Niels
decisively answered the question I am often asked, "Can I use a DN rig
on my Icester", with a resounding, "NO!". At least, it did not work out
well for him. A DN sail is a full 8 square feet larger than the designed
Icester sail, and it's higher aspect ratio, cheater boom, and greater overall
efficiency combine to load the fuselage with a bit more force than it can
handle. The sides of #28 loosed themselves from the frames under some hard
going. He is going to repair the boat, and try out a smaller soft-water
boat rig, in an attempt to get in some more sailing in what's left of the
season.
The DN rig dwarfs Iceblue. Very powerful...
too bad it turned out to be too much for the boat.
Icesters are (just) big enough for two.
The discontinuous framing across the bottom
at this point both supports the seat bottom, while allowing the mainsheet
to travel under the seat. From there, the sheet runs up to a block, and
back to the skipper. Iceblue's frames are all nicely filleted.
Rear view of Niel's Iceblue, before the deck
and "trunk" skin. The two rectangular holes in the seat back are for access
doors to the trunk compartment.