were come-from-behind victories in which Milner and Leech went from last to first in one leg of the course.

The idea for the L3 design, with a hard chine that enables it to get up on a plane with relatively little effort, is based on principles used in powerboat design. In his day job, Leech works with Christchurch powerboat designer Scott Robson, who utilises hard chines in his boats for maximum fuel and speed efficiency.

In the R Class, the chine feature is purely for speed. ‘I think what Dan has done with the chine really is a breakthrough in skiff hull design,’ Milner said. ‘It promotes lift, which means the boat gets up on a plane quicker. There's less water friction against the hull, and we just fly across the tops of waves, even when we're sailing upwind.’

As could be expected from a revolutionary design, Milner and Leech faced a few teething problems in their first outings. But Milner is confident that the kinks have been worked out and past is behind them.

Milner is no stranger to R Class boats, having raced in the fleet for 24 years. In 2000, he won the class's 50th national competition, the Leander Trophy, with Steve MacIntosh as crew. He won the class's sprint series in 2002.

Though Leech is a relative newcomer with only seven years' experience racing R Class boats, he's hardly a rookie. He won the sprint series in 2000 and 2003. This is Milner and Leech's second season racing together. Last year they teamed up to campaign an L2, which Leech designed three years ago.

While only one L2 was built, Leech and Milner are confident that Nuplex Davie Norris will be joined by other L3s on the starting line in future seasons. ‘A couple of guys have expressed interest in building L3s,’ Leech said. ‘The Canterbury fleet has been pretty supportive of the new boat because they see how excited people get when they watch it sail. And once they have a chance to get on the boat and feel how it moves, it's pretty hard to go back to sailing a more traditional boat.’

In the meantime, Milner and Leech continue to prepare for the 56th running of the Leander Trophy, which will be contested March 9 –13 in Lyttelton. Approximately 20 boats from Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch are expected to line up for the annual competition.

The Leander Trophy will be followed by a sprint series on March 13. The all-out speed competition has been known to feature the 3.9 metre boats sailing in excess of 20 knots. Geared for public viewing and complete with live commentary, the sprint series will be raced within metres of the Lyttelton shoreline with spectacular displays of speed, boat handling, and perhaps even a few wipe-outs. If you're in the neighbourhood, you won't want to miss it.

For further information see; www.rclass.org