I am still excited and just arrived in the office after some early morning beers last night. Yesterday we have been going to Mini Seedcamp Berlin as we have been selected one of the top 20 start ups from over 60 applicants. So yesterday we pitched studdex to a lot of investors from Germany, France, UK and neighboring countries. I had to do a 5 minute pitch describing what studdex does. Then all the investors picked their favorites and we have been appointed one of the four winners of Seedcamp. Here is the TechCrunch article.

Most of you have probably already heard the news about my involvement with the Assassin. Since Saturday I am (or better olapa, my company) is an Assassin reseller for Scandinavia, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary.

I was really excited about the Assassin project when I first heard about it in February. Soon afterwards I dropped Darren a few emails. In April I flew down to New Zealand to attend another conference on global education for studdex.com. Being in Auckland I took the chance to meet Darren and Holly. Driving down to Tauranga was a nightmare (see this post where I describe my first encounter with the Assassin) but well worth it.

I was amazed by the Assassin moth immediately and also connected with Holly and Darren right away. What I really liked is the background Darren and Holly come from. Darren has been building boats for many years and both have been bladerider resellers for New Zealand and both sail the moth as often as they can. This is great as they know what they are talking about and fixed all the weaknesses of the Bladerider.
Also when they want to improve something they can do so right away without sending lots of emails and pictures to China like BR needs to do. All Assassins are build right in New Zealand just off the shoreline. Also Dave replied that he doesn’t need to be gready when asked about the Assassin’s price.

As I have build moths myself (even when none is finished at the moment) I really appreciated seeing the fabrication of the Assassin. When I saw the way boat was build and how many stringers it had and how stiff and light it was I knew that Darren and Holly where onto something big.

When I had supper with them I told them that I have seen numerous mothies breaking stuff and waiting for more than 3 month to get a replacement part from BR. Thus I was suggesting setting up a spare part hub in Europe so when something brakes it can be replaced right away. Discussing this topic further is how I ended up with the resellership.

In the future I will have a boat for demonstrations (just drop me an email to felix(at)foilermoth,com when you want to have a try). Also in the meantime you can always try out my old boat).
And we will keep all, and I really mean all, parts here in Berlin and mail them out within 24h after we received the enquiry so you guys never have to stay on shore. As I already got the infrastructure in place through studdex we can support enquiries in the following languages: German, English, Polish, Italian, French and Arabic and we will be able to offer Portugese in September.

You can always reach us at
felix(at)foilermoth.com
or at
+49(0)30-831 089 42.

Soon we will set up a website with all the information and offers. I am personally really excited about playing a more active part in the moth scene and would love to see even more boats on the water. More to follow soon.

Here is the actual press release from assassin

This is how it looks when a moth, an office and 5 employees move to Berlin. After returning from the US on Sunday I went straight to the sailing club for two awesome days of sailing (unfortunately I forgot my gloves and thus had to tape my fingers…). Monday was a holiday in Germany ( I do not think there is any other country in the world who has got so many holidays ). After the sail I put the boat on my car and went to my parents home where I changed the tires of the car and got all my moth stuff together. Actually I moved out of my old apartment end of February and just lived in the office or abroad. In all three month without an apartment I was only home 3 weeks…
Actually this is the first time I am moving with my boat as my parent’s lake was the best within an hours drive so I just left my boats there. Now that I had to pack everything up I realized for the first time how much junk you have. I moved with:
4 different kinds of epoxy,
4 mast, booms and sails (actually one set is going to Harald shortly for his new homebuild, if you are interested in an used BR mast and boom just drop me an email to felix{at}foilermoth.com)
lots of carbon
two spreaders and 3 sets of shrouds,
two frames.
and lots of tools including a scale for weighing epoxy, powertools, extra ropes, shackles, screwdrivers, sanding paper, brushes,
to make a long story short moving with a moth is a nightmare…

For some odd reason I left at the same time my employees left but Lukas and I reached Berlin 1h20min before our next employee showed up. And we are only talking about 550km here! Anyhow after my employees arrived the first priority was to set the office up. We achieved this goal even though the office is still looking like complete chaos:

After doing the office we did my apartment. I am currently sleeping on a mattress on the floor and try to screw together my furniture when I get home at 9:30pm. I can already tell that I have got great neighbors – no one has complained about the noise -yet!

This is how my apartment looks

On Wednesday I had to get rid of my moth as driving with a moth on the car though Berlin is not the best thing to do. Also I needed my car to go to the hardware store or to IKEA. My favorite lake is the Müggelsee but I called a few sailing clubs there and no-one can place a moth there as it is mostly to shallow. I also had one sailing club that told me that they don’t want to have a moth there! Stupid idiots!

So for now I placed my boat at Stientzsee where the Berlin moth regatta has been held two weeks ago. For now my boat can stay there but I still have to find a new Club on a lake with more wind.

All in all the last week has been really stressful, I even had to hang up on Fred as I was just in the middle of putting a desk together (also IKEA). I think everything will sort itself out within the next 2 weeks and then things should go smooth (yeah right!)

So now that i live in Berlin whenever one of you comes here you can stay at my place and we can always arrange some sailing.

I just arrived from a dreadful United Airways flight from LA to Frankfurt on Saturday afternoon. After catching some sleep I went to the sailing club on Sunday. We had an Opti regatta and enough wind to go foiling every 10 minutes. The biggest lessing: after I ripped my ligaments in January and have been travelling a lot (NZ and US) and haven’t been able to follow my exercise program my body is in sorry state. Thus I plan to sail at least three times a week till the Europeans in Horsens. Also I will leave my car at home and take the bike…

Here are some pics:

this is how it starts

midway

this is how it ends

I am going to the sailing club right now and try to repeat it. Conditions look good so far. Tonight I have to pack my moth up as it is getting a new home in Berlin.

Today fastcraft ltd the company behind the Assassin moth send out a press release announcing a new development of foils. The foils will be designed by Nick Holroyd , technical director of Team New Zealand. I actually knew this already 4 weeks ago but didn’t want to spoil the news. I am quite excited about this as Darren has agreed to sell the foils separately after the worlds. So finally home builders like me can get foils other than the aardvark ones. I am quite curious how those foils will turn out and what the price tag will be.

All the best from Los Angeles to all of you (it is the ugliest town in the world except Seoul)

Here is the press relaese:

Team Assassin is pleased to announce the worst best kept secret. Technical Director at Emirates Team NZ, Nick Holroyd, has come onboard and agreed to design a full set of ‘Assassin’ foils. Nick comes exceptionally highly qualified and has given the Assassin a special edge with highly advanced technology that is undeniably fast. There really is no need for introduction to Nick as I’m sure anyone in the know will know who Nick Holroyd is..

Nick is currently in his forth consecutive campaign with ETNZ. In the 2007 campaign he was a senior Naval Architect and was the design liason in the ‘Balance and Tuning’ group that was responsible for recording and optimising there sailing modes on the yacht. He was primarily responsible for the appendage design and general application of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) in the 2000 and 2003 Americas Cup defences.

We are very excited about this latest development. The foil design is an integral part of the international moth and we believe there is no better person for the job. Assassin has stepped up and is arguably the most highly spec’d hydrofoiling moth available in the world, with an unbeatable price tag. We thank Nick for coming onboard and supporting Assassin, proudly New Zealand designed and built.

I am currently in the US on a business trip. We flew in to Seattle, my old hometown (I lived there for nearly 2 years). It was really nice to go back and meet people. I spend a quick visit to Microsoft, went to shee shoal bay where I used to sail T-Birds and played a lot of Squash at Microsoft’s Pro Club. I also discovered that the traffic situation in Seattle is still unresolved. They have been trying to get public transportation into place for more than 15 years now. We drove up to Vancouver and then down to Los Angeles again. On the way we visited more than 20 universities. I hope they will all sign…

On Friday morning Carlo called me up. He was sitting with other mothies at a pizzeria reflecting on the races, I was standing at a Kinko’s in Los Angeles printing marketing brochures for the updcoming conference which will take place from Tuesday to Friday.

It is a shame I couldn’t be at the the Stinietzsee regatta, especially as i now live in Berlin. Apparently the guys had a day with very little wind on the first day while Carlo told me that they had fun foiling on Friday. Unfortunately I still haven’t received the results (please email me to schulte(at)olapa.de if you got the results so I can put them online).

Carlo also reminded me that Friday was the last day to sign up for the Europeans without paying a € 100 late registration fee. So now I own Carlo a beer at the Europeans. I guess it is official: I owe Carlo a beer or two at the Europeans

As I didn’t want to stay in LA for the weekend (LA is an ugly city) Lukas and I decided to go for Vegas. Last time I have been here I was 17 and it wasn’t that exciting. Now that I am an adult by american standard (and I don’t need any fake IDs anymore Vegas is a lot more fun). Firstofall the Americans here are very tolerant. You can smoke everywhere, inside and outside. Also you can drink anywhere. If you drink alcohol on the streets Seattle the police would have a word with you. Also in most states you cannot go to a restaurant where alcohol is served with a minor. In Vegas no-one cares. This makes Vegas an awesome place for people like me who just hate stupid rules and regulations.

So while all of you have been sailing awesome moth regattas I went to Studio 54 at MGM Grand:

Bythe way as an entrepreneur I think Vegas has a terrific business model. First of all casinos always win, just by the strict mathematics of it. They subsidize the rooms as they know you will play at the hotel’s casino. If you loose (highly probable) the casino is happy. If you win you are going to spent the money in Vegas on drinks, shows or golf? and the casino is happy once again. (I won $50 at the Roulette and spent $45 to get into Studio 54 in the same casino)
I think money never leaves Vegas it is just flowing in from all over the world.

Think about this business model – I am jealous….

Update: I just received an email from Lochli who pointed out one thing I got wrong: The compression struts itself now run into the mast pole so they can actually touch each other inside the pole” they dont touch, they rest in a hole in the plasice fitting, so they have the effect of touching but not! Also the shroud fitting will only be replaced on Lochli’s boat – it will be the same on all production boats.

Since I returned from New Zealand I have been incredibly busy. I managed to sail 2 days, but could only foil temporarily as there was the typical lack of wind. In between I returned to a full desk, loads of unanswered emails, employees who demanded a lot of attention. Additionally I had to do the follow up from the New Zealand conference and I had to find a new apartment.
Today I picked up our new booth and modeled a bit.
Now I just finished up packing my bags (very heavy due to all the marketing catalogues), so now I am prepared as I am going to the US tomorrow. Now I just lighted up a cigar and grabbed a beer. And now I am taking the time to present the Mach2 to you in full detail:

This is the first Mach2 that has been sailed by Si Payne during the Australian nationals. Now this boat was sold to Lochli Byrne who currently works for Amac. So this boat is not the very last, final version, but it is damn close.

Firstofall let me tell you something about the look of the Mach2. It is all clear, bi-directional carbon. So from the distance it looks like pure black, but depending on the light you can see many different shades. it is really cool.

The wing frame is definitely something Amac has put a lot of thought into. First of all the side wingbars are not a straight tube but actually become bigger towards the middle, which is really nice when you sit on them. Unfortunately I don’t have a picture, as the tramps were fastened around it and you couldn’t see it – but feeling it is awesome. Also the side wingbars are attached to the frong wingbars at the joint of the front bar and the compression strut. The compression struts rest in a hole in the plasice fitting, so they have the effect of touching but not.

Lochli told me that the shroud fittings will be replaced with some weird spliced rope in the future…? (update: this is only on his boat, the production ones will come with the metal fitting) The compression struts itself now run into the mast pole so they can actually touch each other inside the pole:

The rear wingbars are now very different from the BRs. First of all they are not in one piece anymore. Instead they are slid into tubes placed above the rear deck:

I also think the way the rear wing bars connect to the side wingbar is really cool:

The gantry is a tube construction that is covered with some carbon expanse to keep the water off. the three tubes now run into the boat which is a real good idea to attach it tightly.

The vang is now attached to the hull with a spliced rope that runs around the bottom of the mast pole. It is really difficult to see. By the way you don’t need any knots on the Mach2 – everything is spliced.

The centerboard case is now glued on to the deck above the deck. The centerboard case and the center board both come with three holes so you can adjust the angle of attack

By the way here is a pick of Lochli doing some splicing. He actually asked me not to take a picture of him – at least I am not showing the ones I took from me and Lochlin while partying in Melbourne. He should thank me for that

The boom itself is a piece of art. Unfortunately I don’t have a complete pic of it. You just have to believe me. Also note the way Si Payne has put the Zhik sticker on there. You can only read it when the boat is capsized…

and here another one of the way the sheet attaches to the boom. Awesome isn’t it?

Now let me show you some more details about the amazing bow of the Mach2: First of all the new central wand mechanism allows you to have two wands, one on either side. This is also possible with the Assassin. I haven’t tried it but Lochli said that he will always sail with two wands in the future as you can actually come out of the water as high on either bow.

The big hole you are seeing is a spare one so you can run a rope to the front. For example to tighten the forestay while sailing.

Unfortunately you cannot really see the wand mechanism. Well it is centralized right in the middle of the boats axis and the leverage can be changed when sailing in different conditions. Also one thing Lochli really liked is that you can use the mechanism upside down. So in really light winds you can lift the wand up in the air which reduces drag. When the wind picks up you just pull the rubber and it swings down…

To reduce windage you can put a small piece of carbon on top of the whole mechanism which looks awesome (I know you know these pictures, but I took this one Actually I am really amazed by the whole wave piercing A-Cat like bow. It really works. I tried sailing the Mach2 in big waves (typical for Melbourne) and the big difference is that you get out of the water faster as you are not doing a full stop every time you hit a wave. I love it. It is a big, huge advantage.

So finally we can talk about one of the most interesting parts of the whole boat – its foils. One thing you notice right away is that they are longer than the BRs, roughly 10cm (my guess). The rudder is just like the Assassin’s without a rudderboard case. Instead the bold is connecting the rudder with the gantry directly. Lochli hates it (and so do I) as it is just a pain in the ass to attach and detach it. Of course there are two arguments in favor – it is supposed to be stiffer and it causes less weight. (Also it is cheaper, but you will never hear this advantage from a builder…)

One of the best things Amac has done when designing the whole Mach2 is the following:

Do you see the little bulk on the centerboard? This is where the center board touches the centerboard case. All other parts of the foils are narrower. So sliding it into the centerboard case is easy and you don’t have all these stupid issues like sand getting in between (yak). You can also see that the back of the foil is cut back. This is done so you can change the angle of attack with those three holes I have told you about earlier. Also both foils get narrower towards the bottom both in width and in breadth. They are not the straight ones you know from BR. Lochli told me that there is a lot more carbon towards the top and you can now stand on the middle of the foil ( I didn’t try, as I am still having my weight issues). Here are a few more pics of the foils:

Now the whole winding is taken care of with stainless steal winding molded into the foils – good idea..

The flap is a bit smaller but the up and down movement has been increased.

to make a long story short, the Mach 2 is an awesome boat. It is really good to sail (but that is another article) and has been build to the best standards. Unfortunately the price is also the best (at least for Amac and McConaghy). My personal believe is that you cannot do anything wrong when buying a Mach2.

Oh, and by the way, the Mach2 has got a cover as well:

PS.: If you want more pics from the Assassin or the Mach 2 just let me know. I just think that there are enough pics in this post

Hi everyone, I am back from Australia after a long flight home (Melbourne, Auckland, Singapore, London, Dusserldorf). I still have to put up the detailed pics of the Mach2 and also the videos of Lochlin and me foiling at Sandringham Yacht Club. Unfortunatley my office desk looks like shit and I have to digg thru some more stuff till I get the time to post a new blog. In the meantime I want to entertain you with a picture I have received from Lochlin. Here it is:

I wonder if you find out how this is done… I still believe that this Prowler from Rohan is the best looking moth ever! Unfortunately this comes with a price – Lochlin told me that the stickers on the hull added 2,5kg (updated) to the overall weight. I wonder how she foils….

Like Lochlin has predicted the weather hear is really awful. The wind was blowing like crazy and the tide got so high that parts of the Marina were underwater. So I planned to sail in New Zealand and Australia, packed all my sailing cloth and still haven’t sailed once. Very disappointing…

I took the time and took a very close look at the Mach2 prototype Lochlin has bought. My first impression: awesome boat with a lot of emphasis on quality. I have made a lot of pictures and upload them tomorrow as the internet connection I currently have sucks.

On Wednesday there was no sailing due to too little wind, today is no sailing due to too much wind. It is a shame, as I have flown 36hours to see the Assassin (okay, I also did some business). Well, I have seen it, but I haven’t test sailed it…

I hope the conditions will be a bit better when I am in Melbourne tomorrow to take a look at the Mach2… Can’t wait.