rofessional sailor Matt Mason
has developed a simple solution.
It comprises a bolt-on bow
appendage, an extended mast
and a bigger sail. Together, they
radically transform the looks
and performance of the standard Opti. Mason calls
it the O-Pro.
The modification package offers a host of
advantages. Not only to young, developing sailors- but also to their families – because it extends
the ‘operational window’ of an investment in the
standard Optimist.
There’s perhaps an element of irony that Mason - with four America’s Cup titles under his belt
and years of involvement at the high end of the
professional sailing circuit – should be dabbling
with what is the most basic of sailing craft. But it all
started innocently enough, with his eight-year-old
son, William.
“William is part of the Opti programme at North
Shore’s Wakatere Sailing Club,” he explains. “On the
way home one day he asked me why the Opti had
such a blunt bow compared with other classes. It
started me thinking.”
GENESIS
Over the next few months Mason thought about an
add-on bow appendage and then made a prototype
in his garage. “I can’t really say any ‘design’ was
involved – I just extended the hull lines to form a
more traditional bow – though I did use scans of Opti
hulls from three different manufacturers to create
the optimum blend. These scans were imported
into Solidworks, and that allowed us to develop a
precision mould.”
The appendage is a simple, lightweight fitting
that clips snugly on to the Opti’s existing bow. It
extends the hull length by 450mm and makes for
a more streamlined entry that slices rather than
punches through waves. It also creates a longer
waterline length.
It mates seamlessly with the existing hull (it’s hard
to see the join), and is held in place by three bolts and
nuts. This simplicity means any kid is able to attach it
in minutes. It’s also a sealed, watertight unit, offering
more buoyancy – and the built-in splashboard diverts
waves away from the interior (helping to eliminate
one of the traditional Opti’s major drawbacks).
To complement the modified hull, the O-Pro
also gets an upgraded mast and sail. A 1.8m carbonWORDS BY LAWRENCE SCHÄFFLER
PHOTOGRAPHY BRYCE TAYLORfeature
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