Unboxing the Bieker Moth with Kyle Stoneham
by Mark Jardine 6 Sep 09:16 PDT
A look inside the Bieker Moth at the Wetsuit Outlet International Moth UK Championship © Mark Jardine
I've never understood the whole idea of unboxing videos, but apparently they're a thing and are very popular, so when we took the lid off Kyle Stoneham's Bieker International Moth to see how the hidden rigging systems work, unboxing seemed to be an apt title.
So why are all the ropes hidden on all the latest International Moths? It's all about aerodynamic efficiency as the boats get faster and faster. As we find out with Kyle, there are also some very clever systems under the carbon covers.
Non-foiling sailors will understand the terms like vang, cunningham and outhall, but gearing, prodder and the bias adjuster will be new terms, all tied in with the foil control systems, and we attempt to explain what they do.
We also take a look at the extraordinary loads the Allen Brothers blocks have to handle on the vang, which are measured with a tiny Cyclops Marine load sensor.