The Dabchick class has been evolving to meet modern demands in the last 2 years. The 2 major changes have been in respect of sail cloth and Fibreglass construction. As a result some changes are needed to the rules. As chairman I have consulted with the Technical committee and others However time has caught up with us and Nationals is not far away. Therefore we have agreed the following changes for Nationals 2009,and request that any objections be lodged with the Chairman by 30 th November 2009 failing which the changes will apply as outlined below or until they can be confirmed at the AGM and properly be written into the rules.
JIB WINDOWS : see follow up post
THE GUNWALES
From the diagram attached, it would appear that the only problem is that the rubbing strake or deck overhang (on glass boats) is 17mm instead of
15mm.
Sometime from the original design of June 1956, and plans redrawn May 1963 by the Kopers, the original 3/4″ x 3/8″ half round beading specified got changed into 30mm x 15mm rubbing strakes. My guess is that the conversion from inches to mm took into account “nice” numbers and available wood sizes.
The extra 2mm on the fiberglass boats will not affect the boat speed at all.
It is therefore proposed that class rule 28 be changed to read: Any rubbing strake of deck overhang shall not exceed the following measurements: vertically 15mm where attached to the hull and horizontally 30 mm. The intention is to accommodate the construction of GRP boats and not to provide scope for some enterprising designer to redesign the side op the boat.
A sketch of the hull deck joint is shown indicating the maximum measurements as per the existing class rules
All the glass boats currently constructed by Performance Craft , comply with the proposed amendment, and are cleared to take part in Nationals or until the changes are written into the rules..
CENTREBOARDS & CASINGS
We have also noticed that some sailors have in the past fitted a box inside the centerboard casing to reduce the size of the casing. We believe that this is in conflict with
CR 2: Builders shall not attempt to get round the spirit of these rules. Even if the box is removable we believe that the sailors should take a vote on whether this should be considered legal as it makes the positioning of the centerboard much easier.
This practice is therefore outlawed for the 2009 Nationals, or until a proper vote can be taken to change the rules or not.
Owen Baxter
NATIONAL CHAIRMAN
DABCHICK CLASS
(011) 352-7797 or 0832367518