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"Paul Whiting designs are likely to be
competing in two international Ton contests this year — and yet just six
months ago the Auckland designer/boatbuilder's name was virtually unknown on
the world-level racing scene. In his
first incredibly successful season of designing pure racing machines to the
IOR rule, Whiting will have the opportunity of seeing how his designs
measure up in both the Quarter and Half Ton world contests. Magic Bus
will sail for New Zealand in the Quarter Ton in Corpus Christi, and now a
development of the Quarter Tonner, Candu II may well challenge for
the world Half Ton title.
The Half Tonner was commissioned shortly
after Magic Bus had motored her way through New Zealand's Quarter Ton
fleet with such outstanding speed and the man signing the cheques is veteran
Half Ton world contest campaigner Ian Gibbs. The project
in Gibbs' mind, when he ordered the boat, was competition in this year's
Half Ton contest in Italy, Trieste — at exactly the same time as Magic
Bus goes chasing the Quarter Ton title.
If time and money are
available, and Candu II performs as well as hoped in sailing trials against
other Halves here, Gibbs will head in the direction of Europe for his third
crack at the title.
Gibbs' first attempt
was in 1974 at La Rochelle, when he campaigned the veteran Farr design
Tohe Candu (originally Titus Canby), finishing a creditable
eighth overall. Last year he sallied forth again, this time in the Ron
Holland Half Tonner Measure for Measure, for the contest in Chicago.
Despite the fact that the boat was a brand new design, Measure didn't
fare as well as Tohe Candu, finishing 10th. Both boats were, in their
challenge years, national Half Ton champions.
This year's challenge
could well be the most successful so far, though Candu II's
performance at this stage can only be the subject of speculation and hopes.
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Under-the-bow shot of Candu II shows up slab topsides, hard
bilges and very flat forefoot. Specially designed pulpit is now a feature of
most boats with spinnaker launchers |
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Certainly in the building stages and in plan view, the Half Tonner looks
as if she should perform as well as Magic Bus. Basically a big sister
of the Quarter Tonner, the Half has a slightly finer entry, with more depth
in the for'ard sections than the Bus. Amidships, sections are similar
with slightly more flare in the topsides, and aft sections have been
modified so that the skeg extends past the aft girth station measurement in
order to get the rudder further aft for better control in difficult
conditions.
A long boat at 9.67m (31ft
9in) overall, with a waterline of 7.23m (23ft 9in), Candu II
displaces 2086kg (4600lb). She will carry 725kg (1600lb) ballast, and like
Magic Bus, will rely heavily on live ballast on the weather rail for
performance.
Rig details and deck
layout are simply a scaled-up repeat of the Quarter Tonner — spinnaker
launching tubes have been used again, as have barber haulers (tweakers) for
headsail and spinnaker sheets. All sail controls lead to a specially
designed and built centre console, fitted with Wilkie 24s for headsail and
spinnaker sheets. The only big difference is that the Half Tonner is
equipped with a Gemini foil luff spar for fast headsail changes rather than
the free-hoisting, wire luff system used on Magic Bus. The mast is a
102mm (4-inch) Baverstock tube section tapered at the top, stepped well
forward and designed to be equally as bendy as Magic Bus.
The rig features the same big mainsail / small fore
triangle ratio as the Quarter Tonner, except that the fore triangle is even
smaller on Candu II, in comparison with Bus. Rated sail area totals 31.77m2
(342 sq ft).
Construction is again Airex foam
and glass over closely spaced large stringers. The deck is plywood with a
foam core, and cabin top is laminated plywood.
In place of the normal inboard
engine, the Whiting machine carries an outboard weighing around 50kg since,
according to the designer, increase in weight and drag from a shaft and
propeller unit outweighs the sail area advantage on this sort of boat.
Launching day for Candu II at
Westhaven . . .general opinion was that the Half Tonner was even more
extreme than the Quarter Tonner Magic Bus but most people agreed she looks
fast. View (top) shows a little of the Quarter Ton deck layout scaled up,
while the long shallow skeg extending beyond the aft girth station
measurement is illustrated above. |
