The new FC foil

The first thing that jumped out at me was the span: 48 inches from tip to tip. This is a foil made by somebody who has learned how to do it right. All the bells and whistles were present. There's the solid fitting socketed T-joint, the smoothly moving push rod, the hinge that's completely flush on the bottom (some sort of Kevlar fabric by the look of it) and so close on the top that you can barely fit a business card in the gap. Yes, this is worth all the wait, not to mention the cost.





John called for a forward cant of 8.5 degrees. To set up the board I made a large protractor with lines from 7.5 to 9.5 degrees, marked every half degree. The Difference is obviously slight. Moving the top of the board less than an inch will result in over two degrees difference in the angle.



I set the well at 8.5 as directed but have the ability to tweak the angle by moving the pin placement fore and aft. The pics below show the top of my well. Note the load is carried by the slotted G-10 pieces, but the fore and aft placement is controlled by the center section that can slide in a groove mounted forward. The placement is fixed by the two large cap screws. The thing that makes it work is the cable mount moves with the pin - no readjustment is needed to change the overall AoA. Obviously, the change should be made ashore, but loosening two set screws, sliding the center section, then tightening the screws is a lot easier than fitting wedges in the T-joint. I would think that I could affect a reproducible difference of about a quarter of a degree. The whole kit and kaboodle is covered by a lightweight cover, strong enough to sit on in light air.








Enjoy more Paul Simon

Slip Slidin' Away, by Paul Simon (1977)

Slip slidin' away
Slip slidin' away
You know the nearer your destination
The more you're slip slidin' away

I know a man
He came from my home town
He wore his passion for his woman
Like a thorny crown
He said Dolores
I live in fear
My love for you's so overpowering
I'm afraid that I will disappear

Slip slidin' away
Slip slidin' away
You know the nearer your destination
The more you're slip slidin' away

I know a woman
Became a wife
These are the very words she uses
To describe her life
She said a good day
Ain't got no rain
She said a bad day's when I lie in bed
And think of things that might have been

Slip slidin' away
Slip slidin' away
You know the nearer your destination
The more you're slip slidin' away

And I know a fa-ther
Who had a son
He longed to tell him all the reasons
For the things he'd done
He came a long way
Just to explain
He kissed his boy as he lay sleeping
Then he turned around and headed home again

Slip slidin' away
Slip slidin' away
You know the nearer your destination
The more you're slip slidin' away

God only knows
God makes his plan
The information's unavailable
To the mortal man
We're working our jobs
Collect our pay
Believe we're gliding down the highway
When in fact we're slip slidin' away

Slip slidin' away
Slip slidin' away
You know the nearer your destination
The more you're slip slidin' away

Slip slidin' away
You know the nearer your destination
The more you're slip slidin' away
Mmm...