K1 class celebrates tenth anniversary - New builder Ovington and new deck mould in production
by Hilary King 6 Apr 2020 09:23 BST
K1 National Championships at Draycote © Veronica King
The K1 class is celebrating its ten year anniversary in 2020 and we as a class association thought it a good time to share our plans for the rest of the year.
Firstly we are delighted to have introduced Ovington as our new builder from 2020, and a chance to upgrade our fabulous boat without impacting the existing fleet. The K1 has a niche in the dinghy sailing market since it has a keel which gives extra stability when sailing. The boat has proven to be extremely competitive, performing well in numerous open events including the Selden Sailjuice Winter Series, South West Series, Weston Grand Slam, Exmoor Beastie to name a few. Together with an active class travellers series and both an Inland and Sea Nationals planned each year, the racing is buoyant.
I thought it would be interesting to explain the changes being introduced when the first Ovington boats are manufactured. As this article is published a new deck layout mould is being prepared. The upgrades are a moulding of non-slip on the sitting out area of the deck, which will alleviate the necessity of applying non slip tape. There will be moulded in "hand grips" to help getting back into the boat, (not that we intend to use this feature!).
A new bow fitting which has two fixings rather than the one at present, which will stop the rotation that many sailors have experienced. Incidentally Vandercraft are developing a retro fitting which will replace the single fitting, Jeff promises this will be easy to fit.
The mast gate will now be moulded to replace the metal plate and mast chocks will be a standard fitting incorporated into the new mast gate. Other modifications will include a revised moulding around the top rudder fitting and the U-bolt shroud fixing. I cannot wait to see the first completed boats and there is already a demand for new boats.
Clearly none of the modifications alter the performance of the boat, as always it is the sailor who makes the difference.
The K1 stand at the RYA Dinghy Show was a notable success with much interest shown in the boat. Those new to the K1 were clearly impressed with the ease of launching and recovery on a normal slipway. The other most popular comments included, how clean the lines were and how much fun the boat is to sail, both as a racer and for cruising.
I know our webmaster Geoff King is using his period of isolation to provide a new web site for the K1 class. This will allow the association to provide more information on set up, tuning and training initially, but the aim long term is to allow greater interaction and to share knowledge between members and those interested in joining the class.
The K1 class association is keen to be inclusive of all members who race the K1 and as such new categories have been introduced at both Championships to encourage greater participation.
During this difficult time I know our members are volunteering and a number are key workers and our sincere thanks go out to all of you.