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T590 under spinnaker T590 sailing under Auckland's harbour bridge.	Thompson Design Again I must first start with an apology. As you will have noticed you never received a newsletter in January and February. We have been working very hard on our new website which we never anticipated would take us so long to develop. Nethertheless, we hope you will enjoy our new site, we do apologise that some pages are still to be completed and promise the site will be maintained daily. Pages will be updated, when we receive new racing results, special promotions, new articles, new photos etc. Please feel free to contact us with your comments, and perhaps some suggestions about what you would like us to include on the site. Although we don't have too much news this month, I am going to dedicate this newsletter to our newest and most exciting small boat, the T590. The T590 was launched on New Years day down in Napier, over the last 2 months we have had the opportunity to take out a number of people from New Zealand and the United States. The feedback we have received to date has been so awesome that I felt it needed to be shared with you all. The T590 (20 footer) is a flight planning monohull with only a large mainsail for going upwind and a asymmetric sail that is launched from a forward hatch and flown on a long bowsprit for downwind sailing. The boat ideally sailed, comfortably with 3 people, but can be sailed with only 2 or up to a maximum of 4 people. Cost for this boat is approx 17,500 USD. The boat's potential is amazing, already the performance is exceeding the designers expectations showing great speed both upwind and down. What is most amazing is the upwind speed and height sailing without a jib. The flexible rig is proving its worth and making the boat very easy to sail. The boat has shown good performance in all the wind ranges. Downwind it is just great, moving onto the plane in the low air velocity. We are excited that the boat is a good compromise between a racing dinghy and a keel boat, making it safe to sail and yet exhilarating enough to give the thrill we all require. The deck layout with the spinnaker chute makes the spinnaker hoists and drops very easy. This is definitely the boat for 2000 and is certainly a jump ahead of anything produced to date. We are committed to female tooling for this boat and see a great long term future for it as a trainer and class racing yacht. Lee Van Gemert, is 80 years old and has been sailing for 70 years and has sailed in a number of America’s Cup regattas. Lee described to us his experience. "I was a little fearful of being able to get around on such a lightweight flyer because it was blowing a solid 15 knots. I was not brought up in this type of planning yachts; my expertise has always been in more sedate displacement yachts. When I was given the helm I was amazed at the speed of the boat and the ease of sailing it. The boat easily planned under mainsail when close reaching. We then set the asymmetric sail; the bow lifted up out of the water and the boat took off. In the 70 years of sailing I have rarely gone this fast and never with such control. The wings deflected the water to make the ride an exhilarating experience without getting too wet. As I mentioned I am 80 + years old but in the Thompson 590 I suddenly became a 40 year old sailor (with 70 years experience). This boat is really awesome". (15 February 2000)
I also thought I should write about my experience in the T590 from a very novice point of view. For those of you who don't know me, sailing has always been something I have wanted to learn, but something that I have had difficulty trying to come to grip's with. I have been around boats all my life, so have a basis understanding of yachts. My first couple of experiences on the T590, made me a little nervous about this little boat, this included a sail in 25knots which was rather exciting but a little scary. My third sail on this boat was Tuesday night ladies racing and I was placed on at the helm. Having never helmed a boat before and with very little sailing experience, and we were short one lady, meant we would be sailing this race 2 handed. Luckily it was under 10 knots so we couldn't get into too much trouble. What surprised me the most was how easily the boat sailed, and how much fun we had. The next Tuesday night sail, it was blowing 15knots of solid wind the same day Lee had been sailing. By this time I had mangered to sneak in a few practices and now felt very comfortable with the boat. In this particular race I have never laughed so much in all my life, we all just had an absolute ball, although unfortunately we ended up having to pull out of the race before we even rounded the first mark. We had run out of time to seal the hatch and the boat slowly filled up with a bit too much water. The seas were rather large on this day. I was surprised at how safe I felt in such a small boat and how well the boat handled such choppy conditions. It was actually just as easy to sail the boat at 5 knots as at 15 knots, although a lot wetter. After we emptied the hatch in the cockpit we put up the spinnaker, I guess we would have easily been going close to 13-15knots, we were all in hysterics laughing so hard, the boat was so fast but so in control, and again so easy to sail. I now look forward to every sail and hope the breeze is blowing hard in hope that we can experience the awesome thrills we experienced on this particular day. All I can say is that this boat is totally awesome and I now understand why you guys are all so hooked on sailing, this boat is a perfect boat for the novice to learn from or experienced sailors to enjoy.
T590 Drawings Principal Dimensions LOA 5.85 meter Beam 2.2 meter Draft 1.6 meter Main 16sq meter Spin 34sq meter

Some Comments from our Boat Owners and crew I never got a chance to thank you Steve for your help with my T7 at Hamilton Island Race week. We now seem to have ironed out our old racer habits and replaced them with almost forgotten skiff habits. We have been racing regularly at RPAYC in Sydney and my crew and I still believe this is the nicest boat we have raced. I am preaching the T7 concept to as many people as will listen and they seem to be very interested and in awe at the boats upwind and downwind capability. We are off to the Victoria T7 States next week where 9 - 10 boats are expected to compete. Keep up the good work with the T7 anybody who knows anything about sailing will love this boat and its superb performance. Kim Williams "Rock n Roll" Sydney Australia Race Results from T7 Victorian State Titles (Mornington, Melbourne) T7 Tenacity One design sailing has just been re-defined. No longer will we have to do battle in slow and angry lead mines to experience good racing. The inaugural T7 Victorian State Titles was conducted in conjunction with the Snapper Point Classic, Mornington Yacht Club (Australia), 12 & 13 February 2000. All of the 9 Thompson 7s fronted for the series. Conditions varied from 15-20 knot southerly on Saturday to 24-45 knot easterly on Sunday. The Racing was tight with plenty of action . Upwind speed variations seemed almost non-existent even though most boats displayed different tune and trim techniques. Concentration and sound strategy proved the secret to success as one design sailing should be. Downwind the action was unforgettable –close crossing under masthead chute at 20 knots boat speed is a buzz everyone should experience. Sound boat handling and ability to push deep with speed were the techniques required to stay with the competitive leading bunch. Downwind was where the regatta was won or lost. In heat 2, Deadly Sins was in third place, under fractional spinnaker brought a 40 knot squall down the course sending sheets of spray that made 18 foot skiffs and Volvo 60’s look silly. Without doubt this boat currently holds the highest speed every achieved in a T7 (somewhere near 30 knots). For more information regarding this regatta refer to T7 editorials RESULTS 009 Kerli Corlett Nothing Else Matters 1.00 1.00 2.00 4.00 007 Russell O’Toole Shock Treatment 2.00 4.00 1.00 7.00 7003 Bruce Pickett Deadly Sins 4.00 3.00 3.00 10.00 5887 Kim Williams Rock ‘n Roll 5.00 5.00 4.00 14.00 7006 Robert D’Arcy The Mistress 7.00 6.00 5.00 18.00 7002 Chris Ting Wicked 6.00 7.00 6.00 19.00 7008 Dave Eichmeyer Zoote 10.00 2.00 10.00 22.00 7007 Robert Davis Foor Clean Skins 3.00 10.00 10.00 23.00 5914 Chris McMahon Tommy 8.00 8.00 10.00 26.00

STAND OUT FROM THE REST. BE SEEN ON THE WATER WITH A CREW T BOAT T SHIRT Priced from only $25 AUD per shirt, email us with your sizes boat name and we will forward these for your next regatta.

T850 - Men at Work completed and painted hull T850 - Interior of Men at Work T850 - Interior of Men at Work T35 very first stages under construction

T Boat Launchings Today (21February) T850 Men at Work owned by Wardy is launched in Auckland - I have included a couple of photos of this boat as she is very impressive and even better in real life. If you would like more information on this boat, please feel free to contact as. Round the Yards Thompson 35 The first of the T35 is being built in New Zealand for a client in the US. At this stage this is the only photos we have of the moulds under construction. I Will keep you updated on the progress of this boat. Boat For Sale Hull & Decks for Sale We have 1 complete hull and decks available for the T750 in New Zealand, please contact us for prices on these boats. We are more than happy to offer just the hull and deck or other components if you wish to part build the boat yourself. Sorry the T850 we were advertising last month has been sold. T750 - Mustard Cutter in Australia Current Qld Champion CBH & PBH. Winner Hamilton Island Race Week 1998 Sports Boat Division Numerous winning results. Launched May 1998. Stripped Plank Cedar Hull, Foam and Glass Deck and Bulkheads, C Spar Carbon Mast and Prodder, C-Net 2000 instruments with GPS Interface. Extensive Sail wardrobes Includes New Eickmeyer Mast Head Reacher & AP Fractional, North No.2 Headsail & AP Mast Head Asymmetric. Full suit of Doyle Sails new at launching. Bolt on wings increase beam to 3.1 meters, Ideal for the new Sports Boat rule. Two Bulbs 400kg & 300kg. Takes 15 minutes to change. Ready to Race and Win. Mustard Cutter T650 - Stormy 1 in New Zealand Thompson 650 Sportsboat Stormy 1 ex Pria Pism certified trailer Yacht T4114, superb performer, many successes including Royal Port Nicholson Spring Series, professionally built, strongly rerigged to withstand Wellington NZ conditions, Carbon mast and prod, Harken deck gear, spectra halyards and sheets, full Doyle sail wardrobe, 3 mains, one in carbon fibre, 4 genoas, 3 gennakers, 5HP Tohatsu outboard, new galvanised trailer with alloy sports wheels Stormy1 70 Foot Maxi Yacht - Wild Thing in Australia For those of you wanting something larger, this 70 foot maxi yacht, Wild Thing is for sale. Wild Thing is the fourth in a long, distinguished line of Australian ocean racers , tearing up the race courses in Australia and beyond. Her lines have been drawn by preeminent Australia naval architects, Murray, Burns & Dovell. 21 metres from stem to stern, Wild Thing, is a high-tech showroom of everything that makes the modern yacht fast. Length 21.3 metres long Beam 5.5 metres Displacement 18 tonne Ballast 10 tonne Sail Area 260 sqm Wildthing T five ninety The Thompson T590 prototype is our very latest design. Built by Concept Marine in Nelson, New Zealand. The boat was launched this year on the 1st of January 2000. Owned by ourselves, Thompson Marine. The boat includes carbon mast and prod, Ronstan deck gear, spectra halyards and sheets, with a Doyle sail wardrobe this includes, 1 Dakron and a .6oz gennaker plus trailer and trailer support for mast and boom. This boat is superely equipped and painted and has been sold at a discounted price of US$12500.00 plus shipping costs. fiveninety It is still proving very affordable for boats to be built in New Zealand or Australia due to the exchange rate, especially good for the US and the European market.