Solo Class Page
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Why Sail a Solo at Littleton?
Littleton is one of the best clubs for Solo fleet racing in the country. The depth of the fleet means that you will find good competitive racing whatever level you are currently at, be it new to sailing (or new to the Solo) or an experienced campaigner. Although the Solo is not particularly fast, it is a tactically challenging boat, and the nip and tuck of racing on our lake is addictive. With a fleet of about 50 Solos berthed at the club and additional winter members joining us, we are looking forward to 15 to 20 boats racing regularly during our Winter 2010-11 season.
The Solo is a single handed dinghy ideally suitable for sailors between 70 and 95 Kg (thats between 11 and 15 stone in old money..) It has such a wide weight range due to the different mast options available, with bendy rigs available for the lighter sailors and stiffer rigs for the heavier. |
A Bit About the Solo
The boat was designed by Jack Holt in 1956, which sounds like a long time ago - but the design was visionary back then. It has fully battened (powerful) sails, traveller, easy to use control lines, centre main, stayed mast, and comfortable (and easily adjustable) hiking. There is loads on the Class Association website about the boat if you want to find out more. You can build a Solo at home, or buy a ready built one in either traditional wood or modern FRP construction. There is also a strong demand in the second hand market for the boats, so you don't lose much money in devaluation when you sail a Solo. Solos this year have broken therough the 5000 barrier and sail numbers are now sneaking towards 5100.
If you would like to see a little piece of history, then take a look at this Marketing Brochure for the Solo circa 1965.
Where Do I Find Out More?
The class captain is Mike Dray, who would be delighted to answer any questions you may have about sailing Solo's at Littleton. You can either email or call on 01932 571036.
Also at the club we have 2 members who sit on the National Solo Class Association committee - Renee Crawshaw and Jonathan Jowett |
Solo's in the Dinghy Park
If you are refitting an old Solo, or just enjoy looking round the boat park to see how other people have their boats laid out, the following images of Littleton boats may be of interest.
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Colour coded control lines taken to the extreme, with matching colour rope end bobbles and coloured top washers on each cleat. The colours are of course repeated on the port hand deck controls as well. There is no excuse for pulling the wrong rope with this system (unless of course you forget which colour controls what)! |
| Winder produces a very snazzy moulded fitting designed to mount your Tacktick compass on. It is fitted to the front of the centreboard case and makes reaching the Tacktick from the helm an easy task. Or the cheaper solution … |
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…a section of plastic air conditioning tubing (available at most DIY stores). Simply cut to size, screw the Tacktick holder to the front and secure centrally behind the mast gate as shown. If you’d rather not screw holes into your boat cable ties through the mast gate work well. Note how the control lines are fed through the middle of the tubing. |
| Harken mainsheet ratchet block with raised swivel bracket and cleat ensuring an efficient angle of pull. This system is common to most modern Solos. It is important to have the right height of bracket to match the block. |
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This bungee system holds the boom out downwind in lighter winds. It is particularly useful on the sea in a swell. For the system to be effective the bungee should be as thick as possible. It should also be a continuous length starting at the kicker, going through a pulley on the bow and ending back up at the kicker. It is useful to have a hook fitting to attach the two ends at the kicker. |
| Solo number 1660 - This is a fine example of an old wooden boat that has been refurbished by a Littleton member. Prior to the refurbishment the deck was separating from the hull and the whole boat needed a great deal of TLC. The original deck has been preserved with some repair work to the gunwhales and now looks as good as any modern boat. |
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1660 still has its original Needlespar mast, which is now partnered with a second hand Holt boom and Wavelength sail (also second hand). The Needlespar mast is is actually an early version of the current Wavelength mast, making this sail a well suited match. |
Solo Training Footage
Race 1 Video - Training Day Oct 18th 08 |
Race 2 Video - Training Day Oct 18th 08
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Solo Training Footage 11th October 2009
Start Sequences (link to youtube video by Tim Hore)
Tacking Exercises
Top Tips
During 2008 a number of top tips were published in the Littleton Scene by different contributors who were invited to share their thoughts on a given topic. The top tips were meant to be bite size easily digestible elements, aimed at the typical club sailors. The archive is below for posterity.
1. When to use the traveller, and when not? by Vanda Jowett and Jonathan Jowett
2. Care and fitting of the centreboard and rudder by Geoff Carveth
3. When did you last check your centre board slot gasket? by Richard Cambrook
4. Keep it flat by Tim Hore
5. Downwind trim by Tim Hore
6. Rig care by Mike Wilkie
7. Masts sections and crew weights by Vanda Jowett
8. Where to look by Jonathan Jowett
9. Sailing fitness by Ed Chaplin
10. Transits – go for it by David Hartland
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