Just been up and had a look at the German Sol. Rudders are built, one of the rudder mounts is on the beam and the leeward hull is painted. All looks very good and a credit to the builder. Launching is not far away. Still be a bit of work to do (tramp, tillers, outboard bracket, etc), but at least it will be afloat.
The mast has been changed from a telescoping wing to a telescoping tube for ease of use (strong wind worries after my wing masted El sat through some 50 knot squalls), cost and complexity of build reasons. Given that the mast limits are the length of a shipping container, we have gone for 2 x 12m/40' lengths (60 kgs/132 lbs incl tracks) and a 3m/10' boom. Full sail area about 55 sqm/600 sq'. 500 kgs/1100 lbs ready to sail is looking likely, although I have not weighed the lw hull since the bulkheads, ends and mast bearings were installed. Suspect it will get along pretty well in light air and with the rig telescoped down to 12m/40' mast, should be pretty comfortable in strong winds. Other changes include a variation on a wishbone boom to make the mast rotate.
rob
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