At the CNR boat show

Thank you to everyone who came to see the U530 at the CNR boat show. The response was warm — most people said she looks bigger in person than in photographs, and more than a few climbed into the cabin and stretched out. Several visitors from abroad called her a clever design.

A camping tent would make her a proper expedition boat, and I’ve found a light, waterproof local fabric for it — the design is next.

I’d always stepped and unstepped the mast single-handed; at the show two of us did it together and it was very easy. A short video of that, and a fuller one on the boat’s rig, are on the way.

The one way the U530 differs from the European boats it’s measured against is that its mast isn’t carbon. A carbon spar of the right strength runs to €2,000–3,000, so I’ve been building a machine to make one affordably — the aim isn’t to make money on it, but to add performance for anyone who wants it.