Tushingham BOLT

Today I got the chance to try out the new Tushy Bolt which will be released for next season.
I initially rigged it on a Powerex 460 skinny as I had left the bottom of the 450 at home.
The first thing I noticed when I downhauled it was the shape which is built in, normally the T4 which is being replaced by the Bolt would rig flat with the battens behind the mast.
Very weird at first as I have been using T-birds since their conception & the Max prior to that.

The sail only needed a little batten tightening & it looked sweet.
The new skrim material is softer & lighter than Monofilm, the overall sail weight is noticably down, probably only 100 grams but enough to notice.

The graphics look great & the build quality looks good, Tushies normally last about 7 years with plain Monofilm.
It was a pity the wind dropped out before I finished rigging, I was really looking forward to testing it side by side with my 7.0 metre T-bird.
Laying it over the top the Bolt has less material in the foot & a little more just above the boom on the leach.
The middle battens have been repositioned slightly as well but generally doesn't look much different except for the built in draft.

Because of the built-in shape I think the sail will require more initial outhaul, the T-birds run almost nautral outhaul, the Bolt looks like it will have a better wind range as there will be more outhaul available without flattening the sail, this can only be tested on the water though.

I went home & got the 450 bottom & rerigged it, I think it looked better on the 450 Tushy skinny, the Powerex seems to be a bit softer in the very top, which I have also noticed with the T-birds.

Thanks to Second Wind for the demo, pity I'm not going to Cocos to use them

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uweh said..

looks good so far ... little more tension for the first bottom batten...and a very little more downhole...?

Yes, just after I took the photos i put on an extra 1/2" of Downhaul & Tightened the batten tension.
It rotated better after tweaking as well, it actually rotated like a cambered sail rather than a no-cam, but with no effort.