Anonymous wrote:

Apologies for the delayed photographs. Fan Shi is truly a work of art and skims along very nicely in those light conditions. What a festival of sails and colour on the Saturday. Congratulations to both Annie and David, Fan Shi looks like she was never not in the water; a little home, very much at home on the sea! 

Excellent photographs Roger!

Looks like a bit of a 'Junk Armada' invading the Whangarei River.

First of all, congratulations to both you, Annie, and to David Tyler. It must have been a big relief for you to see that Fanshi turned out to float on her lines, neither being nose- nor tail-heavy. That would have worried me sick if I were the designer.

As for the lee helm, I admit that I only occasionally hit perfect balance (a hint of weather helm) on my boats. However, steering is normally tolerable, or I can shift the sail a bit this or that way to get it right. After having tried three junkrigs (in 4 modes) on my Malena, I learned that it was not just to put the geometrical CE on the right place. The sort of camber and the position of it moved the centre of pressure, CP, back and forth, even if Malena’s sails were of the same profile and sitting in the same position:

• ·         With the first flat sail, the balance was just about right (..but lousy performance...).
• ·         With the same sail with hinged battens and the max camber in the middle of the sail, there was a notable (but not severe) increase in weather helm.
• ·         With the blue cambered panel sail (1994), there was some lee helm. By both adjusting the mast rake (maybe moving the top 20cm aft) and shifting the sail a bit aft on the mast, the balance became right. This sail had the max camber about 35% from the luff.

It looks to me as if ‘Fanshi’s sail only has camber in the front section, and then combined with a hinge in the battens, right? The combination of these two features could possibly move the CP quite far forward.
I wonder; is the same lee helm experienced on the port tack?

Obviously, the simplest remedy is to shift the sail further aft on the mast, and see what happens. If there had been a Fanshi 2 only two months away from launching, I would have suggested that the sail was build with all-cambered panels and with the max-camber point at the middle of the sail. A little late now for that...

Cheers,
Arne

Every time Fanshi sails into an anchorage, she is going to cause a sensation.  She is one of those boats that one never forgets, that triggers some deep, inner longing, that makes you feel, if you just had a boat like that, you could step through a magical doorway into a life of exotic adventure.  Over the last 50+ years, I can count on my fingers the number of boats that have stirred me in this way.  Congratulations, Annie, for following your vision and building a boat that expresses your essence so uniquely.  And congratulations to David Tyler for his excellent design - floating right on her marks!

Anonymous wrote:

Congratulations David, upon the success of your design. If I were 20 years younger, I might order a set of plans. Thank you Graeme, for the YT clips and above all, I doff my cap respectfully to her builder. What an amazing achievement!

Shemaya: Yes, FanShi does seem to be sailing exceptionally fast, possibly enhanced by the moving platform. But it was exciting. She was sailing very well.

Zane: It was just a good puff for a few seconds, I don't know the windspeed as it was varying (later on, on the way to Parua Bay, the breeze dropped right off). I have quite a lot of raw footage in the form of 20 sec cell-phone shots, including some good shots of Freebie on the way back to Norsand (click the link). But I haven't learned how to edit. I'm glad you chimed in - got a job for you!

David: As designer you can be more than chuffed. Considering the design, construction method, size, versatility etc for living aboard, coastal cruising and with offshore potential and sheer practicality, FanShi must eventually find her place as one of the classics, and not just because Annie is (now even more deservedly) famous.

Asmat: I doff my cap too - and wish too I were 20 years younger. Here's another short clip while waiting for Marcus to turn up this morning.  (Sadly, Marcus's shed, where FanShi was built, has to be pulled down, starting this morning. (But its going to be resurrected on a new site!)) Another Short Clip.

FanShi first junket:

On the way to Parua Bay. That's Rob and Maren's new boat Hihi on the right.

Junket headquarters and host ship: Le Carnard Bleu (thanks Paul)

Shirley sailing into Parua Bay - FanShi is the little dot on the far right....

while Alan and Marcus carry out the serious business of evaluating the Chateau Zebedee 2020.  (For wine-loving afficionadoes, never mind about the "nose" and all the other jargon. Alan's brutal analysis is simple and to the point:  "If you drink ENOUGH of it, it WILL get you!")