“The basic concept of the boat that I fell in love with back in 1975 hasn’t changed!” – Tim Law UK National Champion 1975, 1978
New Ovington ILCA on show at the UKLA Nationals 2020 - above Photo Sam Pearce
just the recess into which the current one fits!
F
rom a rig perspective the original full rig sail design, apart from the sailcloth being made heavier at some point, remained unchanged for 45 years, until the MkII was released in 2016. There was more development in smaller rigs which started with the M rig. The M rig had a shorter top section, but as it used the normal lower mast the M rig was hard to depower. It was superseded in 1983 by the Radial rig, which used a normal top mast, but with a shorter and lighter lower section. Both the M rig and first Radial rigs used a metal cap at the top of the mast and a halyard to pull the sail up! The current
‘...Radial rigs used a metal cap at the top of the mast and a halyard to pull the sail up’
ILCA 6 (Radial) sail is the Mk6 version which was introduced in the early 2000s. Like the early hulls, sails were available in a range of ‘rainbow’ colours with different colours for each panel. To help the transition between Optimist and the Laser, the 4.7 rig was released in around 2000 and hasn’t changed since. Spars have in the past been ‘problematic’. Early masts and booms just weren’t strong enough. Even in the 2000s due in part to the amount of kicker being used, Radial bottom masts were bending and breaking. Top masts were bending, being straightened, bending again, breaking. Re-tooling some years ago resulted in a slightly heavier Radial lower mast that helped reduce the number of bent ones, but
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