Produced at the end of 2001 we had four men working for four months to produce our new hull shape and two identical ceramic hull moulds for the new 2002 Devoti Finn.

Production started with the new moulds mid January and initial reports from the sailors using their boats are extremely good. Sebastien winning in Palma , the first big race of the season.

The main difference is in the hull shape with details on the finishing and some structural details improved.

Hull shape:

The two new identical hull moulds are made from a ceramic technique, which allows for remarkable accuracy of the mould from the plug , fairness and quality of finish.

In 2001 we made a mould called by us the Skinny One! This was never meant to go into main production and only be used for evaluation but by demand we made about 15 hulls from this mould. The notable sailors with this were Fellmann( Ger), Maier(CZ), Kusznierewicz (POL), Emilios (GRE)in Marblehead and of course Luca.

With good results and particularly good downwind speed the Skinny one! was a success but in certain extreme conditions up wind and downwind the bow had a tendency to go down .Overall it was possible to get very good speed from this hull but it was always necessary for constant trimming and concentration to get maximum speed.

Lessons learned from this were invaluable in deciding the shape for 2002 and the new mould is essentially a cross between the Skinny One! and the previous standard hull. On the new shape we concentrated on symmetry and combining the best aspects of the two previous shapes to produce a shape that was fast but not temperamental.

Structural Improvements:

Lessons learned from other classes we are involved with have lead us to change the majority of hull ribs to a fully moulded rib. This is a change from foam strips glassed over.

On the 470 due to a much thinner hull laminate thickness foam ribs glassed over inevitably show through on the surface and although this is not such a problem on the Finns thicker laminate over time and in certain conditions the foam ribs do become apparent on the surface.

We have been extremely careful not to change the stiffness of the forward hull and foredeck and all forward ribs and laminate are unchanged.

Local laminate increases particularly around the gunwale of the main deck and under the hiking area give the main deck more stiffness and strength in these areas.

Detail:

Forward keelband now glued into a moulded recess is easier for us to fit and less prone to damage if the bow is pushed hard sideways.

Most of the guys in Sydney worked on the detail of the hull next to the centreboard changing the radius that was standard for us to a sharp 90 degree corner. The sharp corner down there is now standard for us. This was generally felt to be more efficient for water flow.

The detail of the hull deck join inside around the centreboard is also changed. Due to changes in the way we make the centreboard capping it has become possible for us to change the connection of the main deck to the hull around the centreboard. The bonding area is much bigger and by changing the levels and recessing the bailers the flow of water into the bailers is much improved.

Also visible is the improvement on the hull/deck join on the gunwale around the foredeck. This is much more accurate which enables us to slightly reduce the bonding and therefore bow weight.

The gunwale join around the main deck remains as before for increased strength/stiffness.

All 2002 boats are supplied with a removable storage bag on the side of the centreboard case.

New trolleys have as standard a forward moulding for greater safety in the dinghy park and trailing.

We continue to work closely with Ronstan on the fittings and later this year all boats will have a calibrated bottle screw on the mast step adjuster.

Available as extras are carbon centreboard supports and transom draining tubes. See pictures

Summary:

Our aim has been to produce a hull shape that is reliably fast in all

conditions and a long lasting Finn.