February 2024 Newsletter

2023 wrap-up - onto 2024!

I can’t quite believe that our last newsletter was so long ago.  So much has happened since that it is difficult to remember everything.  Our sponsored sailors have had a busy time, notably Micky Beckett who was 2^nd at the 2023 Worlds and was selected as the Great Britain representative for the Paris 2024 Olympics.  At the recent 2024 worlds in Australia, Micky continued his run of stunning results with a great 3rd place.  

My own personal highlight of 2023 was winning the Masters European championships last September in France – quite simply my best ever racing. 

As I write this, the Masters worlds have just finished in Adelaide with our sponsored sailor Jon Emmett 3rd in the ILCA6 Masters category.  Many congratulations to all the Southeast Sailboats customers on the podiums including a few on the top step!   

Another of our sponsored sailors, Matilda Nicholls is, as you read this, on her way to the Senior European Championships in Greece which start on the 16th.

For myself, 2024 started with the first EuroMaster event of the season in Malta.  Looking forward, I will be at some of the major events in the UK and Europe - all focused on getting ready for defending my European title (or at least a good attempt!) at Vilamoura, Portugal in October.  Southeast Sailboats tentative 2024 calendar is listed later in this newsletter.

Southeast Sailboats Max Hunt 222555 in the wake of event winner Ian Jones at the recent EuroMasters event in Malta.  Photo credit: Alex Turnbull RMYC

Meet Southeast Sailboats at the RYA Dinghy Show

My first outing is actually in just a few weeks!  Southeast Sailboats and our boat will be on the UKLA stand I16 at the RYA Dinghy Show on the 24^th/25^th February.   Come and say hello, chat about rigging or whatever!   Please note that members of RYA affiliated clubs can take advantage of the following discount code RYAEX24196 to get 10% off a full price day or weekend ticket.   I will also be giving regular talks on the stand on how to improve your rigging.

ILCA 223061 for sale – Show Demonstrator

My own ILCA (which will be on the UKLA stand at the Dinghy Show) is for sale.  Apart from sitting on event stands for a few days this is a totally new, unsailed boat, available at a massive saving. 

Includes:

• Choice of ILCA4, 6 or 7 rig/sail.  Carbon upper section. 
• Fully fitted with Southeast Sailboats rigging, including choice of Harken or Ronstan kicker assemblies, 6:1 or 8:1 downhaul system, outhaul system, hiking strap adjustment system etc..
• Carbon tiller and extension
• Zhik Grip II hiking strap
• Top cover
• Undercover
• Foil bag
• Trolley

£6,795 including delivery in the south of UK, or to any of the March qualifier events.  

If you are interested please get in contact on 07880 500233, or email me at  max@southeastsailboats.co.uk

Reduce rope wear with this new kicker/vang fairlead – ILCA Class Legal

Hundreds sold!  Our unique, ILCA class legal kicker/vang fairlead is a real success.

This hard anodised PTFE coated aluminium fairlead will reduce wear on your kicker/vang control line.  Available from stock exclusively from Southeast Sailboats.

New Allen 30mm 8:1 downhaul configuration

For those of you who prefer a smaller block underneath the top block on the 8:1 downhaul system we have added a new configuration of the Allen high-load downhaul system. 

I have been using this configuration on my own boats and it works incredibly well.  The smaller block helps to ensure separation between the up/down control lines in the system.

PRISM Compass Charging

For those of us (like me) in the northern hemisphere where we may not have done much sailing in sunny conditions, now is a good time to check the charge level on our PRISM compasses.  Depending on the version that you have it may need a good week in sunshine to charge, or, if you have one of the newer ones, a quick boost via the USB charging port.  When you switch the PRISM on the battery level is shown for a few seconds (BAT on the left screen and the % charge on the right screen). 

When sailing I try and make a mental note of the charge level every time I switch it one, to see if the battery is getting enough sunlight to charge or not. At a recent event in Malta I could see that mine was slowly losing charge.  A few hours of USB boost and it was quickly back up to 100%.  For lots of other ‘start of season’ tips have a look at our detailed checklist here.

System Re-Roping

Now is a great time to have a look at your rigging and see what needs a refresh.  Our blocks last for years and years but our lines which get snagged on all sorts of things don’t. We will always re-rope your systems when needed.  For example, send us back your kicker system and we will re-rope with fully spliced lines for just £39.50.  Most, if not all kicker systems that we get back have a badly worn plastic fairlead which just makes your rope wear even more, so consider changing that for another plastic one, or even better we can fit our unique, ILCA class legal, aluminium fairlead for £29.95.

The sail bundle sale!

Our sail bundles are really popular with sails being shipped all over the world. Our popular sail bundles (sail plus numbers, country codes) are a great way of saving money.  Plus for a limited period we are also including our sail service for free!  We can’t do this all year round as sometimes we are just too busy splicing.  

Long Sail Bag

All sails (with the exception of Pryde ILCA7) come with standard short sail bags designed for folded sails.  For those of you who prefer to roll their sails we now have long, ILCA branded white sail bags in stock.

Ronstan kicker/vang tweak

In our August newsletter we talked out the introduction of the new Ronstan lower kicker/vang assembly.  One ‘feature’ that we highlighted was the cleating angle and ease of uncleating, but also the potential for it not cleating if we didn’t pull the line low enough.  Personally I thought that was something that sailors muscle memory would get used to.  However, based on feedback from Southeast Sailboats and others, Ronstan has modified the lower assembly to angle the cleat upwards slightly via the use of a plastic wedge under the cleat. 

I tried out this new version at a very windy Villamoura event in December and it is much better.  Uncleating was definitely easier than the Harken assembly, and I had no problems with it not-cleating – so definitely an improvement.  If you ordered one of the first Ronstan assemblies from Southeast Sailboats we have the cleat wedges/longer bolts in stock so that you can modify the assembly to the latest configuration if you want to.  Just get in touch.  We have the Ronstan lower assemblies in stock and you can buy just the assembly itself, or a complete system.

SESB at METS – look out for …!!!

A few months ago, Southeast Sailboats visited the vast Marine Equipment Trade Show (METS) in Amsterdam, for meetings with some of the main block and rope manufacturers.  We can’t say more, but look out for exciting new developments coming later this year!

Tiller too low? – M10 washers in stock

Regular readers of this newsletter will know that I have said quite a lot in the past about tiller height, or more accurately about the position of the gudgeons relative to the deck level.  Most charter boats that I have had recently seem to have had ‘high gudgeons’ that result in quite a large gap between the deck and the underside of the tiller where it enters the stock.  Personally I don’t like this as it means that the tiller is higher than it needs to be, making it more difficult for the traveller block to pass over the tiller.  The other impact of this is that the angle of the traveller rope is higher – which can result in the traveller block coming inboard more easily.   

The other extreme is ‘low gudgeons’ where you may not have enough clearance between the underside of the tiller and the deck.  One simple class legal solution to this is to put a washer on top of the gudgeon to lift the rudder assembly a few mm higher.  We now have these M10 washers in stock….

DIY?  – DIW!!

If you ‘Do It Yourself’ make sure that you ‘Do It Well’!!  Some things are not as simple as they may seem and a good example that has caught a number of sailors out is the new Ronstan kicker/vang top block.  This block has an exposed sheave which, if the primary line is not attached correctly, can actually rub against or actually cut through the line.  The blocks’ thin side cheeks and exposed sheave mean that the geometry of the ‘triangle’ formed by the position of the knot or splice is extremely important as under load the line can be pulled such that it can touch the sheave.  

We now position that joining point a full 5cm (2 inches) below the centre of the block to absolutely ensure that there is no contact. 

What's Trending!

Our unique kicker/vang fairlead – ILCA Class Legal: Hundreds sold!  Our unique, ILCA class legal kicker/vang fairlead is a real success. This hard anodised PTFE coated aluminium fairlead will reduce wear on your kicker/vang control line.  Available from stock exclusively from Southeast Sailboats.

Hiking Strap Adjustment System: Available in four colours our unique hiking strap adjustment system is proving very popular and customer feedback on just how well it works has been truly great.

Kicker/Vang Upgrades: Customers are just loving the Allen XHL and the new Allen XHL middle blocks.  

Where to see Southeast Sailboats in 2024 / Away Dates

The 2024 calendar is almost finalised, and listed below are the upcoming events at which Southeast Sailboats will compete.  It's a great opportunity to come up and say hi and ask any rigging questions that you may have!  

• 24/25 February - RYA Dinghy Show
• 2/3 March – UK Q at Brightlingsea
• 9/10 March – UK Q at WPNSA
• 16/17 March – UK Q at WPNSA
• 17-21 April – EuroMasters event in Spain (Please note that Southeast Sailboats will be closed for a week during this period)
• 6-7 July – Masters Q at WPNSA
• 12-16 August – UK Nationals at WPNSA
• 14-15 September – UK Q at Plas Heli
• 27-29 September – EuroMasters event at Hayling Island
• 5-11 October – Masters Europeans at Villamoura Spain – title defence!!
• 19-20 October – UK Q at WPNSA
• 26-27 October – Masters Q at Rutland
• 2-3 November – UK Inlands at Grafham Water
• December – Villamoura GP again?

Please note that during the longer events the 'Shop Closed' sign will be up on the website.  Please note that we will be closed from the 13 to 22 April when we will be at the EuroMaster event in Spain.

International Shipments 

Southeast Sailboats delivers all over the world with tax free pricing in multiple currencies.  To date we have delivered to over 40 countries!  For more information on what tax free means click on the link below.  

Typical Delivery Times - Based on recent tracked shipments  (which we can see when they are delivered), below is the latest guidance on postal and UPS delivery times to Europe, and other destinations, in alphabetical order:

Australia - typically 7-10 days.  UPS typically 7-8 days

Austria  – UPS 2 days, post 12 days

Belgium - typically 7 days

Canada – typically 7-12 days.  UPS 2 days.

France - typically 6 days  

Germany - 6-14 days

Greece – typically 9-11 days

Hong Kong - typically 6-8 days. UPS 2-3 days

Hungary – 10 days

Ireland (Republic) – typically 3-8 days  6-8

Italy – Please note that we have regrettably suspended deliveries to Italy

Japan – typically 7 days

Netherlands - typically 6-14 days

New Zealand - typically 10-14 days

Norway – typically 14 days

Poland – typically 6 days

Portugal – approx. 28 days 

Singapore – typically 7 days. UPS 2-3 days

Spain – Please note that we have regrettably suspended deliveries to Spain

Sweden – typically 4--14 days

UAE - UPS typically 2-3 days

USA - typically 6-8 days. UPS 2-3 days

For more information on tax free pricing click on the link below.